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The 80's Effect
Feb. 28th, 2012 10:15 amSo, the Vast Left-Wing Conspiracy (TM) called, and apparently today I either talk about this article or give up my Super Secret Liberal Decoder Ring and Pez Dispenser. Since I still have some Pez left, I guess I'll talk about the article.
The gist of the article is that, due to various demographic trends, the Republicans will soon be a minority party. So, they have to pass whatever they want now or never. It's a well-reasoned article, and I agree that party leaders and smart politicians in the Republican Party see the danger. Exhibit A is John McCain's attempts at immigration reform prior to the 2008 election.
But when you're looking at the motivations of a group of people, there's usually more than one thing going on. In this case, I suggest a second, equally-valid, motivator - call it the "80's effect."
You may have noted that commercial radio has a lot more stations playing 1980's songs than it used to a few years ago. There's a reason for this - people who grew up in the 1980s, and thus picked up a taste for that music, are now influential adults - the kind of people advertisers want to reach.
Rush Limbaugh (in particular) and talk radio (in general) are also products of the 1980s. I remember Rush back in the day, and he was saying the same wild-ass shit then as he does now. I also remember back to the late 80's and early 90's College Republicans, who seemed to take their talking points from Rush, et. al.
In short, the same demographics driving commercial radio are driving politics. Thank heaven they're not driving fashion - parachute pants don't look good on anybody!
The gist of the article is that, due to various demographic trends, the Republicans will soon be a minority party. So, they have to pass whatever they want now or never. It's a well-reasoned article, and I agree that party leaders and smart politicians in the Republican Party see the danger. Exhibit A is John McCain's attempts at immigration reform prior to the 2008 election.
But when you're looking at the motivations of a group of people, there's usually more than one thing going on. In this case, I suggest a second, equally-valid, motivator - call it the "80's effect."
You may have noted that commercial radio has a lot more stations playing 1980's songs than it used to a few years ago. There's a reason for this - people who grew up in the 1980s, and thus picked up a taste for that music, are now influential adults - the kind of people advertisers want to reach.
Rush Limbaugh (in particular) and talk radio (in general) are also products of the 1980s. I remember Rush back in the day, and he was saying the same wild-ass shit then as he does now. I also remember back to the late 80's and early 90's College Republicans, who seemed to take their talking points from Rush, et. al.
In short, the same demographics driving commercial radio are driving politics. Thank heaven they're not driving fashion - parachute pants don't look good on anybody!
