Introduction

When Rush Limbaugh first launched his nationally syndicated daily radio talk show, the term “conservative talk” hadn’t even been coined as a media sub genre, much less have entire radio stations dedicated to hourly programming being heard seven days a week, 365 days a year, within that specific genre of radio. Through the remainder of the 1980s and the vast majority of the 1990s, Limbaugh was the singular voice in broadcast media for conservatives, and blazed a trail for others such as Mark Levin, Sean Hannity, Dennis Prager, Hugh Hewitt, and a number of other conservative talk show hosts to build conservative media as well.

“The Conservative Media Movement” as I call it, has only continued to grow and expand at an increasingly rapid rate with the creation of the open internet and the subsequent invention of content creation mediums such as: blogs, Internet radio, podcasting, video distribution, Live streaming, social media, and so much more! Many young conservatives including yours truly, have benefited from the use of all these different platforms to add our unique individual viewpoints to the conservative message, and therefore expanding the conservative movement and The Republican Party as a whole, into a larger community.

A Variety Of Viewpoints.

I’m certainly not trying to compare Tomi or anyone else to Rush Limbaugh. He is in a class all of his own, and love him or hate him, he pioneered conservative media in much of the same way that both Bill Gates and Steve Jobs pioneered personal computing.

For almost a full decade and a half, Limbaugh had carte blanche on conservative media and it’s influence. He was essentially the only choice for a conservative media personality and many became fans of his because he was the “default choice” for conservative talk. Fast forward to 2017, and the options for conservative media personalities and outlets is continuously growing almost on a monthly basis.

Everyone seems to have their favorites, and mine include: Rush Limbaugh, Stephen Crowder, Ben Shapiro, Adam Carolla, Dennis Prager, and Hugh Hewitt, just to name some of the more well known voices I admire. Yet, I can’t say for certain that I agree with every single of these individuals 100% of the time on every single issue. Each of these individuals has viewpoints that I agree with, and some that I don’t. Shapiro and Hewitt were both NeverTrump, Carolla seemed indifferent to me, Crowder and Prager were reluctant Trump Supporters, and Limbaugh himself while not publicly endorsing Trump, is known to have a friendship of sorts with The President and his family.

This is just one example of how several people that I’m a fan of all have differing opinions on a certain subject, yet still have my respect and admiration for what they do. The same goes for people within my own circle of conservative media colleagues and associates, and in my own personal life as well.

Fandom Appreciated, But Not Mandatory.

In the age of social media, “fandom” seems to be more of a quantity value and less of a content value. This logic has inadvertently led to a world of absolutes. Either you love something/someone completely, or you hate it/them , completely, with little ground for impartiality.

This brings me to the subject at hand: Tomi Lahren.

I must admit that I don’t know much about Tomi’s background other than that she started out at One America News Network, was then picked up by The Blaze, and has now had her show suspended as of 3/20/17. I’ve never seen a full episode of her show and have only seen the “final thoughts” segment clips that are posted on Facebook.

Critiques And Criticisms.

My biggest criticism towards her is that she can get a bit preachy from what I’ve seen and it seems as if she’s constantly yelling and shouting which can be jarring at times. I have the same criticism towards the likes of Alex Jones and Michael Savage, so rest assured Tomi Fans, I’m not bashing your girl.

She also seems to have a tough time with debating liberals on their own territory, and this is most noticeable in her appearance on The Daily Show back in the fall of 2016. She fell into several pitfalls of her own making with the most notable one being her explanation of “rejecting labels” and then promptly turning around and labeling Black Lives Matter as a hate group. She contradicted herself and in doing so, projected an image of hypocrisy on to much of The Millennial Conservative Movement. Like it or not, this is one area where her critics have valid concerns and objections against her. However, I think that with some proper guidance and self teaching, she could improve her debate skills and turn a weakness into a strength.

Complements.

Tomi’s passion and reverence for The American Spirit and American Symbolism is evident in the way in which she speaks about how much our nation’s flag means to her, as well as the servicemen and servicewomen who protect this nation. This idea may seem clear and obvious to those of us already immersed in American politics and the conservative counter-culture, but there are many Americans out there who might not fully understand or appreciate the significance of these symbols and Tomi does a good job of promoting American symbolism as a part of conservative outreach. She also attracts a large number of young women who might not otherwise be open to listening to a conservative perspective.

And yes gentleman, it goes without saying she is an extremely gorgeous woman, which isn’t bad either.

Conclusion

Tomi Lahren is by no means perfect, and like all of us has her own flaws, as well as positive attributes. I might not agree with her pro-choice stance, and I do believe she could have worded her statement about pro-life conservatives better, but I don’t believe she should be shunned by the entire conservative movement because part of our base feels disrespected. Instead, try and start a dialogue to win her over if the issue matters that much. This whole notion of a rigid and singular consensus on every single issue is why conservatives kept losing The White House and the culture war until the emergence of President Donald J. Trump. 2016 was proof that a big tent conservative movement is stronger than anything that the far left can throw at us. I wouldn’t say I’m a fan of Tomi in the way I am for Limbaugh and Crowder, but I don’t hate her with a passion either. She has a place within Conservatism and despite our differences, I still respect her and would even be willing to invite her on my podcast should the opportunity arise. I’m giving her a fair shake, and I would ask that those who read this do the same.