Right-wing radio key to Ted Cruz’s lead in GOP birthplace Wisconsin
Conservative talk radio, the juggernaut made possible by eliminating the Fairness Doctrine during the Reagan Administration, is still paying dividends for Republicans as candidate Ted Cruz is now leading in the birthplace of his party, Wisconsin.
Cruz is currently an average of 6.8 points ahead of his rival, "new" Republican Donald Trump, according to Real Clear Politics, which combined five of the top polls.
Accused of being a closet supporter of the Democrats by conservative radio host Charlie Sykes, Trump got a grilling on a number of Dairyland talk shows, often ending as a disaster.
Trump calls Charlie Sykes "a whack job . . . he's the worst."
— Ben Jacobs (@Bencjacobs) April 2, 2016
Wow. @SykesCharlie does what CNN, Fox, NBC, CBS, and ABC have utterly failed to do: Hold Trump accountable. https://t.co/58GOvNQxIh
— Patrick Ruffini (@PatrickRuffini) March 29, 2016
The influential Sykes made it abundantly clear he was no fan of Trump during their intense interview, which helped move Cruz into first place by ten points ahead of Trump.
Radio Host Charlie Sykes Explains Why He’ll Never Support Donald Trump |... https://t.co/7yCb8Z6QWo via @YouTube
— Charles Sykes (@SykesCharlie) April 2, 2016
Conservative radio is usually a place where GOP candidates can feel comfortable, knowing they won’t get hard questions. But since Wisconsinites invented the party in the tiny town of Ripon in 1854, they have a litmus test which most RINOs (Republicans in Name Only) like Trump find hard to pass.
And then there’s the God connection.
Fake Cruz christian 50 Wisconsin Faith Leaders Back Ted Cruz for President https://t.co/Gr9vac6rxj
— Sharon Jones (@sugarcoated09) April 3, 2016
Ted Cruz hosts ‘God’s Not Dead 2’ showing at Wisconsin campaign stop. https://t.co/LiSKUVb58Spic.twitter.com/2Dv0xYxACT
— Religion NewsService (@RNS) April 3, 2016
Ted Cruz is a wolf in sheep's clothing. Too bad his followers think of him as a god.#wisconsin#WIPrimary#CruzCult
— Patrick Henry (@FightNowAmerica) April 3, 2016
Embracing the conservative revolution started by Reagan in the 1980s, Cruz is hoping to win the nomination on his true Republican credentials, as opposed to Trump’s RINO problem.
When the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), led by Reagan appointees, ended the Fairness Doctrine in the late 80s, it opened a floodgate of partisan, some say vitriolic, political commentary 24 hours a day, seven days a week - from national stars like Rush Limbaugh and Sean Hannity, who calls Cruz a “Reagan conservative”, to local hosts like Sykes and Vicki McKenna, a former morning-zoo-DJ-turned-right-wing-talker who also trounced on Trump during her program this week.
There's another great Wisconsin radio interview of Trump by @VickiMcKennahttps://t.co/dvEjpsk3qV
— Joe Bob (@JHowieJr) April 3, 2016
FOX should study. https://t.co/APtizRkTKy
Mobile internet can be iffy in the state’s northwoods, so a good old fashioned AM, or sometimes FM, signal still functions as a mass communicator in Wisconsin.
READ MORE: Why does the US media lie so much?
While Cruz is now benefiting from the abolishment of the Fairness Doctrine, he was feeling a little envious last year when President Barack Obama started using it to his advantage.
“The Obama FCC has invoked the Fairness Doctrine a number of times with sort of wistful glances to the past. Nostalgia,” he told The Blaze. “If I had suggested years ago that the Obama administration would send government observers into the newsrooms of major media organizations, that claim would have been ridiculed. And yet that is exactly what the FCC did.”
@LURKGODHTX@KillerMike Deregulation started with Reagan when the Republicans voted to abolish the Fairness Doctrine.
— Allison Scussel (@AllisonScussel) March 12, 2016
True. Since we lost the Fairness Doctrine (the Republicans revoked it) we don't have fairness in television news now https://t.co/fGgH01iysI
— Debra Nicholson (@debra_nicholson) February 27, 2016
@ToddJobson@FoxNews@tedcruz@seanhannity it's time to seriously start working to reinstate the Fairness Doctrine.Bizarre behavior by FOX
— Cindy Gonzalez (@cindya_gonzalez) March 12, 2016
Wisconsin voters from both parties head to the polls this Tuesday.