Randi Rhodes SUSPENDED

[FourScore]

Randi Rhodes, an afternoon host for the progressive Air America radio network, was suspended Thursday after repeatedly insulting Hillary Rodham Clinton at an event last month.

Ms. Rhodes used vulgar language that likened Ms. Clinton to a prostitute at an event sponsored by KKGN, the Air America affiliate in the San Francisco area, on March 22. A video of Ms. Rhodes’ remarks was published to the video-sharing Web site YouTube on Tuesday, prompting condemnations by some bloggers.

In a statement, Charlie Kireker, the chair of Air America, said the radio network “encourages strong opinions about public affairs but does not condone such abusive, ad hominem language by our hosts.”

The network called Ms. Rhodes’ suspension “indefinite” and did not elaborate on the fate of her daily three-hour radio show. “The Randi Rhodes Show” is normally broadcast from 3 to 6 p.m. weekdays. Sam Seder, another Air America host, was scheduled to fill in for Ms. Rhodes on Thursday...


more:
Randi Rhodes, an afternoon host for the progressive Air America radio network, was suspended Thursday after repeatedly insulting Hillary Rodham Clinton at an event last month.

Ms. Rhodes used vulgar language that likened Ms. Clinton to a prostitute at an event sponsored by KKGN, the Air America affiliate in the San Francisco area, on March 22. A video of Ms. Rhodes’ remarks was published to the video-sharing Web site YouTube on Tuesday, prompting condemnations by some bloggers.

In a statement, Charlie Kireker, the chair of Air America, said the radio network “encourages strong opinions about public affairs but does not condone such abusive, ad hominem language by our hosts.”

The network called Ms. Rhodes’ suspension “indefinite” and did not elaborate on the fate of her daily three-hour radio show. “The Randi Rhodes Show” is normally broadcast from 3 to 6 p.m. weekdays. Sam Seder, another Air America host, was scheduled to fill in for Ms. Rhodes on Thursday...


Read more:

http://thecaucus.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/04/03/air-america-host-suspended-for-clinton-remarks/

YouTube Link: (This really is a little shocking -- she's smarter than this)

http://youtube.com/watch?v=DfdhWi5MILo

[bdamomma]

1. bad for Randi, good for Sam.

[Supersedeas]

5. why not make Sam permanent

[mrreowwr_kittty]

2. She should go over to Nova M. nt

[Ilsa]

26. I like Nova M. I'm not always that happy with Randi's rude style. nt

[mrreowwr_kittty]

42. Malloy is not exactly mild-mannered either. nt

[Ilsa]

43. You are so right. From time to time I have to take a break from Mike.

But he is usually pretty good to the yellow dog Dems that call in. He's pretty rude to the freepers unless they are very careful not to cut in. Even then, he argues with them to the point that they want to hang up if he doesn't hang up on them first.

I think after thinking about it for awhile, that I don't agree with her suspension, and I certainly don't want her to lose her job. I think it is a crappy deal when you are in front of people you believe you can trust and someone comes along with an incidental recordin gdevice to make your life hell. Randi has the right to say what she did, even though I think it was probably over the top, and that we really don't need this trash talk about any of the Democrats right now.

BTW, I listen to Stephanie Miller and thom Hartmann occasionally when I can. I learn alot from Thom, and Miller is a great entertainer.

[mrreowwr_kittty]

50. I agree with you for the most part.

I actually am okay with Randi's suspension. I think she needs to realize that her words have consequences. However, I don't want her to lose her job because she's an important progressive voice. That's why I think her words have consequences.

I also love Thom Hartmann and find Stephanie Miller to very entertaining and refreshing.

[LakeSamish706]

3. Well I think many on DU have been saying for awhile that Randi was getting...

a little over the top. No matter what my personal views of Hillary Clinton are, I certainly don't condone that kind of behavior.

[ORDagnabbit]

6. ditto...I am not a fan of the queen of lies but randi went to far in her attacks on her.

