Watching Adam Schiff interminably and indefatigably flapping his yap on TV over the past week or so, I couldn't help but compare him to Citizens Band (C.B.) preachers.  I think he's driven by the same desperate need for attention.  Although Schiff would never admit it, in his heart of hearts, he probably idolizes Rush Limbaugh for Rush's ability to hold an audience for hours every day with just his voice and his sheer force of personality.

Although the popularity of C.B. Radio has been steadily declining for years, in almost every city or town, there are still C.B. users, usually operating from home (a "base station," with a bigger antenna and a stronger signal than a "mobile unit"), who monopolize a channel and use it to preach.  Where I live now, there's a character who seems be on the radio all the time, interminably and indefatigably quoting Scripture and conducting his own little "Bible class."  What's particularly annoying is that he chooses to do it on Channel 19, one of the two main C.B. channels (the other is Channel 17) used by those who need immediate information about road, traffic, and weather conditions and hazards.  There are 37 other channels he could use (Channel 9 is reserved for emergencies, and, thankfully, it remains inviolate), but he chooses to "ratchet-jaw" and "flap his yap" on a channel that is needed by folks on their way to work or driving for a living.

Photo credit: Junglecat.

I've often thought that what drives these C.B. preacher-types is that they are guys who really want to be the star of their own radio (or TV) show.  They'd like to be the next Garner Ted Armstrong, Jimmy Swaggart, or Creflo Dollar, but the best they can manage is to sermonize to a semi-captive audience of folks just trying to get on down the road.  They are compulsive attention-seekers, in love with the sound of their own voices and desperately driven to perform for an audience, whether that audience is enthusiastic or not.

I'm sure Jerrold Nadler has the same affliction.  And Charles Schumer seems to be carrying on a lifelong love affair with the sound of his own voice, while neither he nor Nadler has any great regard for the truth.  But Schiff is by far the worst of a bad lot.

I also couldn't help but notice, while watching him, what a nice suit Adam Schiff was wearing, how well tailored and perfectly fitted it looked.  (I was in the men's clothing business years ago.  I still have a keen eye for a well tailored suit.)  I imagined him speaking to his tailor: "This suit has to be perfect!  I'm gonna be wearing it on TV, y'know!  I'm gonna be the star of my very own TV show!"

Now that his "show," with deservedly abysmal ratings, has been "canceled" (and with scant chance of being "renewed"), one can only hope a suit will show up on the rack at the Goodwill Store.  And perhaps Adam Schiff will show up again as the star of his own little show, this time preaching over the C.B. radio to anyone who can't help but listen while going down the interstate.