Wednesday, September 15, 2021

Goodbye Larry

WARNING: Political Rant.  Red States best move on to another blog. 

I must say I take a personal glee at the outcome of the Republican attempt to recall California Governor Gavin Newsom, not just because it’s another setback for the party that advocates stupidity, the end of democracy, and the death of its members (don't wear masks, don't take vaccines, COVID is a hoax)— no, I’m thrilled because I personally know the candidate who lost — Larry Elder.

We worked together at KABC radio and may I just say I am not a fan.  And that’s not even based on issues.  Women aren’t as smart as men, there should be no minimum wage, no mask or vaccination mandates.  Those alone would be enough to despise a person.  He was always one of those talkshow hosts that took the contrarian point of view to stir up controversy.  The ultimate opportunist (as this governor run illustrates). 

Aside from all that, I just found him a dyspeptic pompous pain-in-the-ass with an ego the size of Canada. Based on... nothing.  He was not well-liked by his staff.  And for good reason.  He had the production director create wonderful comedy bits for him, which he pressed as a CD, took all the credit for it (even though he contributed nothing) and called it “the Best of Larry Elder.”   And for the record, the man has zero sense of humor. 

I was persona non grata to him.  He wouldn’t speak to me.  He wouldn’t acknowledge my existence.  Why?  Because I was hosting Dodger Talk and during Spring Training we were contracted to do an hour Dodger Talk show from 6-7 pm, which cut into one of his hours.  For whatever passive-aggressive reason, he blamed me.  Needless to say the change-overs at 6 were a barrel of laughs.  He literally ignored me.  So what I started doing was talking to him.  “Hey, Larry, how are you?  What’s going on?  Seen the new Clint Eastwood movie?  What do you think of my shirt?  What’s your favorite pie?”   You’d think one time he’d acknowledge what was happening.  I’ve worked in radio for more years than I care to mention, have changed-over with hundreds of different performers and never had that experience.   How hard would it be to just say hi?  He didn’t have to go out to dinner with me.  But that’s Larry.  He’s the king of dick moves.

Like… saying he lost the election and crying voting fraud the night BEFORE the election on his website.   A man of real integrity and scruples.  And this was the best the Republican Party could offer?

It's going to be hard to cry foul when the vote total was such a landslide -- not that that will stop 'ol Lar.  Again - scruples. He was the projected loser less than an hour after the polls closed.  He was the reason Newsom won so big.  This was projected to be a tight race until media hog Elder joined the fray.

And what did he achieve for all his efforts?  Not the shady power grab he attempted.  Once a local non-entity he became a national embarrassment.  And THAT is the "Best of Larry Elder."  

33 comments :

Brian Phillips said...

Poor guy. He should have tried campaigning with a bear, or something. If Roosevelt can call himself a bull moose, I say go for it!

Lemuel said...

National embarassment? Louis Gohmert says "hold my beer."

Hermite said...

Hallelujah! Best news I've heard in a long time. Thank you, Californians.

Jeff Boice said...

Well, he actually did concede defeat (at least according to the headlines-I didn't bother to read the stories). He also talked about running again in 2022, which is probably not going to happen since he admitted to being the (pause for dramatic effect) LOSER.

Glenn said...

Never seen a state have so much buyer's remorse like CA.

Don Kemp said...

Hallelujah and Amen!

Listened to Elder many years ago on KABC. His stuttering way of talking over anyone who easily made valid, contrarian points against him was a huge turn off. Then come to find out just like John and Ken on KFI and some other well known human errors, it was all an act. The guy doesn't have, well, any morals, core beliefs and yep, any scruples. Whatever it took for ratings because he couldn't get by on his own.

The only good he did was expose himself to the rest of the voting populace for what he is and make it very easy for Newsom to prevail. You've served your purpose Larry, now go somewhere and get terminal diarrhea.

Ere I Saw Elba said...

This was purely a political stunt on the part of the GOP. Their basic strategy is "let's see if we can get away with this". If they can do it in California, then their next step is see where else they can try it.

