Right wing tactics

Today on the Hannity radio show, a caller called Hannity a hate-monger. Hannity attacked, and his tactics were transparently those of a schoolyard bully. Within about a thousandth of a second of being called a hate-monger, Hannity's voice went up in tone and volume as he demanded that the caller "name one hateful thing I've said. Just one, tell me just one thing." The caller wasn't ready with a handy list of quotes, and Hannity knew it. Hannity has found a tactic, as have the other hate-mongers, of attacking when called out, and if the opponent isn't well prepared, they get bulldozed.

As we know, a list of Hannity hate and lies is easy to compile, say for example, these and others from a "top 10" list at Salon.com:


3. Hannity Fueled Myth That Obama Is a Muslim. During a segment in March 2011 in which he fueled the smear that Obama was not born in the U.S., Hannity claimed that Obama “went to a Muslim school.” In March 2012, while claiming that he was “not doubting [Obama's] faith,” Hannity said, “[L]ook, he did write about his early years, that he did study the Quran, that one of the most beautiful moments in life was prayer at sunset. So, I mean, he does have that background.” [Media Matters, 3/24/11, 3/21/12]

2. Hannity Fed the Birther Movement. Hannity repeatedly fed the long-standing smear that Obama was not born in the United States, even after Obama released his birth certificate and multiple fact-checkers debunked the smear. Hannity denied that Obama had shown his birth certificate and once falsely claimed that Obama “grew up in Kenya.” [Media Matters, 3/28/11, 4/20/12]

1. Hannity Ignored Overwhelming Evidence to Repeatedly Claim Obama’s Policies Have Not Helped Improve the Economy. Hannity has repeatedly claimed that President Obama’s policies have not improved the economy. In fact, numerous economists and independent analysts have noted that many of Obama’s policy achievements, such as the stimulus, have benefited the economy: GDP is growing rather than contracting as it was at the end of 2008, and the economy has added millions of jobs. [Media Matters, 1/13/10, 7/14/11, 2/2/12]

Underlying all of this, of course, is the discovery by these bottom feeders that hate sells, and that the rubes will cheer this bullying from the sidelines, kinda like "pro" rasslin.