Say WA? Evergreen State ping
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Posted on 05/26/2006 10:16:07 AM PDT by llevrok
He will fill in for vacationing Dave Ross
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Seattle's liberal, never-bashful Rep. Jim McDermott has found temporary work that, like his day job, consists largely of saying what he thinks.
The nine-term Democratic incumbent will fill in as host of "The Dave Ross Show" on 710 KIRO Radio next week while Ross -- himself an unsuccessful Democratic congressional candidate two years ago -- goes on vacation.
McDermott's first guest Monday will be Rep. John Murtha, D-Pa., an outspoken advocate for the military but one who, like McDermott, has become a harsh critic of the Bush administration's Iraq war policy. Then McDermott will take phone calls from listeners.
"Politicians are always wondering, what are people really thinking about?" McDermott said Thursday. "I'm going to get a chance to stimulate some ideas and probably get back some responses about what people are really thinking about."
McDermott said he is trying to line up liberal House Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., as a guest, as well as other congressional colleagues. On Monday and Tuesday, KIRO radio personality John Procaccino will co-host the show to help McDermott ease into the job.
McDermott is the Northwest's most liberal congressman and has never faced a difficult re-election. His utterances routinely anger Republicans and conservatives.
Republicans reviled him -- and labeled him "Baghdad Jim" -- in 2002 for suggesting during a visit to prewar Iraq that Saddam Hussein was more trustworthy than President Bush; in 2003 for saying Saddam's capture was timed for Bush's political advantage; and in 2004 for omitting the phrase "under God" while leading Congress in the Pledge of Allegiance.
KIRO Radio program director Tom Clendening said McDermott's outspokenness is "part of the appeal. We expect him to say what he thinks."
Clendening admitted that it's unusual for a member of Congress to be allowed to be a talk-show host, although he said McDermott and other elected officials occasionally have done briefer stints as guest hosts, and Norm Rice once hosted the show while serving as Seattle's mayor.
The program director said that "other people with different points of view" will be guest hosts from time to time.
McDermott spokesman Mike DeCesare contended that there is no issue of political fairness, because "Jim is not a declared candidate for anything" -- if only because the state's candidate filing period isn't until the last week of July.
John Carlson, another mixer of politics and radio commentary -- and who is as conservative as McDermott is liberal -- said he thinks the congressman "will be great on radio, because he knows what he believes and why; he's very passionate; and he's guaranteed to provoke reaction."
Carlson, the unsuccessful Republican nominee for governor in 2000, has a talk show on KVI-AM and co-hosts "The Commentators" on KOMO-AM. He said McDermott "is easily the most plainspoken and outspoken member of Congress in this state and possibly any other state."
The only downside of McDermott's radio gig, Carlson added, "is that he is doing so much good for Republicans back on Capitol Hill -- unintentionally, of course -- that he will be sorely missed next week."
1.877.710.KIRO
and listen live
http://www.710kiro.com/showdj.asp?DJID=31727
WA PING
Yeah, but I hear his newest blonde wife is really hot!
Anyone have any details on his virtuous past?
Pitures of the new spousal unit ?
I wonder if he'll be like talk show host wannabe, Alec Baldwin and find the call-in number being shown on his monitor as being, "interesting, very interesting."
Say WA? Evergreen State ping
FReepmail sionnsar if you want on or off this ping list.
Ping sionnsar if you see a Washington state related thread.
PING for Murtha-McDermott upcoming radio lovefest.
Sandrat,
If you and your Semper Fi ping list want to speak with the ex-Marine Murtha (I've excommunicated him out of the Corps - retired or otherwise), this may be of interest.
GAS BAG ALERT!
What about the FEC campaign rules? Will his opponent have equal time..
I'd like to snap his sword across my knee and toos him and the pieces out the front gate.
ROFL!! I happened to see McDermott during House proceedings a couple weeks ago in DC. Just sat down in the viewing area WAY upstairs in the House chambers and there was McDermott spewing stuff about missing secret classified documents. He sounded like a space zombie.
Anyone wishing to help out Diana Irey's campaign to oust Murtha can contact her headquarters.
DIANA IREY FOR CONGRESS
600 PARK AVENUE
MONONGAHELA, PA 15063
724-258-2300
http://www.irey.com/
Ping to self to listen.
isn't that a campaign contribution??
No. They'll give his opponent nothing. Sounds illegal to me. They're actually PAYING mcdermott too, more than the legal donor limit!
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