LA Times: Howard Stern Imperils Bush

[Jack_Dawson]

I think you need a username/password (it's free) but here's the link anyway:

http://www.latimes.com/news/opinion/commentary/la-oe-rosen28apr28,1,6204380.story

Exerpts...

Some might dismiss this as bluster, but Stern's words should send a shiver up Karl Rove's spine. Stern has a record of successful election-year activism; political observers in New York and New Jersey remember how his on-air endorsements delivered key votes to George Pataki and Christine Todd Whitman in past gubernatorial races.

What's more, although Stern's approximately 8.5 million listeners are often dismissed as overgrown frat boys, they might more accurately be called swing voters. They are overwhelmingly white and male, many are well educated and well off, and they vote. And millions of them listen to Stern's show in battleground states — Pennsylvania, Michigan, Ohio, Missouri, Tennessee, Florida — where the election will be decided.

That means he tackles subjects that no one else would touch. Where else but on Stern's show would you hear an avowed atheist mocking the Taliban-like religiosity of the president, whom Stern has nicknamed "Mr. Jesus"? (Welcome to the true "No Spin Zone.")

By all indications, Stern's message is getting through. Since the FCC crackdown, his ratings have been going up. For example, Arbitron says he's now No. 1 in Los Angeles in the 25-to-54 age group, a spot he last occupied in 1995. And among entertainer websites, his was rated second (behind Oprah's) in mid-April.

[mzmolly]

1. Not a fan of Sterns juvenille humor, but I'll take his activism any day.

:toast: to Mr. Stern

[Redbear]

17. I totally agree.

Politics does make strange bedfellows.

[FloridaPat]

2. Go Howard! Amazing what can happend when you brain is

cleared of repub crap!

[Rebellious Republican]

3. They should invite him on Air America Radio!

He would be able to bring a huge audience to hear our side.

[Bombtrack]

8. Stern is going to stay with Infinity as long as he's on broadcast radio

which unfortunatly probably isn't that long.

[Missy Vixen]

32. He's had at least one meeting with Sirius

I know I'll be investing in satellite radio when he gets there...

Julie

[WolverineDG]

39. actually

if you wanna make money, invest in sirius BEFORE he signs w/them.

i know i am.

dg

[RoyGBiv]

4. A friend in Florida

I have a friend living in Florida who his entire life has been less politically aware than my cat. He just tunes out.

But he's a *huge* Stern fan, and Stern has him fired up. He called me the other day and asked, "Hey did you know about ..." and started ticking off things Stern's been harping on. I just listened, then finally asked if he were registered yet. He said he was. I'll be calling him multiple times on Nov. 2 to make sure he actually made it to the polls.

I just hope his vote gets counted. This is Florida.

[Stuckinthebush]

9. That is incredible anecdotal evidence...

Imagine, you could have given him the same information about Bush and it never would have hit home. But, when Stern does it, this guy sits up and listens.

Powerful.

Folks, I do believe we have a win in 2004 if this keeps up.

[Jack_Dawson]

19. Totally. Have him tell two friends...

[RoyGBiv]

27. More powerful than I thought...

Must be some weird cosmic energy at work today. Five minutes after posting that, the phone rang, and it was him.

First, we talked about Clear Channel stuff and what they've done to some of his other favorite radio personalities. When he lived near Orlando, he befriended some people on a radio show that was on from 10 - 3. I don't know anything about the show myself, other than it was in the shock jock mold, only with a group, rather than one person. Clear Channel has moved them to the early morning drive time slot, which in no way is their target audience. The reasons for this move were unclear to me, but my friend said it had turned them from Bush/administration supporters into harsh Bush critics, and they're openly saying they probably won't have their jobs much longer.

Clear Channel also removed some guy named Bubba the Love Sponge after a single complaint prompted an FCC investigation into a show in which he talked about penises a lot. He was fired.

Then my friend ranted for a long time about the criticisms of Kerry's war record. My friend has a lot of veterans in his family, and this has got him really pissed off.

It's all rather amazing to me really. I rarely have a conversation with this guy that doesn't quickly turn into him detailing his latest relationship with a woman. My last few conversations have been all politics.

