South Carolina Ping
Posted on 05/10/2005 6:07:28 AM PDT by tgslTakoma
Michael Graham wants to start a war in Washington. And Maryland. And Virginia.
Why? It's good for ratings, which is good for business, which is good for Graham - and his corporate patron, ABC Radio.
At the moment he's getting assistance from an unlikely ally - the Montgomery County police.
Graham is the new right-wing talk radio jock in the D.C. area. You can hear him on WMAL in the midmorning. He's the setup guy for Rush Limbaugh. WMAL is to WTOP what Fox News is to CNN. Rush does national issues. Graham sticks to enraging locals on local topics.
Graham's weapons are the standard fare of conservative talkmeisters: riffs on gay marriage and illegal aliens and stupid liberals. WMAL program director Randall Bloomquist calls it "right-wing screaming brain vomit."
The reviled liberals surround Graham in his "Ronald Reagan Studio" at Friendship Heights, snug in the swank corner of Northwest Washington, hard by the Maryland line. If Maryland is a blue state, Northwest D.C. and Montgomery County are royal blue.
"It's hard to find more insanity than in Montgomery County," he tells me.
Graham, 43, is a tall, sinewy guy, married with two kids, native of South Carolina, a graduate of Oral Roberts University, veteran of a Pat Buchanan presidential campaign, author of "Redneck Nation: How the South Really Won the War." He had lived in Maryland, but he moved to Virginia - "God's side of the river."
On Sunday, Graham took his act to Richard Montgomery High School in Rockville. The school was hosting a rally by Latino immigrants protesting the Real ID Act, a federal law that would deny drivers licenses to illegal aliens. Maryland is one of 10 states that issues licenses even if applicants don't prove they are legal residents.
Proponents of the law say it will make it harder for terrorists to get licenses and legal status; critics argue that it will discriminate against immigrants - in particular illegal ones.
You know where Michael Graham comes down on this one. So do the organizers of Sunday's rally.
Graham strolled up to the high school. He was wearing his black T-shirt with INS in white letters, which translates to "I Need (Border) Security." He held a tape recorder and a camera. What happened next is a subject of interpretation and perhaps litigation:
Security people stopped Graham and asked for identification.
"Funny for them to ask me for ID," he tells me.
He flashed his ABC credentials and tried to walk in. They jumped him. A struggle ensued. Someone alerted the police officers standing nearby. "Finally," Graham figured, "they're going to pull these illegals off of me." But no. They took him into custody and asked him to leave.
"Makes sense, actually," he says, "if you consider the whack jobs who run the Montgomery County Police."
Monday morning he made verbal mincemeat of the county, the cops and CASA, the group that organized the rally, which he referred to as a front group for illegal aliens. Actually, CASA is a well-respected advocacy group for immigrants of all kinds. They are known, for instance, for rescuing enslaved domestic workers.
Everything was going according to script until the Montgomery County police went to extremes. Lt. Eric Burnett told Graham's boss, WMAL president Chris Berry, that police were planning to "file a complaint against Graham."
I asked Burnett about the charges. Failure to shut up?
"Graham was acting unprofessional as a reporter," Burnett said.
But as Chris Berry says, Michael Graham is an entertainer, not a reporter. The cops did their job on Sunday. Now they are just giving Graham more material.
Make his day:
Arrest him.
>> "Graham was acting unprofessional as a reporter." <<
If that were a crime, Dan Rather would be swinging from the gallows. :^D
There are so many good "right wing" conservative talk shows these days, maybe the 24 best should be syndicated, and each host given his/her own one hour spot. Ratings would determine who got the best spots. Of course, Rush would be grand-fathered in.
Now this is a great story. I grew up in Bethesda, just 4 miles from the DC line. Used to take the public bus home from school down Wisconsin Ave but went down River Road instead of continuing on to Freindship Heights.
Cool, I hope he keeps on kickin' butt! Sounds like a great show.
I'll have to email my sister about it.
I love Michael Graham. Does anyone else think he looks like a young Rush Limbaugh?
Love the guy - but he looks like Kurt Busch.
Liked Greg Alan too - miss him, actually. Wish he was still on in Charleston.
Rocky D is bearable - Murph was TERRIBLE!!!!!!!!!!!!! Sucked and blew at the same time - shouldn't have lasted an hour.
Latest replacement is better, but not by much..
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.