Liberal vs. Conservative Commentators

I had a friend recently comment on my new blog. He said “you’re a Bill O’Reilly”

This friend knows that I watch O'Reilly and Hannity & Colmes. He knows that before the AM radio went out on my car that I used to listen to Neal Boortz and Sean Hannity. But he could never understand why I didn’t particularly like any of them.

It’s kind of funny. My beliefs run more in line with all the conservative names mentioned, but the guy I most like to watch is – Alan Colmes – the self professed liberal who I almost never agree with. But, he actually debates people. He uses logic and fact to back up his positions that he states very reasonably and he will actually make you think about stuff. I love his Tuesday night spars with Bill Bennett. Two men on opposite sides of the political spectrum, who respectfully discuss issues on which they disagree and they are willing to admit when they agree.

I once heard a commentator say that liberals just interrupt, interject and intimidate in debates. It was said that they believed an argument was won by the volume of the voice, not the words it spoke. I’m finding more and more that that is actually the case with the conservative talk show hosts.

O’Reilly recently had a gentleman on who was arguing that hip-hop music was not harmful to American children. I happen to believe that it is harmful, as does O’Reilly, but I was really disappointed in the way O’Reilly attempted to present his argument. He started out well enough, but very quickly degenerated in to demagoguing hip hop music as “mind poison” He interrupted his guest at least three times to “tell” the man how hip hop was “mind poison.” Had Bill stuck to his factual arguments it would have been a wonderful debate. But instead I started to tune it out because of the rhetoric.

Hannity isn’t too bad on his radio program, although he has a tendency to raise his voice to liberal callers and I have heard him hang up on them and follow the call with snide comments. My real problem with Hannity, however lies in his performance on TV. In most shows, he will say at least three times “During the Reagan years” or some variation thereof. Don’t get me wrong, I liked Reagan and am very cognizant and appreciative of the effects of his administration, but he’s been out of office for nearly 14 years. It’s time to move on. We can look back for lessons, but we shouldn’t live there. Hannity sometimes acts like he still lives there. Plus he is way to easy on Republicans that come on the show.

Boortz I think is the best of the radio bunch. He does make you think and he has a sharp mind. Listen to his analysis of the news. He always does an excellent job of highlighting the important stuff. But again, his demeanor with disagreeing callers leaves something to be desired. Boortz is one of the worst for raising his voice, interrupting and hanging up on callers. Makes for good entertainment, but not for good debate.

Conservatives have long derided liberals as being unwilling to debate in a rational manner. There is still some truth to this statement when it comes to national politicians, but that’s only because politicians have staffs to think for them. The conservative commentators need to be careful that they don’t become what they believe the liberals to be.