CMPA Talking Points (March 24th)
Howard Stern: The New Ralph Nader?
With Howard Stern tossing Bush-loathing
into his morning mix of porn starlets and bathroom humor, could the self-anointed
“King of All Media” impact the election in the same way many
Americans believe Ralph
Nader cost Al Gore the White House?
It’s not as far-fetched as you think. Here's why:
For all the ink spilled over Ralph Nader’s candidacy in 2000, he still
received under 2.9 million votes, which was enough in many peoples’
minds to swing the election to President George W. Bush. And a large portion
of
Nader’s support has backed away from him, still
feeling burnt over the 2000 results.
Howard Stern has somewhere between 8 million and 9 million extremely
loyal listeners on an average morning. At the behest
of their longtime radio idol, it’s conceivable that a large number
of Stern listeners could
go to the ballot booths—some for the first time
in years—and vote for Senator John Kerry.
Being a morning rush hour deejay could also work to Stern’s advantage.
He would simply need to ask his listeners to leave for work a half-hour
early on Election Day (maybe by offering air-time to callers who went out
and voted) to help support Stern’s cause. It’s a ready-made
constituency—and a potential barrier to re-election for President
Bush.
--Matthew T. Felling, Media Director, CMPA
