On Loyalty and the EIB Audience

RUSH: I mentioned an article earlier in the program and I want to get to it. It’s from The Politico, and the title: ”2010: Fight for Fickle Kids’ — Hate your cell phone provider? Change it. Husband bothering you? Walk out. Rabbi got you down? Switch religions. Why not? These days, it seems like everyone else is throwing off the chains of the past, too. Thanks to the Internet, proliferating consumer choices and a dramatic shift in American culture, voters and consumers are more impatient — and more fickle — than ever before. They’re less beholden to old attachments and more willing to make dramatic changes in lifestyle and preferences. … An emerging group of political practitioners and social scientists is examining the trend and finding that loyalty is rapidly becoming a thing of the past.’

I read this and it reminded me once again of the loyalty that you all have for this radio show, because that loyalty has not become a thing of the past. It’s something I treasure and appreciate and acknowledge to myself each and every day. But moving on beyond the theory here that loyalty is rapidly becoming a thing of the past. ‘The 2010 election cycle may well be dominated by a fight for the ‘fickle kids,” the people that loyalty is not very deep and will switch on a dime. ‘Democratic pollster Peter Hart offers up a raft of statistics to back up the trend — which is spreading beyond the young to every age group. He says his polling shows that Americans over 65 are more willing to get a divorce today than ever before, even after a near lifetime of being married to the same person. College students are more willing to transfer to a new school. And, he said, more than 40 percent of Americans will change their religion at least once in their life — throwing off generations of core beliefs for something new and appealing.’ And then it gives some examples of people here and their loyalty that is changing.

And here’s the last couple of paragraphs: ‘All of this has dramatic implications for Obama, who may find over time that his legions of followers were easier to gather than they are to keep. ‘We see Democrats with quite a large lead in party affiliation,’ said Hart. ‘That used to be good for a generation — now it’s good for an election cycle.’ Hart comes to a bleak conclusion: ‘Loyalty,’ he said, ‘is something that is totally in the past.” Mr. Hart, again, the generic ballot has the Republicans up 7 points over the Democrats. There are more people that identify themselves as conservatives than liberals and than independents. It’s been the rule for a while, but since the Republicans don’t produce a candidate it doesn’t matter. (interruption) What’s the question, Snerdley? Wait a second, wait a second. They can’t hear you.

Snerdley wants me to explain why my audience is so loyal to me, and the answer is because I’m loyal to them. I do not change. I am not fickle. Yes, I can be counted on. The Republican Party cannot be counted on. It’s a crapshoot with every candidate they put up there. No matter how much I’m attacked, I don’t back down. I don’t change. I don’t run away and I don’t get afraid. Plus, I’m honest with the audience. I do not mislead. I do not tell them things I don’t believe just to get ratings. I don’t do any of the phony tricks that media people do. They are loyal because I’m loyal to them. I don’t disrespect them. I don’t think they’re idiots. I don’t think the audience is stupid. I don’t think they’re people to be manipulated. I don’t think they are people to be lied to. So there is no fickleness, and the audience is still growing after 21 years.