Abuse of the legal and political systems, along with disinformation and brainwashing, gerrymandering, voter suppression, and laundered money is everything they are about.

And by the way, they never had any chance of winning this one, and they all knew it. They wanted to waste oxygen, time, and money as a warm-up to flex their (dwindling) muscles.

James Van Hise said...

Larry Elder was a gift to Gavin Newsom. If the GOP had told him to be quiet they might have had a chance. But every time Elder said something stupid or obnoxious he scared people into coming out to vote against the recall so that they'd never have to deal with him again. Elder couldn't have helped Gavin Newsom any more if he'd been paid to do help him.

Greg Ehrbar said...

To quote the last words of David Cassidy, "So much wasted time." And money.

A lot of better things could have been done with the millions of dollars spent on the recall.

Dave Beasing said...

There's no such thing as bad publicity if you aspire to be known as a jackass.

Mr.Bassman said...

The ‘Sage of South Central’ is now just wilted parsley.

Bob Paris said...

Hopefully Democrat voters will remember to turn out the next time Republicans pull this stunt. I say, "reject your Elders."

John Kurko said...

For a real world take on what this idiot cost the state of California, I would suggest the following blog:

http://www.elisbergindustries.com/blog

The author puts the recall into dollars and the lack of sense the GOP had in this whole fiasco. My only hope is this fail will make an impression on the, shall we call them “the intellectually challenged” members of the die-hard GOP voters. But I’m pretty sure the GOP is already printing the “FIGHT THE STEAL BY SENDING US MONEY TO FIGHT IT” LETTERS.

Rich said...

Hey, he did come out in favor of reparations for SLAVE OWNERS who had their property taken away! 'Bout time we aired BOTH SIDES of the slavery issue!

Jeff Maxwell said...

Also at KABC, a friend and I began a friendly conversation with Mr. Elder. When I referenced a pleasant event between he and a mutual acquaintance connected to his show, he flat out lied, claiming no knowledge of it. Thinking he misunderstood, I tried politely to clarify the issue, but he doubled down on the lie. The person and event in question had been recorded and impossible to deny. But deny he did. It was an uncomfortable, creepy moment that has stuck with me for years.

No joke when I say that my friend and I left the encounter feeling Mr. Elder was not a well person.

Michael said...

Somehow, it's comforting to know that someone who hates women, Blacks, Hispanics, and himself is also a miserable human being.

Buttermilk Sky said...

Evidently most Californians were sickened by the prospect of a Senator Stephen Miller. Elder promised to appoint him as soon as Dianne Feinstein either died or resigned.

Thanks, California. Now change your laws so this recall nonsense doesn't keep happening.

Darwin's Ghost said...

Why are some people still surprised that the Republicans do despicable things? It's not a political party anymore. It's a far right extremist group that instigated domestic terrorism and has conspiracy theorists, Holocaust deniers and anti-Semites as members of Congress. Being a morally bankrupt, crooked, heartless, corrupt, lying, cheating, narcissistic piece of shit is a prerequisite to be a candidate for the Republican SS.

71dude said...

Congratulations. Hopefully this is a preview of the midterms.

Barry Traylor said...

I wish I could post a happy face because that is how I feel.

Norm duGare said...

California has been cleansed: "The Sage" got burned.

Mike Bloodworth said...

Yom Kippur begins tonight. Looks like BOTH sides have a lot to atone for.

M.B.

Liggie said...

Newsom would've been in trouble had the GOP candidate been a moderate with a modicum of common sense. Elder wasn't that guy. The CA Republicans have to get it through their heads that they can't win a statewide office with a demagogue or a right-wing extremist.

I can't say much about Arnold's policies as governor (I'm not a Californian), but at least he understood he was a public servant first and foremost, and he took the job very seriously. Trump, meanwhile, just used the presidency as a power grab, and couldn't deal with a pandemic that required a national leader instead of a firebrand for a base. Elder seemed like he would have been another Trump, and handling the serious issues the state has would've eaten a non-professional politician alive.

