Obama station bought out by conservatives

Washington, D.C.'s WWRC-AM thought they'd hit on a brilliant idea back in 2008: renaming their radio station "Obama1260AM," and broadcasting all AirAmerica, all the time.

In what might be a record even by liberal standards, the experiment lasted all of two weeks after the president's inauguration. Then this week, the station was bought out by Salem Communications – which syndicates Bill Bennett, Michael Medved and other conservative radio hosts.

With that lineup taking to the airwaves in no less than the nation's capital, can yet another call to bring back the "Fairness Doctrine" be far behind?

Rush Limbaugh

Rush Limbaugh continued to challenge former President Bill Clinton's continued insistence, as recently as last Friday, that Limbaugh had somehow incited Timothy McVeigh to bomb the Murrah Building in Oklahoma City 15 years earlier.

Once again, Limbaugh challenged Clinton to tell him which words he'd broadcast that had inspired McVeigh.

Rush also reminded listeners that McVeigh bombed the building as revenge for the attack on the Branch Davidian compound in Waco, Texas – a raid authorized by Clinton, which resulted in the deaths of over 70 people:

Is Rush Limbaugh a "media Svengali"? One budding blogger enjoyed a torrent of traffic after writing an insightful post about the real reason the left hates Limbaugh – especially after Rush read the post on the air!

On Friday, Limbaugh penned an op-ed for the Wall Street Journal, stressing that the tea-party protests were "motivated by a love for what America stands for":

"Few presidents have sunk so low as Mr. Clinton did with his accusations about Oklahoma City. Last week – on the very day I was contributing to and raising more than $3 million to fight leukemia and lymphoma on my radio program – Mr. Clinton used the 15th anniversary of that horrific day to regurgitate his claims about talk radio. … Let me just say it. The Obama/Clinton/media left are comfortable with the unrest in our society today. It allows them to blame and demonize their opponents (doctors, insurance companies, Wall Street, talk radio, Fox News) in order to portray their regime as the great healer of all our ills, thus expanding their power and control over our society.

"A clear majority of the American people want no part of this," Limbaugh concluded.

Sean Hannity

Controversy continues to swarm around Sean Hannity. He was booked to appear at a Cincinnati tea-party rally on Thursday, until Fox News canceled his visit at the last minute. Supposedly, the network thought his attendance at the event would be viewed as a political endorsement.

Meanwhile, rapper T-Pain is facing criticism from some in the black community for a video showing him standing next to Sean Hannity, with the musician saying, "Conservative victory 2010."

A rival rapper denounced T-Pain as an "Uncle Tom" and a "bamboozled, right-wing flunky."

Michael Savage

The issue of illegal immigration was very much on Michael Savage's mind this week, after Arizona passed stricter laws to help protect the border – and progressive activists reacted accordingly (FREE audio).

Savage was equally impassioned on the subject of business and government corruption, in the wake of the Goldman Sachs investigation. Savage attempted to connect the dots for listeners: the same firm was Obama's top Wall Street donor during the 2008 campaign (FREE audio).

Mark Levin

For much of the week, Mark Levin talked about what was wrong with the Republican Party and about rising political stars who offer hope for the future.

Levin bashed Delaware Republican Congressman Mike Castle as "an absolute disaster" and "absolutely untrustworthy" (FREE audio).

On the other hand, Levin offered his full endorsement of Sharron Angle, who is running against Nevada's Harry Reid.

Later, Levin called out Obama's hypocrisy in going after major Democratic Party contributor Goldman Sachs and "big business" while running a destructive, corrupt administration, "almost like a dictator."

G. Gordon Liddy

For part of the week, WND founder and publisher Joseph Farah served as guest host. During his on-air stint, Farah celebrated Israel's 62nd birthday; on Earth Day, he spoke to Chris Horner about his new book "Power Grab: How Obama's Green Policies Will Steal Your Freedom and Bankrupt America" (FREE audio).

Farah took particular delight in announcing "a new honor recently bestowed on him": his inclusion on a Southern Poverty Law Center "hit list" naming the 40 "patriotic" Americans who they believe are the greatest threat to the liberal establishment.

Laura Ingraham

In a memorable interview, Laura challenged the New York Times' Charles Blow to defend his smear against the tea parties, calling them racist "minstrel shows."

Then on Earth Day, Laura welcomed "skeptical environmentalist" Bjorn Lomborg, to help debunk some of the "doomsday" science of the radical left.

Hugh Hewitt

Hugh Hewitt played a part in the sudden ousting of Donny Deutsch from the MSNBC lineup.

As a guest on Deutsch's TV show, Hewitt called MSNBC hosts Keith Olbermann and Ed Schultz intellectually subpar hatemongers. Apparently, Olbermann complained to management that Deutsch hadn't defended him strongly enough. And so Deutsch was promptly fired.

Not that many people will notice.

Guest Mark Steyn remarked to Hewitt on Thursday that, "one night a couple of weeks ago, [MSNBC's] Campbell Brown had, I think it was 22,000 people watching. I've got friends up in Canada who get bigger readership than that on their daily blogs, with a potential market that is a tenth of the size of Campbell Brown's. It gets beyond the politics, really. Those shows are boring, and the hosts are simply not as sharp. … I mean, everyone goes on about Anderson Cooper, the exciting, young, new face of CNN. Larry's audience fell by 54 percent last quarter, and the fresh, new, hot, young talent, Anderson Cooper's audience, fell by 42 percent. So I don't think there's any future in Anderson Cooper. You just shed the audience marginally less dramatically."

Glenn Beck

Beck raised eyebrows this week when his radio show adopted a more blatantly religious tone and he talked about trying to discern God's will for America and for him personally (FREE webcam).

He also addressed Time magazine columnist Joe Klein's contention that many of Glenn Beck's public statements are "right up close to being seditious."

On a lighter note, Beck aired a hilarious interview with master impressionist Frank Caliendo (FREE audio).

Meanwhile, on the left side of the dial …

There was no shortage of wild soundbites this week.

Al Sharpton was forced to admit that most African-Americans disagree with him and want stricter controls on illegal immigration.

Once again, Ed Schultz delivered the rant of the week, screaming at a "tea party" caller, "God, go pick up your gun and march if it makes you feel better because you're too stupid to read!"

At a panel at Al Sharpton's Annual National Action Network event – these fellows certainly travel in a small social circle – Schultz made the incredible claim that "90 percent of the electronic media in this country is owned, operated, programmed and controlled by conservatives."

Once again, the revival of the "Fairness Doctrine" is left unsaid, but the implication is clearly there. Expect the talk about "fairness" to get louder as the tea parties grow larger and louder.