Anyway...it is all anecdotal, but it's the kind of thing that gives me hope. I know at least one person who has woken up, and that's more than I knew a few months ago.

[hippiegranny]

31. same in my family

my son-in-law was even more politically clueless than your cat. but he listens to stern. about a month ago he asked me for a voter registration form. now every time i see him, he says "we're gonna vote that bush bastard out!"

[krkaufman]

51. loved your post

> my son-in-law was even more politically clueless than your cat.

I'm still chuckling.

[LoZoccolo]

43. Have him CHECK if he's still on the voter rolls.

Serious. You don't want him to get to the polls and find out he's been scrubbed and it's too late in the process to do anything about it. Check early and check often. And have all his friends do it and pass it on.

[RoyGBiv]

47. I thought of that...

Tried to educate him about the Katherine Harris thing.

He's fairly recently registered, within the last year anyway. But it is still a good practice to check your registration with enough time to do something about it if your name's been removed.

[RUMMYisFROSTED]

54. Make sure your cat is registered, too.

[MrSlayer]

5. You don't fuck with Howard.

As many a person has learned over the years. He and his fans will eat you alive.

[rumguy]

6. No one can clown and mock someone better than Stern, and he

does it in a way that makes you think...

I'm loving this jihad Stern has declared against the shrub.

Check out his website, it has become a place of activism.

www.howardstern.com

[number6]

11. jihad Stern has declared against the shrub.

jihad..against the shrub , I like it !

[rumguy]

18. I believe Stern himself has used the word jihad...

[Jack_Dawson]

24. It SHOULD be a jihad

Nothing else will keep these freaks at bay.

[revcarol]

36. I prefer "our lives, our fortunes and our sacred honour"

to jihad, but whatever.

[rumguy]

37. he calls it a radio jihad against the culture war of the repigs

[Karenina]

53. Brilliant!

[hippiegranny]

34. what a fabulous link!

the website rocks. now i am curious as to where i might listen to stern in the mornings in phoenix. npr is sometimes just a bit too deferential to the bushies. for instance, they insist on calling him "president" bush. that isn't necessary. anyway, does anyone know offhand what station he's on here?

[calimary]

7. Well, well, well.

Note THIS part, all you who would claim that a liberal or anti-bush message won't get any listeners/viewers...

"Since the FCC crackdown, his ratings have been going up. For example, Arbitron says he's now No. 1 in Los Angeles in the 25-to-54 age group, a spot he last occupied in 1995."

Eat THAT, limbaugh!

[rumguy]

13. shrub bashing = ratings gold

[Jack_Dawson]

14. Liberals: A COMPLETELY unaddressed market!

They're starving in the desert of AM talk radio wasteland. Of course Stern's Bush rantings have given him huge ratings...

:beer:

:toast:

[Must_B_Free]

28. One problem

Liberals actually use their brains, thus they do not need to be "fed" what to think.

[0rganism]

45. Sure, but it's really nice to listen to someone who agrees now & then

People don't listen to political talk radio to have thoughts "fed" to them, not even the Limbaugh crowd. They listen for ideological confirmation and reinforcement on issues. Stern can do this far better than Limbaugh, if he wants to.

[Bombtrack]

10. Can people post the rest of the article in peices please

I just signed up for one newspaper and I really don't want to bother signing up for another. I believe I already tried with the LA times and never got a confirmation E-Mail back

[Jack_Dawson]

16. More Pieces...(the beginning)

A strange new sound has been crackling over the nation's radio airwaves, the same airwaves that have been dominated by Rush Limbaugh and other specialists in right-wing Sturm und Drang. Suddenly, in the thick of an election year, a left-leaning equivalent has emerged, riling a mass audience with scathing, eloquent attacks on the Bush administration.

The biggest surprise of all? The long-sought liberal talk radio hero isn't Air America's Al Franken, but that walking, talking wedge issue, Howard Stern.

Fittingly, the politicization of Stern began with a woman's bared breast. The Federal Communications Commission crackdown on broadcast indecency that followed Janet Jackson's Super Bowl "wardrobe malfunction" hit Stern hard. The FCC proposed fining broadcast giant Clear Channel Communications $495,000 for several of Stern's raunchy utterances; Clear Channel promptly dropped Stern from its six stations that had carried him.

