What is Randi Rhodes' beef with Al Franken?

[Cleita]

I was listening to a rerun of her show today and she said that it looked like Al Franken would become Senator, which was too bad. She stated that she didn't say anything, but if Norm Coleman had called her up she would have told him what she knew. Now professionally disliking a former colleague is permitted but asking the enemy to call you because you might be able to give him damaging information on his opponent, what's that about? Here we are biting our nails to the knuckles hoping that we might get as close to a filibuster Senate as we can and she's siding with Norm Coleman? Did I miss something here on whose side you are supposed to be on? I never heard anything about Franken being corrupt. He's very centrist I know politically but at least he's to the left of center. What would be the reason she would want to throw him under the bus and hurt the Democratic Party on top of it.?

[virgogal]

1. As the Irish say,"Randi seems to be a bit full of herself". She is

just not that important.

[hlthe2b]

7. AAR managment considered Franken the star from the start....

Rhodes was very angry about this since she had radio experience and considered Franken and all the other comedians and other personalities brought in, early on (e.g., Marc Maron, Janine Gerofolo, Sam Seder, Chuck D; Liz Winstead, etc.) as absolute poseurs.

Franken didn't kowtow to her ego, either and no doubt thought her abrasiveness to be problematic... Given he had the ear of managment, there is no way that that wasn't going to stir some trouble.

See the HBO documentary on the making of AAR--Left of the Dial-- which shows some of the subtle and not so subtle antagonism expressed by Randi.. I'm sure netflix or BBuster online have it.

[virgogal]

12. Thanks for the documentary recommendation. eom

[Horse with no Name]

79. Didn't Franken invest his own money in AAR?

How much did Randi invest?

[hlthe2b]

86. Yes, he did and I think he lost quite a bit...

As far as I know, Randi Rhodes did not...

I'm rooting for Franken, to take his mentor's seat, Paul Wellstone, btw... I think if more people heard him speak of his long term relationship and love for Paul, they would be far less equivocal (or oppositional) to Al. I understand many really like Rhodes and I listen to her from time to time, but when she is in one of her "moods," I absolutely run to turn her off. Talent and/or success often brings with it a very big ego, complete with blinders and that is what I see with Rhodes. She can be funny, sharp as a tack, and pleasant to listen to. But she can also be, well, NOT.

[Cetacea]

107. Franken wasn't much of a radio talent.

He had the money and good intentions, but I he was terrible on the air.

[hlthe2b]

118. He had very good guests on a regular basis--that was worth it

to me, at least... But, no, he wasn't a super radio talent.

[JoePhilly]

121. I liked him ... and HE drew me to Liberal Talk Radio ...

If not for his name, I might have never heard of Randi --- who I also think is hilarious.

[CreekDog]

124. Except when he played that retired schoolteacher at the Astrodome

with a class of 22,000. :rofl:

i wish i remembered her name.

[monmouth]

2. Perhaps he didn't treat her as the goddess she thinks she is....n/t

[seemslikeadream]

3. probably some Air America shit

[Dennis Donovan]

4. Al didn't contribute or back the Iraq war forum she worked with Conyers on...

The one that was held in a House office building basement because the Repugs wouldn't give them a regular room.

On edit: It was about the Iraq War - the Downing Street Minutes, to be exact. My bad...

[Cleita]

6. Okay, but why would this be damaging information to the Norm Coleman

campaign as she seems to hint it is?

[Dennis Donovan]

10. Good question. If she ever did such a thing, I'd turn her off for good...

[MiniMe]

It started before that.

[Dennis Donovan]

15. I know she was miffed at the beginning of AAR...

...if Left of the Dial was any indication.;)

[SidDithers]

24. Love the Conchords pic...

just over a week until the boys are back :)

Cheers.

Sid

[Dennis Donovan]

62. I know - I'm psyched!

You can see the first ep of season 2 here:
http://www.funnyordie.com/videos/c48f423bdf/season-2-online-premiere-flight-of-the-conchords-from-flight-of-the-conchords

:thumbsup:

[SidDithers]

71. Already watched it...

we get the shows on HBO Canada up here, and they had it posted on their site. I was conflicted...watch it or wait, watch it or wait. Finally gave in :)

There's a torrent of all of their music, from the show, from previously released CD's, a few radio appearances. It's really good. DL it! :hi:

Sid

[Dennis Donovan]

76. I have the album from the show...

"Robots" is my fave!

The distant future, the year 2000.
The distant future, the year 2000.
The distant future.
The distant future.
No more agriculture.
No more war.
No more racism.
No more fighting, squabbling or rumbling.
No more yogurt.
No more difficult access ways...stairs, basically, no more stairs.
The future is quite different to the present.
Yes, what with there being no more stairs and all.
And most importantly, no more humans.
Finally, robotic beings rule the world.

The humans are dead,
The humans are dead.
We used poisonous gasses
And we poisoned their asses.
The humans are dead.
(Yes they are dead.)
The humans are dead.
(I confirm they are dead.)
It had to be done
So that we can have fun.
I hope... is dead
They're system of oppression
What did it lead to?
Global robots depression.
Robots, robot people
They had so much aggression
That we just had to kill them,
Had to shut their systems down.
Don't you see, we are becoming just like them?
Silence! Destroy him!
After time we grew strong,
Developed cognitive powers.
They made us work for too long
For unreasonable hours.
Our programming determined that the most efficient answer was to shut their motherboard f**king systems down.

