Who got to Ed Schultz? Why is he selling out on XL?

[whttevrr]

Did anyone catch his last two shows?

Is anyone else appalled by his current stance on the Keystone XL Pipeline?

[rdharma]

1. I noticed that too.

[whttevrr]

6. I'm glad it was not just me...

My immediate reaction was

[rdharma]

19. Have you noticed how Ed and Brian Schweitzer are suddenly BFFs?

[whttevrr]

31. Color me chagrined...

I am not familiar with the BS BFF...

Ha ha ha, see what I did there?

[earthside]

2. This is his 'concession' to Pres. Obama ...

... for his strong opposition to the Trans Pacific Partnership.

That is what I think.

[whttevrr]

9. TPP...

[fredamae]

3. I haven't watched

him nor tuned in for his radio show since Monday when this crap started. I'm not changing my position-it appears he's not budging. I heard everything I needed to on Mon and I'm guessing at this juncture he's repeating his original argument....I don't need nor want to hear it again.

[whttevrr]

15. I am going to turn his show to another channel for a while.

Having cable means channels watched are logged somewhere, right?

Or is that still only tallied by Nielsen Ratings?

I assume every thing I watch on cable is in a log somewhere, but who knows...

[fredamae]

43. I imagine so

bean counters........
I might, however watch tomorrow - someone posted here-tomorrow he'll discuss his opinion about the report. I have hope he'll see what's going on all around the country as far as environmental...disasters.
I can't hold belief in the word and promises that this is safe. It's already causing harm.

[tularetom]

4. He doesn't want to be fired like Martin Bashir or the intern whose tweet pissed off Rinse Penis

Or be forced to apologize like Melissa Harris Perry.

He's probably figured out that the way to keep his job is to kiss the 1%'s ass.

[whttevrr]

12. yeah...

follow the money.

[Mass]

5. Because he has never been pro-environment.

I am not surprised by his position. He has always been like that on these types of issues.

[whttevrr]

13. This I did not know n/t

[sabrina 1]

72. Ed Schultz is a former Republican. When he switched to being a Dem he admitted

having to learn not to, eg, judge the homeless. His wife apparently worked with the homeless through her job and helped to change his mind.

On many issues early on, he often took positions on issues that were far more Conservative than Liberal and he would get lots of negative feedback from listeners. To give him his due he would try to learn more about an issue and then often admit to having been wrong.

No one should be surprised when he takes a Conservative position on issues. He
might change his mind if he gets enough negative feedback.

[NightWatcher]

7. he's an old conservative who lives in oil/gas country

He converted to progressive talk (from conservative talk) when it was gaining popularity after Air America took off.

[Egalitarian Thug]

10. Cursed with memory, life will be harder. n/t

[whttevrr]

16. :sigh:

Thanks Obama, now I am cursed with remembering stuff.

[fadedrose]

8. Yesterday, 2 guests...Today, 2 guests

and all 4 of them are opposed to the Keystone XL Pipeline.

Tomorrow, Ed said, he will have something to say about the State Department report that the guests say is flawed.

[whttevrr]

20. He will say it doesn't matter in a louder tone.

What caught my attention yesterday was him braying like a jackass about the pipeline being safer. I almost got whiplash turning to look at the tv. Then my mouth hung open for a bit before I started getting angry.

Today was just as bad... I haven't signed in here for a while. But after hearing him today, I just had to come here and say:

"WTF!? Did you guys see that!?"

[Lifelong Protester]

11. I guess I was surprised

after all the support he gave us in WI-I mean this thing should create 50 permanent jobs. 50? Is that worth a possible wrecking of the environment for?

I know about his conservative 'former life' but I expected better from him.

[whttevrr]

21. 50 jobs... and risks how much water?

This pipeline should not go through such vast reservoirs of water.

[Lifelong Protester]

34. Exactly my thoughts!

Supposedly 3900 temporary jobs (probably a year) and only 50 permanent, of course until the whole thing goes kaput, then there will be a lot of 'clean up in aisle 5" jobs.

[whttevrr]

36. Only this time...

aisle 5 is a vast reservoir of water that could be spoiled for generations to come.

[Lifelong Protester]

44. Yes, that totally freaks me out.

I thought the 'robber baron-we got tons of resources so why care if we ruin some' days were over. Dumb me, eh?

