He was on a tiny little talk station (WRNG). I remember one evening another host there was so despearate for callers that when he gave the weather report he said it was 157 degrees with 235% humidity. Still, nobody called....

Anyway, when I was a young teenager I would listen to him quite a bit. One Saturday it was pretty quiet until a woman called up, very upset. She related a story from her daughter. She said that her daughter was driving and was pulled over by the Georgia State Patrol. She politely asked why she was pulled over, and the officer began cursing at her. For no reason. The abuse went on for a while, then the officer let her go. He didn't charge her with anything, didn't say what she had done wrong, didn't give her a warning. The woman said she that she was very upset that her daughter was treated that way.

Neil listened to her and asked her a few questions and that was the end of it. But when she was off the line, he started a rant about how the caller was upset because her daughter got a ticket from the fine, upstanding officers who were doing their duty to protect us all. I couldn't believe it. The phone lines apparently lit up with callers supporting his version of things. I couldn't believe that either. So I called up and said that he should apologize to her for misrepresenting what she said, repeated that she said she didn't get a ticket, etc., etc. He gave a bit of an apology, but it seemed rather half hearted. Another fellow called in a couple of minutes later and said that my version was correct, so that made me feel a little better.

It was a real eye-opener for me.

At least at that time (~ 1974), Boortz was a very bright fellow who knew how to manipulate his listeners. While he had a strong point of view and enjoyed sharing it, getting the support of his listeners (ratings) was his primary goal. I wouldn't trust his views about tax reform farther than I could throw them without independent verification of his "facts".

YMMV.

Cheers,
Scott.