Citizen Wausau

Leaving a “Passive Aggressive” relationship – a local Hannity/Colmes Story…

by Mike Wall on November 29th, 2008

Leaving a “Passive Aggressive” relationship - A local Hannity / Colmes Story.  

According to Wikapidia Passive Aggressive is “a personality disorder said to be marked by a pervasive pattern of negative attitudes and passive, usually disavowed resistance in interpersonal or occupational situations.” Passive Aggressive are manipulators who “often quite unconscious of their impact on others, and thus may be genuinely dismayed when held to account for the inconvenience or discomfort caused by their passive-aggressive behaviors.” 

Most of us have probably be around such people, they try to spin situations couching their words – not as a direct front and honest approach to “getting their way”, but often finding little ways of belittling the “other” as one tactic.  Two most public examples of of this type of dysfunctional couples are on Right Wing Talk format, Hannity and Colmes and locally Pat Snyder and Tom Clark morning show on AM 55 WSAU.   

After 12 years of “partnering” with Hannity, Colmes is finally been pushed off the Fox news network, similar to how the Colmes’ radio show was pushed off WSAU a few years back.  For years the belittled Colmes  played second fiddle to Hannity and the writing was on the wall for Colmes who was damned near silenced right after 911.    

It was obvious what Fox News had in mind when they brought on the nerdy “Professorial” looking Colmes to give “Fair and Balance” coverage to the Fox News line up by placing him next to the younger square-jawed all American Hannity.  As the years went on in market after market the thinly veiled guise of “Fair and Balanced” need lessened on the right wing dominated talk radio stations. Colmes lost market after market of conservative stations placement like our own WSAU.   

However, Colmes successfully negotiated the mind field of conservative banter on their show and he stayed afloat while abuse after abuse was sent his way by his “partner” on the show.  You could almost see him at times squirming when Hannity and other “Conservative” guest throw comment after comment  – when not a direct assault on Colmes’ patriotism and character of the “liberal elite” to the more pervasive soft attack model used by people like Rush, Hannity and Snyder do on a daily bases – the passive aggressive back-hand comments tossed about like leafs on a windy fall day.  

Colmes’ “Fair and Balanced” tokenism time has come to an end.  And I’d be surprise if he’ll ever be as big of a player on any Main Street organization.  I’d like to suggest and make this unsolicited advice to our own Tom Clark on AM 55 WSAU before it happens to him.  First a nod to the “Morning Crew’s” efforts.  They do run a tight ship and I find their technical programming ability to be very professional and at time entertaining.  And I hear no local radio personality more often the Tom Clark.  This man works like a machine in the industry. And while his state and local sports coverage is superb, one hears less and less of him on the talk back portion of AM 55 WSAU programming.   

Recently I’ve heard Tom Clark say a couple of times on the show things like “why bother arguing, they’ve made up their minds already” to callers to the show.  You very seldom hear Tom express himself anymore.  What you do hear is Pat Snyder expressing himself all the time and not so obviously ripping on Tom Clark in the Right Wing way people like Rush and Hanitty have perfected. 

The idea that AM 55 WSAU is fair or balanced is now more then ever a joke.  If they cared about offering the other 50% of the Wausau Citizens that did not support Bush and his ilks ideas, they would offer Tom Clark a spot— say once or twice a week to bring on his own guests to the morning show listeners.  The only guest you get are scheduled by Snyder and mostly interviewed by him – these AM 55 “guests” seldom challenged but rather pampered as the propagandists yes men they most always are.  

So my unsolicited advice to Tom Clark is to either grow a back bone and stop Tom Snyder’s passive aggressive attacks against you, insists on allowing you to bring a guest twice a week on that you’d “supposedly” back – that “liberal” they tag you with. Snyder’s Ditto-head listeners will not like it, but if you feel the station is more then just a money making machine catering to the 50% conservatives in Wausau, then you should fight for the other 50% who have given up on the non “Fair and Balanced” station format.  You might be surprised and the rating go up with the not always just insulting the other 50% but offering a voice to them on the local airways.  

Mr. Clark you seem to be a good man.  And since I don’t believe you have the courage to change, and the institutional bias of AM 55 will not do it on it’s own… So keep on working the sports end of it, diversify in that and make yourself irreplaceable – or suffer the same fate Colmes did.  My personal hope is that you suffer less shame at the hands of your “friend” Pat Snyder and find you own way without you having to be his little “fairand balanced” show token friend anymore…