Ed Schultz announced yesterday that he was pro-life

[CTyankee]

A right winger called in and accused Democrats of being pro-death and when Schultz rebutted him, the caller asked how he felt about abortion and Schultz said "I'm pro-life." He didn't elaborate, except to say something like, "We've got to get back to the center."

Am I the last person to know this? I've been listening to Schultz for several months, but I've never been a big fan (as far as I'm concerned, he's an add-on after Al Franken). He gets some big names on Capitol Hill on his show (Ted Kennedy was on the phone yesterday with him).

What a downer!

[bbernardini]

1. Right, because getting back to the center has worked SO WELL.

[CottonBear]

2. Well, well, that's easy for him to say since he's a MAN.

I've listened to him a few times. He sounds (his voice) just like Rush. Perhaps that is his appeal for the station owners. I listen to Randi Rhodes. I simply don't understand why any AA stations would run him instead of Randi.

[CTyankee]

11. My guess is

that he's what Ellen Goodman calls someone who can approve of abortion only in cases of "rape, incest and me." I'm sure if it affected his wife or daughter or sister or lover there would always be an "exception" to his "pro-life" stand.

[KharmaTrain]

3. I'm Pro-Life...I'm In Favor Of The Life Of The Mother...

I'm so tired of the twisting of lexicon. This isn't about life, this is about Choice...or a woman's right to choose. If anything, those who want to return abortions to the backroom are in favor of the death of thousands of women...not to mention those "cherished babies".

So what if he's "Pro-Life". To each their own...and I didn't know being a Progressive or Democrat required taking a litmus test. If anything, I thought we were against such things. Diversity is what makes Democrats different than Repugnicans and this includes those whose views aren't "core" Democratic issues.

The bottom line is we need all the friends we can muster these days. The infighting among Democrats, Progressives and others gives fodder to the right wing hate machine that paints us as weak and unorganized. I've heard Schultz...his show is carried in Chicago...and I can take or leave some of what he says, but on the whole he's more "with us" than "against us".

I could see "left coast liberals" not glamming onto him, since he's definitely Midwest in both tone and worldview. He's more at home at a VFW hall than a Movie Revival House. And ya know, that's a voice that isn't bad to have out there. In some cases, he relates to the "red" and "purple" areas far better than a Franken or anyone else on AAR. If anything, I could see him drawing a lot of Garrison Keilor's listeners.

[SHRED]

4. Well put

I'm a "left coaster" and see the value in having his voice on the radio.
Ed did about a week on biodiesel and has environmental guests on. What other show does?
His voice brings in rural and suburban listeners.
He is getting very popular, and that is a good thing for us.

[jonnyblitz]

5. aaah...the glass is half full.

I have never heard him but find the comments, both pro and con, interesting. Being the 'purist" i am i would probably not like him.

[KharmaTrain]

15. Do We Need More Preaching To The Choir?

I think we all are getting pretty revved up in our own "world" per se...but there's a lot of people...many we share some or many values and issues with we need and aren't reaching.

Nah, you'd probably wouldn't like him...and given a chance to hear a Stephanie Miller or Mike Malloy or Randi Rhodes or Amy Goodman, I'd be on another station. However, while our side still isn't heard, there's a "middle" that need to be connected with that will help us form the voting majorities to start turning these things around.

I've long advocated that we need more local and regional voices on the air. We need someone who can relate the Social Security scam to local issues or how the tax giveaways to the rich meant less money for local schools or roads. It's the Schlutzs who can be that bridge.

[RUMMYisFROSTED]

17. Well, if you like to hear the term "Big Eddie" 50 times an hour,

you'd absolutely love him. I think he's "Ed" and his ego is "Big Eddie." :shrug:

[CTyankee]

7. Speaking as an East Coast Liberal

I can certainly understand your point. There are plenty of sturdy midwestern liberals and a strong history of progressives (BTW, a caller to his show from Wisconsin mentioned Bob LaFollett and Schultz didn't seem to know who he was!)

