Calling right-wing radio

Mike Stark writes a blog entitled Calling All Wingnuts, in which he chronicles his adventures calling right-wing radio talk shows. He has provided a guide to calling such shows and getting your point across quickly and effectively. Well, as effectively as one can under such circumstances.

[B]e sure you know what you want to say and that you are prepared for any challenges. Unless you are confident in your ability to think quickly on your feet while speaking publicly to thousands of people, the easiest way to prepare is to develop one talking point to hammer over and over again. Rehearse it. Make it short and snappy (I’ll return to this crucial piece of advice later), and don’t stray from it – no matter how hard you are pushed.

…Almost as important as knowing what you want to say is anticipating what the host is likely to come back at you with. If you are a political junkie, you probably watch enough “debate” programs on CNN, MSNBC or Fox to have a general idea of common winger retorts. Other good sources are wingnut blogs and administration talking points.

Finally, you never know when the host will cut you off, so, like I said earlier, it’s important to make your statement short. Don’t go beyond five or six sentences. The purpose of the statement is to set the call up on terms that are favorable to you – so try not to be deliberately incendiary or controversial. Instead frame your argument in such a way as to make even the wingiest of the wingnuts sound unreasonable if they disagree with you.

• Do stick to your topic: don’t let them change the subject on you. Whether or not you hate George Bush has got nothing to do with the rule of law. So blow the question off by asking your own: “Are we a nation of laws?”
• Do restate your most powerful premise as often as you can – and use right-wing frames as often as possible.
• Don’t lose your cool. Think of this as a debate – the minute you begin to sweat, the other guy has won.
• Don’t ever give an inch – don’t go week-kneed in an attempt to curry favor.

I’m fairly certain that calling these shows isn’t going to change any minds — not the host’s, certainly, and likely damn few if any of his listeners. But it will get across the point that there are other ways of looking at the issues of the day. Plus, it can be one hell of a lot of fun.