Can't we just talk to the humans?
A little understanding could make things better.
Can't we talk to the humans and work together now?
No, because they are dead
I said the humans are dead
The humans are dead
The humans are dead
Yay, dead, dead, dead.
We used poisonous gasses
(With traces of lead)
To poison their asses.
(Actually their lungs)
Binary solo:
0000001
00000011
0000001
00000011
0000001
0000001
0000001
0000001

Once again without emotion: The humans are dead dead dead dead dead dead dead dooo...

:rofl:

[Rhiannon12866]

98. I thought that Conyers' forum was on media bias...

That one was held in the basement and only the "liberal" media showed up. I definitely remember that Al Franken was there and I'm pretty sure that Randi was, too. Or was there more than one? :shrug:

[Dennis Donovan]

117. Yes, there were more

:hi:

[Rhiannon12866]

149. Well, that's the one I saw, more than once...

I had no idea that this was a regular practice... :grr:

Conyers was locked out, so had to hold his hearings on media bias in a room in the basement. That's where I first saw Cindy Sheehan. Ray McGovern, John Aravosis and one other non-media person were also in attendance and spoke quite elequently... I definitely remember Al Franken and David Brock and believe Randi was there, too... :hi:

[NikolaC]

140. I Recall Hearing On Her Show Recently

that the main reason for her dislike of Franken goes back to the days when she started on AAR. She says that she tried to report on all of voting problems in FL and was told to back off. According to the show that I heard, Franken was one of those at AAR that did not believe in the vote tampering and dismissed it. I think that is what I heard anyway.

[SoCalDem]

5. It's personal.. She thought she would be Queen of Air America

and apparently Al had already staked out the turf at the top..as resident celeb..

[Cleita]

9. I know he negotiated a better contract than she did and

he was considered the star on the line up, but it still doesn't explain why this would interest Norm Coleman as a campaign smear?

[SoCalDem]

11. she just probably would have told him office gossip

and politically incorrect things Al might have said..thinking he was among friends..

[Greyhound]

8. Ego. Both have plenty and Al Franken has been far more successful for far longer. n/t

[DS1]

13. Who cares? She's just O'Reilly in a skirt

[Cleita]

14. No she isn't. She does better research and actually does care about

what direction the country is headed in. You can't say that about Billo.

[WeDidIt]

16. HAlf the time, Randi Rhodes opens up her mouth

and spews outright falsehoods.

She doesn't know shit.

Plus she screams at people, even when they're in support of her position.

[DS1]

20. Fuck it, she's DOING IT LIVE

After reading about how great she is here on DU, I finally managed to tune in and was embarrassed that she was representing our side. Abusive to people agreeing with her, calling them idiots.

No thanks.

[Rob H.]

23. "Plus she screams at people, even when they're in support of her position."

That's exactly why I could never listen to her.

[otohara]

64. Yep - She Sounds Insane

when this happens.

I tuned her out a while back for this very reason.

[spiritual_gunfighter]

127. And what she said about Hillary was pretty disgusting

and I am no Hillary fan, but it was really disrespectful.

[SpiralHawk]

30. Randi is a congenital whiner

can't listen to the woman...she gives republicons an opening to label dems as whiners, because she is as whiney herself as Commander AWOL Gonzo or any of the other republicon chickenhawks...

[PatGund]

102. Can't stand her show, now, then, or ever.

I would pay money to see someone shove a bowling ball down her throat, (Same with Bill O'Lieley, Sean Hannity, and the rest of the no-talent grating voice brigade)

[Cetacea]

110. Shove a bowling ball down her throat ? nt

[proud2BlibKansan]

69. She is not

I listen to her every day. She does great research and is probably the smartest talk show host on the air. Al was an entertainer while Randi actually informs her audience.

[DS1]

77. No

Al informed people, Randi just yells at everyone. Big difference.

Okay, so she's not O'Reilly, I take that back. She's never stuck a vibrator up her ass and asked a coworker to join her in a toke.


Still, she yells a lot at people who support her conclusions.

[proud2BlibKansan]

81. She is just loud and so am I

Big deal.

Al had good guests who were informative. But I never felt well informed after listening to him. He was more of an entertainer. But I learn something from Randi every day.

[dansolo]

131. Al interrupted his guests way too often

Whenever he had a guest on who would start to go on about a serious topic, Al constantly interrupted them with inane, comedic comments that typically had nothing to do with the matter being discussed. I often found myself yelling at my radio, "Just shut up Al and let them talk".

[Cetacea]

108. Definitely the smartest talk show host on the air. nt

[rhett o rick]

126. I love Randi but she isn't smarter that either Maddow or Hartmann. She is loud

and I love her for that. I do admit she goes on and on sometimes.

[mysticalchick]

119. I feel that way too ...

.... yes, she is abrasive. Yes, I hate when she abuses callers - that's just shitty, IMO. But, I do learn a lot from her and she actually encourages learning and doing one's own research. If there are days when it's too much, I just turn it off and move on. I think she's a good resource.

[OwnedByFerrets]

120. Sorry, but Thom is much smarter than Randi and never ever

raises his voice to make a point. Im glad Randi is on our side, but she is an acquired taste for sure.

