I have to retract my position on the Randi Rhodes thing that I made yesterday.

[Political Heretic]

In my rush to be fair and even-handed, I said I supported her suspension in a knee-jerk fashion. It was more about me trying to strike a cord for unity, being willing to be critical toward even people I agree with, etc.

Unfortunately, the more I learn about the situation the more I realize I was uninformed in my opinion yesterday. After listening to a whole show from SF yesterday about it, reading about it, watching it and thinking about it, I have to say I am concerned that Randi was suspended for off-air comments, whether made at a "function or not" as part of casual conversation comedy that was more than well received by the audience.

I was listening to Mike Malloy, and I think about all the things he has said in the past right on the air -- it feels like this has more to do with a bunch of bullies trying to bully the media around and less to do with comments that shocked air america. I'm also getting more than fed up at all the false outrage over every comment from anyone that rubs us the wrong way. As soon as a fellow progressive says one thing that we don't agree with, we're ready to crucify them - its getting ridiculous.

[KittyWampus]

1. finding out that Larry Johnson was gunning for Randi AND Roland Martin...

leaves a really bad taste.

I am not crazy about Randi, but she's a liberal voice. Abrasive and obnoxious... but then O'Reilly gets to stay on the air. And Randi is better looking :)

[eleny]

16. Did he ever change his affiliation from Republican to Dem?

I recall him always declaring himself to be a Republican. Given what has gone down over the years I always wondered why he stuck with them. In modern times, that Party has always been about grabbing power and keeping its collective hand on the middle class's wallet.

[niceypoo]

20. Ah, it is a CONSPIRACY!!

The fiendish plot thickens!!

The "Limbaugh does it" or "OReiley does it" tack just doesn't wash. Since when does leftie talk radio use Limbaugh, Savage, Coulter or OReiley to measure up to?

[anamandujano]

2. Wasn't she representing Air America? I guess the boss didn't like it.

[juajen]

3. Actually, I read that she was appearing at an Obama fundraiser, and that

his staff made all the arrangements. Any comment?

[tabatha]

4. Nope, not an Obama fundraiser.

[Huge Ego Sorry]

5. I believe you read wrong...

at least according to Air America's press release.
http://www.airamerica.com/blog/2008/apr/03/statement-air-america-radio-chair-charlie-kireker-1

[HCE SuiGeneris]

6. That thread was locked for lack of evidence. Perhaps you can provide some?

[SeattleGirl]

7. You heard incorrectly. It was not an Obama fundraiser.

There was some website run by an Obama supporter that was apparently promoting it, but it was in no way connected to Barack Obama.

[niceypoo]

17. No way connected to Obama???

Then why was it advertised on and tickets sold on his website?

[SeattleGirl]

24. Check the "fine print" above the "sold out" headline.

Looks to me like this is a place on his website where people can post info on events given by people who support Obama. That's quite different from something being put on BY Obama himself.

Another thing: If someone is hosting an event, they do not necessarily know IN ADVANCE what will happen or what will be said. I think you are reaching and twisting on this one.

[rodeodance]

28. That 'disclaimer' was added yesterday. wonder why.ummm..

[Ninga]

35. Darn it! There you go being reasonable (good for you!!!). n/t

[Political Heretic]

8. Yes I have a comment. You're dead wrong. Thread on the mainpage right now with link to prove it.

[Shakespeare]

9. Please stop spreading that nasty lie.

Unfuckingbelievable.

[niceypoo]

10. It was advertised on his site

Here is the original Ad from his website:







http://my.barackobama.com/page/event/detail/4r2cc">Then MAGICALLY a disclaimer appeared! (after she made the idiotic statement)

[Political Heretic]

12. It was NOT an Obama fundraiser -- READ:

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=132x5391240

[niceypoo]

14. I just edited my post, with his original ad...

before it was MAGICALLY turned into a DISCLAIMER!!

[rodeodance]

21. damage control

[Political Heretic]

27. Yeah and read what it says. Nuff said.

"I do not control tickets for this event. This is Green960s event"

[Eric J in MN]

22. Any of us could post on DU that a radio host will be in town next week...

...meet at ___ for phone banking, and then let's go see the radio host.

