Suggestions: How to get Rush off the air in your city

[DesEtoiles]

1. Set up a meeting with the station manager, and take a copy of the Media Matters report on Rush with you. Ask the station manager if he or she supports each of those statements.

2. Identify the sponsors. Complain to them and boycott them if they refuse to listen.

Any other ideas?

[emanymton]

1. Let Him Stay On Air. ...

Trash Limbaughski must be allowed to remain on the air. Everytime Trash Limbaughski opens his mouth he demonstrates why the right is wrong.

Trash Limbaughski is a snake oil salesman who has sold out his schtik and his audience. He good as comic relief, just like Bagdad Ali of the ol' Saddam Hussein BS hour.



Bush Lied. People Died. Media Cheered.

[kansasblue]

10. i agree. I've listened....

and the people who must agree with him are too lost to be saved.

Let him be one big mouth piece for extremism.

[linazelle]

2. Regressive radio stations don't care if you don't listen, or if you strike

I heard a station manager in a segment where he addressed audience concerns (big joke) say that they don't really air programs to suit the audience. They air them basically, to fit their own agenda. That's why Rush makes more than any other person (for lack of a better--or worse--word) than anyone. The regressive message is funded by regressive money, not sponsors. Sponsors are secondary.

[SoCalDem]

3. Yep.. It's pay-to-play, and the rightwingers are paying

Have you ever met anyone who ever bought any of the crap they "sell"??

[ladjf]

5. I believe that what you are saying applies to the TV media as

well.

[kbm8795]

28. The airwaves belong to the public

Not the station manager.

[staticstopper]

4. Why?

The more he talks the more people see how crappy they all are. Plus, where does it stop? There are so many out there with the loudest microphones money can buy, that the only thing left to do is quit watching, listening, and reading all these offenders and supporting the DIY stuff.

[jedr]

6. your radio has several knobs on it; any of which will remove Rush

I understand your frustration....I hate the sound of his voice, however if they did this to AAR, you would be going wild. Go satellite radio and Rush be Gone.

[Ian David]

8. Hypothetical: Suppose every day, Rush was talking about you personally

"You know that Jedr guy on Democratic Underground? Jedr is a liar, a fraud, and a thief and he's ruining our country.

"You need to call your congressman and tell them to punish Jedr.

"You need to call Jedr's office, and tell him you don't want to take it anymore. Here is Jedr's phone number.

"You know folks, I've had it up to here with Jedr, and today I'm going to take your calls, and hear what suggestions you have on what to do about Jedr. I have Cooter, from Hazard County on the line."

"Yeah, hi Rush. Yeah, ditto on that Jedr guy. I think we should protest outside his house."


Now, would simply "changing the station" because you don't like what you're hearing do you any good?

See, the problem is this:

1) It's not what Rush is saying TO us, it's what he's saying ABOUT us.

2) It's not so much Rush that's the problem, it's what Rush is telling people to do to us, and to do to the country that's the problem.

If we don't listen to it, it doesn't help us.

[bryant69]

14. Letting Rush say we are bastards is the only way we can assure that we

can keep calling him a bastard.

That's just the way it goes.

Bryant
Check it out- -> http://politicalcomment.blogspot.com

[Ian David]

16. It's not the name-calling. It's the calls-to-action.

He's telling people, "Do this and do that."

We want them to stop doing those things.

[bryant69]

17. i don't think this argument holds up

i listen to rush pretty regularly looking for stuff to write about and i think it's pretty rare that he calls on specific harrassment - but if he did, than that's the grounds to go after him.

[Ian David]

21. Well, I think it does hold up. So, we'll agree to disagree, but...

next time you listen to Rush, pay close attention to "action items" and "calls-to-action."

I don't mean harassment.

I mean:

1) What does he tell people to do?
2) What do you think you would do if you believed him?

Example:

Statement: "Gay marriage is going to destroy America."
What would a believer do: Vote against gay marriage and perhaps harass gay people.

Remember:

Implicit Calls to action
Implied calls to action
Incitements to action

In any case, listen to him again for a couple days with this in mind, and see if you still disagree.

[bryant69]

29. I have listened to him

And it's not that I don't see what you are saying, I just think that's the price you pay to have freedom of speech.

I mean by that logic you could argue that Democratic Underground should be shut down because it encuorages harrassment of Christain Fundamentalists.

[Ian David]

38. Well, I would hardly blame them if they tried. That's free speech, too

I'm not saying take him to court and make The State force him to stop. That's not a principle of free speech.

I am saying we should use market forces and democratic methods to shut him up.

Namely:

1) Boycott
2) Revoking funding for his Armed Forces Radio broadcast by lobbying to have congress take away his budget for it, OR..
3) Lobbying congress to add balance to their programing by putting Al Franken on the Armed Forces network.

[bryant69]

39. I agree with 2 and 3

I do appreciate that you are willing to give up your free speech in order to silence Rush - that's more honest than most people who make the boycott argument are. That said, I can't support any boycott action designed to stop someone from expressing their opinion. A backdoor boycott i mean (boycotting sponsers, rather than simply turning Rush off).

[Ian David]

40. I wouldn't GIVE UP my free speech. I'm just willing to accept...

their right to use THEIR free speech to TRY to use legitimate methods against us, just as we would use legitimate methods against them.

An advertiser boycott is exactly what I was talking about, btw.

That's what killed "Doctor" Laura's TV show.

Her only two advertisers were Miss Cleo and "Inventor's Submission" company.

We even convinced non-profits to pull their FREE Public Service Announcements!

We also got New England Cable News (partly owned by FOX) to pull THEIR promos from the Fox Affiliate that was airing "Doctor" Laura.