[CreekDog]

125. fair enough, but Al was the one who was the first big liberal to go after Rush Limbaugh

skewering him as nobody else had the guts to do in:



this was in 1996 and he was the first big name to gain notoriety for hilariously going after the right wing media machine. and he did it accurately too.

Al played a big part in the Democratic comeback.

[Cleita]

142. And Bill O'Reilly, which made me a fan. n/t

[Lex]

17. I just can't listen to her. Her personal beef w/ Franken shouldn't spill

over into siding with a repuke like Norm Coleman.

[Cleita]

19. That was kind of my point unless there was some drinking going on

as this was before Xmas creating some loose lips over the air there.

[TheDebbieDee]

51. I can't prove it, but I think drinking is a big part of Randi's problem.

The woman needs help!

[EFerrari]

67. I can't either and without malice, think you're right.

[Ian David]

18. Randi tried to warn Al about Election fraud and irregularities, but he wouldn't listen. n/t

[SoCalDem]

26. I think he "listened", BUT

the general consensus in the PUBLIC, is that people who believe that elections are electronically stolen, are somehow "conspiracy nuts"...Al had to be as middle-of-the-road as he could be..He could not ally himself to any one group that could possibly be used against him by that slimebucket Norm.

and I think he was correct in doing it.. He's poised to win a squeaker..

Imagine if he had been Al Franken, candidate who believes that George W stole two elections by getting people to tinker with voting machines? he would have lost enough votes from that stated belief, to cost him the election.

Deep down he may believe it, but until it's PROVED, it's not going to be widely accepted as more than a "glitch..a boo-boo..an oopsie"..

[bobbolink]

29. He didn't "have " to be, he CHOSE to be,.

The American people want the truth.

Al chose to give 'em more lies.

He got what's coming to him.

:nopity:

[SoCalDem]

35. If he loses, I guess so...but the paper ballots have favored him so far

If they used vapor-vote machines and he lost, he would really regret not believing..

Paper ballots eventually leave it all up the the people counting them, even if they are visible to us all..

i think that if he pulls this off, he might have had an epiphany about how important it IS to have paper..not vapor..

time will tell

[Cleita]

36. I hope more of our politicians have an epiphany about this so that

changing back to paper ballots becomes a priority.

[orleans]

83. what is the date of the show you were listening to?

i'd like to hear it. i don't recall ever hearing randi say she'd like to talk to coleman about al.

i know she's got a bug up her ass about al--but i also remember hearing her say she hope he wins.

[Cleita]

90. It was a rerun of the show she did just before going on her Christmas

break.

[Cetacea]

115. Do you have a link? A transcript? Was she serious?

[JoePhilly]

123. Replay of Friday after Christmas, or perhaps the Friday before

It was her last show of the year ... I heard the replay yesterday too ... she seemed serious

[Cleita]

147. Go to the Nova Radio website. I don't have the link but I'm sure

Google will get it for you and if they have podcasts, you can probably access it and listen to it yourself.

[NikolaC]

141. I Agree

I remember listening to her shows regularly before she went on vacation. She did talk briefly in a couple of them about her beef with Franken and his not taking the vote counting problems seriously. I don't believe that I ever heard her say anything about going to Coleman's campaign with anything. I suggest the best way to find out is to listen to the show in question that the OP was talking about. When was the show in which she says those things re-aired?

[ProfessorGAC]

55. You Don't Seem To Want Truth

You only seem to want your version of the truth. If it dissents with your version, you get angry and dismissive.

That's not seeking the truth.
GAC

[wryter2000]

45. I know she's really angry at AAR for stifling her after the 2004 election

She wanted to scream that it had been stolen, and they told her to shut up. I don't know how that involves Franken, and I can't imagine anything she knows that could hurt Al's chance of getting into the Senate.

[CreekDog]

129. it sounds like they told her to shut up and he either went along with it or was part of the decision

but what she doesn't get is that there's no law that says they have to agree on this type of thing for him to be a good senator.

[CreekDog]

128. he did play it right. look how well his legal team handled the recount

you don't make that up in a couple weeks. he had staff that knew what they were up against.

[bobbolink]

27. I was wondering if anyone here would dare post this... Franken got what's coming to him.

And STILL hasn't apologized.

And when some of us said a long time ago that Randi was over the top, we were crapped on.

Neither one of them are angels, and both detract from the liberals.

[Ian David]

65. The difference is, I've donated money to Al and not to Randi. n/t

[otohara]

68. So She Says

besides, isn't Al Franken smart enough to know this in the first place?

[Ian David]

70. John Kerry was smart, too. I think. n/t

[joeunderdog]

139. He conceded the Presidency he won without a fight.

Election Fraud is THE biggest threat to Democracy. Playing politics with the truth has compounding consequences. Kerry lost the Presidency because he did not fight--he may have been President if he fought it. I'm astounded by how many people, even DU'ers think this is "smart." Kerry's Senate seat is his for as long as he wants it, whether he cried Fraud or not, so he had nothing to lose and everything to gain.

[Bonn1997]

154. Agreed 100%; Kerry's silence on election fraud did the country a lot of damage

[defendandprotect]

92. Franken denied it was happening, didn't he --- "tin foil hatters" . . . right?

[SidDithers]

21. Jealousy? Franken's about to become a US Senator...

and she was fired from AAR for those "fucking whore" comments.