Kevin from VA said...

Both sides?!

Mark Twain said...

I am not from California. So who pays for this vanity project of the Republicans? I hear it is over $200 million, is that correct?

Bill Nuss said...

Hey, Larry -- Reparations for slave owners? Wouldn't that be reparation for the loss of stolen property?

Elf said...

A few California state politicians have just introduced legislation to put a state constitutional amendment on the ballot to make recall elections harder to trigger. They should also require that the recall supporters provide at least half of the estimated cost of the recall.

The other thing the GOP was hoping to do with this recall, as evidenced by Elder's claim of fraud before a single vote had been counted, was to instill a sense of distrust in the state's election system. Every instance of irregularity, such as some snafu in Woodland Hills was magnified far beyond its actual significance. No election runs 100% smoothly, but hey, since the GOP can't win elections in a fair democracy, they can only win if they bypass the democracy.

Darwin's Ghost said...

"Looks like BOTH sides have a lot to atone for."

Yeah, those monstrous Democrats going around not inciting an insurrection that killed a police officer, not spreading delusional conspiracy theories, not issuing lawsuits based on lies about the election being stolen and having every single lawsuit thrown out, not calling Covid a hoax, not blaming California wildfires on a Jewish space laser, not wishing child sex trafficker Ghislaine Maxwell well, not wanting poor people to die because they can't afford health insurance, and not calling neo Nazis very fine people. Yep, definitely a lot to atone for.

Mike Doran said...

Very Old Joke (now in its perhaps 2000th revival):

What's the difference between Democrats and Republicans?

Democrats fall in love.
Republicans fall in line.


I'm an Old Guy - '50s Kid from the South Side of Chicago, back before everybody took it all so morbidly; the Ds and the Rs would go at it on the campaign trails, then go out and have a coffee & roll.
That started to fade in the '60s, which is another story (stories, actually, and that's another set of stories).

But let's stay in the Present Day, which is toxic enough.
You all know, of course, that we're never going to be rid of Donald Trump.
He may be out of office, but he'll never be out of either sight, sound, or mind.
His many avatars (not limited to his direct descendants) continue to proliferate; that will never end.
What could be controlled might be how we on the other side react to them - and there's the problem.
THEY put out the bait - and WE fall for it.
Every single time.
For all of American History.
For as long as there's been American History.

In 2016, Keith Olbermann said this about Donald Trump:
You know this man.
You have always known this man.


There is nothing new under the sun.
That's from the Bible (not sure exactly where).
The Next One, whomever he - or she - or THEY - may be - just you wait and see ...

KLAC Guy said...

I don’t know Larry personally, but his show on KABC was incredibly boring. After listening to 2 shows, a listener would easily know how every show would sound. As the sales manager at KFI, I was thrilled that he was our competition.

Side note to Don Kemp- I know John Kobylt very well. The John you hear on the air is not “an act”. That’s who he is.

mike schlesinger said...

I occasionally listened to him back in the old days as I was driving to lunch just to hear his latest insanity. Three of my favorites:

He wanted the Americans With Disabilities Act overturned because--wait for it--it inconveniences healthy people. Yes, what a nightmare having to walk up a ramp instead of steps.

He condemned one of the Star Wars prequels, not for the obvious reasons but because a character called cigarettes "deathsticks." He actually called this "blatant anti-tobacco messaging." I wonder how much he was getting paid by the Big T.

There was an old kiddie cartoon show called "Hey, Arnold!" One year they made a feature film version, the plot of which involved the children trying to protect their playground from being taken over by a tycoon who wanted to build a skyscraper on it. He railed against this silly little movie as "brainwashing our children with anti-captialist propaganda." As if the average five-year-old even knew the meaning of the words "brainwashing," "captialist" and "propaganda."

He's not the black Trump. He's the black Limbaugh.

Don Kemp said...

KLAC Guy- not that I doubt you about Kobylt but you're the first person out of about a dozen who say they knew him who has said that. The usual line has always been he and his partner would say whatever got them ratings.

MikeN said...
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