Similarly, visitors to the Obama website can make similar posts.

That visitor added the disclaimer because the webpage was being linked to as proof that the event was a fundraiser for Obama, which it wasn't.

[PA Democrat]

18. Debunked. Link here:

http://www.green960.net/cc-common/mainheadlines2.html?feed=213008&article=3493425

Comments made by Randi Rhodes were made during a Green 960 Event on March 22nd. Those in attendance were required to sign up through Green960.com and paid $5 to attend. Money raised went to Green960.

[AtomicKitten]

26. I was there and you have it exactly right.

The event had nothing to do with Obama, in fact, I don't even recall his name being mentioned. I got the link to Randi's site for the event right here at DU. No tickets were "sold" over the internet. It was reservation only, a "sold out" event, pay at the door. So, the info being floated by folks interested in muddying the waters is unequivocal bullshit. But I suspect most of you here at DU already know that.

Viva free speech.

FREE RANDI RHODES

[DerekJ]

23. That thread was locked because it was a lie.

[TSIAS]

11. I'm not a big fan as well

This is coming from someone who listened to her in West Palm Beach long before she garnered national acclaim. I used to like her a lot, but her abrasive tone (Especially towards those who agreed with her) turned me off.

Nevertheless, I stand with her in this incident. Like you said, it appears there is a coordinated effort to get her canned and replaced with known Clinton shill Taylor Marsh. And now it seems as if her opponents are disengenuously claiming that she was speaking at an Obama fundraiser.

Lets hope Mark Green, despite his strong allegiances for Clinton, does the right thing and reinstates her. But if not, I'm sure there are plenty of liberal outlets who would pick her up.

[bigbrother05]

13. I didn't read much of what was said yesterday

but I appreciate your candor.
I have really been disappointed in DU lately, with all the knee jerk reactions.
It is lockstep on just about every post.
This place use to be progressive, I know wait till after the primaries.
But I don't think it will return to what it was.

[ampad]

15. Same here

I listened to Malloy last night and he made quite a bit of sense.

[jillan]

19. Haha - I love your sig line!

[ncsoapmaker]

25. Randi went to far

At what point will people stop degrading women in this country. The words whore, cunt, slut, are as offensive to me as the words n**ger, spook and spade are to any person of color. These words ,all of them, are used for one reason and one reason only....to debase, humiliate, and reduce that person to less than nothing. These are all vile and disgusting words...and should be treated as such. I have watched with disgust as the conversation in this country has regressed to this hateful name calling.Perhaps its time we as americans can have a thoughtful discussion about gender based hate speech. The speech that Senator Obama gave a few weeks ago regarding race in this country was wonderful and long overdue, perhaps its time for another speech. I had stopped listing to Randi Rhodes several months ago, her hateful , visceral , speech against Hillary Clinton was more than I could take. So I exercised my right and tuned the show off. However..I have a hard time believing that if someone representing any show...had called Senator Obama a fucking n**ger, that you would be supporting their right to free speech. We as a country need to stand up for all of our citizens no matter what color or gender and say enough is enough. Unfortunately Randi went too far and got what she deserved...its sad with such wonderful candidates running for the Democratic nomination we have reduced ourselves to pathetic name calling and hate speech.

[bbgrunt]

36. interesting that you say

"I had stopped listing to Randi Rhodes several months ago, her hateful , visceral , speech against Hillary Clinton was more than I could take." Really?

since Randi had been very even handed until about 2 weeks ago when the Tuzla incident came to light.

[ncsoapmaker]

37. Hey bbgrunt I stand corrected....

I had stopped listening to Randi a few months ago...but you are correct , her comments were just smarmy and smart assed then,total and completely Hillary bashing. There is no way you can call her comments evenhanded. But it still begs the question...if she or anyone else called Senator Obama a "fucking n**ger, would you be standing up for their right to free speech? That's the real question...and one I don't see asked on these forums...or answered. I would imagine that those calling the station in her defense...are Obama supporters, and if they were listing to her show and enjoying her Clinton bashing saw nothing wrong with her remarks in Tuzla.