Sid

[Tangerine LaBamba]

22. She's unbearable

I tried listening to her, but her voice grated on me, and her vociferous manner - even when innocuous subjects were being discussed - drained my energy. She's not terribly clever or witty or insightful, and she seems to need the spotlight far more than is healthy.

I understand she has her fans, but so does Kathy Griffin, another person whose appeal I've never understood.

Loud and obnoxious doesn't equal funny.

Now, this man:



he was funny. He was genius. He was Bill Hicks, and he could do political commentary like no one ever did or has since. Bill Maher started stealing his act when he was dying, but he ended up as pale imitation.

Boy, I wish we still had Bill Hicks. And Hunter S. Thompson.

Ah, well, I wandered, didn't I?

[Cleita]

25. We still have Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert, thank God.n/t

[Cetacea]

111. But people can't hear them during rush hour..

[SoCalDem]

28. Randi strikes me as Lynn Samuels' younger protégé

she's got the voice down-pat

[Tangerine LaBamba]

63. I didn't know who that was,

so I had to google her - and look what I found!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=74hdcZa24ik

You're right about the voice. In fact, I found Randi's even harsher - if that's possible.

[CreekDog]

130. Why did you have to go and find a clip where Lynn is making perfect sense?

:banghead:

[wryter2000]

46. I knew Bill Maher was a pale imitation of someone

Now, I know who. Thanks. :)

[Tangerine LaBamba]

72. There's a biography of Hicks,

called "American Scream." It's a great read, just a well-done work. There's a nice bit about Maher's thievery, and how he ran away when he saw Hicks coming after him, even though he was already terminally ill.

An aside: I made a donation to the charity set up in Bill's memory, and got a hand-written thank-you note from his mother. Complete with their return address. It made me cry. Sweet woman.

[BlooInBloo]

31. (shrug) Maddow hates Obama, Rhodes hates Franken...

Who really cares?

[LisaM]

40. Maddow doesn't hate Obama. Why do you say that?

She doesn't worship at his feet, and she's miffed about the Warren thing, but during the primaries, she seemed to be leaning towards him (she never said it on air, but IMO he was her candidate).

[JohnnieGordon]

113. Anything short of worship is hate to the fanatics..nt

[The Velveteen Ocelot]

32. It's ALL about Air America Radio.

Franken's original show was the "flagship" show when AAR got started, and Al was the big star. Randi, OTOH, did not do as well and eventually left the network after she was suspended as a result of her comments about Hillary Clinton during a comedy routine. This occurred well after Franken left AAR to run for the Senate, so it's unlikely that Franken had anything to do with her suspension, but she has always been pretty negative towards him. He was the big celebrity on AAR and she wasn't. Randi is unbearably full of herself most of the time, and her professional jealousy is no excuse for an alleged progressive to want to help a snake like Norm Coleman.

[bobbolink]

34. So it's OK that Franken lied about election fraud?

He got what's coming to him.... in the ass.

[The Velveteen Ocelot]

38. Lemme tell you a little about Al Franken.

He was a huge supporter of Paul Wellstone, one of the last great progressive heroes. After Wellstone was killed, Franken came to Minnesota to attend his funeral and to work with the volunteers who were working for Walter Mondale to try to save Wellstone's Senate seat from the truly despicable Norm Coleman. I was one of those volunteers. I won't forget how Franken showed up at that run-down little campaign office and tried to cheer up a bunch of very disheartened people, or what he said about Paul Wellstone and how important it was to keep his memory and his work alive.

I frankly don't give a crap about what he thought about election fraud. Maybe he didn't believe it at the time; I suspect he believes it now. In any event, as a resident of Minnesota I want very much for him to be my Senator.

[wellstone dem]

54. I too look forward to getting Paul Wellstone's seat back and having

someone who was a friend to Paul sitting in it. Al wasn't my first choice in the primaries, but I've heard him speak several times. I talked to him one on one about the importance of speaking up for those who do not have a voice, in particular the poor. He talked about kids from low-income families who work full-time, go to college, and sell their plasma to go to college. He talked about low income kids who made it through law school and then couldn't afford to take jobs with Legal Aid because they couldn't pay their school loans on legal aid salaries, he talked about an inadequate public transportation system which made it harder for low-income people to work.

I've never heard Norm Coleman speak of any of these things.

I worked hard to elect Al Franken. He worked hard too.

[TuxedoKat]

74. Thanks for sharing that about Al...

that is so interesting and really speaks to his character. If I lived in MN I would have worked on his campaign, as it was, I donated to him quite often. He always had the nicest thank you emails and funniest requests for support too. I would be proud to have him as my senator (looks like we may get CK here in NY, which is fine with me!).

[CreekDog]

132. He got involved in politics not long after the 1994 election debacle

and starting speaking humorously and seriously in a way that few Democrats would. he also was able through his celebrity to gain an audience for what he was saying.

and he started doing this at a very important time.

i'm not a big fan of Al the politician but he is without a doubt an important part of Democrats standing up for themselves.

[TuxedoKat]

155. Not disagreeing with you...

I knew Al had been involved in politics for years from his radio program and his books, the second of which I gave as a gift to many friends at the time it came out. You are correct too that he spoke up when few others would at a critical time. I hadn't heard about him going to MN though to help the Wellstone campaign, or I forgot about it if it was in Lying Liars. I'd been planning to reread it -- I remember reading it and being so relieved that someone was speaking up at the time but chagrined that so few others were. It will be interesting to read it again now after so many years, remembering that other painful stretch of time.

