MAGA Republicans rage against electric car companies for not including AM radio: 'All-out attack'

21 June 2023

MAGA Republicans can be highly disdainful of anything they consider "green," be it wind and solar power, recycling or electric vehicles. Now, some of them are raging against new electric cars for not including AM radio.

The Guardian's Katie Thornton reports that Volkswagen and Mazda are joining Volvo, Tesla, BMW and Audi in excluding AM radio from their electric cars. They view it as a technical matter, while Turning Point USA's Charlie Kirk, Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) and far-right radio host Mark Levin are saying it is a conspiracy against far-right talk radio.

Thornton, in a report for The Guardian published on June 21, notes that some companies "have already dispensed with AM in their electric cars, because AM's already unpolished reception is subject to even more buzz, crackling."

"While some manufacturers have found workarounds for the interference," Thornton explains, "others appear to have decided that it's not worth the engineering expense."

Levin is furious, telling listeners, "They finally figured out how to attack conservative talk radio." Similarly, Kirk, on his radio show, claimed, "Whether they're doing this intentionally or not, the consequence will be.… an all-out attack on AM radio."

Cruz claims, "There's a reason big car companies were open to taking down AM radio.… Let's be clear: big business doesn't like things that are overwhelmingly conservative."

Thornton delves into the history of radio in her article, noting that "in the 1920s, when AM was all there was, listeners would gather around neighborhood and living room radio sets to hear everything from music to boxing matches, soap operas, and presidential speeches." But in the 1960s, she adds, FM — thanks to its superior sound quality — "overtook AM as the band of choice."

"Many music stations deserted AM, leaving it floundering in lo-fi isolation and struggling to secure advertising dollars, until it found its salvation in talk radio," Thornton observes. "Initially, there was a wide variety of political perspectives on AM, but the deregulation of content and consolidation of ownership of radio during the 1980s edged many minority voices and local owners off the air…. These days, AM radio is somewhat synonymous in the public imagination with conservative blowhards, a place where false claims about the 2020 election, racist notions of a 'Great Replacement' and other conspiracy theories fester and escape into the atmosphere without accountability."

Thornton continues, "Far-right programming is not only ubiquitous, it's monotonous.… But the idea that AM radio is made up of nothing more than conservative talk is a myth that has dangerous implications for the medium."

The Guardian's full report is available at this link.

From Your Site Articles