[liberal1973]

45. Thanks for showing how much of a repub you are

[ORDagnabbit]

56. you dont know me...go away kid ya bother me.

[noamnety]

11. I could never listen to her.

I've seen a lot of women in the military be successful in the system by being "one of the guys" in a way that includes trashing other women in sexualized ways (as opposed to criticizing based on policy decisions, which is fair game).

Every time I tried to listen to her, I was just turned off, whether it was the dumbass sexualized jingles or open disdain toward people saying, you know, you could actually do the show without using gender slurs. The general abrasiveness toward her callers didn't help.

There are comments going back a couple years (and not just from me) pointing out the gender slurs against women that she engages in on a regular basis.

[leftofcool]

4. Good

[LSparkle]

7. As I've often said before, God damn cellphone cameras ...

Big Brother is ALWAYS watching ... You can't let your hair down ANYWHERE anymore. If you consider
the setting (a club), I don't think this is THAT far out of line. Lenny Bruce wouldn't have even
fucking EXISTED if there had been cellphone cameras back in his day ...

[bryant69]

9. We are all Big Brother.

Well not me - I don't even own a cell phone.

Bryant
Check it out --> http://politicalcomment.blogspot.com

[LSK]

8. as the primaries claim another victim

Randi has always been extremely informed and let me remind you she stood with Cindy in Crawford, was sued by Caci and has always been a voice in the wilderness on our side.

She got carried away, but look at GDP, A LOT OF PEOPLE are getting carried away.

[LSparkle]

12. Absolutely -- and she did it in a SMALL CLUB, not on-air, like David Shuster

Yes, AAR may be embarassed for having sponsored the event, but face it, how many
people were in that audience? Maybe a couple of hundred? Had it not been for the
YouTube exposure, nobody would have even known about this ...

Do we still have freedom of speech in this country when it comes to the Clinton
Family????

[K Gardner]

15. I guess in this day and age, any of us do well to remember that

anything we say or do could be broadcast around the world in 15 seconds. Having said that, I just watched the video and thought it was detestable. And you KNOW I am not a Hillary defender. I think I would feel the same about hearing that kind of rhetoric about anyone. She's a public figure and like it or not, is going to be held accountable for her words.

[valerief]

54. Randi is FABULOUS. She can say whatever she wants. She never lies. nt

[McCamy Taylor]

10. They will spin it as Hillary's fault.

[Johonny]

13. The sad thing is

She will have little options. When Rethugs do something to knock themselves off a station there's always 2-5 more stations in the area. One is almost certainly needing to fill air space. Liberal hostes have few options. She'll no doubt find a home if Air America kicks her but she's unlikely to be heard in most of her current listening area. It's one of the sad jokes that Liberals run the media.

[BrooklynBased]

17. We Eat Our Own

If Randi is booted it is another time Dems eat their own and "R" Loyalist brethren just give their simple laugh at our complicated reality. Sure Randi was having Hillary for lunch, as M Dowd has our best intentions for breakfast, but Chris Mathews apologized to Hillary, I am sure Randi can find the words to make this okay.

[valerief]

55. Apologize for the truth? NEVER. Such a thought makes me so mccaingry. nt

[TriggerGal]

51. PETITION to Reinstate Randi

http://www.petitionspot.com/petitions/reinstaterandi

[mahina]

14. Didn't watch the vid,

sorry to see this because I know other than this clip, Randi meant well and gave a lot. But her show was so grating I quit listening to AAR. (In fairness hers was the only show that fit in my schedule.)
I'm angry too, but she was almost as hard to listen to as Rush or the other RW anger heads.

I guess my idea of useful radio would be inter-political party D&R dialogue, not spitting mad shouting.

[BrooklynBased]

16. Is AAR that PC?

I have listened to Randi for years. She is brilliant and entertaining. Most of her commentary is right on the money, insightful and relevant. Personally I say put her back on the air, I'm sick of Sam's smart talking, Colbert fighting whines. While he is right, Randi is Queen of Talk Radio.

