Rush Limbaugh?s audience of angry old unemployed white pinko men is fading away

[and...@yahoo.com]

Alex Pareene SAYS the Limbaugh Era has reached its end:

Cumulus Media, the second-largest broadcast radio station owner in the country, may
drop Rush Limbaugh and Sean Hannity from its stations, according to Politico?s
Dylan Byers?

This would be something of a blow to Limbaugh, especially if it meant losing his
?flagship? station, New York?s WABC. On the other hand, the show is syndicated by a
company owned by the largest owner of radio stations in the country. They?ll likely
be able to find a home for him in the most of the markets he?d lose if Cumulus
ended his contract?

Whether Limbaugh ends up parting ways with Cumulus or whether this entire Politico
article is part of one side?s negotiating tactics almost makes no difference.
Limbaugh will remain on the radio in most of the country, with millions of
listeners. In a month he may still announce that his contract with Cumulus has been
renewed. But however this shakes out, it will still be the case that the Limbaugh
Era is over.

The Limbaugh Era spanned roughly Clinton?s inaugural through Bush?s reelection,
with his powers peaking, obviously, at Clinton?s impeachment. This was when
Limbaugh could create political stars, sink legislation and nearly take down a
president. The mainstream press took notice of him and then became completely
obsessed. At that time, his army of listeners was enough people to constitute a
formidable electoral coalition.

He still has a lot of listeners. The Limbaugh problem, though, is simply a
reflection of the GOP problem: His followers are an aging and, consequently,
shrinking group of conservative white people, in a country that is rapidly getting
less white. The Limbaugh people are still large in number, but their power is
diminishing?

Regardless of its size, this audience is not being replenished with fresh blood.
When the Obama people decided, early in his first term, to basically call as much
attention to Limbaugh as possible, as part of an effort to make him seem like the
unofficial leader of the modern Republican Party, that was because they knew that
Limbaugh is among the least popular human beings in the country, especially with
people below the age of 40. The strategy did briefly shove Limbaugh back into
relevance, but what exactly did he accomplish with that relevance? After an
election year in which he openly, depressingly begged for Hillary Clinton to win
the Democratic nomination, simply so that he could relive his glory years of
Clinton-hating, Limbaugh spent the first months of Obama?s presidency attempting to
derail the stimulus for some reason, and he failed. The Tea Party freakout, and
subsequently the 2010 elections, had nothing to do with Rush. He hated Romney
during the 2012 primaries and his eventual awkward support for the Republican
nominee was worth nothing.

Like Matt Drudge, who still drives traffic but not the news cycle itself, Limbaugh
is a relic of the ?90s. He?s been finished for years. Unfortunately he and the
dying conservative movement are going to do their best to destroy the country as it
leaves them behind.

Read more: http://blogs.e-rockford.com/applesauce/2013/07/30/rush-limbaughs-
audience-of-angry-old-white-guys-is-fading-away/#ixzz2bJcKgflg