Although I am a registered Republican, I am not devoted to any party. Instead of following 'the party line' I try to educate myself on the candidates and vote for the one that I agree with the most. I guess some would call that 'choosing the lesser of two evils' (which staunch party members eschew). ;-)

I listen to talk radio as my #1 source of political information and opinion - since studies show that our mainstream media sources are biased, and I don't have the time or inclination to be a 'news hound.' Luckily, I have access to satellite radio and several Right and Left talk channels.

A couple days ago I went out on my morning errands, and because I mostly listen to the Right-wing talk shows, I decided to see what was on 'Talk Left' and 'Air America.' I do this occasionally. Usually I end up disappointed and as if I have truly wasted my time. (I cannot stand that older woman who sings "I wanna be sedated" on the air - maybe she should find another job - definitely NOT as a singer.

To get back on track... that morning on Talk Left, they were playing some old song (...I'm goin' where the sun keeps shinin', though the pouring rain...). I waited and waited, but the song just kept going and going. Now I have heard song excerpts on 'right' talk channels too, but let's get real...don't the Lefties have anything worthwhile to say? So, after about a minute of that, I switched over to 'Air America'...

Now I hear 2 guys chatting about...nothing. The whole time I was listening (about 30 minutes) there were just 2 political 'comments' made...the first was something like "Bush's Great Lies" - which was just them saying that phrase and NOTHING else. Then they moved on to a fascinating discussion of who brought the bagels that morning.

The second 'political' comment I heard during this 'morning show' was a parody of VP Cheney. At this point I'm thinking that they have no REAL soundbytes that make the VP look bad...so they have to make something up.

However, my time was not TOTALLY wasted...I DID find out that one of the morning show's guys has a mother who lives in Florida and does pilates. She lives with a boyfriend who talks in Scat. I also learned that these 2 radio hosts used to smoke weed with their friends when they were young (sorry, I don't remember the rest of the details on that story).

Listening to those guys gave me insight into why my husband (& I) consistently prefer to listen to Right-wing talk shows. You always get substance...an opinion, soundbytes that are REAL, callers with differing points of view, etc. AND it's peppered with a little GOOD 80's music here and there. ;-)

In all fairness...later that day or the next...I tried Talk-Left again, and I heard Al Franken's show which I found to be interesting and informative. He had a caller that is a 'swing-voter' like me, and he was courteous and interested in what the caller had to say.

Listening to a Liberal talk show that made sense was enlightening. I still prefer the Talk-Right and Patriot channels, and I think the Conservatives definitely have a leg up when it comes to talk radio.

Posted by Wendy at July 16, 2004 11:25 AM