For eight years I’ve watched in amazement as right-wing radio talk show hosts like Sean Hannity and Mark Levin have grown their audiences into the millions. And while I first believed that these hosts were generally trying to be shocking, it’s obvious that even if they are, their audience isn’t.

Just a few years ago, in an effort to prove that Godwin’s Law could be invoked no matter what the topic, Hannity launched an online forum. At first glance, a new visitor to the forum might believe s/he’s stumbled upon an extraordinarily large MMORPG, in which the objective is to repeat the words heard during Hannity’s radio show as many times as possible. However, it soon becomes apparent that the members of the forum are serious (I was pissed when I realized I wouldn’t be awarded any points for my “Obama Hitler” thread, which had 20 pages of replies (from people agreeing with me) in less than 24 hours).

What makes the Hannity Forums particularly skewed, is their belief that they are now in exile since Obama won the election. Taking a direct line from the Democratic Underground forum, Hannity now announces his show at the start of each hour with, “Here we are, the conservative underground, conservatism in exile!” In exile? Really? Melodramatic much?

But his audience is eating it up. With more than 13.5 million adult listeners everyday, the Sean Hannity show is currently the 4th most-listened-to radio program in the United States. Which begs the question: Are these radio shows converting people into these nutcases, or are they simply giving them a place to congregate?