[Catherina]

29. I'm listening to the discussion by the show's hosts and sponsors

It's not very pretty. Nor are the listener calls, every call so far is from an outraged caller standing up for Randi and free speech.

UPDATE: Air America Suspends Randi Rhodes
Full Event Footage, The Facts & Updates

UPDATE: We are now featuring the video of Green960's Randi Rhodes event in it's entirety.

Since many have already seen a shortened version on YouTube & since FOX is spinning it, we feel it is important for the event to be seen in it's entirety with the facts nearby.

Click Here to Watch the Video

Comments made by Randi Rhodes were made during a Green 960 Event on March 22nd. Those in attendance were required to sign up through Green960.com and paid $5 to attend. Money raised went to Green960.


This event took place at Broadway Studios in San Francisco on a Saturday, March 22nd.

Green960's event was posted on My.BarackObama.com's event listings by a listener of the station as a social meetup & is no way affiliated with Barack Obama's presidential campaign. The $5 collected was for Green960 AM, KKGN.


The entire video of the event was made available through Green960 to our listeners and Randi Rhodes fans on March 26th.

Air America, not Green960, has suspended Randi Rhodes indefinitely.



http://www.green960.net/cc-common/mainheadlines2.html?feed=213008&article=3493425

HERE IS THE AUDIO LINK WHERE THEY DESCRIBE THE EVENT AS "CLEARLY A STAND-UP COMEDY ROUTINE", STATE THAT SHE WASN'T APPEARING ON BEHALF OF AIR AMERICA BUT OF GREEN 960 and discuss other disturbing aspects of this witch hunt. As far as Green960 is concerned, she was on her own time, doing her own thing. They said Clinton "big money types" are behind this.

Thanks for rethinking this :)

[LTR]

30. AAR suspending Rhodes is basically damage control

It's similar to what happened to Don Imus last year, or David Shuster at MSNBC.

Closest situation would be Dana Jacobson at ESPN, who made some pretty bawdy comments about Notre Dame and Jesus at a private roast for a couple fellow ESPN talents (though it was all in fun, and it was a private event). She got suspended for a couple weeks after the Catholic League got riled up about it.

The Rhodes situation is similar. AAR is merely doing damage control, and also trying to placate listeners, some Beltway insiders and sponsors. It happens quite frequently in radio and television whenever there's a controversy. She'll be back. I'll give it two weeks.

Here's something I wrote about it, and I'm not afraid to call Clinton, Ferraro and even that hypocritical racist bastard Larry Johnson 'whores.'

http://ltradio.blogspot.com/2008/04/war-of-words-oh-whore-horror.html

[Catherina]

31. You're LTRadio?

Congratulations. I was reading it last night and just bookmarked it for the future. I think it's worse than damage control (witch hunt) but that's just quibbling over words.

[LTR]

32. I've seen it done in broadcasting quite often

I predicted it would come down to a suspension. Rhodes should be proud, since it's quite common among the more controversial types. I wouldn't sweat it.

Rhodes is AAR's highest-profile personality. When the heat dies down, she'll be back.

And yes, that's me.

[Catherina]

33. I'm not sweating it for her but the outrage remains

The premature dancing on the grave over at Larry's place is too foul.

Have you watched the entire video of her SF performance? It's funnier than I was expecting.



Click Here to Watch the Video

I swear it's Randy and not that weird Rick something song.

[Eric J in MN]

34. Definitions of "whore"

Regarding this definition of whore:

"3. A person considered as having compromised principles for personal gain."

I wouldn't say that Geraldine Ferraro wanting Hillary Clinton to be elected president = "personal gain" if it happens.

I wouldn't call her a "whore" for that, even though Ferraro has said dubious things.

This may be one of the reasons I didn't find the Randi Rhodes routine funny.

Personally, I use the term "corporate whore," but it's for politicians selling-out for lobbyist-arranged travel and corporate-lobbyist donations.

For a person to sell-out involves getting paid, and Ferraro wasn't paid by the Clinton campaign.