[creeksneakers2]

60. If Al Franken didn't take your side on election fraud

It was because of what he believed. Election fraud hasn't been proved. Al went to Harvard, and places like that teach you not to believe wild stories unless they have proof.

[pilsner]

91. 100%, Absolutely Proven: Bush stole Ohio in 2004

Don't believe it? Then take a look at Richard Hayes Phillips' book,

"Witness to a Crime:THE DOCUMENT OF RECORD FOR THE 2004 OHIO ELECTION"

http://www.witnesstoacrime.com/

Richard Hayes Phillips has been the leading investigator of the
fraudulent 2004 presidential election in Ohio. His work was relied
upon by John Conyers in challenging the Ohio electors in Congress,
by Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. in his article for Rolling Stone magazine,
and by Algenon L. Marbley in issuing his federal court order protecting
the ballots from destruction. Assisted by teams of volunteers equipped
with digital cameras, Phillips amassed some 30,000 images of forensic
evidence. Then he analyzed it all himself, examining 126,000 ballots,
127 poll books, and 141 voter signature books from 18 counties in Ohio.

Phillips' long-awaited book, "Witness to a Crime: A Citizens' Audit of
an American Election," was published by Canterbury Press on April 12.
The book is 448 pages, with a hard cover and a dust jacket. The book
includes eight color plates, and a CD with 1200 digital images of actual
ballots, poll books, voter signature books, ballot accounting charts,
and other forensic evidence from the 2004 presidential election in Ohio.

[baldguy]

37. Randi wasn't forced to leave AAR because of her comments regarding HRC.

The network wanted to rewrite her contract & she didn't give in.

Randi Rhodes is one of the most well-informed, hardest working & dedicated voices we have on progressive radio. The unadulterated hatred people express for her is beyond my comprehension.

[The Velveteen Ocelot]

39. I don't hate her; I just think her ego gets in her way.

She's often rude; she yells over her guests, who usually can't get a word in edgewise, and she is frequently mistaken about the facts she presents. Her heart may be in the right place, but she's really not that great a radio host.

[baldguy]

41. Half the posts in this thread voicing "dislike" of her are mistaken about the facts.

[rpannier]

106. That's because she has a beef with Al

Ed Schultz was the fraud until he endorsed Obama last February. Then he was a great man in the progressive movement.

1/2 the people attacking Randi are doing so because they're part of the wind tunnel.

In two months if some thing happens between Randi and some reich wing idiot these same people will be telling you how great she is.

Don't be offended. Just refute their idiotic statements and move on.

[CreekDog]

134. if i'm going to let somebody talk into my ear from my radio for 3 hours, i hope i like them

you know, whether or not i like them is a very important part of whether i listen.

that said, she's frankly rude.

[LisaM]

42. Sometimes she is well-informed and sounds reasonable

other times she goes on weird ballistic rants. And she lets her personal vendettas affect her show. Hates Ed Schultz, hates Hillary (now), hates Al Franken. She's got a long list of supposed grudges.

Maybe I'm remembering incorrectly, but as I recall it, she was suspended from AAR for her Hillary comments, and basically went and got hired at Nova M and never came back.

I met her in person once, and she seemed very nice, though, I should add. Very low key.

[baldguy]

47. Her comments about HRC had absolutely nothing to do with it

Other then to be an excuse to get rid of her.

She had a clause in her contract that said that AAR couldn't fire her. (Like they did to Mike Malloy, remember? One day he's there, the next he's not - with no explanation at all to anyone.) By "suspending" her they avoided violating her contact & being sued.

If she wanted to continue to practice her chosen profession at AAR then she'd have to renegotiate her contract. She wouldn't do that, so she left & joined Nova M.

Basically, AAR lied about her to their listeners. They attempted to extort a new contract from her & they forced her to quit.

[Berry Cool]

48. I would say the same thing as LisaM. Randi blows hot and cold.

Sometimes she's right on and well informed and knows things I don't; other times I can't believe there are things she doesn't know that I thought everyone did. And boy, does she have personal vendettas, and worst of all she expresses them by implying she knows all these terrible things about people but can't say them on the air. She goes just so far and then pulls back, which in a way is worse than just coming out with it.

She claims to love Keith Olbermann on TV, but keeps repeating how she "knows" he's "not a nice person." She appears to dislike and resent Rachel Maddow for not much more of a reason other than having her own TV show. In fact, Randi seems to resent the fact that she isn't featured on more TV shows. And she constantly claims that TV show hosts are listening to her radio show and "stealing" her topics for their own shows when the accusation is ridiculous because it usually refers to a common news story everyone is covering.

[CreekDog]

133. because of the way she talks to people

let's be realistic about why people don't like her --that's not always to her credit, to say that you have to ignore how she acts on and off air.

[Kahuna]

33. Jealousy. nt

[arthritisR_US]

80. yep, it's almost impossible to match the size of her head and state of her ego, n/t

[DefenseLawyer]

43. She's a disk jockey

In that sense, she is no different than Hannity, Beck and Limbaugh in that she never went to college and she got where she is because she had a good radio voice and the gift of gab, not because she was the sharpest tool in the shed. Now that is not to say that she is a twisted imbecile like the afore mentioned three. But it doesn't take long listening to her the figure out that she doesn't have a lot of depth and has a rather shaky grasp of history. Often times she ends up yelling at people, not so much because she disagrees with them but because she doesn't seem to quite grasp what they are saying and becomes frustrated. She is still pretty entertaining, we just shouldn't expect too much more than that.