I wouldn't put Schultz in the same category as Garrison Keilor. For one thing he doesn't have Keilor's intellect or great sense of humor. Schultz does, however, bring in some white males to our side. I hope that once we get 'em we can educate them on the prochoice side.

[KharmaTrain]

14. I Didn't Say Schultz Was Keilor

Just that he appeals to that "midwestern mentality". I envision a man I worked with...middle-aged, conservative, church-goer...has beers with the boys and likes to tinker with cars or guns or both. Call 'em "salt of the earth"...many of these people formed the corp of LaFollette's army and of the DFLP that grew out of the Progressive movement of the 20's.

Again, I don't consider Schultz to be anything great...but he's far better than the hate mongers I get on other places on the dial.

Two weeks ago, I drove from St. Louis to Chicago. All along the way, it was small station after small station with Rushbo and other right wing fire breathers. It wasn't until I got within 100 miles of home that I was able to get the local AAR station...and there was Schlutz. From that vantage point, he was a breath of fresh air.

Cheers!

[Deja Q]

6. "pro life" to me is far more encompassing than being anti-abortion...

The reich winger is touting catchphrases as if they were more. He knows full well that once the baby plops out of mommy, he won't give a damn about it until it commits a crime - then it's death penalty time, woo-hoo.

And we do need to get back to the center; it's so fascistly pro-reich and pro-corporate and skewed against the consumers (aka the rest of us, or the people.)

[rooboy]

8. Ed Schultz is an EX-REPUBLICAN...

WTF would he know about "Getting back to the center"????

I literally get out of bed at 2am to switch my stream over to another network, just so I can avoid listening to this man. He's the left wing host that Fox approves of.

[berni_mccoy]

9. He also blamed the high gas prices

on the fact that people drive too fast.

This guy should be delisted from 'liberal' radio. He's a former republican who 'claims' he's become liberal. I don't believe it. If he's not directly bashing liberal ideas, he's backhanding them.

[rox63]

10. I don't care if he's personally against abortion

At least he doesn't seem to support taking away anyone else's right to have an abortion. And that's all that matters to me. He can believe the sky is green and that up is down, as long as he doesn't impose that belief on me.

[undeterred]

12. He's full of shit

not because he's pro-life, but because he's so full of himself.

[Puglover]

13. That jackass

lost me for good when he went after Howard Dean.

[in_cog_ni_to]

16. I just LOVE anti-choice MEN!

:sarcasm:

:grr::nuke::grr::nuke::grr::nuke::grr::nuke::grr:

THIS is for Schultz!

[DemonFighterLives]

18. I generally defend Big Ed

Although there is some stuff that cannot be defended. Eddy doesn't always get things right, but he can be pro life if he wants.
He needs to be schooled on a few democratic thiings, but in general he takes it to the repukes.

A guy from Fargo is like a brother to someone in MN, so he gets a pass once in a while. A guy I work with about goes through the roof when he's on. He only notes that he sounds like limblob and that is all it takes to irk him. He doesn't believe in listening to someone else telling him what to think. ---- So I tell him what to think!
:dem:

[orwell]

19. So

...is there a litmus test for voting Democratic. People have to get beyond one issue politics. That is what got us into this mess in the first place.

I am pro choice, and I expect the official stance of the Dem party will remain so, but if people who are anti-choice want to pull the "D" lever in 2006 welcome aboard...anything to remove this current group of clowns.

At the core I am an anarchist, so when do I get to vote for none of the above? By definition, I am always in the position of voting for the lesser of two evils.

[Norquist Nemesis]

20. I don't really care if he's 'pro-life'

That's his choice. Now, if he starts using his privilege of being on the airwaves as a mouthpiece to change legislation on abortion laws, that's another story. If he believes in the abortion is murder meme, then he and his wife can make those decisions about his personal life. Fine. Just so he allows me and my husband to have the same right of privacy to do so.

I'm not thrilled with Schultz. He said recently that he doesn't side with either party...strange statement for a host on a station that promotes itself as progressive. It seems to me that he's more of an "Independant". Too many Independants have the perception that makes them Centrists. The problem with Independants though, is they become one or two issue voters and rest of it be damned.