I signed-on early with Hillary and moved to Obama, but I really respect Hillary and would be more than happy to vote for her and watch her back. Randi had nothing to do with my decision. Her rants about Hillary were tempered by my knowledge of the issues and political reality; her praise of Obama was tempered by my grasp of reality and the difficulty in realizing transcendency. So what? you say, she still should not call her vulgar names you say.

I have news for you PCers (get a Mac) no, really, the Political Correctness train has (temporarily) left the station. It was an important and necessary tool to help make this country ready for BO. While we still need people to hold their tongues, we need honest talk more now than ever. The PC movement can lay claim to the loss of the Democratic Backbone perceived by many in this country. While it is harder to see the bonds formed by this tongue holding, the times they are a changin'.

Shall we not fight for Florida, again, for Ohio, again? Which state shall we leave behind this year, Michigan, Minnesota, Arkansas, New Hampshire, Colorado? Shall we assuage the Lieberman middle? If you can't take the heat, get out of the kitchen - tossing the stove out just means you can't cook dinner!

Is Air America Radio, or its listeners, so weak of mind that they can no longer distinguish? So mainstream that they can no longer be relevant? So outfoxed that they can no longer influence?

People, we need the fight and Randi is our brawler, or Road Scholar. Thom Hartman is the Rhodes scholar and we need that, but don't discount the brawler. Marciano, Tyson they won fights. Yeah, so did Ali, but Randi ain't on the ticket, she's just in our corner.

I have noticed a wave of leftist propaganda streaming out of the mouths of both Randi and Kieth. I can't listen to Tweety anymore, and I hardly look to Keith as he plays grandma instead of Sylvester. But Randi occupies a special place in my mind and I can't quit her (sniffle sniffle boo hoo). So instead, I will do as I urge others to do, man-up, we have a ringer on our team, get her back and give her the courtesy of APPLYING YOUR BRAIN!

[MzNov]

18. I was at this event in SF

sponsored by KKGN. I thought she used "F*** Hillary" a little too much-- we all got it after the first time--she could have spoken about a zillion other things. she was on stage for ONLY about 10-15 minutes!! But to be suspended? I DON'T THINK SO.

What, so Hillary put pressure on AAR? Free speech in a tiny SF club is pretty common around here. And it was a F*** Hillary kind of audience. Randi isn't my favorite liberal talk show host but I hope she tells AAR to F*** you too, ya right wing hypocrites.

:mad:

[EFerrari]

19. Most venues have language requirements.

The venue must have complained to AAR, for one thing. That's what usually happens in these cases.

Do we really need a high profile radio host using f bombs so carelessly?

[MzNov]

20. by venue, what, KKGN?

I can't imagine the little club calling AAR to complain that Randi said "Fuck" too many times. No, I didn't need the language. I don't think she should be suspended, esp. indefinitely.

If Leno, O'Reilly, Limpballs, can say the outrageous things they say ON THE AIR, then a few fuck Hillary's in a small private club should not get a liberal radio host fired either.

[EFerrari]

22. The smaller the club, the more they tend to complain.

:crazy:

We used to joke that you could sell out the club, get a standing ovation, a key to the city and no one would ever hear about it.

But if you said fuck in Chico, a few hundred fax machines would fry. lol

[MzNov]

24. It could always have been a RW plant !!! lol

My take on her performance was that she really sucks at stand-up comedy. She was reading from notes! that surprised me. I got the feeling that she was so unprepared that she figured saying "F You Hillary" would get laughs and applause. Too bad, if she would have been on time and did some prep, she could have come off in a totally different way. I thought the whole thing was odd, even for her.

[EFerrari]

27. That's too bad. Maybe her handlers had the night off or something.

I never cared for her very much but admire the success she's managed. This will likely blow over. Someone got a flea in their ear and had to make a statement.

One thing that I love about not being in that business any more except for writing is I get to NOT deal with the big fluffy egos that are everywhere.

:)

[nadinbrzezinski]

29. Egos in the media and entertainment? You don't say?

:-)

I know... and the bigger the ego, the faster they fall...