Stern has been at odds with the FCC for years, but these latest proposed fines, and the looming threat of more, have driven Stern to a new level of apoplexy — and to broadcasting the most pugnacious anti-Bush vitriol anywhere in the mainstream media. In Stern's view, he is the victim of a witch hunt, singled out by an administration in the grip of fundamentalist Christian ideologues bent on morality regulation.

These days, Stern's broadcasts are divided between his usual schtick — interviews with strippers, off-color song parodies, jokes about celebrities — and rants against the president. Stern will never be mistaken for a policy wonk, but tune in to his show and you'll hear him cogently attacking administration positions on an impressive range of issues: stem-cell research, abortion rights, gay marriage, media consolidation, the handling of Iraq.

Meanwhile, Stern's revamped website looks more like Mother Jones magazine than Maxim: It features articles about the administration's trade violations in Myanmar and includes a link to the contributions page of the John Kerry for President site. Indeed, Stern has become an ardent Kerry advocate. "I call on all fans of the show to vote against Bush," he said on a recent broadcast. "We're going to deliver the White House to John Kerry."

[tigereye]

26. that is so amazing

Howard Stern compared to Mother Jones... I just can't quite get my head around it. Naked women, breast size comparisons and fart jokes just not getting it done, eh?

[Blasphemer]

12. He does have a good record...

He has supported lots of local repubs (though not the screwy right wing type) but they generally win - Whitman, Pataki, Guiliani, Ahhnold - but nationally, he usually goes Dem (Clinton twice, Gore) as he is pro-choice (he liked McCain alot except for his pro-life stance). Howard is a good representative of a moderate voter and since most of his listeners are the same, it's great that he's getting the word out.

[Shakespeare]

15. So did they crib it word-for-word from Salon?

Salon ran this story about a month ago. Plagiaristic latecomers...

[Jack_Dawson]

21. LA Times > Salon

Smaller pubs always "get it" first, but I'll take LA Times' readership any day.

[Leilani]

20. That is a terrific article!

I don t listen to Stern, but I appreciate his cutting wit.

To have him after the Chimp is invaluable!!!!

Stern has all sorts of listeners, & he can really help Kerry.

And FINALLY, someone out there with a michrophone is telling the TRUTH!!!

[Jack_Dawson]

22. Lots of UNREGISTERED Listeners, too!

The kind that don't show up in polls (yet). Keep it up, Howie!

:toast:

[0rganism]

23. Wish he'd invite Greg Palast to "get naked" on his show

Palast would outright blow the minds of his listener base. I bet 99% of them don't have a clue what kind of shit Uber-bitch Harris pulled in Florida.

[rumguy]

25. very true...palast would make a good guest

he's had arrianna huffington on...

[11bravo1986]

29. Howard Stern is a...

racist, sexist, pervert, scumbag, degenerate pig!

I love you Howard, for being you and recognizing the big lie that is the * administration!

Live and let live!

[rumguy]

35. he's not racist, and he's not sexist

he's always argued for women's rights and is friends with many black entertainers, among them Chris Rock...his co-host and great friend is a black woman!!!

whatever...that's all I can say...

got anything else to ad to the discussion?

[scottxyz]

41. People who think Howard's racist or sexist or homophobic or xenophobic....

... are people who can't get a joke without a laughtrack.

Remember that one of the best drag queens in the country - Shirley Q. Liquor - was banned in New York City last year after a bunch of so-called left-wing groups representing gay people of color protested "her" show at the View bar in Chelsea ("she" being a white male who portrays a very interesting Southern black woman - usually the audio files are the top download on mp3.com). Pretty much the only person who wrote in to the local gay papers to support Shirley Q was RuPaul. So either RuPaul is sexist and racist and homophobic or "People of Color in Crisis" of Brooklyn and groups like them got it all wrong.

I guess this is just what people mean by "PC" - politically correct. For some people, any MENTION of someone black or gay or foreign or female in a humorous way is ipso facto racist or homophobic or xenophobic or sexist/misogynist.

Let me tell you something - as a gay man, if I had had the opportunity during highschool to hear Howard's juvenile on-air snickering over "homos", I probably would have gotten his shtick for what it was: just Archie Bunker (who I also watched in those days) minus the laugh track.

