Does Talk Radio Help or Hurt Healthcare Reform?

Discussion of Obamacare Impossible in Tempestuous Atomosphere

Aug 19, 2009 R.L. Coffield

It's unfortunate that there's been little open dialogue regarding the newly introduced healthcare reform. Warring opponents have kept many from learning the facts.

The Summer of 2009 will long be remembered as the summer that thousands of Americans stood up in unison and shouted “Hell No” to what many consider to be government intervention in healthcare. It’s been over 40 years since Americans have so avidly taken to the streets in protest, bombarding town hall meetings with taunts and jeers, causing the weak and meek to withdraw, making their re-election almost impossible.

The Role of Conservative Talk Radio

Egging on this outburst is Conservative talk radio. Many question whether talk radio is helping, or hurting, the debate. Many names in radio are famous: Rush Limbaugh, Sean Hannity, Michael Savage, et al. These spokesmen with outstanding oratorical skills are intriguing, highly intelligent, respected, popular, and entertaining, but are they helping the citizenry make good decisions about healthcare reform and other rousing topics, or are they simply inciting people to a fury? Plugging for the insurance industry? Hoping to maintain the status quo since it’s in their own best interests?

Talk radio is absolutely essential in an open society. Political situations need a platform where Americans can hear dissenting opinions, and radio hosts stimulate thought and expose fraud and corruption regularly. Talk radio is many people’s only link to the news and the goings-on in this country. But, is it right for talk show hosts to present only one side of these highly charged political debates? Is presenting only one side of an argument reasonable? Nightly this is what the majority of television stations do, however, when they present news with a pro-Obama slant. Might one call these stations “state run”?

Healthcare Debate is Really Not Occurring

The question is not easy to answer, particularly when one realizes that the vast majority of television networks do not present the news, or both sides of an argument, objectively. The majority of stations still remain infatuated with Obama and utterly fail to report the news in a professional, objective manner. Other stations, such as Fox, however, do tend to report the news somewhat objectively, although many accuse them of slanting also. Does this mean one must watch some of every channel to get both sides of an argument, such as the case of the healthcare reform movement?

Are these stations and their representatives helping, or hurting, Americans to make the right choice when it comes to supporting, or not supporting, the healthcare reform bill? It’s impossible to find out about the bill at most town hall meetings because of the brouhaha that ensues. Where can one find unbiased, straight information if not town halls and the media? One can’t unless one wades through a thousand pages of double-speak that is labeled HB 3200.

Is talk radio helping or hurting? The answer seems to depend solely on the argument one wants to hear. There is so much mud-slinging occuring, however, that getting any answers, let alone the right one, has become impossible.

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Healthcare Debate Has Become Deadly