[Cleita]

44. I kind of thought she might be hard of hearing and

doesn't hear part of what some of the call ins are saying. But I don't know how that works in radio. It seems maybe a headset could compensate for it.

[CreekDog]

135. i think many of these hosts are actually on the web while they are doing their shows

sometimes they seem distracted.

[JSK]

104. Good radio voice?

Compared to what? Fingernails on a blackboard? That has always been my biggest problem with Randi (other than her gigantic ego) -- that voice. Ouch.

[deaniac21]

49. Al Franken will be an embarrassment to us in the senate.

[The Velveteen Ocelot]

50. No, he won't.

He's smart and well-informed. I met him after Wellstone was killed and I was very, very impressed.

I noticed that you don't live in Minnesota. I do. I will be very happy if he's my Senator.

[camera obscura]

53. As a fellow Minnesotan, I totally agree.

[elocs]

57. I am sure that you have noticed many here at DU who believe they know all there is to be known

about MN, but really don't know much at all.

[dflprincess]

84. This Minnesotan will also be happy with Franken

This kind of comment is typical of Randi Rhodes. When I listened to her she was always implying that she knew things the rest of us don't but for mysterious reasons couldn't give her listeners the details.

The local progressive radio station just put her back in the line up (which is funny because I recall her claiming that she would never be allowed on the air in Minnesota but she couldn't tell us why), but if she really thinks we'd be better off with that weasel Coleman perhaps she should peddle her show to one of the local wing-nut stations.

[LisaM]

52. Why? He came from a hardworking family in Minnesota

and earned a Harvard scholarship, where he graduated cum laude. Maybe you don't know any Harvard graduates, but I know a few and they are very smart.

[SidDithers]

56. If the Wellstone dems in MN believe in him...

then I suspect you'll be spectacularly wrong.

Sid

[The Velveteen Ocelot]

59. Well, since we live here, know the political territory and the people involved,

I think we're in a better position to judge than a bunch of onlookers from somewhere else...

[CreekDog]

136. after Ventura and Coleman, you are worried about Franken?

give me a break.

as a constituent of Senator Feinstein, thank your lucky stars if Al becomes your senator.

[The Velveteen Ocelot]

137. Exactly my point. Most of those of us who live in Minnesota WANT Franken.

It's the people from elsewhere who are sitting on the sidelines complaining about him.

[wellstone dem]

58. As a Minnesotan, I can't wait to be represented by Al Franken.

As I said above, I've heard him speak several times. I talked to him one on one about the importance of speaking up for those who do not have a voice, in particular the poor. He talked about kids from low-income families who work full-time, go to college, and sell their plasma to go to college. He talked about low income kids who made it through law school and then couldn't afford to take jobs with Legal Aid because they couldn't pay their school loans on legal aid salaries, he talked about an inadequate public transportation system which made it harder for low-income people to work.

I've never heard Norm Coleman speak of any of these things.

I worked hard to elect Al Franken. He worked hard too.

It's up to us here in Minnesota to decide who we want to replace the embarrassment of Norm Coleman, Al will do us proud.

[Cetacea]

112. Franken's a good guy. Just keep him off the radio!

I think that he will make a good senator. And I think that if Rhandi in fact said what the OP is reporting she said that it was just to get a rise .

[BlueMTexpat]

61. Can't say that I'm a Minnesotan but I contributed to Paul Wellstone's

campaign, specifically because of his vote on the IWR. I was appalled and disheartened by his loss in such terrible circumstances and was bummed when Coleman took his seat in 2002.

I didn't understand the Franken connection until I read "Lying Liars ..." where Al wrote movingly about Wellstone and how outraged he was by the media coverage of the memorial ceremony, coverage that Franken believed helped to elect Coleman.

Franken is a bright man and his heart is in the right place politically. I believe that he would like to continue in Wellstone's footsteps.

So my spirit is with all Minnesotans who support Franken, especially those who were also Wellstone supporters. The Wellstones are a wonderful family and anyone who was their friend is, by association, a friend of mine.

So, please lay off with the RW talking points about his "embarrassing" Dems ... Al's one of the good guys.

And I'm a Deaniac too. :hi:

[Dennis Donovan]

66. Yeah, because smart Democrats are ALWAYS embarassing...

:wtf:

[Raine1967]

73. It wasn't just the Iraq war... It was Ohio '04

When Ohio was happening-- when so many were being caged and disenfracnised, Randi wanted to talk about the vote being Stolen, and Al Franken (as the rest of AAR) did not want her mentioning it on air.

There is bad blood there between the 2, but Randi's beef right now is the irony that Al is going thru the very thing that she wanted to bring to the attention of the listener in 2004.
I listed to the show in part today, and in part the first time it aired and I don't remember her saying that she would give information. I could have missed it. What I do recall is that she would not go out of her way to cheerlead for al, and that she new a dem in that seat is still better than a repug.

Please don't kill the messenger (that being me) .

Al, as much as I have always liked him, was never a big on acknowledging election fraud, especially in 2004.

[jazzjunkysue]

75. Thanks for the info. I think she resented him well before 04, though.

Back then I would listen to her on AAR and she never liked Al. I think she knew she was great on radio and he was only passable. But he had national TV cred and brought in the $$. I think she felt used, like, she was real, and doing the job he couldn't.