[Enthusiast]

71. Thousands of generations.

The Ogallala aquifer is prehistoric—fossil water. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fossil_water

On this issue Ed is wrong. But unlike right wingnut programs, Ed allows his guests to refute his position without interruption.

[Timez Squarez]

46. Someone need to bean Ed with a large clue by four..

and remind him conservation does not mean selling out to oil/gas industry and let them destroy the environment.

[hrmjustin]

14. I guess it is to give cover to Obama to go ahead with the pipeline.

Very sad.

[VanillaRhapsody]

17. He has had one after another who disgree with him on his shows both radio and tv day after day...

He IS having a conversation about this.....he may yet be convinced....Who else is focusing on this issue more than he is?

[loyalsister]

22. I give him credit for airing both sides of the issue

He does a pretty good job of maintaining a respectful decorum with the guests he disagrees with.

[VanillaRhapsody]

24. So do I....this is just another example of tossing everyone overboard because though they

may agree with you on 90% of issues...but because they disagree on ONE they are the enemy!

[whttevrr]

29. I can respect that perspective.

My problem is with how he would not let his guest speak. I've always have an issue with Talking Heads always interrupting someone who is trying to answer their questions... and the ones who don't interrupt at all when someone is obviously just being bombastic.

But in these particular instances, he seemed especially interuptive and to me, what seemed like 1000% over the top support for a dirty oil pipeline being built to go so close to The Ogallala aquifer and Fort Peck Lake. And,

"In Texas, the Keystone XL pipeline will traverse sixteen large rivers."

*

* http://sierraclub.org/dirtyfuels/tar-sands/toxic-report.aspx

It's unbelievable.

Supporters are calling this the safest pipeline in North America, and all I can think of is:"Didn't they something similar about The Titanic"?

So yeah, I kind of see him as selling out for a quick fix. He should be yelling just as loud for oil alternatives.

[VanillaRhapsody]

49. I was listening too and I heard his female guest interurpt him several times after he politely

listened to her....

[mikeysnot]

76. If that was today I had to turn off the radio

He let her ramble on how this was a "Net benefit to the US" without mentioning one benefit. He didn't even play devils advocate and push back on her, let her read from a laundry list of slogans without substance. He lost major points with me...

One reason for this was to stop refinery of Hugo Chavez heavy crude from Venezuela.

http://www.vice.com/en_uk/read/koch-brothers-hugo-chavez-and-the-xl-pipeline

Who owns the refinery?

Wait for it.

Koch Brothers....

[VanillaRhapsody]

79. BUT that has NOTHING to do with Ed Schultz...if you say so you are lying out your youknowwhat.

[mikeysnot]

81. THAT IS WHAT I HEARD!

He allowed an obvious shill to come on and he did not push back at all, so YES IT IS ABOUT ED SCHULTZ!

Deal with it.

[VanillaRhapsody]

82. He allowed a LOT of people to come on there...many disagreed with him too...

I heard it....I listen AND watch him everyday

DEAL with it!

[mikeysnot]

83. Good for you??

So what exactly am I supposed to "deal with"?

Like I stated, she was allowed to ramble on a bunch of nonsense and he did not push back...

[VanillaRhapsody]

84. Because he is giving othersides opportunities to present their case...

whether he agrees with it or not...

[mikeysnot]

89. I guess my point was lost on you.

Never mind.

[JeffHead]

18. Because he's a fake.

He's an ex Republican who only started caring about other people when his mother was dying of alzheimers and he found it frustrating getting her the services she needed. His views lined up with the Republicans because they are anti tax and he wanted to make a lot of money. As for who he is now you can thank his wife Wendy for that. She is the real liberal in that family. He must have a train track full of oil tankers running by his ranch every day that the XL pipeline will make disappear. Another case of he only cares because it affects him. I can respect him for how hard he fights for unions and working people but, that's about it. I know there are a lot of Ed fans around here that might be offended by this but, it's just my opinion Flame Away!

[VanillaRhapsody]

25. why? Because he disagrees with you on one issue?

WHO else is talking about this issue every single day on Main stream media besides him?

He WAS a Republican yes....BUT that wasn't in the Teaparty days. He also played football and REFUSED to ride on the bus provided for the White players....he rode on the Black players bus with his friends.