Howard's demographic does include a bunch of overgrown straight white frat boys who like beer - and so does most of this country. If we took a look, we'd probably see that Howard's demographic also includes the same sprinkling of gays, blacks, women, and foreigners as the rest of the country. The point being...?

Thank heavens there's SOMEONE out there who's "interdemographic" enough to reach out all across the spectrum. (I don't have the same sexuality as Howard and his guests - but I love listening to them carry on.)

"Democrats" are supposed to be for the People, remember? If there's a little talk about boobs and babes and beer - well, the comedian's a straight divorced male who likes to drink, so hello? Give Margaret Cho and Randi Rhodes national shows and they'll do more than enough to start representing the rest of THAT spectrum on their talk-shows.

Spontaneous stand-up comedy is an art form. The sooner we start using the Internet to let a thousand Howard Sterns bloom, the sooner everyone will understand this. And of course he's anti-Bush.

The Media are driving this whole election - it's Jodi Wilgoren over at the Times today

http://www.dailyhowler.com/dh042804.shtml

versus Howard Stern and Jon Stewart and Larry Flynt and thousands of bloggers like atrios.blogspot.com and corrente.blogspot.com and people at DU. The RNC/FCC is sending up test ballons to see if "indecency" can be used to destroy freedom of speech in this country - because with it, they know their candidate can't win.

We need to remind them of the quote at the head of Howard's website:

"If there is a bedrock principle of the First Amendment, it is that the government may not prohibit the expression of an idea simply because society finds the idea offensive or disagreeable."
- US Supreme Court Justice William Brennan, 1989

[rumguy]

44. very, very astute post

thanks for posting that!

I feel exactly the same way.

[RoyGBiv]

52. Wonderful

That was an amazing post. Thank you for writing it.

[11bravo1986]

48. I realize it is just his...

on air persona, my opinion is that he comes off that way on the air. However I am willing to look past that and congratulate him on his views about this insanely-obviously corrupt * administration.

[proud patriot]

30. Go Howard Go

B-)

[scottxyz]

33. Check out the transcript summary from today's show

Check out the transcript summary of today's show, from the www.howardstern.com website.

Remember this is one of the BIGGEST shows in the country. Howard is great! He's was like AirAmericaRadio and the Internet before they existed.

* Howard reads a Ricki Lake transcript on the air about weed, sex, orgasms and masturbation, wonders why she hasn't been fined yet.


* John Kerry is Howard's hero. Howard recounts how Kerry volunteered to fight in Vietnam, led his men into many battles, saw his friends get shot and die, and came home to protest. He's a hero to the men who died there for nothing, because he came back home and spoke on their behalf.


* Check out page 27 of the NY Post - Picture of Lisa Marie Presley, and she's fat!!!


* Was Hitler gay? Howard plays clips of a documentary exploring that question, and it accused Hitler of making out with a man and paying young boys for sex.


* Pamela Anderson is still the hottest girl ever, despite her Hep C. Howard says she's even hotter than Rebecca Romijn Stamos.


* Howard replays the controversial High Pitch Eric/KC phony phone call (where KC got Eric to agree to give him oral).


* The FCC does not go after Spanish Speaking radio jocks. MSNBC.com reported that Latin Shock Jocks Enrique Santos and Joe Ferrero from Miami use vulgarity never used on the Howard Stern show, yet because their show is in Spanish, the FCC is slow to go after them. Howard says this is another example of government laziness, because they won't take the time to translate their shows to English. He also questioned why the Bush administration isn't concerned about Latin Children as much as he claims to be about English speaking children.


* Gary comes into the studio to deliver some incredible ratings news from San Diego. It turns out that the Clear Channel station that dropped Howard’s show went from an 8.9 with Howard to a 0.7 without him. Here’s the ratings comparison:

Howard was dropped from Clear Channel's KIOZ-FM (San Diego) in February

Demo Feb(Howard) March(No Howard)
P12+ 8.9 1st place 0.7 27th place
M18+ 12.7 1st place 0.7 27th place
P18-34 20.6 1st place 0.8 19th place
P25-54 10.1 1st place 1.0 23rd place


* Cabbie's 2nd day for win John's Job, where he unveiled his new game - Guess the “Nese”. He played sound bytes of people speaking different languages, and we had to guess which "Nese" language they were speaking (Chinese, Japanese, etc..) Howard complained the game was too hard, because most of the answers required were very specific, like Chinese-Mandarin and Chinese-Cantanese.


