I miss Al........and Ed almost sounds like Rush......don't care for him.

[a kennedy]

I really miss Al Franken on AAR, and Ed Schultz, ugh, do not like him at all. The sound of his voice almost sounds like Rush limpballs sometimes. I really do Miss Al.

[Flarney]

1. It is a shame your station did not pick up Thom Hartmann... nt

[Johnny Appleseed]

22. Ed

[ginnyinWI]

2. Give Eddie another try

He takes a bit of getting used to. But he's a solid Dem. I guess it helps if you are from the Mid-West like I am--I mean, he sounds like some of my own relatives :). And he can be very boring, but then Randi can be boring too. The best things about Ed Schultz's show is that he has Senators and Congresspersons on a lot, plus he takes a lot of "cold" calls--unscreened--so it's like Washington Journal--a wide assortment of callers with various opinions. I like the unexpected quality of that.

Like him or hate him, he's usually got something interesting to say. More variety than Franken's show had.

[mucifer]

3. I miss Al too. I liked his show more than any other political show.

AAR just isn't the same anymore. I'm not a huge Hartmann fan. But, I always try to download brunch with Bernie.

[mmonk]

4. Ed moving into that slot

opened up the radio station I listen to into having Randi. I'm happy.

[AlCzervik]

5. We have Thom Hartman for another week or so and then aar switches

over to sports. I'm getting Sat radio in a few months when i get my new car.

[HereSince1628]

6. IMO Liberals and Progressives prefer information not ranting.

Ed Schultz appeals to moderights and his imitation of Limbaugh works for that group.

Except in times of crisis it's hard to hold the attention of liberals and progressives with ranting and pitched whining. We want information more than reassurance from some radio personality.

For many of us our preferred choice is going back to NPR.

[a kennedy]

9. I know about NPR, our local radio hosts are very good.....

They're having their fund raising this week, and I will donate again. It's been a few years because of the national broadcasts turning to the right direction, but local Wisconsin hosts are very good, and the local station needs the money.

[Johnny Appleseed]

24. Very true...

and they are also far more likely to read than other, more impressionable types who are easily brain-washed via the radio.

[lisa58]

7. me too n/t

[NRaleighLiberal]

8. Ed has his moments, but his anti-AAR tantrum was embarrassing!

He has a voice like finger nails on a chalk board to me (I am just not into that Faux redneck bluster). He does have good guests on his shows, but to me, his comments are variable and he takes some odd stances (like when he just kept attacking Murtha for saying that if he could never recommend going into the service today under the current leadership and strategy) - I think that Big Ed bleeds USA red, white and blue, and as a former rightie, tends to need authority - he holds the presidency sacred, even as he criticizes the current misleader.

[Tyo]

11. Ed rubs me the wrong way too

Not so much for what he says. A gun toten', meat eatin' Liberal. Whatever. I know there's an important demographic that that appeals to.

But not only does he sound like Limbaugh, which he probably can't help, but he's starting to act like him and that bothers me. I think the Big Eddy ego is getting just a little out of control and for me that interferes with the message.

[a kennedy]

20. I so agree, I'll listen to "the power" on XM 169 instead of loud mouth.

He's so not progressive. :thumbsdown:

[Champion Jack]

10. I'm with you

XM doesn't carry Hartman and instead I get the stupid, loud, blowhard Schultz.
I listened to a couple minutes yesterday and will listen to that time slot on AAR no more.

[cmf]

12. Don't like him either

1090 in Seattle has carried him for a few years now. But when he changed time slots to compete directly with Al Franken and Thom Hartmann, they put him on delay. I listen to him because there's nothing else on. I do like how the calls are unscreened and come from a wide cross section of Americans. But I think he has an ego the size of Texas and I often just turn his show off when he goes on one of his rants.

You should complain to your station and ask that they carry Thom Hartmann live instead. Thom hosts an excellent show that has the right mix of callers, intelligent commentary, interviews and debates. The difference between Thom and Ed is like night and day.

[Zorra]

13. I miss Al also, and wish Thom Hartmann was on instead of Ed Schultz.

AAR on XM probably, in general, has a more politically sophisticated audience than Ed Schultz caters to. Many folks that listen to AAR on XM signed on to XM specifically to get AAR so they would be able to listen to a liberal radio station and never have to listen to RW AM radio again.

Ed Schultz does not seem to be a "liberal" to me. IMO, he's more like a trash talking "centrist" that does not fit in well with the AAR format, but is very suitable for AM radio talk. His style and presentation may be better for preaching to a more conservative audience, but IMO it's not going to make all the "liberals" that bought XM so they could listen to AAR very happy.

I'd listen to Ed if I was stuck in traffic and only had an AM radio, but to have him on XM/AAR instead of Thom Hartmann's deeper and genuinely relevant intelligent and enlightening commentary is bitterly disappointing to me.