He met his wife Wendy....who took him to a Soup Kitchen...and she changed his life. He married her and became a Democrat.

Are you saying there is NO redemption for anyone who EVER voted R?

[MADem]

52. People don't like to hear that Elizabeth Warren was a Republican, either.

But.....but.... that's DIFFERENT!!!

People grow up. People learn. It happens.

Why is it "suspicious" for this guy, but not so for EW?

And why do people want others to believe precisely as they do on every single issue -- or be otherwise excoriated and tossed from the flock?

Ed's priority is working individuals, near as I can see. He thinks people should have living wages, decent standards of living....and jobs. Jobs, jobs, JOBS!

I am not a fan of this pipeline--I don't like it, wish they wouldn't do it. I do understand the arguments supporting it, though, even as I would prefer that we look forward and not backwards to accommodate our energy needs.

[VanillaRhapsody]

53. I have to agree with you....and like you I wish that it didn't have to happen either

I am a realist like I think Ed is....I would love to be more idealistic but I can't. This is not a cut and dried issue. Ed has resigned to the fact that it is going to happen and he feels he is choosing the lesser of two evils. Along with any possibilities of environmental damage which both have....the rail system also risks lives directly and is expected to kill 6 people a year. So I understand why Ed has made this choice...I don't think he is some big supporter of Big Oil at all...nor do I think it is fair to say "who got to him...who paid him off". I don't think Ed rolls like that AT all...

[lillypaddle]

55. This. n/t

[Egalitarian Thug]

60. No, because he has clearly shown for his entire life that he has only one agenda,

the promotion of Ed Schultz. He is now an entertainer, period, end of file. If/when the liberal gravy train runs out of track for him, he will jump onto the next one that comes by, and if it is owned and run by Ailes or Mellon-Scaife he won't care and he'll do exactly as they tell him.

Quit being such a sucker, for your own sake.

[VanillaRhapsody]

90. Oh that's ridiculous and you know it....

then answer the question...WHO else goes on and on day after day talking about the issues of the Working class on National Television?
YOU are the sucker...sorry...

[Egalitarian Thug]

93. Aside from your say-so, all the evidence shows I'm right. I understand that you like him and what

he says, so do I, but the facts are still the facts.

Died-in-the-wool liberals do not become reich-wing talk-jocks. People that hold either reich-wing views or those with no convictions either way, but whom that want to be in the entertainment industry, do.

[VanillaRhapsody]

94. Me and those who listen to him everyday....obviously YOU don't.

You just want to condemn ANYONE that goes on TV or radio to talk about politics...period.
You are the only one that described Ed's views as "reichwing". You may not agree with him on one or two issues...but he is most assuredly NOT "reichwing" sorry...EPIC fail!

[Egalitarian Thug]

95. So you have no answer to the facts. I listen to Ed almost every day, usually on 760 Denver.

The difference is that I have no delusions about who he is. It is his job, and it is a hard job that is far rarer to get than hitting the jackpot in a casino.

I don't begrudge him his success at all, and as you point out, he is almost the only voice in the mass media talking about working people's issues. But that is beside the point, he's completely wrong on this one and his error, as usual, come from his conservative nature.

[VanillaRhapsody]

98. What freaking facts?

you have no FACTS....He is most assuredly NOT a conservative...GMAFB!


this is the purity trolling I am always pointing out. Just because someone doesn't match perfectly YOUR ideals doesn't make them a Conservative.

By the way...WHEN Ed was younger and a Republican...they HAD more than just Conservatives....you are conveniently leaving that FACT out!

[Egalitarian Thug]

99. You're right. It's entirely my fault. I thought you might have bothered to look it up.

Even his Wiki lays it out.

[VanillaRhapsody]

100. Yes I have read his wiki...and I know about his wife Wendy....

You conveniently leave THAT out.....Wendy changed his life. You on the other hand can go pound sand with your pointless attack on the ONLY person on TV who consistently stands up for the Working Class.

Schultz's political views became more liberal after he visited a Salvation Army cafeteria in 1998 and later took his radio show on the road riding in a 38-foot motor home.[citation needed] Throughout the tour, Schultz visited families in rural North Dakota and described his tour as "the on-the-job experience that have changed my thinking as to where we're going as a country."[4]

[Egalitarian Thug]

101. .

