Jesus' General weighs in on the jealous meltdown of Mrs. Big Ed Schultz-Lieberman

Ed Shultz, my kind of Frenchman

Before I send a note to another Marcotte admirer, I'd like to weigh-in on Big Ed's meltdown over Sam Seder's on-air promotion of Thom Hartman's show.

Regular readers know that I monitor Radio France every day to gather intelligence. Back before Randi Rhodes knocked Schultz off the AAR-XM line up, I listened to Big Ed, and I have to tell you he's my kind of Frenchman.

How can you not love a guy who's worked so long and so hard to sound exactly like Rush Limbaugh? Heck, he's so good at imitating Rush's voice and inflections, it takes me a good 20 minutes to figure out who is who when I'm scanning the dial in an unfamiliar location. Don't believe me--close your eyes and listen to his tirade against Air America.

But it isn't just his voice and style that make it difficult to differentiate him from Big Pharma, many of their views are also interchangeable. Like Our Hero of the Hillbilly Heroin, Big Ed loves Joe Lieberman and the Minutemen*, hates Olbermann, and thinks Richard Perle, Doug Feith, and Elliot Abrams are the bees knees because they all once worked for his hero, the late überhawkish Senator from Boeing, Scoop Jackson*.

Now that's the kind of Frenchman I can respect.

*I heard the shows where he fawningly interviewed a Minutemen spokesperson and praised Perle and company for being Jackson staffers.

Labels: Give em Zell
posted by Gen. JC Christian, Patriot | 11:30 AM

More:
http://patriotboy.blogspot.com/2007_02_11_archive.html#3397557392425519044

in progressive radio. He must be doing something right.

I'm a Big Ed fan. Sure, I don't agree with him on all the issues, but since when do we have to agree 100% with a guy to listen to his show on the radio? And yes, he has an ego the size of Mount Rushmore, but who in radioland with his ratings doesn't?

Let's not eat our own, especially the guy who's getting more ratings on our side than anyone else.

for one thing, his show is often a showcase for our guys in Congress, political candidates, etc. But the whining tirade he had against Air America turned me off--and was an example of liberals eating their own.

And I don't think he's ever been dedicated deeply into anything but money and conservatism and now it's liberalism because it's now profitable.

The first time I heard him do it was against Howard Dean. I'd love to have a hunter/fisher/sports lover to speak to middle American about true American values, but when he goes off on other liberals, he's doing more harm than good.

I am glad Big Ed finally spoke-up for himself. Mike Malloy/Randy Rhodes have both been disenfranchising Progressive Talk Radio by spewing their misplaced negative opinion of Ed on Progressive Radio. It makes me nauseated when they do that because it only makes their message weak and impotent. Ed needed to hold his ground....Mike and Randy are at fault since they drew first blood.

Now, look at the mess they made.

nymore are the inverviews

What is more, I was plain in a letter I sent him.

the vitriol he shows to others on the lefty side of the house are truly absent on the rightie side of the house.

That IS a problem in my view

It seems like people here enjoy bashing Ed Schultz more than bashing Hannity and Limbaugh! I listen to him on my lunch break during the week, and he has always seemed at least left-of-center, definitely no conservative. He is a former conservative who changed his views when his wife took him to a homeless shelter and he met some homeless veterans. I think he went a little far the other day when he lashed out at Air America, but I understood why he was upset. He felt that their hosts were trying to get him taken off of the satellite station. While he did lash out at Air America, he also urged listeners to support Stephanie Miller and Bill Press.

I think Ed Schultz gets a bad rap here because he's from North Dakota, sounds similar to Rush Limbaugh, and likes to hunt and fish. He doesn't fit the mold of what most people picture when they think of a liberal Democrat, but that doesn't mean that he isn't one. It's one thing for people to not like his show or his style, but it's another to accuse him of being dishonest about his political views.

...Ed is somewhat too centrist for me, but I appreciate having someone on the air who isn't merely "preaching to the choir" -- someone who can appeal to "middle Americans" with his midwestern style and small-town approach, while presenting them with a viewpoint that is clearly left of center. In other words, showing that it's possible to be politically progressive while still being "one of them."

