Pissed off about how the government is handling the issues? Want to spout off on stem cells, gay rights, The PATRIOT Act, Iraq? If you’re of the mind that even a little Limbaugh is too much, local talk radio now offers broadcasts from the other side of the spectrum. National progressive radio host and self-described “Jefferson fanatic” (he’s written several books on The Teej), Thom Hartmann will bring his perspective to our airwaves for three hours a day, five days a week, on local AM station WVAX. His show is the first liberal addition to the Charlottesville Radio Group, home of—among other things—conservative talk-radio outlet WINA. Prog on.
C-VILLE: Is progressive talk radio growing?
Thom Hartmann: As much as there is conservative talk radio out there, that’s the potential for progressive talk radio.
What’s your approach to progressive talk?
Occasionally I refer to my program as “uncommon sense from the radical middle.” …Positions that have been characterized in the media as being “left” are really in my opinion the positions of a majority of Americans. …The reality is that the Left is dead. …I believe in American liberalism, as defined by the foremost classic American liberals: George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Abraham Lincoln and Franklin Roosevelt.
What sorts of issues do you talk about on your show?
We talk about the news of the day. …The Bush Administration right now is flying a proposal in Washington D.C. that would expand a military tribunal program not just to the folks in Guantanamo, but to everybody in America, so that you or I could be arrested, not be informed of the charges against us, not confront our accusers…hearsay testimony could be used against us that was obtained through torture or coercion. The death penalty could be administered if only five out of 12 jurors agree to it.
What about coming to Charlottesville?
I’m just really excited to be on the air in the town with the university that was, for my hero Thomas Jefferson, one of the crowning achievements of his life.
