NYT/Reuters: Talk Radio Holds Firm Over "Socialist" Bailout
By REUTERS
Published: September 30, 2008
ATLANTA (Reuters) - Opposing the White House's Wall Street bailout and letting stocks take a beating was a worthwhile price to pay to keep a "socialist bill" from meddling in the free market, conservative talk radio said on Tuesday.
Many of the influential hosts strongly oppose the rescue plan proposed last week by President George W. Bush, once a talk-radio favorite, as inappropriate government intervention in the free market likely to make the situation worse, not better. Congress will live to regret it if the $700 billion bill were passed hastily, they said, urging lawmakers to spend more time on a search for a solution that adheres to conservative ideals.
"I shouldn't say this, but I'm going to say it anyway. Screw the market! .... OK, I'll take that back, not screw the market but let me tell you something," conservative talk show host Rush Limbaugh said as part of his analysis of Monday's events. "When the government fails to pass a socialism bill and the market goes south, let it go south. I don't want to pass a socialism bill just to protect the stock market," said Limbaugh, by far the most popular host on U.S. radio. "This raw deal would make things worse," he said on Tuesday....
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Tens of millions of conservatives tune in to AM talk radio and trust its nationally syndicated hosts more than media outlets they say have a liberal bias. Several of the hosts say they are engaged in a long struggle to persuade the Republican Party and the country to return to its conservative roots and they see the bailout bill as an important test of their strength.
http://www.nytimes.com/reuters/news/news-us-financial-bailout-conservatives.html