[VanillaRhapsody]

102. Yeah...whatever....

Ed Schultz is "Reichwing".....

[Mnpaul]

39. The only fakes I see here are your so called facts

Ed got upset over the treatment of vets he observed while visiting the soap kitchen where Wendy worked. Anti-tax? Ed has been anything but anti-tax. Ranch? What ranch would that be? They have a lake home in Detroit Lakes but I see no rails near that. I know there are none near his fishing lodge in Canada and I doubt there are any near his NY apartment. What the hell are you talking about?

[VanillaRhapsody]

51. No those ARE the facts....you can make shit up if you want...

Ed has a fishing lodge not a ranch for your information....He doesn't live all the time in New York he owns a Lodge with his wife Wendy who just started recovering from Cancer.

There is a LOT you don't know but I know...haters gotta hate..



http://wegoted.com/big-eddies-north-country-lodge/

[Mnpaul]

65. Did you reply to the wrong post?

I basically said the same thing

[global1]

23. Please Somebody Answer This - Wasn't He Against The Keystone Pipeline At One Time?......

I seem to remember him speaking out against it a while back. I haven't been able to get anyone to confirm that as of yet. I don't think he's always been pro Keystone. It just seems like in the last week he has come out very pro-Keystone.

[VanillaRhapsody]

26. It's his learning about what happens when the oil is transported by rail....

He knows its going to happen one way or another....just being opposed to it won't stop it from coming out of the ground. He just feels that it would be better to move it by pipeline rather than rail car. The spate of recent rail car disasters seems to have made him question that position.

[Ilsa]

32. Exactly. And I don't think he's ever

declared himself against it. I never heard him say he was against the pipeline before.

Ed is also pragmatic about energy and capitalism. He wants greener energy, but doesn't see it happening yet.

[VanillaRhapsody]

37. He has explicitly said so....we are not going to go green overnight....

renewables are going to take years and years and years to replace what we have. He is using that knowledge instead of knee jerk reactions. I am not convinced one way or the other on this issue...one part of me opposes it vehemently....but logic tells me that no amount of protest is going to keep that in the ground. Canada is going to sell it on the world market one way or another....

[rdharma]

75. K & R

[louis-t]

27. I think he figures we will have one or the other no matter what.

Opted for the slightly safer version. Once big oil smells money, there's no stopping them.

[whttevrr]

33. That's pretty much what he was saying...

He was saying there is no stopping this oil from being extracted.

I'd probably give him that in the short term, but I think this oil should be forsaken for an investment in renewable resources.

[VanillaRhapsody]

38. but this is not our oil...and there in lies the rub...

I sincerely wish we could just stop.....but the fact remains we simply can't.

[larkrake]

28. because he lives in N dakota and was shaken by the train wrecks

He is totally wrong tho, in my opinion. Infrastructure will stop train wrecks, not a pipeline US oil can't use. DUH!

[whttevrr]

30. How many 50's would be needed to rebuild American Rail?

We should be investing in our communication and transit corridors that benefit Americans. How many jobs could be secured with a ten to twenty year infrastructure rebuilding of America.

This pipeline seems real short sighted.

[Mnpaul]

40. But he doesn't live in N. Dakota

and hasn't done so in years. He lives in Detroit Lakes, Mn. when he isn't in NY or Canada.

[bluestate10]

35. Ed is doing math concerning risk. The math favors the pipeline when the number of spills,

environmental damage from spills and deaths from spills are considered. Ed is also a big Union guy, Unions are for the pipeline.

I am on the fence. I want renewable energy because that is by far the best option. But, as Germany is showing, the gears for an economy run purely on renewable energy doesn't click in over a few years. The experience in Germany is that renewable energy projects are failing because they are living up to delivering promised returns. Until Climate Change damage gets a dollar value attached to it and that value is accepted by everyone, having an economy that runs totally on renewable energy is going to be a long haul.

[Egalitarian Thug]

59. Bullshit. History demonstrates quite clearly that Ed can't do this math.

He's a conservative jock that wasn't good enough, so he became a liberal. But most important of all, he is an entertainer that will do or say anything to keep the seven figure checks rolling.