[Marr]

14. You don't get Thom Hartmann?

I loved Franken's show, but I actually like Thom's more. The thing I liked about Al's show was that he actually researched the subjects being discussed, and he took the time to check into the claims being made by right-wing commentators and point out their distortions. The thing I didn't like about it was that Al always seemed a tad naive to me- far too willing to accept certain pieces of conventional wisdom and sweep some uncomfortable subjects under a star spangled rug, so to speak.

He's admitted to having believed Colin Powell's presentation at the UN, for instance- largely because he simply didn't believe that the government would lie about something so serious. While that certainly doesn't make him unusual (alot of people were suckered by it), it does make him naive, in my opinion.

Thom Hartmann does all that, but he's not politically naive, as I always felt Franken was.

[Mika]

15. Ed's question of the day (this week): Who should we nuke? Iran or Bin Laden?

Ed has been suggesting that "we" should use a small nuke to git Bin Laden if/when "we" knew where he was.

A caller asked: "What if they discovered Bin Laden was in Fargo, would you advocate a nuke attack on Fargo?"

Big Ed: crickets..crickets..crickets..crickets..


:rofl:

[LSK]

18. you cant be serious???? what a Moran!!!

[walldude]

33. My favorite part of that whole "nuke em" stuff he did

was when this psycho lady called to agree with him and Ed thought she was a lunatic for being pro-life and wanting to nuke Iran. Ed.. she called to agree with you maybe you should re-think your position if you think she's nuts :eyes:. His show is owned and produced by Republicans and since there has been much debate about him lately I have been doing a little research and the guy is so freakin full of himself that it's just sad. I might be able to stand him if he actually did one single iota of research on any of the topics he talks about. He is the left's equivalent of Rush. All bluster and bullshit and no facts.

[NYCGirl]

16. And today would've been Joe Conason day, too.

:cry:

[Adenoid_Hynkel]

27. Thom's kept Lawrence O'Donnell around, though.

Maybe if we ask nicely, he'll have some of Al's old regulars on from time to time. I liked David Brock's segments the best.

[Sabriel]

28. I miss Al's guests most of all

Joe Conason, Melanie Sloan, Christie Harvey, Norm Ornstein, and especially Tom Oliphant, David Brooks... the list goes on.

Sigh.

And I have to admit, I miss Al singing their theme songs!

[LSK]

17. stream Hartmann if you can

http://server2.whiterosesociety.org:8000/hartmann

And yes sometimes I miss Al too.

[Javaman]

19. Ed's a closet tool. nt

[HughMoran]

25. Which one? Hammer?

I happen to like him...

[Javaman]

30. yup when he sees all the problems as nails. he's a tool. nt

[HughMoran]

32. lol

I still like him - even if he is kind of naive - I'm not perfect either. I couldn't convince tens of thousands of people to listen to me talk on the radio, for instance...

[SheWhoMustBeObeyed]

21. After Stephanie Miller I turn on BBC

I don't find Schultz very likeable and I don't warm up to Hartman. He's not objectionable but he's not very engaging either. I would rather he was on later when I'm not concentrating on work. I usually have classical music playing while I work so now I just turn it on earlier.

[blues90]

23. My wife misses Al

She loved his show . I many times wish AAR was still what it was with Mike Malloy and the entire line up before the changes . It was a good line up back in 2004 and 2005 .

She likes Ed too . I really never listened to either Al or Ed much .

[Adenoid_Hynkel]

26. There should be a mass movement to save liberal radio from Ed Schultz

He managed to muscle his way into the primetime spot on a lot of air america stations.

He's egotitical, ill-informed, sexist and uses rightwing talking points.
He has no respect for other hosts, calling them demeaning names and has called for AAR shows to be kicked off the air.

Hartmann is a professional, intelligent, sincere and everything ed is not.

I've dealt with both men for my job. Thom's a great guy. Ed is inaccessible and has the rudest handlers you can imagine.

[Qanisqineq]

29. I miss Al, too

I almost cried on the last day of his show. Sometimes I got annoyed when he interrupted guests with lame jokes. I wish he had taken callers during at least part of his show. Despite those two gripes, I really miss him.

I also liked when he talked about Minnesota and (every once in a while) North Dakota. Made me think of home (ND). Sure, Ed Schultz lives in Fargo but he didn't grow up in ND, he is originally from Virginia. And most people I know in that part of the country are more like Al's temperament. Ed is too loud and boisterous.

[a kennedy]

34. and I swear he sounds like Rush limpballs.......the tone, the meter

I think he sounds just like him. :puke:

[live love laugh]

31. I am convinced AAR has a death wish. I turn Schultz off every time

I hear his voice. I've been turning off AAR more and more lately. This morning, the Young Turks went on and on about Howard K. Stern and the ANS saga. There are so many other liberal voices that AAR could have selected who probably would work for nothing and yet they bring on Schultz who is much more expensive and less substantive. Now I hear Sirius and XM are looking to merge as well. To me, that's just another indication that the few media outlets that might air liberal opinions are being absorbed leaving less choices for us and for the personalities. If Randi, or any of the other liberal voices get canned once they merge, then where do they go?

I hope that we will one day be free to hear to choose who we want to hear and what we want to hear again.