What caused the Ed Schultz transformation from Conservative to Progressive? Today, it is difficult to believe he ever really was a right 'wing nut'. What usually changes a man? Well a good woman of course.
If you follow the unemployment benefits issue at all, you are already aware of the champion the 99ers have in Ed Schultz (host of The Ed Show on MSNBC and Big Ed Radio). As one of the most outspoken "Progressive Movement" voices today, recently Ed published his second book Killer Politics: How Big Money and Bad Politics Are Destroying the Great American Middle Class. A must-read for everyone who has being beaten up by the powerful corporate interests that have taken over our government. Ed’s first book, “Straight Talk from the Heartland,” laid a roadmap for the Progressive wave which swept America in 2004. Schultz’s written words have proven wise and his predictions uncanny.
What a great many not know is that Ed used to be a conservative talk show host. Ed Schultz himself wrote that he was once "a shade right of Attila the Hun." In 1992 he launched News and Views, a regional talk show. His bombastic nature, fearless approach and innate radio ability quickly catapulted him to the top of the ratings.
It wasn’t until Ed met his current wife Wendy that his views began shifting. Wendy, (a psychiatric nurse and Ed’s assistant producer) on one of their first dates together, invited him to come have lunch with her at the shelter for the Salvation Army where she also worked. There Ed was able to witness first hand the bums that he was known for chastising on his show. Ed Schultz found his calling within the stories and faces of all the people that he met and it was then his views began to change.
About the transformation, Ed told Clyde Weiss of AFSCME Publications, "It didn't happen overnight. You just can't wake up one morning and say, 'I think I'm going to be for universal health care.' A number of grassroots events over my broadcast career brought me to be a liberal on many issues. One important factor was talking to Vietnam veterans about their lives, their benefits and what they were up against. It hit me like a ton of bricks how lucky I was. I thought, 'That could have been me.' Those people were dealt a pretty tough deck of cards in life, and I realized what an injustice the country had committed on people who had served. There have been other events too, like the plight of the American farmer."
He went on to say in that interview, "To have a strong country, you have to have four strong pillars: You've got to defend the country, educate the country, feed the country and have a strong fiscal policy. In my heart, I believe that all those strong foundations were badly shaken by the Bush administration and the "neo-con" agenda — for the benefit of a few."
Ed and Wendy took News and Views on the road in the ‘Big Eddie Cruiser’ (a customized motor home), to connect with the people. They met families struggling to make ends meet and farmers trying to keep their way of life. Ed, believing that America could do better, found his true, progressive voice on these travels.
Ed's wife Wendy is member of "Team Fargo" the group which books guests for the Ed Shows. Although she is listed as an assistant producer, recently in an email to Rob Curtis (a leader in the Tier 5 to Survive movement and 99er Nation) she humbly remarked that she was "just the wife." Wendy has been invaluable in helping the 99ers and all the unemployed get the mainstream media attention our cause so badly needs. She has been gracious, compassionate, generous with her time and genuinely committed to giving us a voice through her husband's TV and Radio shows.
Middle class and unemployed alike are facing financial devastation on an unprecedented scale each day and the time has come for the rest of the media to stop ignoring just how bad things are out here. I salute Ed and Wendy for their courage and commitment to bringing the 99ers' story to the forefront, keeping it alive and telling it with the utmost sensitivity and outrage felt by those hurting Americans nationwide. We can only hope the rest of the media can grow the courage to immediately begin to display the same type of leadership and "American Spirit" Ed displays in his continuing coverage of the plight of those who are now both jobless and without benefits.
Schultz is a graduate of Minnesota State University Moorhead. His competitive nature helped him lead the nation in passing & achieve All-American status as a quarterback at MSUM. His son Dave Schultz is a professional golfer on the PGA Nationwide tour. A devoted family man, Ed and his wife Wendy have six children. He shares his passion for hunting, fishing and flying with his large family.
Earlier this month, Ed gave an impassioned commentary on just what it is going to take to help the 99er Nation and keep the Democratic majorities in Congress.
Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy
No comments:
Post a Comment