Rule of thumb

Yes, it has failed with some, but it seems to work

[EFerrari]

36. You need that big fat ego to take all the rejection, no kidding.

But, the people around you don't. lol :)

[nadinbrzezinski]

39. i know

I am a writer...

Rejection... there is a drawer I should have full of them damn things!

[MzNov]

37. Yep. It was such a great crowd and the place was packed.

It was a great night, except for that little "f" thing.... awww, Randi Randi even San Francisco has party poopers. :-(


:hi:

[EFerrari]

44. Maybe it'll blow over.

:hi:

[chknltl]

31. I heard her say on her next show regarding her use of 'f**k'

That she was having fun using a word that she is not allowed to use on the air. (She sounded a bit giddy over getting to do this). She went on to say that she enjoyed doing this live comedy show and hoped to do more in the future. I think she may have mentioned a link to that particular show that was over on you-tube. (This is all I can remember of this particular broadcast and I am not sure about that you-tube link so don't hold me to it).

[HuffleClaw]

21. holy overreaction batman

rush says far worse things on a nearly daily basis ON THE AIR and randi say something in front of a roomful of people and gets the sack ?

[jazzjunkysue]

30. He absolutely does. He insults all women with one word. She just went after

one candidate.

This is overreacting. If HRC can't take that, what will the GOP do to her?

This is a loss for truth and liberalism. But AAR also fired Marc Maron-The single funniest man ever on the radio.

They seem to think this is a girl scout meeting, not radio.

[EFerrari]

33. The size of the venue shouldn't determine

how much respect you show for the audience.

[mondo joe]

41. Rush isn't on AAR. NT

[goodgd_yall]

23. Loaded off her ass n/t

[MzNov]

25. Yes, actually. She was very high, I thought.

[jesus_of_suburbia]

32. If this is true that she was "loaded", I can forgive her.

Not that she wants my forgiveness since I support Hillary.

But then again, I'll be happy to vote for Barack if/when he wins.

[chknltl]

28. She is not my fave host but I like her ok enough

(edited to change 'was' to 'is' in my title)
If I were to list my dislikes of her one would figure that I did not like her at all! This is not the case. I like her show just fine but her show for me is not as well liked as Thom Hartmann's, Ed Shultz's, Rachel Maddow's, or Mike Malloy's.

My few issues with her show are:
1. She talks too much about her personal life using airtime to give us items unrelated to the concerns of American progressives. I tend to tune out things about her being single, or the many gay men she has the 'hots' for and etc.

2. She often gets angry at callers, sometimes even missing the point that they are trying to call in with, yet treating them harshly for the misconceived point. When this happens she talks over the top of them basically belittling them for thinking these things while we listeners can hear the caller trying to re-explain their position which is contrary to what Randi believes it to be.

3. She has been overly abusive to some callers. She some-days gets in a 'mood' where I can often-times anticipate that she will be going off on those callers. Sometimes she strings a caller along before pouncing on him (or her), then she will jump all over the next caller as if continuing on with the anger. I sometimes sense a bit of trepidation in callers downstream after these incidents, almost a bit of sucking up because they don't want to be similarly mistreated on a nationwide broadcast.

That all said, I have not heard her treat men any different than women. There are others in this thread who say otherwise, I am NOT disagreeing with them, I am just saying that I have not heard these things. Perhaps I had her tuned out, perhaps I had her on but I was mentally tuned out because the show was in the background while I was online posting things.

Is it possible that the meds she may be on from her dental re-workings have brought about this shortness of patience in her? For me, the show went downhill, (due to my above stated reasons), more-so since that event. I have to believe that she is taking some kind of meds for this.

