Mobilizing and Monetizing Anger
So for some reason I’m riding down the road in my truck and decide to see what the conservative folks are talking about today, same as I used to before Trump got elected, test the roiling waters of the right wing, put a finger into the wind and see which way the tornado is blowing today. My moderator begins by saying, “I heard this on some newsfeed this morning and I didn’t have time to fact check it.”
This is a familiar lead-in to any of us who listen to these talking heads on the far right. Not enough time in the day to double check their sources, but hey, it sounds true to them and so my guy says, “well, let’s just go ahead and imagine it is true, go from there.” This is like a scientist saying, okay, I haven’t got a clue if this hypothesis is accurate but why don’t we go ahead and build a theory around it, find out if we like the looks of it when we’re done.”
The story my agitator has supposedly, but I doubt, heard, revolves around the rumor which he declares is suspiciously plausible, that Joe Biden tried to cut a deal with the Saudis for a promise of drilling more oil. He would, this rumor has it, offer amnesty to the crown prince Mohammed bin Salman for the killing of Jamal Khashoggi. He refers to the prince as MsB or maybe it’s MbS, either case, he tells his audience, you know who I mean. Oil for amnesty.
Quid pro quo, maybe you remember the Trump deal in Ukraine, not that this will come up in the next half hour’s grinding of innuendo and speculation until the sausage is ready for the bun. Now, to be fair, I have more time on my hands than our national Limbaugh clone so I punch up MbS and first article out of the chute is the CNN post that the U.S. Dep’t. of Justice cannot bring a case filed by Khashoggi’s wife because the guy happens to be the head of state. They can’t sue Putin, they can’t extradite Xi, and no, they can’t bring a case against Mohammed either. Kind of a different story than the unchecked one our national radio star is offering to listeners hungry for dirt on Sleepy Joe.
Now he knows his take is bullshit and I know his slant is bullshit and you probably know better than to even tune into talking heads like this … but, half the damn country listens to this boy and his ilk, twisting and fabricating and stretching the truth til it’s red meat down to the gristle for an audience starved for scapegoats and craving revenge. You bet I turned my radio to a music station to remove the taste. The true believers, I’m guessing they’re listening to this all day long.
I got a theory. Not really based on anything I want to fact-check. Just something I want you to believe. Stay tuned. Send money. I’ll be back tomorrow with the news.
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Tags: Bad Logic on Talk Radio, Might Be True, Right Wing Radio