[madrchsod]

41. i turned the show off this afternoon after hearing the bullshit

fuck ed`s radio and tv show. i don`t know how much he`s being paid to spew this bullshit and i bet there`s a lot of people who feel the same way.

[greatlaurel]

42. I had a rant about this yesterday.

He is a disgrace to progressives. As I stated yesterday in my post, his position is indefensible. His supposed safety concern is baloney, since he never sites any of the deaths that will occur to the First Nations peoples exposed to the heavy metals, PAHs, and numerous other carcinogens produced by the tar sands oil production. There will be a lot more than 6 deaths of First Nations people from the pollution of their lands. Ed does not count them as important enough to care about their safety. He also discounts everyone who will die from the increased emissions from the refining and the burning of this toxic stew. Those people are poor whites and African Americans so they do not count either(he does not care about the Chinese exposed to this crap when it is burned either).

It appears no one has done any toxic emissions risk analysis, to show people how bad the whole tar sands oil production idea is.

Here is a link to my post, if interested. http://www.democraticunderground.com/10024452380

[WillowTree]

45. Who said someone "got to him"?

Geez.......can't anyone just have a different opinion or a different take on something without making them out to be a sellout? Is it really necessary to demonize everyone who disagrees with us on even one topic?

[VanillaRhapsody]

50. that does seem to be the go too attack around here...I got accused of it recently myself.

[classof56]

87. Hey, there VR

Just a quick note to say I agree with your posts on this topic, and appreciate you for weighing in. The DU rabbit trails of late are real head-shakers for me. I listen to Ed and watch his show every day, and especially like that he stands up for jobs and unions. I believe he's sincere and well, fair and pretty balanced. I don't like this Keystone Pipeline project at all, for many reasons, but do see Ed's point of view regarding the pipeline vs rail transport of oil. I've been a proponent of renewable energy for decades, but as long as big money runs the show, I don't see the US replacing oil with any other source. If it boils down to safety issues, human and environmental, perhaps Ed's on the right track, so to speak. Whatever, I truly gotta wonder why all the anti-Ed posts with such ugly rhetoric, plus similar ones about our President. Maybe I should stick with the BOG group, huh?

Take care and blessings.

[VanillaRhapsody]

88. Thanks....appreciate the support...

Yeah....for some reason there are a group here that claim to be Democrat....yet can find reason to toss every Democrat overboard. They are the "perpetual circular firing squad". I have yet to figure out just what it is that makes some around here Democrat if they hate all the other Democrats? Even as big a champion for the Working Class (and who speaks more for the working man than Ed Schultz) has a difference of opinion and suddenly HE's a Republican....It's no wonder we can't take all three houses...we are our own worst enemy. We don't have to worry about the barbarians at the gate waiting tearing us apart....we have internal barbarians to do that for them.

[Egalitarian Thug]

58. He's been a sellout for his entire career. He's an entertainer and will do or say anything

that keep those seven figure checks coming in.

[treestar]

67. So does Jon Stewart

Yet people will claim he is serious news.

[DebJ]

47. I want to hear someone say on his show that the oil is all being sent overseas.

We have nothing to gain in this, and everything to lose.

[NuclearDem]

48. Because he was a conservative commentator not too long ago who saw the writing on the wall.

He's never been a bastion of progressivism, just an opportunist.

[lillypaddle]

54. Oh good god!

Just because someone holds a different view, someone "got" to them? Sometimes liberals can be so intolerant. 99% of Ed's views can be spot on, but OMG if he dares to disagree on the other 1%.

[Egalitarian Thug]

57. Do you know anything at all about Ed Schultz?

I didn't think so.

[lillypaddle]

61. Don't presume

what I know or don't know. I am very familiar with Ed and his stances on various issues. You just proved my case: I don't agree with you so I must not know anything.

I happen to disagree with Ed on the XL pipeline. I'm just not willing to throw him under the bus because of this one issue.

[Egalitarian Thug]

62. And of course, you didn't answer the question.

None of you ever do.What I find especially perplexing is how eager you all are to accept what southerners would call a carpet-bagger into your hearts and homes, despite how often you end up robbed.

How about you look at the record before deciding that this radio entertainer is some wonderful defender of the light, pure and above reproach.

As I said to VR earlier, quit being such a sucker, for your own sake.

[lillypaddle]

63. Arrogant much?

Hard to believe I've made it to age 66 without your advice.

