talk radio seems to me a form of entertainment that traffics mostly in snippiness and uses political questions as a pretext to do it.
there's a pretty good academic analysis of how some of this works here:
Effects of “In-Your-Face” Television Discourse on Perceptions of a Legitimate Opposition
DIANA C. MUTZ
American Political Science Review Vol. 101, No. 4 November 2007
i just happened to be looking at it this morning while i was doing something else. you can get it via cambridge up's database if you have access to it, or at a library.
this is the epigraph:
Quote:
“Do we truly believe that ALL red-state residents are ignorant racist fascist knuckle-dragging NASCAR-obsessed cousin-marrying road-kill-eating tobacco-juice-dribbling gun-fondling religious fanatic rednecks; or that ALL bluestate residents are godless unpatriotic pierced-nose Volvodriving France-loving left-wing Communist latte-sucking tofu-chomping holistic-wacko neurotic vegan weenie perverts?”
—–Dave Barry, December 18, 2004
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and then it tries to explain how this comes about.
personally, i really think it's a form of entertainment for folk, who like identifying in one way or another and hating everyone who is of the opposite camp, a crude little bloodsport that can be seductive if you shut your critical thinking off and just go for the ride.