Dear Randi Rhodes: My name is Lowell Feld and I -- along with numerous others -- operate the "RaisingKaine" blog here in Virginia. RaisingKaine is a grassroots group dedicated to electing DEMOCRATS like Tim Kaine and defeating right-wing REPUBLICANS like Jerry Kilgore. The reason I'm writing you is that there appears to have been - to be extremely charitable about it - a VERY bad misunderstanding on your part. The other day, a RaisingKaine author named Dan wrote a piece that, while strongly praising Cindy Sheehan, also argued that she should be allowed to "speak for herself." You -- or, we had hoped, someone impersonating you -- then wrote the following:
Name: Randi Rhodes | E-mail: Randi@airamericaradio.com | URI:
http://TheRandiRhodesShow.com | IP: 66.237.204.140Cindy said on my show that I do speak for her.
Maj Hackett, an Iraqi War Vet ran as a Democrat. Your party smeared him?you called him a ?staff puke? ?never saw combat?
John Kerry ran as a Democrat your party smeared HIS service.
Max Cleland was a hero and ran as a Democrat, your party smeared him.
Even John McCain was smeared when GW found it convenient.
Cynthia McKinney? Terrorist sympathizer.
Ambassador Joe Wilson, ?Opportunist. LIAR?
Valarie Plame ?Desk Jockey?You allow your party members to sit infront of HOSPICE CARE and criticize a husband who simply took care of his wife for 15 years.
It?s obviously because you haven?t had an idea other than WAR and POWER since 1980!
Grow a spine please.
Make your Party?s Leader meet with the moms who lost thier treasure?ANSWER ONE
QUESTION ?FOR WHAT NOBLE CAUSE DID MY SON DIE?.And then go catch Osama Bin Laden.
Love aLLWays,
Randi Rhodes
Air America RadioOh, and would YOU personally stand up and say ?Outing a CIA OPERATIVE IS WRONG??
That is something you can do right now.Posted Aug 10, 5:51 PM | Edit Comment | Delete Comment ? Edit Post ?Let Cindy
Sheehan speak for herself? | View Post
Well, my colleagues and I were totally confused and dumbfounded by this, so we listened to the August 10 show in the archives on your website. Unfortunately, it turns out that this WAS you, NOT an imposter, and that you actually read these comments and attacked Tim Kaine -- who you must have confused with Jerry Kilgore, right?!? please?!? -- ON THE AIR! Look, we can be charitable and say that you were busy, distracted, and totally confused, that you or one of your staffers thought this blog was pro-Kilgore for some bizarre reason.
Alternately, we can be less charitable and simply conclude that you attacked Tim Kaine without even knowing who he was, let alone the difference between a Democrat (Tim), a far-right Republican (Jerry Kilgore), or a hole in the ground. Frankly, though, it would be utterly shocking if a leading Democratic radio host hadn't heard of the #1 Governor's race in the country this year! With all due respect, have you been hiding in a cave the past few months or something?
Let's clarify it all for you: Tim Kaine is a Democrat. Jerry Kilgore is a right-wing Republican. I personally am a strong Democrat, as is the author of this post. Most if not all of us here at RaisingKaine admire Cindy Sheehan very much for what she?s doing in Crawford, Texas. That includes the author of the post in question. I personally supported Paul Hackett, even gave him money. All of us here love Max Cleland and hate what Scott Howell (now Jerry Kilgore?s top media/slime advisor) did to him. Etc., etc. So what on earth is the deal with your on-the-air criticism of Tim Kaine?!?
What's so disturbing about this is that, without apparently knowing what you were talking about, you launched a completely unwarranted, wildly wrong attack on the Democratic candidate for Governor of Virginia. Since then, despite repeated requests by several people, you have refused to: a) talk to any of us about the situation, or b) apologize and retract your comments on the air. This is not a joke. Tim Kaine, a moderate Democrat, is in an extremely tough, tight contest with a far-right-wing Republican here in Virginia. That's why we need EVERY Democrat -- plus independents and moderate Republicans -- behind Tim Kaine 100%, not attacking him out of ignorance or whatever!
So, we would urge you, Ms. Rhodes, to please, PLEASE clear up this situation (misunderstanding or whatever it is) as quickly and as prominently as possible. Dan, the author of the piece on Cindy Sheehan, tried to call your show, was not allowed on, and in fact was treated rather rudely. Why not let him speak on your show, invite Tim Kaine on there (and find out what a great candidate he is!), or at the minimum add your strong and popular voice to those of us who are trying to elect Lt. Governor Kaine the next Governor of Virginia?
Thank you very much.
Sincerely,
Lowell Feld and the other members of RaisingKaine
***************************************************
PS Here's what some of Randi's loyal listeners are saying on her discussion forum:
I heard Randi read that blog entry the other day and I got the idea that it was from Tim Kaine. I then heard her read her reply on the air.After reading it for myself it is clear that she made a HUGE mistake and I trust that she will make it right. Although yesterday would have been a much better time to do it.
I hope someone from Virginia will try to get on the show and politely go over this with her. We have enough battles to fight right now and this should not be one of them.
and
Tim Kaine is a Democrat. Maybe Randi's reply was misdirected? The entry she read was clearly an attack of Republicans with it's references to the smearing of Democrats, etc. It appears that the article she replied to was written by a contirbutor to the blog and not Kaine himself. I hope that Randi will clarify this tomorrow. She used her show to attack Kaine's run for governor. What happened to her slogan "If you are attacking Democrats, you are a Republican"?
and
Randi,PLEASE PLEASE (pretty?) PLEASE clarify what you said yesterday re: Tim Kaine. I was driving up around DC yesterday visiting my brother and I was on 66 coming west out of the metro area so of course I was losing reception. Me and my friend thought you were talking about the other guy maybe (the throughly disgusting repug closet case Jerry Kilgore) but couldn't decide. Seeing that you were talking about Kaine is pretty distressing -- we're in Charlottesville, a great bastion of reality-based Americans in the middle of Bushite Virginia, and Tim Kaine is our best chance to stop the Christian Rightists corporate neocon-wannabes from undoing what Mark Warner has done during his tenure. Tim Kaine's a good guy, and I'd hate to think that the rest of your listeners think that us intelligent patriotic Virginians support some repub-lite southern pushover. Tim Kaine's not that at all -- indeed, he represents the best direction southern progressives can take at this point, even with his faults. So far he's mopped the floor with Kilgore on all the debates, and is doing decently well in polling. For a state where "Terrorist Hunting Permits" on the back of 4x4s are the norm, we've got to do whatever we can to continue the progressive reality based government that Mark Warner has done a decent job at starting. VA is one of those border states (don't let anyone around here hear you say that though) where getting the word out about progressive democrats is key for unravelling the herdlike devotion to the GOP. These people aren't Republicans, they just don't know it. And we need all the help we can get to help them see just exactly what a vote for the GOP means for them.