* Howard starts making the list of who gets to fly with him on the private jet out to Vegas. We learned that the Spearmint Rhino strip club in Vegas wants to provide strippers for the flight, something that everyone seemed to welcome.


* Howard played a series of these quick interviews that Chaunce Hayden conducted with with Jessica Simpson, Jewel, Julianne Moore, Tara Reid and Elizabeth Regen. Simpson, Jewel and Reid all had no idea the FCC was going after Howard, while Regen supported his right to free speech. Chaunce came up to the studio to sit in while those interviews were being played, but instead was left in the Green Room.


* Doug calls in to defend the cash bar that he had at his wife’s 30th birthday party. Howard gave Doug a hard time about it and Doug relented that it probably was a bad idea.


* Best news of the day: Gena Lee Nolin's sex tape to be released on the internet soon, according to the NY Post!!

= = =

OK - So it's mixed in with stuff about naked ladies. Just like the free weekly city rag I betcha most of you read. (New York's "Village Voice" - Boston's "Phoenix" - Florida's "New Times"). I hope all the PC-ers who hold their nose about liking Howard can get over it. PS to PCers - when you think Howard's being racist or homophobic or xenophobic even sexist - try to picture Archie Bunker, minus the laughtrack. (A person with a "sense of humor" can usually supply their own.)

[0rganism]

40. Oh man, just found the "Bad American Presidents" mp3! HAHAHAHA

http://www.howardstern.com/sounds.html

He really is up in arms against bush! Woohoo!

Is there a link to an audio with the part about John Kerry as a hero? I'd like to listen to that bit.

[knight_of_the_star]

38. I wish I could get him down here now

I may not care for his brand of humour, but him cutting loose on Bush with both barrels is just music to my ears! This, mark my words, will win the election. Rove won't be able to ignore 8.5 million voters going AGAINST Bush when 100k is enough to decide it.

[calimary]

42. I loved this part:

"The biggest surprise of all? The long-sought liberal talk radio hero isn't Air America's Al Franken, but that walking, talking wedge issue, Howard Stern."

I would have referred to Howard Stern as not so much a "wedge issue" - as a "wedgie." Doesn't matter. Anybody that powerful and influential railing against bush can't be all bad! Go HOWARD!!!


Here's a few more snips...

Stern has been at odds with the FCC for years, but these latest proposed fines, and the looming threat of more, have driven Stern to a new level of apoplexy — and to broadcasting the most pugnacious anti-Bush vitriol anywhere in the mainstream media. In Stern's view, he is the victim of a witch hunt, singled out by an administration in the grip of fundamentalist Christian ideologues bent on morality regulation.

These days, Stern's broadcasts are divided between his usual schtick — interviews with strippers, off-color song parodies, jokes about celebrities — and rants against the president. Stern will never be mistaken for a policy wonk, but tune in to his show and you'll hear him cogently attacking administration positions on an impressive range of issues: stem-cell research, abortion rights, gay marriage, media consolidation, the handling of Iraq.

Meanwhile, Stern's revamped website looks more like Mother Jones magazine than Maxim: It features articles about the administration's trade violations in Myanmar and includes a link to the contributions page of the John Kerry for President site. Indeed, Stern has become an ardent Kerry advocate. "I call on all fans of the show to vote against Bush," he said on a recent broadcast. "We're going to deliver the White House to John Kerry."

Enjoy! I went and registered just for this.

NEVER would I have thought I'd see the day when Howard Stern would be regarded as a serious public service. Sonuvagun...

[Poor Richard]

46. The REAL No Spin Zone!

hehe I love that. We gotta spread that around.

I remember Howard from the old old days at DC101!

One Howard stern is equal to all of RW talk radio. Thank god he is doing this.

[Jack_Dawson]

49. Howard Watch Your Back!

Who knows what these sleazebags are capable of. Randi too! No small planes.

[Bushfire]

50. Have to love this pic on his website