Another possibility would be caffeine. I am no doctor but her shortness of patience is similar to my own when I abuse caffeine. One or more 16oz. lattes every day for a week will bring this out in me. It affects my driving, I become aggressive, more in a hurry and get angry easily when there are folks ahead of me going slower than I prefer. (I am NOT normally like this!) I act similarly with friends, finishing their sentences, being impatient with them when they do not see my point of view and etc. I have cut caffeine out of my life for medical reasons, I miss my lattes and Jamoca ice cream greatly but I confess that life is more pleasanter. Perhaps Randi needs to switch to decaf!

All that said, I do NOT condone her calling Senator Clinton a 'whore'. For me this is her Imus moment and I think it deserves attention. This is not an impatience problem but perhaps something deeper. I am genuinely saddened by this because as I stated earlier, I like her and her show well enough. I have not seen the clip of her doing this and I have no intention to go check it out either, so perhaps I should not be too quick to judge her.

Well that's this fan of Air America's/Nova Radio's take on this. I wish Randi Rhodes all the best and I hope she works through this. She is a brilliant talk show host who should be recognized for her pioneering efforts with progressive talk radio. Is she a Rachel Maddow? No way, but in light of her overall history, I am not ready to throw her under any busses just yet. I DO hope she can find a way through this particular incident.

[travelingtypist]

34. I hope Randi tells AAR to fuck off.

Indefinitely? :wtf:

I am so sick of that network.

Randi annoys me when she gushes about her starfucking, but when
she's on topic and she's hammering the Pubbies, she's like zen
for me.

[debbierlus]

35. Omg. Randi has been off her game for sometime now

She has never been that courteous to callers, and lately...well, her rudeness just was over the top.

I always liked Randi. She really can explain complex issues and she can be very funny and wonderful. Unfortunately, this
side of Randi doesn't show up very much anymore. I used to grin and bear it because when she was good, she was REALLY good.
However, she just seems off lately. I guess the stress of NYC, the lawsuit against her, and constantly witnessing corruption
and injustice just got the best of her.

I think if she apologizes for the comment, she should come back after a brief rest. She needs to regroup. No matter what, she is a good person who always tried to speak truth to corrupt power and she held her ground a good long while.

I wish her the best and hope she comes back.

[chknltl]

38. Link to Randi Rhodes Message board thread

I may be breaking some sort of courtesy here by posting this, if so my apologies. I often link DU threads to other places because I find your words here to be of importance so perhaps fair is fair.

This link is to the Randi Rhodes Message board thread regarding this very topic. It is 5 pages long and starts before the flap, I found it quite fascinating. Others here may find it as fascinating as I and perhaps germaine to this thread of ours. After reading it I now feel a bit more sympathy for Randi Rhodes and wish her well.

http://forums.therandirhodesshow.com/index.php?showtopic=128796&st=80 (note: this starts on page 5, you can access all of the pages above and/or below if you wish to follow the history from her fans and detractors perspective)

Have I changed my opinion on her use of the word "whore"? NO, I condemn it's use in this case still. It's use contributes to a subconscious culture of sexism which in turn promotes violence. Calling a 'prostitute' a 'whore' is one thing.... Saying or insinuating that someone is "whoring themselves out" treads a line that bothers me, ESPECIALLY when that someone/(victim) is female.*

That said, I now wonder if indeed this is an attack on progressive radio. I have lately felt that something like this would shortly happen to SOMEONE on progressive radio. The nation is swinging back to the left, the sponsors are lining up behind those who are in the media who are left leaning. (Note the increasing popularity of Kieth Olberman for an example.) I predict an explosion of progressive shows and views forthcoming due to that sponsor $$ looking for places to stick their ads.

I am thinking that perhaps this flap on Randi may be neo-con push back. If not perhaps it is Clinton campaign push back. Was Randi out of line? I have said that I think so, I still do BUT now I wonder if her recent fate is a product of something more than it would seem.

*(credit where credit is due: I have not always held this opinion but my fellow DUers have shown me enough evidence to sway my opinion to where it is today, my gratitude to them for this! They know who they are.)

[blues90]

40. I stopped listening to her months ago

She has always been rude to certain callers and insulting . But to sound off as she did was really a stupid thing to do and not professional at all .

