If you listen to all the fuss about what right-wing pundits are saying, you would think that 50 to 100 million people must be watching them, cleaning their guns and getting ready to clear the way for Donald Trump to return to the White House.
In fact, if you have a sense of history, you might compare them to Father Charles Coughlin, the radio priest who had an audience of about 30 million in the 1930s when there were only about 120 million people in the country.
In a present-day country with a population of more than 330 million, that would mean Tucker Carlson or Sean Hannity would have more than 80 million viewers.
Not even close.
Even at his peak, Rush Limbaugh never claimed more than 20 million listeners a week. That would translate to about 5 million in the 1930s. As for Carlson and Hannity, Fox News draws only 3-4 million for its most popular shows. That’s basically 1 percent of America.
Of course, the Internet serves as an almost ridiculous multiplier. Whether it’s right-wing sites spreading the news or left-wing site like Wonkette and Crooks and Liars attacking it, more people read about these lunatics than ever see them live.
That’s especially true of those even farther out on the fringe. Streaming video on computers enables people to create TV shows at a much lower cost than the real thing, and ratings don’t matter at all. If all you care about is getting the word out, even if you don’t make any money at it, you can do it.
The right-wing media echo chamber turns some very reprehensible people into celebrities. Take Nick Fuentes, for example. Fuentes is almost the prototype of what we call “incels” — men who are involuntarily celibate.
Fuentes recently said women want to be beaten and raped, which of course is odd when you consider that he admits he has never had a relationship with a woman.
I’m not sure spreading his manure is the best way to do this, but I’m trying to make a point here.
Guys like this have about as much effect on society as a homeless man sitting on a park bench talking about space aliens.
The best way to react to them — whether it’s Tucker, Sean, Nick or the guy on the park bench — is just to laugh.