[bryant69]

41. Like I said I don't agree with that policy

It's an infringment on free speech. Don't worry, I've heard all the arguments for why it's not from both the left and the right wing.

[Ian David]

7. I just want him off the Armed Forces Radio Network

Imagine being an Arab or a Persian or a Muslim and hearing Rush selling Club Gitmo t-shirts on America's state sponsored radio that's broadcast all over the world!

If it weren't for that, he'd just be another stupid blowhard.

But spewing his message all over the middle east is dangerous.

[Swamp Rat]

9. Me too!

Get that fucktard off Armed Forces Radio Network NOW!!! :mad:

[July]

11. Is there any movement to get him off AFRN?

How is someone so partisan allowed on AFRN? What is in their charter?

[Ron Green]

30. I wrote a very sober and professional email to AFR,

over my work address and credentials, mentioning my status as a disabled US Army veteran, and requesting his removal from their programming. Their reply simply stated that his is the most popular syndicated radio show, and that they present a variety of shows with differing viewpoints.

:puke:

[Ian David]

42. Someone so partisan WHO TELLS THE WORLD WE HATE THEM!

If one of my parents were tortured by America, and I heard Rush on the radio saying it was "harmless fun" and selling Club Gitmo t-shirts, I'd probably be strapping a bomb to my chest and heading for the nearest checkpoint, too.

He's inciting people to attack us!

[steve2470]

43. info for Armed Forces Radio

http://www.afrts.osd.mil/contact-info.asp

[benburch]

12. Well, we could renew the efforts...

to find the arrest documents from his arrest for soliciting gay sex in Pittsburgh in the 70s...

http://foxnews.pssht.com/biography/rush_limbaugh.html

If we could get the documents, I'm sure many stations would drop him like a live grenade. Republicans are ALL homophobes.

[Name removed]

13. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[benburch]

19. It does indeed.

But it is the link I found when I searched.

[lonestarnot]

15. Not into censoring even though he poisons the air waves.

[benburch]

20. Getting stations to drop him is not censorship.

Censorship can only be exercised by a State or other authority that has the ability to forbid particular speech. Getting the station to drop Limbaugh would just be a matter of the station deciding to exercise its freedom of speech by airing a different person with more commercial value to them.

[Catholic Sensation]

22. Rush Limbaugh is listened to by 20 million listeners a week

who else would have more commercial value for a radio station? I'm no fan of his, but the guy is the most listened to political radio host in the country. It would make absolutely no sense financially for a radio station to drop him.

[benburch]

23. I'm sure you'd miss him were he off the air.

Fortunately, you can sign up for his $5.95 per month web archives and never miss a word of his, except where he scrubs his archives to remove things he later wants to claim he never said.

[Catholic Sensation]

24. I actually listen to Jim Rome at 12, as I've said on this forum

Oooooh that's my shit, that's my shit. Your accusation of me listening to Rush is bananas, b a n a n a s.

Political talk radio bores the fuck out of me since nobody has anything original to say.

[benburch]

25. As you say.

I'll accept your studied denial.

[Name removed]

26. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[lonestarnot]

27. Form of censorship

[tabasco]

35. Voicing disgust at Limbaugh's broadcast and a subsequent ...

business decision to remove him from a radio lineup are not censorship.

Limbaugh has the right to spew his hate and we have the right to tell people we don't like it. Those people have the right to remove him from their radio lineup if they so decide.

Is a radio station that plays only classical "censoring" rock and roll? No, they simply make a choice what they want to play, based on business rationale.

The First Amendment gives you the right to say what you want (with specific limitations). It does not give you the right to have everybody love what you are saying.

[Jade Fox]

31. Conservatives are censoring the rest of us.....

via their ownership of the media.

If one could hear liberal voices a easily on radios across this country,
your censorship argument might hold water. Talk radio is dominated
by people who (if one can believe the current polls) reflect the views
of a minority of Americans.

Personally, I could care less if Limbaugh is "censored". He has had free
rein of the airways for nearly 20 years now, without ever being genuinely
called to task to validate his statements, or debating anyone who
disagrees with him. He has thrived in a hot-house environment carefully
nurtured by the Right. And our country is now living the results of his
influence every day.

[lonestarnot]

32. No one breaks these dumb fuck's arms and makes them listen to him.

[Jade Fox]

33. True, but no one is telling them...

that half of what Limbaugh says is lies, or offering them any sort of
serious alternative perspective on the issues of the day.

Limbaugh is effectively the only game in town in many areas of this
country, so of course the dumb fucks listen to him.

[ThomWV]

18. Call The Advertisers

Its so easy to get a radio show tossed off the air. Radio shows operate out of local stations even if they are nationally syndicated. Those local stations are in existence simply because they can sell local advertising. Just sit down and listen to Rush one day and make a list of each local company who advertised during his show. Call them up and ask to speak to who ever in hell is in charge. Tell that person that you will not be using their service or product again until their paid support of that show ceases. Follow it up with a letter and copy the radio station. That way the radio station knows there is community opposition to their broadcasting and that their revenues may be in trouble because of the trash they are broadcasting. Radio stations quickly drop shows that loose advertisers.

[noonwitch]

34. I don't care if he's on the air here

He's on AM radio in Detroit. I don't know how popular he is in the suburbs, but not too many Detroit residents listen to him.

[OrlandoGator]

36. Why would you want to get him off the air? We WANT him talking.

The more these people choke themselves with their own words, the better.

[Enraged_Ape]

37. I want this fool on the air until the day before he goes to jail

Just to hear his tearful "good-bye" speech. I want to see how he will pin his pathetic screw-ups and poor choices in life on Bill Clinton.