Sean Hannity Tackles John “Sly” Sylvester From Madison’s WTDY

Sean Hannity rarely ever has his name in print on my blog.   There is never a reason to allow him space on my site.  Until now.  And plenty of space he will get.

When one takes on John “Sly” Sylvester from Madison’s WTDY in such grand style as was done last night on national TV….well…..that deserves space on CP.

That I have major problems with the way John “Sly” Sylvester abuses the airwaves with trash talk is why he is much the topic on my blog.  The airwaves should not be used for vile talk.  Like that which prompted Sean Hannity to devote a portion of his show to informing the nation for what passes as ‘entertainment’ in Madison.

I think what was stated and done by Sly was offensive.

Here is the transcript of the Sean Hannity broadcast from last night.  The link provides all that follows in video.

This is a rush transcript from “Hannity,” January 27, 2011. This copy may not be in its final form and may be updated. 

SEAN HANNITY, HOST: Now, the left wing’s relentless assault on civility in politics continues in the wake of the terrible tragedy in Tucson. This time liberal radio host John “Sly” Sylvester is getting in on the act. You may recall that Sylvester made headlines in 2004 when he referred to then-National Security Adviser Condoleezza Rice as “Aunt Jemima.”

Now he’s turning his sexist and hate filled act on Wisconsin Lieutenant Governor Rebecca Kleefisch. Now, listen to how Sylvester impersonated Kleefisch on a recent show.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOHN “SLY” SYLVESTER, RADIO TALK SHOW HOST: I’m Rebecca Kleefisch. I perform fellatio on all the talk show hosts in Milwaukee. And they endorse me and that’s how I became lieutenant governor.

(LAUGHTER)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Bless her heart.

SLYVESTER: And then I got colon cancer and I ran around the state to help people. Even though I have government health care, screw everyone else.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HANNITY: Now, since making those despicable comments, Sylvester has apologized for making the sexual reference you just heard. However, he is not apologizing for the remarks about the lieutenant governor’s battle with cancer. Instead, he reiterated on the show that he believes Kleefisch used her cancer to get elected.

Now, through his radio station’s program director, Sylvester wimped out and declined to appear on tonight’s program. But joining me now is the person who was subjected to this insensitive political rant, she is lieutenant governor of the great state of Wisconsin, Rebecca Kleefisch.

Rebecca, thank you for being with us.

REBECCA KLEEFISCH, WISCONSIN LIEUTENANT GOVERNOR: Good evening, Sean. How are you?

HANNITY: All right. So, you hear what this guy says — by the way, I’m going to play a tape because I’ve had a run-in with this guy in the past — but, that you are making sexual favors, that you are using your cancer — by the way, you survived colon cancer, correct?

KLEEFISCH: Yes, yes, I’m on chemo right now.

HANNITY: You’re on chemo right now which is one of the most difficult things anybody has to go through. And he makes these comments. How did that make you feel?

KLEEFISCH: Well, the comments that he made, as you heard, some of them at least, were vile. I mean, they were violating. You can’t really choose many more foul words to say to a woman than what this gentleman — and I use the term loosely — chose.

I have two little girls at home. And some day, they are going to be able to search the Internet and I fear some day, they’re going to find these comments. I don’t want to have to explain to them what these terms mean. This was really unfortunate.

HANNITY: Yes.

KLEEFISCH: And so, I’m glad that the American Cancer Society in the state of Wisconsin, spoke up. They said that this was unacceptable and demanded an apology. And Sly Sylvester did actually apologize. It is disappointing though that it wasn’t a full-fledged apology.

HANNITY: Yes.

Well, I got into this with him when he made the comments about Condoleezza Rice back in 2004. And it was the same thing. It is not really a full, complete apology. I’m going to play it for you. And then I have a question out of this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

HANNITY: You are doing the show, you’re attacking people.

SYLVESTER: No.

HANNITY: You demean them and you insult them, you’re mean, you’re cruel and you’re thoughtless. And this is your way.

(CROSSTALK)

SYLVESTER: Wait a minute! Wait a minute! Did you have me on to talk to me or are you just going to talk over me?