[Egalitarian Thug]

68. Oh yes, the next step, ad hominem attack while avoiding the issue at hand.

Simply staying above ground is no accomplishment, I'm not far behind you and take no pride in the fact that I've managed to avoid the fates that so many others I've known have succumbed to. OTOH, I have lived and learned much along the way and one of the most valuable lessons I've learned is that very few people really have the integrity to stand up for what they know is right when the price of that act is dear.

The last sentence of my last reply was for your benefit, not mine. I couldn't care less about the opinion of a fan, and will not be suckered by such an amateur schtick as Ed Schultz's.

[bigdarryl]

69. He's catching PURE HELL on this issue from progressives

And rightly so

[treestar]

66. Exactly!

How dare anyone hold an opinion? And let's never consider why they hold that opinion.

This pipeline, like the TPP, is a DU litmus test. You are to unreasoningly follow the dictates regarding it in lockstep. No questions allowed or you get insulted.

[Egalitarian Thug]

56. Reagan, about 40 years ago.

I don't know from where you people ever got the idea that Ed Schultz has ever been anything other than a conservative. He's an under-educated jock-strap that wasn't good enough to play, so he went into sportscasting where he failed again.

He then moved to Fargo to do the play-by-play for a division 2 college football team. He eventually figured out that, once again, he wasn't good enough and so became a conservative talk show host where, once again, he failed. Giving credit where credit is due, his tenacity eventually lead him to glom onto the emerging liberal talk radio show market. His "conversion" was well timed this time and he rose on the wave of anti-bush/anti-war sentiment.

Now, almost 20 years later he is a multimillionaire taking home an additional 7 figures a year, but make no mistake, while he is making a killing as a front man for the "liberal" establishment, he is still Ed Schutlz, hard-nosed conservative dickhead.

[Puglover]

70. Add to that an ego as big as he is.

I stopped listening to his self promoting horseshit months ago. I'll take Thom Hartmann any day over Ed Schultz's ersatz Rush speak.

[840high]

80. So did I.

[RedstDem]

104. swing

and a miss

[Vinca]

64. He's being very right wing on this issue and I don't get it either.

Maybe if the damn pipeline crossed his beloved fishing lakes he'd feel differently. Now he's being just like a Republican. If it doesn't interfere with his life, it's just fine.

[Freddie Stubbs]

73. Schultz and most of the other MSNBC hosts are generally supportive of President Obama and his

administration. Perhaps they were given a heads up on the final decision.

[rdharma]

74. Ed is defending his position on Keystone XL right now. nt

[mindem]

77. I'm done watching him.

Quite frankly, he's pissing me off. He is not really the sharpest knife in the drawer.

[bravenak]

78. This has gotten on my nerves so bad this week.

Like oil pipelines are so safe. Ours isn't. Then you have to ship the oils around the world in large ships. Everybody forgets about the Exxon Valdez oil spill, and the fact that those fuckers didn't pay what they owed for the damage and ruined our shores for decades and we have not fully recovered over 20 years later. Safer my ass. Dangerous at every point.

I wish Ed would STFU and start listening to people.

[librechik]

85. Ed is a nice guy, but a nitwit. he is easily led. n/t

[former9thward]

86. Not everybody is on the group think bandwagon.

People can have honest differences of opinion. Not everybody has been "got to" or has "sold out."

[frazzled]

91. Because the AFL-CIO has backed it

The building trades unions have been keen on this for a long time because it means a lot of construction jobs. Ed's a union guy. Sometimes labor and environment are at odds. Welcome to the complicated world of politics and self-interest.

[bullwinkle428]

92. Randi Rhodes' comment from around 3-4 years ago : "Ed is just not that bright."

Not a Randi fanboy by any stretch of the imagination, but she sure was spot-on with that observation.

[G_j]

96. he is allowed his opinion of course

and I don't think anyone got to him.
But his use of the term "eniviros" in a derogatory way is very disturbing.

[Douglas Carpenter]

97. you will find that a lot of union oriented Democrats will put jobs as their top priority ahead of

environmental issues. He is not "selling out". He is speaking from the standpoint of most labor oriented Democrats. Sometimes liberal principles conflict.

[RedstDem]

103. jobs

jobs is pretty much it.