I occasionally catch some Republican talk radio – Rush Limbaugh, Sean Hannity, Mark Levine and the rest – though I usually find that I’m put off pretty quickly by their obnoxious attitudes. I often find myself in agreement with most of what they say, but in violent disagreement with their tone.

At any rate, the few times I have caught these shows, I’ve been struck by the listener call-in segments, and the fact that there appear to be a very small number of personality types who call in:

• Sycophants – those who call in merely to suck up to the host. On Sean Hannity’s show, they begin by telling him he’s a great American, and he returns the favor. The host’s response? Talk over them as soon as he’s figured out which personality type they are
• Belligerent Marxists who think they’re going to do their cause some good by arguing with the host. The host’s response? Belittle their beliefs, and talk over them, as soon as he’s figured out which personality type they are
• People who are basically on board but want to disagree with one thing the host has said. The response? Talk over them as soon as he’s figured out which personality type they are.

I’d say 90% of the people who call in fit into one of these three categories. And the host responds in pretty much the same way to all of them: figure out which type they are, and then start interrupting and talking over the top of them. Kind of makes you wonder what the point of the call-in segment is. I think I want to inaugurate a prize for the caller who can speak for 20 consecutive seconds without being interrupted and shut down by a host.