HANNITY: I think you ought to be ashamed of yourself. Why don’t you just do the right thing and give a real apology. I’ll give you all the time you need.

SYLVESTER: I did apologize to the African-American community. I’m not going to apologize for her behavior.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HANNITY: So, this is his gig. He says these outrageous things and he’s a moral coward and he gets away and the radio station supports him. Would you like to have recourse of some kind against him?

KLEEFISCH: You know what? I think the best recourse here is to forgive the guy and to move on. Because, you know, the thing that made him so angry, the thing that inspired all this visceral hatred toward me was the fact that I was just doing my job, Sean.

Thoughts About John “Sly” Sylvester And The ‘Tone’ Of Radio

This past week Wisconsin has been talking about the words used by a radio broadcaster from Madison who verbally took off on a Republican statewide officeholder.  Mocking her colon cancer, and making outlandish sexual statements makes me wonder what is next for our radio airwaves. 

As such there has been a dialogue in the state, and elsewhere about what was said, and what should now be done about it.  On this blog I have been called everything from a socialist, fascist, champion of small government, and proponent of big government concerning my call for cleaning up rancid talk on radio.  That none of those labels make sense concerning me or my views, and all seem to steer the debate into a political corner far away from the direction I have taken this issue, is perplexing.  

Over the past week I have read and heard much about John ”Sly” Sylvester  and his poor judgement while on the WTDY airwaves.  There have been those who defend him, and even used the free speech argument as their foundation.  A faulty foundation, I might add, but used all the same. (I will discuss that below.)

Then there are others, like myself, who want Sly off the air for abusing the standards we expect from broadcasters. 

This week as I read and listened to the frothy back and forth one thing kept coming back center stage.  No one was talking about radio itself,  about the ‘tone’ we want to hear on our radio airwaves, or the standards we want honored by those who hold broadcasting licenses.  No was asking about why our public radio airwaves have become angry places as opposed to the friendly ones that I recall from my youth. 

I think these concerns about radio are very legitimate to consider.

I still recall as a kid the time my mom was not pleased to hear the word “damn” used by a politician in a news actuality.  She felt there was no need for cursing on the airwaves, and that it sounded bad.

I need to add that I am 48 years old  and grew up in middle America like most of my peers.  I mention this to show that there was a time, not so long ago, when broadcasting standards were a desired thing.  Listeners noticed things that ran counter to the expected norms.

I remember telling my mom I did not think the word usage was out-of-bounds.  She held to her belief that people who were educated could find word choices that did not offend, especially on the airwaves.

She was right of course.

What I could not see as a child was the turn being taken in radio broadcasting, a curve that was long and unseen due to the length of its arc.  Little by little standards were about to be lowered in radio broadcasting that would ‘allow’ for someone to go on the airwaves in 2011 and talk about false sex acts by an elected officeholder.  Worse yet the announcer who makes such statements on the radio expects to get away with it. 

My mother would he shocked.

We all should be shocked.

Yet some are not.

Some are trying to hide behind the First Amendment when defending the words shock jocks use on radio.   Others have chided me for not caring about the First Amendment when I added my call for Sly to be reprimanded by the FCC for his on-air actions.

Let me say there is no defending what took place this past week on WTDY with constitutional armor.

Let me use the Westboro Baptist Church as my example.

I have expressed on CP that anti-gay Westboro Church is repulsive in every sense of the word.  I have stated that concerned citizens need to surround the Westboro members and block their impact when they picket funerals.  But I have also stated that I hope the Supreme Court does not rule against these crazed bigots when it makes a decision later this year about the constitutionality of their right to speech.

As disturbing as Fred Phelps and his tribe prove to be almost daily, we have nothing to fear from this type.  It would be far more chilling and disturbing to place restrictions on free speech.

That I stand on the side of the First Amendment is not in doubt, even when the anti-gay foulness of this group is aimed at guys like me.

