The Hannity loop ...

That’s what I call hitting the same talking points every night. 

Sean Hannity’s a smart guy. But his nightly tirades are redundant.  I tune out after the first couple of minutes.  I know exactly what he’s going to say, because it’s the same every night. 

There’s the “Clinton-bought-and-paid-for-dirty-dossier” full of “Russian lies” used to get a “FISA Court warrant to spy on the Trump campaign.” There’s the “two-tired system of justice” that allowed Hillary to “destroy 33,000 subpoenaed e-mails,” “bleach-bit hard drives” and get away with it.  There are the “FBI lovebirds,” “Mueller’s witch hunt,” “Andrew Weissman, Mueller’s pit bull,” “the most important election in our lifetime” and more.  

It’s the same talk track all the time.  Worse, it’s the same adjectives, the same phrases, the same plea to “buckle up” for “breaking news” that isn’t.  You can only cry wolf so many times.

The truth of the matter is that Hannity isn’t going to change anybody’s mind.  Any more than Rachel Maddow will, or Adam Schiff. Everybody’s pretty much made up their mind.

Those who hate Trump will continue to hate him. Those who support Trump no matter what will still support Trump.  Those who think Hillary should have won – or think she actually did – won’t change.  Those who think Hillary belongs in jail will always think that. Those who think Trump should be forced from office won’t change their views, either.  

That’s why I find so many of the opinion shows a complete waste of time. They only preach to the converted.  Which would be okay, I guess, but the sermon never changes. It’s almost word for word something you’ve already heard them say a hundred times. 

Then there’s the unrelenting hype. 

Carl Bernstein claims proof of Trump’s payments to an aging pornstar and a Playboy model – before he became President – is “bigger than Watergate.” Seriously, Carl?  For those too young to remember, Watergate refers to when a sitting Republican President authorized the illegal break-in of the campaign offices of his Democrat opponent. Then he tried to cover it up. He had to resign.

That’s authorizing breaking and entering, which is clearly a felony by anyone’s standards.  By a sitting President.  I don’t think we’re on the same level as that, Carl. 

And if paying off women with whom someone had sex to buy their silence during a Presidential campaign was such a big crime, why didn’t Bill Clinton face charges?  When Clinton had his lawyer pay $850,000 to Paula Jones, I don’t remember the FBI raiding his lawyer’s office.

But that was different, I suppose.  How, I don’t know.  Neither do they.  The hype goes on.    

Every talking head claims that whatever they’ve “just” found is “the smoking gun.” Hannity claims he has proof the “deep state” has conspired to protect Hillary while persecuting Trump and anyone who ever worked for Trump.  The left-leaning media always claim they have proof that Trump lied about – well – just about everything and is possibly mentally unstable. 

The problem is, every “bombshell” revelation on either side usually turns out to be no more than a mouse fart.

Maybe there is a “deep state.” I’ve never trusted government bureaucrats, and especially the people running our intelligence agencies.  Too often they’ve been caught in whopping big lies, and then trying to cover those up with other lies. Can you say Iran/Contra? WMD? Snowden?    

Do I think they tried to keep Trump from being elected? Not all, but some clearly did – not necessarily because they favored Clinton, but perhaps because Trump came from outside the predictable establishment pool; he was a wild card.  They hate unpredictability.  Did some continue their efforts after Trump was elected?  Why yes they did. 

But is any of that news anymore? Not really.   

Look, Trump has many character flaws. 

Trump’s certainly a horndog but everyone knew that, too, including Melania even before she married him.  No surprise there. He joins a long list of modern-era Presidents who were also philandering weasels:  FDR, Eisenhower, JFK, LBJ, and Bill Clinton, to name but a few.  I can't begin to list the members of Congress who’ve been caught doing the same – the list is too long. 

Is he mentally unstable? Huh?  Does he have a temper? Yep. Does he lash out at people that piss him off?  You bet. Does he stretch the truth? Sure. Does he sometimes tell a bald-faced lie?  Yes. Is he egotistical? Of course. That’s all old news. It was all known when he was campaigning.  Voters knew and still elected him.

Nobody is surprised he hasn’t changed. Nor should they be. It’s who he is.     

Now the economy’s booming, unemployment is down, there are more jobs than people to fill them, and wages are going up, so do any of his other personal flaws really matter?

I may not like him personally, but I’m pretty happy with what he’s accomplished, domestically and internationally. Do I wish he’d learn to STFU more? Absolutely.     

As repetitive the talking points are from Hannity and his ilk every night about the deep-state and media collusion to force Trump from office, the left-leaning media’s talking points are just as predictable and redundant. They never vary, except in the order in which these are presented.    

According to them, Trump has committed crimes – although the evidence for that is specious at best, and some of the “crimes” technically aren’t actually crimes. He’s also committed treason by being friendly to Putin, even though he’s slapped the harshest sanctions on Russia causing the ruble to tumble.  He uses ICE like a Gestapo. He hates all immigrants. He’s a tool of white supremacists. He’s paid off women he had sex with to silence them. 

It’s the same stuff every night. They’re caught in their own version of the Hannity loop.     

Does anyone think anybody is still listening to the opinion shows to make up their mind? Does anyone think anybody is persuaded? On either side?

I don’t think so. It’s just endless reruns. 

I’d rather watch just about anything else.