I’ll let this speak for itself as we await your (sure to be inspired) reaction below:
(Bay Windows)
We lost California but gained Jay Severin
Boston’s bad boy of talk radio, Jay Severin (96.9 FM WTKK) has had a change of heart about what he used to call “homosexual marriage”. It seems the national protests for same sex marriage rights caught his attention. On his November 17th broadcast ( listen to the podcast here ) Jay says that the “Jeffersonian standard” that “rules” his political life indicates to him that if it doesn’t break his leg or pick his pocket, then it’s of no harm to him. He indicates that “we can all be proud of ability to evolve” without “caving in”. Jay further state that he’s” always been for human rights. And that means no discrimination against people for whom they love, with whom they sleep.”
As a long-time listener to Jay I’ve always been confounded by how a practical, Libertarian leaning, fiscal conservative could be against gay marriage. I lean Libertarian and I think the government has no business in the marriage business, for gays or straights. Jay is also a self-described libertine (which would make him a Libertarian libertine).
It’s been a long time coming but I’m glad he’s finally arrived at our party.
Severino bug eyes image: Boston Herald
Tags: Boston, California, gay marriage, Jay Severin, Libertarian, WTKK
November 19th, 2008
Our corrupt legislature must be quite pleased today that the gay marriage initiative didn’t appear on the Mass ballot, especially after seeing it pass in three other states.
While California is often compared with Massachusetts, yesterday’s Golden State ballot proposition results were amazingly conservative. And in what must come as a shock to white liberals, high black and Hispanic turnout is the reason cited for the rightward shift.
The sad truth for white “progressives” is that many ethnic minority groups hold conservative views on social issues, even while they vote for liberal Democrats. That factor only partly explains the split results, however.
— Proposition 8, which bans gay marriage, passed 52% to 48%, despite polls showing it miles behind.
— Proposition 11, a measure opposed by Democrats, takes the redistricting process out of the legislature’s hands, eliminating gerrymandering. It was pushed by Arnold and the (normally very liberal) League of Women Voters.
— Two eco-kook measures, 7 and 10, were soundly defeated.
Had gay marriage finally reached the Mass ballot, it probably also would have passed.
While the Republican brand name is tarnished, conservative issues still prevailed in a number of states, including otherwise-liberal California.
By the way, with Question 3 on our ballot now resulting in a ban on dog racing, how quickly will casinos be built on those sites? Massachusetts needs the revenue much too badly.
Be careful what you wish for, liberal voters, look what it leads to!
Tags: Arnold Schwarzenegger, California, Massachusetts, Proposition 8
November 5th, 2008
A huge problem with Boston’s media environment is that it is notoriously insular and provincial, to the point where not having worked in other parts of the country is actually a bragging point.
As exposure to different markets can earn one a great deal of industry respect, Boston’s insider media sentiment is the opposite of what reporters, hosts and TV anchors will encounter elsewhere.
As a result, what you don’t see in coverage of the Finneran hiring is a good perspective on just how many times other stations have tried and failed at this very strategy in the past.
A fantastic comparison can be made between Finneran and Willie Brown, the former California State Assembly speaker who ruled the Golden State with an iron fist for at least as long as Tommy Taxes ran Beacon Hill.
Brown’s immense power scared many Californians to death, to the point where some of his legislative supporters were removed in recall elections. Later, he became mayor of San Francisco, taking his flamboyant style and engaging personality to the Northern California city.
A far more interesting character than Finneran could ever hope to be, Brown moved into a high-profile morning drive position on San Francisco’s KQKE The Quake after leaving his mayoral post.
Teamed with comedian Will Durst, Brown’s morning drive show was a spectacular failure, despite his clear compatibility with the station’s liberal audience. It didn’t last a year.
Given that Kahn previously worked in San Francisco, she has even less of an excuse for not understanding this key point.
Finneran, on the other hand, is a square peg in a round hole at WRKO and will encounter an entirely hostile audience, if anybody actually sticks around long enough for his February debut.
Had WRKO’s current management team had the experience necessary to program a major talk radio station, this point would have been obvious. Instead, left to these amateurs, mistakes that others made long ago in other markets are now being repeated here.
Tags: Beacon Hill, Boston, California, San Francisco, Tom Finneran, Tommy Taxes, Willie Brown
January 11th, 2007