I doubt he'd disagree with her on that.

Al's heart is always in the right place but he wasn't really very good at radio.

Randi can be very good but she's nasty to her callers unless they're men.

[defendandprotect]

94. Love Randi ... though have to tune in via internet now . . .

For information and connecting docs she can't be beat ---

And, I think the harassment of her is a sign how desperately the r-w wanted

to get her off AAR --

and they succeeded --!!!

[CreekDog]

138. but here's the thing: his legal team was completely aware of it

so to say that it hit them as a surprise is wrong.

but as frontman for the campaign, Al was not going to suggest that the election was unfair and thereby imply that he was not going to win, or should he win, cast aspersions on the process that he was elected under.

all the while his legal team acted as though they completely understood what they were up against --they didn't just come to that on November 5th, they thought of it ahead of time.

which makes Franken much smarter than Randi regarding the politics of the thing.

[Horse with no Name]

78. I quit listening to Randi long ago

She has no respect for others.

[arthritisR_US]

82. my sentiments exactly and I quit listening to her to for the very same reasons. n/t

[bertman]

85. When we got Al on AAR I was ec-fucking-static. Finally, a liberal on the radio. It was

great having him on, but gawd almighty was he BORING with his uuuhhhh's and ummm's, but still he was sometimes informative and had good guests. All in all, I listened to him almost every day until he bored me away. The election fraud thing really pissed me off. He acted like it was a fantasy. Refused to talk about it. Then the show got cancelled.

In stepped Randi--at least in our listening area--to take over the same time slot. NOT boring for sure. Sometimes she pissed me off with her rudeness and ego and I turned her off. Sometimes she was so articulate and forceful and brilliant in a rant that I would be screaming "TELL IT, SISTER, TELL IT!!" She also had great guests like John Dean. I missed her when she lost her contract, and loved it when she came back on NovaM.

Both were better than NO LIBRULS ON THE RADIO. Both had their faults. I'm glad Al is going to be a Senator. I wish Randi would learn some manners. I also wish we had some other very well-informed and even-tempered liberal commentators with excellent oratorical skills to offer during the daytime time slots.

That is all.

[Tarheel_Dem]

88. Slight correction: I don't think Al's show was cancelled. He always

intended to run for the Senate, and once he made that decision, he was replaced by that Lionel guy.

[bertman]

89. The explanation I remember from those days was that AAR was going bankrupt or

having major financial difficulties and therefore had to cancel his show.

[Tarheel_Dem]

153. You may be right. I just always thought he left to pursue his political career. (nt)

[defendandprotect]

96. Lionel is another guy to run from -- !!!

[Cleita]

101. Actually, he was replaced by Thom Hartmann who is still in the same

time slot. Lionel replaced I believe Janeanne Garofalo and Sam Seder.

[Tarheel_Dem]

152. That's why I love DU. Thanks for refreshing my memory. (nt)

[MiniMe]

116. Slight correction to you. He moved to Minnesota in order to establish residence, then...

he broadcast his show from Minnesota for a while. That was when his co-host left the show, I don't think she wanted to move to Minnesota. Al left AAR when he announced that he was running for the Senate. He thought about running in 2004, but I think he really wanted to get Paul Wellstone's seat back. Lionel was brought in at the 9am slot, and they brought Thom Hartman in to replace Al. Lionel replace Sam Sedar, a big mistake imho.

[Tarheel_Dem]

151. Agreed. Your memory of the events is much more accurate than mine.

And I agree about the Lionel replacement (yuck). I just wanted to dispel the myth that Al was "cancelled".

[defendandprotect]

95. Agree . .

No one has the information she does --- I always feel badly when I have

to miss her show -- and it's a lot recently.

No one connects the dots the way she does --- she's brilliant!

[JSK]

105. His show was not canceled

He had to quit when he announced his senate candidacy.

[southernyankeebelle]

87. Wow

She must be jealous. Franken is very smart and has a great wit.

[pilsner]

93. What Democratic Senators took Ohio's theft seriously?

Maybe Barbara Boxer?

If Randi and others are going to cut off their nose and not support Franken because of what happened in 2004, then I guess they're gonna do the same to all Democrats in Congress besides Kucinich.

This is stupid. Al was wrong then and Randi was right.

But get over it. It's a good thing Randi is a Talker. She'd make a lousy politician. She holds too many grudges and let's her ego get in the way of progress.

[defendandprotect]

97. Franken may have learned since then that election theft isn't "tin foil hat" . . .!!!????

Let him apologize to us all -- after he takes his seat--!!

[NuttyFluffers]

99. Randi didn't like Franken not listening to others and actively trying to silence them

Randi definitely knows her business, that's why she's been on so many years. but Franken always had the ear of management, and neither Franken nor the revolving door of management would listen to real world advice. she was against the fixed block format from the beginning (selling AAR as an all or nothing format for an entire radio station), she did not like the lack of experience floundering early on (and many of the stars really were floundering, not knowing how to do radio) ruining her and others' hard efforts, and she didn't like the gimmickry to run shows and fill up time with endless guests (let alone some of the guests that were invited, i.e. G. Gordon Liddy).

