A lot of things have changed since I moved to LA. For one thing, I’m a decade older and hopefully a decade wiser. That’s debatable considering I am now a full-fledged Los Angelean, which in itself suggests I might be a little looney to move here in the first place.
I rolled the dice with destiny and they landed right near the edge of the table, in a perpetual state of instability, one earthquake away from falling off, not unlike the state of California. It’s a daily task to retain my sanity, humility and endemically southern attributes. I’ve done a great deal of internal reflection, questioning why, as a Bush supporter back in the early 2000’s, I considered myself a conservative. I suppose a lot of my family and friends back home feared the worst: I’d move to Hollywood and become one of those whiny, spineless liberals who use every opportunity to screech my haughty, left-wing opinions from the top of the Capitol Records building. Then again, the worst would actually be if I became a vegetarian which in my family, would be like excommunicating myself. (My dad smokes the best darn Boston Butt you’ve ever slapped your tongue against.) But alas, to steal a line from any LA yoga studio’s bulletin board, “I found my center.” And by center, I mean right-of-center. You see, living in the land of fruits and nuts, I witnessed first hand the hypocrisy of liberals. Don’t get me wrong, I have plenty of reasonable liberal pals, but you won’t find them marching in D.C., LA, NY or Chicago. They have jobs. They have families. They have lives.
Ok, so, real talk, y’all. I don’t always bash liberals. It’s just so darn fun! And it’s becoming exponentially easier these days. But having spent nine years in the entertainment industry and only recently transitioning into political talk radio, it’s kind of my job. Anyone who knows me knows that I have an opinion about everything. Football team? Auburn. Best cut of beef? Delmonico. Satin sheets or cotton? Satin is for sissies. You get the picture. Fortunately in talk radio, I have a shiny, beautiful microphone in front of my face with which to yield my dogmatic vocal power. I’m not saying I have free reign; I answer to the heads of networks and the FCC, but short of George Carlin’s “seven dirty words,” you’ll hear a whole lot of opinion mixed with humor-I try to be acerbic and scandalous only a few times per half-hour segment. In my criticism of the left, I try to steer clear of hoisting with my own petard and am fully cognizant of the times I fail. It’s not easy toeing the line of appropriateness while at the same time being provocative. But in the end, the essence of talk radio is not delivering news. It’s delivering entertainment.
My mentor, friend, and favorite talk radio host, Todd Schnitt told me, “Don’t weigh your show down with statistics and figures. Speak your views and leave the rest up to the listener’s research.” Since most of my listeners are conservative, that works. For my liberal listeners, I often get bombarded by insults followed by questions regarding the veracity of my information. Quite predictably, when I offer the substantiation behind my satire, they implode. The last refuge of a wrong argument used to be calling someone names. Now, it’s the first refuge. Since I’ve been in political punditry, I’ve gotten used to the opprobrium and attacks on my character. People feel much more inclined to denigrate me since I’ve been in politics than when I was in music. And believe me when I say, people are mighty ballsy in the comfort of their computer chairs.
Sitting here in front of my computer, two blocks away from the historic and famous Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel, my battle with the left is summed up in dear Teddy’s words, “To anger a conservative, tell him a lie. To anger a liberal, tell him the truth.” And the truth is usually what gets me in trouble in this town.
Amanda is a conservative talk radio host, writer and television correspondent based in Los Angeles, CA. For more Hollywood Conservatism visit Amanda’s website.
