RE: All the complaints about "Lionel"

[Matsubara]

Rewind to 2001. Talk radio was already mostly right-wing.

I was living in Miami, and there was only one anti-Bush voice I could find on the Radio, and that was Randi Rhodes. She was on Miami's WIOD and Palm Beach's WJNO.

Her love for right-leaning Clinton was a bit much for my taste, but at least she knew from the beginning that POS Bush was a crook.



Then came 9-11, and even Randi fell in line behind the "Commander-in-Chief", at least for a few months. But by early 2002, when it became clear to the few remaining sane people in America

that Bush was indeed a crook, and had probably invited 9-11 through his own incompetence, and that he was less interested in getting the terrorists than setting up playgrounds overseas for US engergy interests,

then Randi started to be a critic again. Well, I guess in Cuban-occupied Miami, that was not to be. WIOD suddenly became a "Fox Sports" affiliate, and WJNO was too far to get on the radio without going on a road trip

up north. So I made do by listening to Mike Malloy on ieamerica radio, but on the airwaves it was nothing but right-wing crap, all the time. They even brought in ever-stupider hosts, like "Todd Schnitt" to parrot the

GOP line. Even supposed democrat Phil Hendrie became a Bush-lover. It was horrible.




But then, in late 2002, the local talk station started playing this weekend-only show of this guy with a horrible nasal voice, but the shocking thing was, he was actually CRITICAL of Bush, and the war. It was a godsend,

and I listened whenever I could.



Today, we have Nova M, a more developed net, we have the rotting carcass of AAR, but at least now we have some choices for progressive thought on the air. It wasn't so long ago that ALL stations everywhere

(ouside of maybe Pacifica stations in Berkeley, NYC & LA) parroted nothing but the same party line.

So when you hear that annoying little libertarian Lionel on the radio, just count your blessings, because there once was a time when he actually represented the first glimmer of hope to some progressives.

[BuyingThyme]

1. Me too.

[terisan]

2. Agreed. I had found him late at night in GA radio wasteland broadcasting from afar.

Far better than the local fascist alternatives.

[Frank Cannon]

3. I actually like Lionel

I've always enjoyed his show. He's very knowledgeable about the law and explains things very well. His deconstructive conversations with the occasional right-wing caller can also be very hilarious. And I never get the sense that he's just making shit up, like I often do with Randi or Ed Schultz.

And he talks like Buddy Hackett. I always liked Buddy Hackett, so he makes me smile.

[patrice]

10. Re deconstruction . . .

His approach is Socratic; he proceeds by means of cross-examination. I like that.

[Frank Cannon]

18. Yeah, it's like cross-examination

Once these people are really forced to parse what they're saying, really listen to it, and then defend it, it's rather humorous to hear all the long pauses as the rusty gears begin turning.

[patrice]

19. It's actually very good for both sides of whatever issue.

The Socratic method forces people to clarify their own thinking. It CAN be kind of assaultive, though, so I hope Lionel be friendly about it, in order to get people to think, rather than just turning them off and driving them even further in whatever direction they're coming from.

It isn't that people should necessarily give up what they think, but whatever they think DOES need to be better articulated with other positions and doing that publicly can be a real service to everyone, not just the chosen few.

[Miss_Underestimated]

4. As soon as I hear Lionel's voice, I have to rush to the radio to turn it off, otherwise

I have an acute anaphylactic reaction. someone must owe someone a favor to have allowed this guy to be where he is now.

[patrice]

8. That's what Randi does to me. nm

[patrice]

5. I kind of like Lionel so far.

The only thing he's done I don't like thus far was jerking that one lady caller around about having her radio on. He was mean to her and I don't care how much I like a radio personality, I WILL NOT tolerate meanness.

Lionel is actually better than one of the subs AAR had (Dave? Ed?) who actually misrepresented how several callers had characterized the war. I noticed this because it was 3 or 4 calls in a row in which the callers referred to the war as "immoral". People haven't been saying that sort of thing so much, so I really noticed this. But when Ed, I believe it was, recapped those calls, right after he took them and just before signing off for the day he did not use the word "immoral". He said "You said the war is a failure." That really made me mad. If AAR ever hires that guy, I'm out of there.

We CAN handle the dialectic; Lionel will be fine as long as he is honest and fair and friendly with his callers.

[LTR]

6. People here are too quick to dismiss Lionel

Personally, I think he's pretty good.