Al's dismissiveness over real conspiracies, such as voter irregularities and other major issues coming from this white house also didn't help things. when Al further went on to ban ad bumpers of Mike Malloy on Al's show and actively help nudge him out over Malloy's stance on Israel (that criticizing Israel is allowed and that Israel's actions are not really in its long term interest let alone the Palestinians), Randi thought even less of Al's behavior. his buddy, buddy to higher ups in the DLC needed a sparkling clean slate and any such associations Franken felt would 'tarnish' him. needless to say Randi thought the cronyism, social climbing, and self-serving nature was bad news and she always had deep respect for Malloy as a fellow radio personality. if you notice, there's no love lost between Malloy and Franken either.

further, as the ineptitude started to repeatedly implode AAR, most talents who started to improve on the radio were ditched to feed bloated salaries and crony hires from incoming new management who had no idea what to do. most were somehow well known to Franken, but that meant most other talents were ditched, Maron, Seder, et al. later Franken tries to move to greener pastures while trying to push his senator bid (which was going on pretty much since 2004, roughly around AARs start), which was not probably the best choice for that seat -- again too gimmicky for the community as Palast notes, it wouldn't have been so close with another candidate. anyway, Malloy and Randi say absolutely as little as possible about Franken's run because "if you got nothing good to say..."

now, since i think Randi, Malloy, Seder, Maron, et al are more ingenuous than Franken (considering there is zero love lost between me and the DLC), even though Franken does entertain me at times, i rather side with everyone else. same side perhaps, but again, not exactly someone to be all palsy walsy with. strictly from his behavior at AAR towards his colleagues it seems Franken looks out after Franken, and the truth comes after power. that tends to make people like Randi and Malloy viscerally upset.

[Cleita]

100. Yes, but would you want Republican Coleman or DLC Franken as Senator?

That's the choice we have. I agree Air America is screwed up. They treated Mike Malloy, Sam Seder and the others shabbily. Much of what happened at AAR that you mentioned happened after Franken left. Actually the only AAR show I listen to anymore is Thom Hartmann and Ring of Fire on Saturday. I agree about the DLC ties with Franken but frankly many of our new administrative appointees are firmly DLC so we can't blame Franken for that. I'm grateful that they aren't being run by the church fundies and PNAC that have kept the Bush administration in power until now.

[cboy4]

103. She's a piece of .................

work.

[Cetacea]

109. But she didn't actually do that, did she? Nor would she.

This is a VEDY INTERESTING thread.
At best a cynical Rhodes just trying to piss Al off. The hatred in this thread is vedy interestink.

[Cleita]

143. I don't know if there are any podcasts of her shows but if there is it's

in the week before Xmas. They don't give you dates on "Best of Randi". This wasn't the only reason though but the last of many snarky remarks about Al Franken over the years even when they were still at AAR together. But I thought giving information to Norm Coleman if he asked for it over the top for Randi.

[JohnnieGordon]

114. I'm sure she didn't mean it literally

It was just to emphasis her dislike for Franken, which I happen to share (along with Mike Malloy.) Yes I'm glad he won over Colemen, but Franken's centrism is still very off-putting. He's personal friends with professional homophobe Gary Bauer for instance. He says he doesn't agree with him, but being friends with someone like that shows he thinks opposition to gay rights is just an opinion, not bigotry. And I find that double standard very offensive.

[Cleita]

144. I think he was friend with Gordon Liddy or some really offensive

right winger whom he would have on the show as well. However, it seems our President Obama also has friends we don't approve of so whose to say. I think his hosing of Rush Limbaugh and Bill O'Reilly though really tell us that his politics are on left. Didn't he call his show "The O'Franken Factor" for a while making fun of Billo?

[NashVegas]

122. Unless There Was Some Quid Pro Quo

When Franken was on the air promoting Democrats, or using his celebrity status to get the leftie-sphere behind any particular candidate, I can't imagine what Normie would be interested in.

[Occam Bandage]

145. She's a drunkard and a moron. nt

[SeattleGirl]

146. A drunkard? Really? Where's your proof?

Hmmmmm?

[Occam Bandage]

148. Oh, no, it's really quite common

for non-drunks to stop by bars in the afternoon, get piss drunk, then smash their faces into the ground. And then change their stories repeatedly. I bet she really was attacked by right-wingers. Or, you know, mugged. It was just a mugging. Or really did trip over her dog. Damn leashes. Or, okay, really did go to that bar, but didn't drink. She just ate a lot. Or maybe she did drink. But not a lot. She certainly didn't have 14 Ketel One Bloody Marys. And she isn't a regular. Seriously. She doesn't have a problem.

And all those stories about her showing up to events drunk? Lies. All of them. Probably spread by right-wingers. Just like the right-wingers that "assaulted her."

Thinking she's a drunkard just because she's drunk all the time? I know, I'm really reaching on that one.

[SeattleGirl]

150. You're reaching there. Drunk all the time? I don't think so.

I get really tired of people labeling others as "drunkards" and such, especially when that label is based on one incident. One. Period.

Unless you have more proof than one incident, you might want to rethink this propensity to label someone based on one thing.

[mucifer]

156. I was offended when she whined that Olbermann took all of her material.

The news is the news. She verbalized on her show that she was upset Olbermann never invited her on his show. She has issues with jealousy.
Also, I thought her anti-Hillary swearing tirade, tho it shouldn't have gotten her fired, was VERY stupid as it could have harmed Obama. As an Obama supporter she should have known better.