The only thing that could have made me spend $5.99 a month for a “Fox Nation” subscription was... (wait for it):
Tucker Carlson's interesting hour-long interviews on Fox Nation.
He teased them with short snippets on his now-canceled evening show on Fox – the most popular evening opinion show on cable television.
Stick a fork in it now, though.
That option is Gone Johnson, as some in Wyoming are wont to say. As far as Fox is concerned, our most-watched pundit was thrown overboard – evening show, Fox Nation interviews, provocative opinions, characteristic laugh, hook, line, sinker, tackle box, trolling motor...
All gone.
Fox canceled Carlson's show – with no explanation – two weeks ago, leaving millions of conservatives wondering why. You'll recall that Carlson was one of the more skeptical Fox personalities when it came to those reports of voting machine issues in the 2020 election. So the big court settlement is unlikely the reason for his ouster.
So, why Carlson?
And why, that same weekend, the abrupt end of the Dan Bongino show on Fox? Bongino says it was just a failure to reach agreement on a contract extension. But why would Fox unexpectedly part ways with two of its most popular conservative hosts?
There are theories out there, but I'm left figuring that Fox News, which I've watched for years, doesn't care what viewers like us think. And the theory that Murdoch family members don't like being shunned at liberal New York cocktail parties rings increasingly true.
Every now and then, here in Cheyenne, I see a car parked in front of our library with a bumper sticker that says, “Turn Off Fox News.” I always disagreed with that, not wanting to go back to the days when we got our TV news from three networks headed up by liberal anchors (Cronkite, Brokaw, Jennings).
Now, however, I'm inclined to agree. Turn off Fox News. If they think so little of their faithful viewers, why keep watching?
AN ALTERNATIVE: Lately I've been watching Newsmax on Dish Channel 216. It's like a Fox reunion over there: Eric Bolling, Greg Kelly, Rita Cosby, Greta Van Susteren, Dick Morris, Mike Huckabee, and lately they're begging Carlson to come on over. (Not likely. He's talking to Elon Musk.)
Saturday morning, on Rita Cosby's show, a Republican strategist and former Rep. Barney Frank got into a donnybrook that was downright fun to watch.
I'm learning to like Newsmax, and spending less time on Fox, although I still think Britt Hume and Bret Baier on Special Report are the best. And if the great Charles Krauthammer had not died, there's no way I'd miss that show.
Podcasts fill the void, and lately I'm listening to Megyn Kelly (who left Fox on her own volition), Victor Davis Hanson, and Dan Bongino. Newt Gingrich has an good podcast, and his interviews stand out because he has the sense to shut up and let his guests do the talking.
So we have to do a little more casting about to find our conservative thinkers these days. But it makes sense to move on from Fox if they think so little of us.
STIFLE, DONALD: The more Donald Trump trashes Ron DeSantis, the less enthused I am about Donald Trump. His anti-DeSantis ads make me swear at the TV.
Recall Ronald Reagan's Eleventh Commandment: Thou shalt not speak ill of a fellow Republican.
I'll still vote for Trump if he's the nominee, because there's no way this country can survive another four years of Biden's galloping incompetence.
I'd vote for Trump for the good of the country. But I fear his relentless trashing of DeSantis will split the party and buy us four more years of – God help us – Joe Biden.
AND LASTLY: If a decorated Marine stepped in to protect people on public transportation here in Cheyenne, from a guy with 42 previous arrests and a penchant for slugging old ladies, and the perpetrator somehow died while being restrained, my guess is the Marine would be seen as a Good Samaritan, he wouldn't be under arrest, and he might even get some thanks.
One more reason to live in Wyoming.
And not New York.
Dave Simpson can be reached at: DaveSimpson145@Hotmail.com