Contrast this to someone like Randi Rhodes or Mike Malloy, whose "market" is basically those who are already on the left and want to hear someone who will reinforce their own ideas and identity. They'll make progressives feel more comfortable than they would listening to "Big Ed," but the latter is far more likely to win converts to our side. And that's nothing to sneeze at, unless we want to be a self-satisfied but powerless political minority for the duration.

I agree about the voice similarity. 'Course I don't make a habit of listening to Limpballs, but one day channel surfing I thought for a fleeting moment it was the old junky's voice giving cooties to my radio speakers. Nope! 'Twas old Ed.

Some days I like him fine, others I can't stand him. More the latter unfortunately.

I was at work, and have him on in the background, so I wasn't quite sure why he'd decided that. I was actually shocked when I heard him say Stephanie Miller is ok--from the way he goes on, I thought he thought he was the only one worthy in progressive talk radio.

I prefer Stephanie Miller, frankly, because she doesn't bash other liberals--she even invited Al Franken on her show (I LISTEN to Steph, very different from having Big Ed on in the background-I listen to his interviews of candidates and legislators, which is why I tune him in).

their humor travels through and around the horror that is this administration and all parts of their support system.

If you want to hear everything there is to know about Ed Schultz - listen to the Ed Schultz show.

I look forward to Stephanie's show (with glee sometimes). I laugh out loud sometimes, puzzling my workmates...

As soon as I hear that Guns N' Roses riff from Slash leading into Big Ed's show, I wince and wonder if I should stream Randi instead (which I usually do)...

I made a point of editing Ed's AAR rant into an MP3 for people to listen to. His own words say what he's about.

And I don't use an outhouse :hurts:

Some may be fooled by the self proclaimed "Redhead" and his imagined minority status, but it was still too easy to figure how and where the dude was going long before he ever arrived on the scene :puke:

The Revolution will not be Televised
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=132&topic_id=3119073

so hopefully liberal radio will dump him. He thinks now that he is in a lot of markets he can change back to the RW Rush fan that he always was. He changes sides like a pro wrestler. He's garbage and I dont care what his ratings are. Rush has good ratings too. The hell with him and the hell with WCHL in Chapel Hill until they get rid of him. I'll have to listen to Jim Rome until I get Sirus.

They're both carried by the Jones Radio Network (as far as I know they're the only talk shows on that network) so they aren't going to tear each other down. Both of them are long time radio people, not movie or TV actors trying to be talk show hosts. Personally I prefer Tom Hartmann to anyone else currently on the radio. He seems to have the right combination of common sense and outrage and he's very good at standing up to wingnut guests. I think he'll be a major improvement over Franken (who hopefully will become a major improvement over Coleman in the Senate).

They're both syndicated by the Jones Radio Network, even though they get carried on a number of Air America stations.

Seriously, what we have here is a turf war, plain and simple. Although we may complain about it, look at it this way: it used to be thought that there was "no market" for progressive radio. Now, it's big enough that you've got two broadcast/syndication entities fighting over it. And I would suspect there are more to come.

became so frustrated by the notion of Air America hosts putting their politics before making an extra buck? That seemed to really piss him off, and I think it's because Schultz is just doing a fake persona for cash. He doesn't understand why anyone would say he's "not a liberal", because to him, that's meaningless. That's just window dressing.

Schultz seems like he's just a radio hack doing schtick. Like he decided that he could make money being the Rush Limbaugh for the left. It's about money for Schultz, which is why he's so intensely DLC. Being DLC won't ruffle any corporate feathers. It's as safe as being "conservative".

...but I know that one of his complaints, in the past, is that Air America was created to elect people rather than to make a profit. While that may sound like an odd complaint, what I think it has to do with is Ed's perception -- not far from the mark, BTW -- that AAR's backers are willing to keep losing money for the indefinite future as long as they influence politics for the better, while he didn't have the benefit of such largess, and had to be profitable from the start or go into another line of work. It probably also had to do with him starting up his show before AAR came along, and him viewing them as the deep-pocket interlopers who are trying take over the entire format.

As I said: it's simply a turf war.

Stephanie Miller, as well as liberal sites like DU - And you know... next, Schultz will be trashing the excellent Thom Hartmann, who's now also on in Schultz' same time slot.

This guy calls himself a progressive, he's as regressive as they come...it's ALL a money game to this know nothing, greedy big mouth conservative! He's NEVER even tried to help our fellow liberals...Schultz trashes liberal radio hosts worst then his idol, the pigman Limbaugh!!