[liberal1973]

46. Are you that stupid?

It was a comedy bit. It was not a sound off.

[EFerrari]

47. Then they suspended her for not being funny. n/t

[blues90]

57. great way to approach things , calling me stupid for what ?

Here you come on calling me stupid . Do you have some sort of inside track to what exactly happened or are you just going by your own opinion ? Were you there ? Speak up with your big mouth , you sound like an idiot .

I don't think some of the things she said were funny and she is not a comedian is she ?

It was done at an affiliate event even though it was pay to get in . She has an image that is connected to AAR .

I could care less if people do rude jokes about candidates and I have no idea who made the decision to suspend her . There is all sorts of talk out there now with speculation .

[valerief]

53. It was fabulous what she said. She should keep it up. Truth hurts. nt

[Alcibiades]

48. Randi has become annoying

I listen to her in the car and when she's in a huff, when a caller doesn't answer a question "the right way," (i.e., in whatever way she thinks is "correct," which is not really related to any system of logic, but rather to her whim), she really goes into a snit. It's not as if most of the people she's getting mad at are republicans, either, they are, well, pretty much the people you'd expect would call an AAR show.

I'm an Obama supporter, but what she did does nothing to advance the dialog in the party. Let's renounce and reject.

[BoneDaddy]

49. I used to like her

but find her to be hostile, unwilling to have discourse, and quite annoying after awhile.

[valerief]

52. This is soooooooo wrong.

Now we know for certain that Air America is really, at its core, NeoCon America. I'm sure she wouldn't have been suspended had she called Paris Hilton a FW. If she'd called some nice young basketball players "Ho's" the talking heads would be rallying to her defense. But she's not Imus. She's not an ass. She's not a FW. She's a truthteller, and that's why she's being punished.

[woodlass]

58. She's rude, but....

I just listened to YouTube and the word "whore" was
all over the place. 

But for decades, maybe centuries, that word has not always
meant selling oneself in a sexual way.   It can be a metaphor
for someone who, for money, will sell himself out, who does
not protect core moral values, but gives these up in exchange
for cash. 
 
There's not a politician these days who doesn't "do"
this kind of thing for money, and what's worse: they "do
it" for power as well. "Doing it" is not sexual
in this discourse.  It's merely selling to high bidders, and
in this particular election, there's a lot of high bidders.

Air America should reinstate Rhodes immediately.  This is not
PC contest.  This is opinion, and in her case, truth-telling.

She's rough. But suspend her when she is harsh with callers
who are just fumbling with their phones, or when she
characterizes politicos on their looks -- which she does very
often. These things are way more offensive than calling the
pols something our current corrupted democracy demands they
have to be to get elected.

[TriggerGal]

59. Here's what others say about it ...

Sam Seder:

I’ll be filling in for Randi again tomorrow and maybe a couple of days next week. I spoke to Randi today before subbing for her. I’m not going to characterize her feelings- it’s not my place to do that.It’s true that I feel Randi has taught me nearly all that I know about radio and consider her a friend but that hasn’t affected my perspective on this.

Personally, I think this is ridiculous. That said, I do believe that the network has the right to take issue with it.

It’s a stand up routine- and it offended none of the people who paid to see it.... No one else had to watch that tape - it wasn’t presented on the airwaves, etc etc....Would I have used the words she did, no, but I can’t promise that they would be any less "offensive".

Anyway, I have no idea how long the suspension will be or when we will know or why it’s not set. I’m willing to sub for Randi but I don’t like the circumstances. I certainly don’t want someone sitting in her seat who’s going to be a management toady.


Stephanie Miller Sticks up for Randi:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xB1JZ__TV_Q


Janeane Garofalo sticks up for Randi:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TDYsWZnWtXs


Exercise YOUR right to freedom of speech - Let your voice be heard!!!

Petition to reinstate Randi: http://www.petitionspot.com/petitions/reinstaterandi

EMAIL Air America: [e-mail]

[BringEmOn]

60. Jumped the shark