But Westboro is not doing their deed on the public airwaves that are licensed for use by the federal government to broadcasters.  Broadcasters MUST adhere to certain guidelines.   Guidelines that are well-known by the license holder that need to be abided by.

The guidelines for use of  our airwaves should have some meaning. Every letter of the regulations should be honored. Call me old-fashioned, but that is just how I think.  Having worked in government I fully understand there is no way to defend half a law or regulation and pretend the part we do not like can be disregarded.

So there is NO constitutional question about free speech when it comes to what Sly did on WTDY last week. If Sly wants to mouth off on the street corner, or write a book, or even blog he can have it. If someone tried to stifle him at any point in the public square, or on-line he would be advocated for on my blog. Not for content, but for his right to free speech.

There are those who contend I am biased when it comes to the issue of  Sly and only oppose those I do not like.   That  is not true.

This is not about friend or foe. This is about the character of radio. It is about the quality of what is on the airwaves that the public owns. 

I am one who bounces on Rush Limbaugh and others when I hear of antics that go against not my politics, but the grain of good taste and decency that should still apply on the airwaves.

THAT IS WHAT THIS IS ABOUT.

Somewhere along the line common sense was dumped for ratings in some radio stations up and down the dial.  We all can find evidence of that when we roam the AM dial.  

The question is how to remedy it.

There are laws and actions by the FCC, of course.  They might or might  not work, and besides that all takes time.

Therefore, I have a quicker remedy.

One that I know something about.

When I worked in radio nearly 30 years ago (yikes!) I wanted to be more effective when broadcasting from the WDOR studio in Sturgeon Bay.   I had several small picture frames containing images of my nephews, parents, and a close friend.  I often had one of them on the console in front of me when announcing the news or weather report.  I was aiming the tone of my delivery as I would if back home chatting over the dinner table.  (I was always the one that wanted to break the latest news and such to family, and that was one reason I wanted to work in radio.)

That the WDOR FM signal reached down to Milwaukee at night, and I spoke to listeners from there often, I knew there was more to my job than just being the average, everyday neighborhood DJ.   I felt a bigger responsibility to do my job in the best way I could.

I was not only representing myself on the air, but also the station.

Being a friendly neighborhood broadcaster now seems quaint, and probably even deadly for what too many program directors seek out when playing for ad revenues.

Yet I think if more broadcasters had a picture of their family on the studio console they would find it hard to spout rancid talk over the airwaves.  They also might find the listening audience would respond positively to civil talk and the higher standards of broadcasting that my mom desired.

David Blaska Asks FCC To Take John ”Sly” Sylvester Off WTDY Radio

Caffeinated Politics stands with David Blaska.  I plan to keep my readers up to date on this matter.

Before we get to the Blaska story I want my readers to think about why we tune to a radio station in the first place.  In making a selection on the dial we are asking the announcer to be a guest in our car, home, or place of business.

Considering that, and after reading the transcript below, would you really want John ”Sly” Sylvester sitting in your living room?   If not, then why have him as your guest in your home over the radio?

Blaska’s Blog has filed a formal complaint with the Federal Communications Commission against WTDY radio. My intent is to knock the Vile Radio Talker off the air.

It is Complaint 11-WB14678720. 

I do not like Big Government. But the Vile Radio Talker does. Let him go up against the lawyers at FCC. Live by the sword …

This is what the Vile Radio Talker said on Monday morning over the airwaves:

“She performed fellatio on all the talk show hosts in Milwaukee” and she “pulled a train.”

Here is a partial transcript:

How amateurish is it to have Rebecca Kleefisch, who, I don’t know, she has some like little panty business in her basement or something, I don’t know. She’s hardly a, she’s hardly an entrepreneur. You know what? You know how amateurish that is? Cold-calling?

(Using high-pitched voice, speaking as Kleefisch)

Would you like to move to Wisconsin? Would you like to move CouponCabin to Wisconsin? I’m Rebecca Kleefisch. I performed fellatio on all the talk show hosts in Milwaukee. And they endorsed me and that’s how I became lieutenant governor. And then I got colon cancer and I ran around the state to help people. Even though I have government health care, screw everyone else.