He's what a radio host should be. He refuses to simply read talking points. He engages the callers. He forms his own opinions. He throws in some humor. And he's perhaps one of the best out there when it comes to handling callers. Ever hear him handle a Bushbot that calls in, robotically paraphrasing whatever bullshit Hannity said on his show? He destroys them! Nothing against Malloy, but quite honestly, he gets too flustered and hangs up on them. Lionel rips 'em to shreds. Too bad there won't be as many of those calling in to his show, now that he's on AAR.

Nonetheless, Lionel may not toe the typical liberal line, and that's fine by me. Listening to a whole roster of talk show hosts beat the same drum all day long is fatiguing. Same with the wingnut talk radio guys. I'd personally like to hear a little more variety in talk show hosts. Because quite honestly, many of them all start to sound the same after awhile. And I'd hate to see left-leaning talkers fall into the same trap that the conservative ones have.

Give Lionel a chance. You'll be quite surprised.

[Postman]

7. I'm critical but I like him.....

I like Lionel but he repeats himself way too much at the expense of talking about important topics.

Time is wasted covering minutiae.

Sam Seder was better at that time slot.

[patrice]

9. First law of Pedagogy = Repetition. nm

[hlthe2b]

11. We have plenty of real progressives-- Sam Seder for one...

I'm tired of being told to be "grateful" for scraps.

I have listened and supported AAR since day one, even going out to equip with XM when the local affiliate refused to support all the AAR lineup. I subscribed to AAR premium, came out to support Al Franken and others when they came to Boulder and I accepted the many poor management decisions--issuing only the most polite letters and emails when Marc Maron was ditched, Unfiltered crew sacked, Malloy sent packing in the most humiliating way, and Sam Seder, who I adore was unceremoniously dumped to the Sunday graveyard. The latter occurred in an embarrassing way for Sam as he became aware that his show was kaput when Marc Maron announced that he'd been wooed behind Sam's back. Now, I see the same pattern repeated with Laura Flanders...

I used to set my alarm for Morning Sedition--waking at the horrendous hour of 4AM Mountain Time just to listen. I can assure you, the Young Turks will never have me willingly jumping up at 4AM, though I have listened and continue to listen.


So, I understand Matsubara, but I'm done holding back. Lionel is NOT the wunderkind that the Green's want us to believe. I have yet to discount him out of turn, but his time is limited in my book. It would probably help if he were just a tiny bit less rude to his callers and ceased with the egalomania.

That said, I'm remaining with AAR only for Thom Hartman, Papantonio, Bobby Kennedy, David Bender, Randi, Rachel Maddow and Sam--until someone, like Nova M is smart enough to grab him away. But, I'm no longer holding back. The Greens are killing the station with arrogance. It is time to point that out. Lionel is emblemmatic of that as I see it.

[Matsubara]

12. I know we're all busy people, and we skim through posts quickly.

But this:

"I'm tired of being told to be "grateful" for scraps. "

Is not at all what my post was saying. I'm saying that at a time when it looked like there was going to never ever be another radio host to the left of Limbaugh again, Lionel was a ray of hope.

We should be grateful that we are not in that morass anymore, and that there are a lot of other good choices now.

I'm not crazy about Lionel, I was just sharing an anecdote about him.


But he was blasting Bushco when almost nobody else on the air was. Back when even Al Franken was telling us we needed to support our president.

And he does deserve some commendation for that.

[hlthe2b]

16. Understandable...

and yes, even our "favs" have let us down from time to time.

'Guess it boils down to "different strokes for different folks" and all that....;)

[wildbilln864]

13. I like Lionel's show...

We used to get him here but no more. But we still get the daily dose of the junky Rush.

[laststeamtrain]

14. Count me in. I like Lionel. Knows how to argue. Humorous...

I'm not looking for a media crush, just some entertainment, intelligence if possible.

[hlthe2b]

15. I'm waiting to hear him be humorous... not discounting out of hand

but I don't find his habit of mocking and humiliating callers, like a common bully, at all humorous. No offense intended towards you-- I'm certain that is not what you are referring to, when you refer to his humor.

Nonetheless, someone needs to drive the point home that unnecessary rudeness and mocking of those who are at a disadvantage is not amusing to most people and many listeners. Having said that, I do not stop at first impressions. I'll give him a chance.

I'm betting though, that most long term AAR listeners may not.

[Strelnikov_]

17. "most long term AAR listeners may not"

I have heard enough of him.

Drove me back to NPR, bless his pointy little head.