Air America Host Suspended for Clinton Remarks

Randi Rhodes, an afternoon host for the progressive Air America radio network, was suspended Thursday after repeatedly insulting Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton at an event last month. Ms. Rhodes used vulgar language that likened Mrs. 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. On the video, Ms. Rhodes is also shown using derogatory language to describe Geraldine A. Ferraro, a former congresswoman and a supporter of Mrs. Clinton. Ms. Ferraro resigned from a committee of Mrs. Clintons campaign last month after making controversial remarks about Senator Barack Obama. Earlier this year, David Shuster, a reporter for MSNBC, was been suspended because of comments he made about Chelsea Clinton. Mr. Shuster said Ms. Clinton had been pimped out to make calls to superdelegates on behalf of her mother.
SOURCE: http://thecaucus.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/04/03/air-america-host-suspended-for-clinton-remarks/
TAGS: america, suspended, clinton, remarks, rhodes, language, network, ferraro, shuster, senator|

An unhinged tirade by Air America Radio host Randi Rhodes has led to an unprecedented suspension from the network, according to its new management and several left- wing websites. This is a breaking story with details still emerging.In a rant so salty it could make a sailor blush, Rhodes repeatedly called Hillary a "big f***ing whore", to both cheers and jeers from the audience. The afternoon drive talker was there on behalf of Air America at an event sponsored by the local affiliate.In addition, Rhodes referred to former Democrat vice presidential candidate Geraldine Ferraro as "David Duke in drag".An unabashed Obama supporter, Rhodes has yet to address the situation on her website. And on yesterday's show, fill-in host Sam Seder claimed she was "sick".UPDATE: word late today is that Rhodes may not be returning to Air America Radio anytime soon, which is a surprise. Could this really be a broke network's way of forgoing Randi's huge salary? Consider this: the incident occurred two full weeks ago, on 22 March. What explains the delay in her removal? Certainly, there wasn't a public controversy to deal with, almost no one not in attendance that night even knew about it.In fact, the local affiliate apparently received only a handful of complaints.UPDATE: how much do we really know about new AAR boss Charlie Kireker? Apparently, he's a longtime Clinton operative.UPDATE: unhinged HuffPo contributor uses flap to attack McCain!Here's the video clip:In a short and cryptic statement from Air America Radio's new chairman, a vague reason for her suspension was given:STATEMENT <a href="http://radioequalizer.blogspot.com/2008/04/randi-rhodes-suspended-after-calling.html">Continued here...</a>
SOURCE: http://radioequalizer.blogspot.com/2008/04/randi-rhodes-suspended-after-calling.html
TAGS: america, suspended, clinton, remarks, rhodes, language, network, ferraro, shuster, senator, rhodes, suspended, calling, hillary, suspension, unhinged, really, apparently, public, certainly|