Practically speaking, they're all chained to the oars of the boat. As venal as many of these people are, they all realize full well that they're not going to have it better on the other side.

That is to say, even if they get twice as much money, fame, and career going the other way, liberals won't think any better of them, and the right will despise them. Not worth it.

And if Harry Reid played the game, he'd be a Dem!

Of course, you know, this means war.

David Frum is a moron. How is it that you work for GWB for a few years then get to point out that other people are idiots?

David Frum is an idiot.

I think you could add Sarah Palin to that list. And, as for the liberals accepting them, I offer you this: Arianna Huffington. Granted, she didn't have quite the platform that some of those folks have, she's slid pretty easily over to the "other side." You just have to make sure we think you're sincere. And bring some juicy gossip. (Shep Smith, are you reading this?)

Beck would definitely accept. He's only in political talk radio because his Morning Zoo antics on radio got too nasty for his employers and he couldn't get jobs making fun of other DJ's and orchestrating harmful practical jokes any longer. He's just brought his old schtick to political commentary, and he's in right-wing radio and tv because that's where the money is for people who are good at what he does. Limbaugh started out attacking both parties but fixated on the Democrats, so perhaps one grudgingly has to give him credit for a glimmer of intellectual integrity. But then of course the Reagan version of Republicanism appealed to his personal insecurities, particularly involving race and sexual identity. Same probably applies to Coulter and Paglia.

J.'s right re: Huffington.

I'm surprised she hasn't yet mutated back to the Right. She has a pretty good nose for sniffing out opportunities for self-aggrandizement. The collapse of the Right ought to be perfect for her to turn on her erstwhile lefty friends.

I've got news for you: yes on all of them for a lot less than Frum imagined. These people are the political equivalent to professional wrestling.

How much are we paying Arlen Specter?

J., I accept Huffington as a crossover example, but then again, Huffington was never as nutworthy as Frum's prospective crossovers. All of Frum's examples (with the possible exception of Ailes) have crossed the singularity. No bringing them back.

It all comes down to what's more important to them; money or being adored. Whatever side offers them more of what they crave, they'll go for it. So I'm guessing that Limbaugh, Beck, and O'Reilly would go for the money. Coulter is too far gone to care either way.

I think all but Limbaugh would go. He's got too many people (I wanted to say crazy people but that's too harsh) who love him. They listen to him daily all the way down I70, I80, I44 and the other lonely roads.
PS: Have you read Mark Levin's book about his dog Sprite? I did not think it was possible for me to read a dog book and not be touched but his was the least interesting book ever. Certainly hope his radio show is better.

You all are missing a key point here. It's a LOT harder to follow the facts, tell the truth (or at least avoid lying and shilling), and work at understanding such things as policy consequences, procedures, and other details. The group Frum starts with doesn't include any smart people (unless maybe Ailes, but that's debatable). It also doesn't include any self-reflective people. You can have an ego, but to be on the left and be credible as someone worth listening to you need to have a conscience to reign it in. Olbermann and Maddow may have a lot of chutzpa to have shows of their own, but there is no comparison between their souls and O'Reilly/Hannity/Beck/Coulter.

I say it's a dumb game and another bad excuse to put these idiots' names in print.

IGNORE THE FOOLS!

According to the interviews Rush gave last week (or so), he'd do or say anything on his show for ratings/$$$. So I'm sure he'd give up his army of right-wing dittoheads for twice as many left-wing dittoheads. Especially if he looks in the Republican house and sees that all the cupboards are bare. Dumb he is not.

They would all accept, for they are all nihilists whose sole motivation is money. They could give a shit less whether anyone likes them or not.

I laughed out loud at the Hannity analysis

Ditto. I imagine that if he ever grasped it, he'd probably go for it.

"OK, I can stay on TV? I can still be famous? For twice the money? I just have to say the opposite? Like George did on 'Seinfeld?' Yeah, I can do that . . ."

With respect to those who believe any of those mentioned would flip over for the right money, I don't think ANY of the would flip.

First, it's all about maintaining their "Brand." They've branded themselves as patriotic, liberal-hating voices of The One True America, and they know that flipping to the other side would cause them to lose their existing audience and not be trusted by the new one. (Would you buy Philip Morris-brand vitamins?)

Second, I believe all of these idiots are in that group of people called "Authoritarians," who believe there's an us and a them, and "they" are evil and "we" are good, even if "they" are feeding the homeless while "we" are torturing brown people.

Frum noted that some of the high-profile right-wing voices are every bit as conservative in real life as they are during their on-air performances.

