Are 1000 giant soapboxes louder than the protests?

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How will OWS and related protests effect change? Will they stimulate progressive activism, increase voter participation, and push Democratic Representatives and Senators in progressive directions? Will they stimulate Wall Street regulation? How much and how far? The amount and quality of OWS media coverage is critical.

Here’s a sampling from less than half an hour of listening over a couple of recent Rush Limbaugh shows:

“no doubt that the white house is behind it”
“rich white spoiled rotten jerks”
“parade of human debris”
“idiots”, “parasites”, “dumb”, “stupid”

That’s light stuff but how do unchallenged attacks like that, day in and day out, effect the way police treat protestors? How media treat the protestors? How easily politicians will be able to intimidate media, and visa-versa, and get away with the lies and distortions? And those were just a few of Limbaugh’s personal attacks. He is also point man for nationally coordinated disinformation and swiftboating campaigns that can take months or years.

All but the loudest protests have become a relatively ineffective way to effect change because they can be yelled over and distorted by our right wing radio stations on local and national levels. In the same way those same radio stations were used to turn a pack of talk radio and Fox ‘News’ dittoheads into a ‘popular movement’ called the Tea Party, they will be used to enable politicians and media to attack and minimize OWS as well as egg on local politicians and police to limit free speech and the right to peaceably assemble. RW radio stations have huge power to intimidate or punish local politicians. And long after the OWS protests disperse the millonaire radio talkers will continue to attack and distort and sell the "greed is good" mantra.

On the Laura Ingraham radio show recently, GOP Rep. Peter King said “It’s really important for us not to give any legitimacy to these people in the streets,” and “I remember what happened in the 1960s when the left-wing took to the streets and somehow the media glorified them and it ended up shaping policy. We can’t allow that to happen.” King is stating the fears and goals of Republican conservatives and now they have something they didn't have then.

Today their most important tool for preventing OWS from effecting policy will be talk radio. They use public airwaves on stations licensed to operate in the public interest and not only do their call screeners ensure they seldom get real calls, they will put callers paid and scripted by Koch Brothers-funded think tanks at the front of the line.

This morning David Sirota on the Colorado progressive station AM 760 played excerpts of an interview of CO Governor Hickenlooper (D) by local Denver right wing radio host Mike Rosen concerning the Occupy Denver demonstration ( occupydenver.org ). Previously, Rosen, who broadcasts on the Colorado-dominating AM station 850 KOA, railed against the dirty lawbreakers and called on police and the Governor Hickenlooper to throw them off public property. The next day in the interview Hickenlooper agreed with Rosen. (Occupy Denver urges all citizens of Colorado to phone Governor Hickenlooper’s office at [phone].)

850 KOA broadcasts Limbaugh and is where former FEMA director and horse expert Michael Brown (heck-of-job-Brownie) was paid off with a talk radio job (reaching 30+ states at night). Like many of the megastations that broadcast Limbaugh’s daily global warming denial, hate, and racism, KOA also broadcasts sports, in this case the Broncos and Rockies pro teams as well as the University of Colorado Buffaloes football. In Madison, Wisconsin, the Limbaugh megastation WIBA also broadcasts University of Wisconsin sports while it uses its giant megaphone to get Governor Walker's back and thwart recall efforts, just as it did in helping maintain Republican control of Wisconsin state government.

The right wing think tanks scour the media for material and angles to pass on to all right wing talkers for coordinated national dissemination. Highly paid professionals will be watching for media ‘messaging’ gains by OWS. Just like they’ve been doing for years they will devise PR counter strategies to distract, deflect, distort, and minimize those gains, and pass those talking points on to team Limbaugh. Their paid callers will help prompt, reinforce, and encourage the talkers.

They will also attack the messengers, naming the journalists and media outlets that provide ‘liberal’ bias. They will make it easier for the celebrity talking heads to ridicule the protestors on national TV and print rather than be objective. Repeating the RW talking points is easy when you know they’ve already been pounded into the earholes of 50 million Americans every week. One unpleasant but regular occurence in US media is to be named by team Limbaugh and then harassed by thousands of dittoheads.

And why should politicians worry about the protests if team Limbaugh has their back, attacking the protestors and distorting their message all day long, day after day? And why should anyone be concerned with the RW hate and lies if it's the home of the Broncos and Buffaloes and Rockies?

Right wing radio has been phenomenally effective mainly because it is unchallenged. It is as if a guy sets up a soapbox on the far corner of your block and lies about you all day. If you don't know what he's saying and he's never challenged or corrected the neighbors who don’t know better will start to believe him. RW talk radio reaches 50 million people a week. Many of those listeners have no free or easy alternatives for politics while driving or working. That is where the teabaggers get most of their material.

Allowing corporate think tanks to abuse the public air waves on stations licensed to operate in the public interest is not an option for a democracy. Allowing those 1000 coordinated corporate megaphones to attack, distort, and lie about OWS should not be an option. We’ve seen over the last 20 years how well ignoring RW radio has worked. The RW radio monopoly will continue to diminish the donated time and money of the millions of US citizens working on progressive issues. It will have an effect, and it may continue to make the difference.

Anyone who wants to support OWS, reinforce the effort, and get the protestors ‘backs’ might want to consider challenging their local right wing radio stations. Those stations are antithetical to most of the stated goals of OWS protestors.

Here are a few suggestions:

Some of those stations might be good places to protest. It should be routine to check RW radio stations if planning a march route. Those are Republican and Tea Party headquarters. Some in politics and media may be very grateful to see it.

Universities and pro teams that broadcast their athletics on those stations need to be asked if they agree with the racism and global warming denial and attacks on public sector workers and unions. Most universities have 'mission statements' that would not allow them to associate with those stations if taken seriously. Petitions might help.

Local sponsors of those stations need to be asked if they agree with the Limbaughs and Hannitys. Most local advertisers will not defend the Limbaughs and will tell you they are there for business reasons that often don't make sense when the long-term pro-big business function of RW talk radio is factored in. Even if their ads usually air during the Broncos game the most important function of the station is to elect Republicans and sell an undemocratic pro-corporate agenda. Those stations played a big part in glorifying Wall Street greed, lying us into Iraq, defeating health care and election reforms the last 20 years, and are now delaying action on climate change.

When those stations finally feel challenged and have to worry about dwindling ad revenue some will have to start looking for more balanced programing. And when media and politicians that have been intimidated or enabled by RW radio see those stations finally challenged they may think twice about repeating the talking points. And maybe some of those Republicans and blue dogs will stop cowering when Limbaugh and Hannity mention their name. Bipartisanship may even be possible.

The protests will get bigger and louder and the movement will need as much help as it can get. Ignoring talk radio as usual will not work.