There's a interesting trend going on out there in the world. What's going on in Wignuttia?
All the parts of the Right Wing Noise Machine seem to be running out of "Hot Air"? And that includes internet, radio,TV, and print.
From Shakespeare's Sister:
What did they find out? During the last three months, AnnCoulter.com is down 10%. Fox News down 13%. RushLimbaugh.com down 18%. The Drudge Report down 21%. Townhall.com down 24%. Washington Times’ website down 27%. And BillOreilly.com down 40%.
[...]
Focus on the Family down 18%. Free Republic down 19%. Hugh Hewitt down 21%. World Net Daily down 23%. Michelle Malkin down 30%. The Weekly Standard down 37%. Pajamas Media down 39%.
Now I know what you'll say next…the world is crap, people are sick and tired of politics, people are tuning out, it's summer time, etc.
But, then how do you explain this?
Raw Story up 6%. Center for American Progress up 12%. Crooks and Liars up 17%. Think Progress up 41%.
And of course, there are caveats:
Eschaton is down 16%. Daily Kos is down 10%. Shakes is down 8%. But even there, the right-wing blogs look to be doing worse. Little Green Footballs down 19%. Volokh Conspiracy down 28%. Powerline down 33%.
I'll tell you why…
The percentage of the right who doesn't fall under the crazification factor, you know, the reasonable, pragmatic ones, are realizing that the conservative media is looking too uncomfortably close to the fictional portrayal of the Colbert Show. I suspect that there's a fair bit of cognitive dissonance, with people's observation and perception of reality of the world and the Administration's insistence that the economy is great, the facts of global warming are still in dispute, and we're winning the war on terror being extremely out of alignment.
As a counter, the point made by Lee Siegel of the New Republic referring to a Washington Post article saying that the Daily Show, with it's snark and cynicism is actually supressing the youth vote (which is statistically incorrect), a point the Duncan at Eschaton handily refutes, pointing to Marty Kaplan's piece over at HuffPo…
It turns out that Stewart fans also trust their own knowledge of politics more than do network watchers. Young Daily Show viewers blame the elites who run the political-media system for the mess we're in, not themselves. They think they really get what politics is actually all about. And, says the study, here's an idea worth entertaining: "citizens who understand politics are more likely to participate than those who do not."
In other words, the cynicism and discontent that the Daily Show breeds could "spawn greater involvement," say the authors; Stewart watchers could actually "become more active voters."
Active, rational, thinking voters, and not emotional ones, are exactly what we need, not those distracted by calling the President incompetent or accusing national newspapers of treason, or falling for the smoke and mirrors of Gay Marriage Bans, Flag Burning Ammendments, and Immigration Debates.
One can only hope that there's still time…
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