“Perhaps you could take a moment to correct a misconception which you’ve helped promulgate. That is, we’re “Howard Stern Republicans” much more so than “South Park Republicans,” as you have proclaimed. We’ve been around longer than these South Parker johnnie-come-latelies. I thought that Howard’s social importance was finally established with his unique and indispensable coverage of the OJ trial, as well as his two decades of lampooning liberal hypcrisy and bringing to the people a patriotic, often conservative message. Despite this history, despite his important work on 9/11 and since then, and despite Howard’s brief gubernatorial run on the Libertarian ticket, Brian Anderson neglects to mention the self-proclaimed King of all Media in his culture wars pieces. Howard’s been bringing the word to his huge national and highly urban audience for two decades. In closing: Howard Stern’s balls!” – more reader feedback on the Letters Page.
CHARLIE COOK ON MARRIAGE: I think the guy’s onto something when he argues that this will not be a major wedge issue for the religious right in this election season. Here’s why:
Regardless of how they might feel about same-sex marriage, many potential voters might look at the candidate or party stressing the issue and wonder what planet they come from, to dwell on issues like this when far more important priorities are at stake. Whether voters see the war in Iraq as essential to our national security and the fight against terrorism or as an ill-advised quagmire, few people put the gay marriage issue above it on their list of priorities. Then there’s the economy. Some voters see it as finally turning around as a result of the president’s aggressive round of tax cuts. Others see it as faltering, with too many people unemployed or underemployed and the president not doing enough to fix it. Still, jobs and the economy are likely to be more prominent on most people’s radar screens than civil unions or gay marriage.
Last week, it struck me how this issue really didn’t gain much traction in the media. Compared to Iraq, Bush’s visit to Britain, and Michael Jackson, it was fighting for media oxygen. In general, most people don’t want to think about this question. (They should, but that’s another argument). They will blame whoever brings it up. The Massachusetts decision is rightly viewed as a state matter that doesn’t affect most Americans. If the religious right go on the rampage nationally about this, they’ll discover voters may well get turned off.
The Dish 