But then he goes on to cite Limbaugh's integrity, when it's a matter of public record that he's at least a big fat hypocrite on the drug issue.

But let's not lose sight of the meta point here: Many of today's conservative pundits are spewing not what they believe (and, really, haven't we seen enough about-faces since Bush left office to remove all doubt?), but what they get paid to.

**Limbaugh**? Having to think it over and ultimately saying no? He wouldn't have to think it over for even a nano-second, he would immediately say "**YES**!!!!!" That's all he's in this for, his own fame and profit.

O'Reilly: Would have to think about it and might actually decline. Not that he's so conservative but because he believes his own shtick that he's got it all figured out.

Beck: In a heartbeat, faster than you can say "Beck is a piece of shit."

Hannity: I think not, mainly because he's just an angry individual and I don't believe that money or fame would change that.

All the rest, I agree with CB.

Homer

Haven't seen the vapo-rub video of Beck, I see. The guys a faker, in it for the fame and money.

In the land realm of conservative caricatures, Ann Coulter reigns supreme. Even Stephen Colbert must stand in awe of this woman who lives the lifestyle 24/7. Seriously, the things she says are so outrageous that it is hard not to imagine her laughing her skinny ass off at anyone who takes her seriously. But I guess she makes a living doing it.

Hannity would do it in a heartbeat, Limbaugh would come around the slowwest....he would need about 6-9 mos to turn on the conservative agenda and justify his switch.....he would probably bring some of his listeners over with him after they drink some of his new kool-aid.

With respect to those who believe any of those mentioned would flip over for the right money, I don't think ANY of the would flip...flipping to the other side would cause them to lose their existing audience and not be trusted by the new one.

You misunderstand, Husker Blue: the deal is guaranteeing each of them a new and larger audience: "I can guarantee you a deal that will pay you twice as much -- bring you twice as much fame -- and extend your career twice as long -- if you'd say the exact opposite of what you are saying now." What they'd be leaving behind would be more than made up for with more fame and money, and extended career longevity.

They would all accept, for they are all nihilists whose sole motivation is money. They could give a shit less whether anyone likes them or not.
Posted by: dr sardonicus

Precisely.

all media conservatives are whores...greedy, frightened, dangerously violent whores - all of them would do anything for a buck.

...and converse is absolutely right:

I say it's a dumb game and another bad excuse to put these idiots' names in print.

IGNORE THE FOOLS!
Posted by: converse on October 19, 2009 at 5:36 PM | PERMALINK

My thought experiment goes something like this.

Which wingnut gasbag would cry "uncle" under waterboarding the soonest?

It's a tossup among Limbaugh, Beck and Hannity for me, while I think Coulter is probably capable of supressing the gag reflex for...um...use your imagination. O'Reilly quits and starts yelping even before the torture begins.

Of the three, Beck definitely screams the loudest and has to be committed afterwards. Limbaugh and Hannity find a way to blame Liberals for their failure.

Oh, Malkin? She'd bang the hooded torturer on TV to get out of it.

At the risk of being labeled a troll:

David Brock, LOL!

I would imagine he has doubled his fame and pay.

And with the way the GOP is going, it may be the case that this is not even a hypothetical question. With fewer and fewer conservatives around, it may be the only way to go.

Limbaugh would do it, but he would invent a second persona so he could collect both his liberal money and his conservative money.

Michael Savage: Head would explode at the mere offer.

Michael Medved: Yes, with a year's subscription to Honcho magazine thrown in for free.

Laura Ingraham: Yes, with a year's subscription to Honcho magazine thrown in for free.

Alan Keyes: Can't, too busy losing electoral contests.

Bill Bennett: Might pick up the offer right after that experiment in retroactively aborting Alan Keyes to see if the crime rate goes down.

Michael Reagan: Would do it, but then would have to blow it all trying to replace his vastly superior brother over at Air America.

Mike Gallagher: Mike Gallagher is still alive?

I agree with you about O'Reilly, Beck, and Limbaugh. The others, I'm pretty sure, would be tempted (if they could be convinced the offer was real), but in the end they wouldn't. Just seems to me like there's too much past history now for such a radical change.

Michael Steele: He'd do it, but only after the offer expired, therefore making himself look like an idiot to both sides. Oh, wait!

My husband knew Ann Coulter in college, and he can attest that she's always been rightwing and she's always been nuts... her act now is only different in degree from how she was in college. So no, I think she'd turn down the offer, unless she saw it as an opportunity to subvert liberalism from within.