It ALL about the money with this greedy bastard, he won't be around for very many more years, he too will die...I hope he chokes on all his money, pretending to care about progressives...I really thought he was making some real progressive changes...but when it comes down to a liberal in the same time slot (Hartman) being rightfully celebrated, Schultz goes nuts, over the thought he may lose a few dollars...what a fucking ego...a greedy bastard caught up, in the most bucks he's ever made...Schultz has the money fever and doesn't know how to be normal anymore....It's only, more, more, more...

having grown up close to Fargo, and on a farm, I've been listening to the guy for over 10 years, and before that, back in the 80's, used to watch him as sports commentator on local news. He used to cover just locale issues and didn't try to get all political til the late 90's. But he's always been obnoxious, somewhat abrasive, and egotistical. So long as the topics were good and the interchange with callers interesting I always tolerated Ed. I understand his flaws, which are significant, but also recognize he has alot of radio talent.

One time I was listening to Big Ed, after having declined to listen to him for some months over something else, and I heard him state that sometimes it was justifiable for the government to search/spy on American citizens and residents without a search warrant. I was a recent law school graduate at the time, and I fired off an email explaining how the government was violating domestic law, and how easily a warrant could be obtained. If someone could not come up with enough for an affidavit supporting a warrant, they should be fired for incompetence. The only other reason for the spying/searching was 'fishing,' something our founders expressly wanted to prevent; and, I went on about how easy it was to get a warrant through the FISA court. Anyway, it doesn't seem to be that Ed has a basic understanding of the law, how our system of government works, or that he researches any particular topic. That's why I gave him up; at least Randi has a basic understanding about our system of government, and the balance of powers.

being on the right side of that issue, the times I've heard him address it, criticizing Bush for the warrantless wire tapping while the FISA judge was readily available to issue the warrant. However, he was way off, not understanding, the nuances of the bankruptcy bill and has criticized people like Murtha and Howard Dean when it wasn't called for. That he has lately been critical of Olbermann and cold-shouldering Larry Johnson was news to me... that's more disturbing than anything else in my mind. But I still listen occasionally, once or twice a week, and will probably continue to.

Sometimes I think that people educate him about something, and then he changes his position. I don't have any objections to progressives listening to him, for then they learn what the 'mainstream' host is putting out over the airwaves (Ed calls himself the 'mainstream' host). And, the more we listen, the more we sharpen our arguments/positions.

I was just curious about what you experienced. Thanks for the reply, again!

:patriot:

He finally came out against it after being convinced by his callers. To me, that shows that he has a very open mind!

He just isn't my cup-of-tea, though.

But ... I appreciate diversity!

Take care!

:)

I listen to his show because there's no other liberal alternative during his time slot. That being said, I'm often amused at the general lack of understanding Schultz shows for many topics and how his callers tend to speak above his level resulting in Schultz missing the point of their call entirely.

J

and listen to that during Ed Schultz Show.

I've offend shouted at the Radio--NO ED YOU IDIOT!--- because he'll be discussing an issue and totally have it wrong.

He doesn't dig deep enough into the issue and then spouts off like he's all that.

She said Franken was "The Godfather of liberal talk radio", no sarcasm there. It was huge praise. I wondered if she was indirectly making a jab at shultz by that.

He's very angry at Air America, but seems very supportive of Franken's political aspirations. Norm Coleman is one of Schultz's least favorite politicians, who he calls "Senator Sprinkle". I know Ed will be pulling for Al to win!

He's not my favorite AAR guy (I listen on KPOJ and I love Thom Hartmann and I'll really miss Al). But I like him. He really seems sincere in his rants against conservatives. Sure he has a huge ego. So does Randi. My kids can't stand to listen to her because to them she seems "to like herself too much," and I can't say I disagree, even though I appreciate her and the energy she brings to her show.

Maybe I just haven't been listening at the right times--I haven't heard any anti-AAR tirade, although with the way he's always affliating himself with the Jones network rather than AAR I don't doubt he's made them--but to me he sounds like a guy who appeals to a demographic we don't normally get, and he is firmly anti-Bush and firmly anti-neocon. These days, I'm happy to hear anything like that on the radio.