I am a sports radio nut. Listening to the soap operas in the world of sports is a great escape from the stress of life. Because I took a job close to Dallas, I began listening to a new sports radio station called 105.3 The Fan. Now, most sports talk hosts have a right wing viewpoint. But, on The Fan, there was a certain show called Rage that featured two hosts with a female sidekick on the afternoon drive shift that was a little different. The main host was a man named Richie Witt. He is a veteran of Dallas/Ft. Worth newspapers and is known for running around with the likes of Troy Aikman during the Cowboy glory days of the early nineties. The other host was a man named Greg Williams (better known as Greggo) who was a radio legend in the Dallas/Ft. Worth area until he flamed out as a drug addict and lost his main gig. I began listening in November. By the spring, the show had self-destructed, the hosts and sidekick had been fired, and the feud between Richie Witt and Greggo has blown up on the internet in the form of competing blogs. Why should Daily Kos be interested? See below.
The appeal of the show was the interplay between Richie Witt and Greggo. Richie, refreshingly, was not someone who bought right wing propaganda hook, line and sinker. I would not consider him a "liberal", though many people do since he has the nerve to question some of the assumptions of "conservatives". For example, one of the main topics on the show that did not directly connect to sports was Greggo's love of guns. And with the Sandy Hook shooting taking place in December, gun control became a hot topic for the show. Richie, believe it or not, was a Texas sports radio show host who was not shy in his advocacy for gun control. He would challenge Greggo daily about why he felt a need to own so many firearms. It actually made for good radio every now and then.
Greggo, for his part, cannot be pigeon-holed into a label like "conservative". He is more of a libertarian. However, he certainly is anti-liberal and anti-Obama. He spouted and continues to stand by his distrust of everything "liberal", government, and of course our current president. For example, remember the death of ex-Navy Seal Chris Kyle? Greggo claimed to be friends with the Kyle family. He even stated that he was slated to speak at Kyle's memorial service (until the event ran long and he was bumped). In discussing the funeral on air, Greggo shared with the radio audience that a general with multiple stars shared with him tales of nefarious doings by our president that threatened the freedom of the people. Interestingly, in his discussion of the Sandy Hook massacre he actually was open to more restrictions on gun ownership, but was adamant that such measures were impossible to take given who was in charge of the White House.
Richie Witt, being a former reporter, was very good at asking Greggo for specifics in the face of such accusations. He would ask for names and expressed his disbelief that Greggo's general had in fact made such accusations. However, given Greggo's stature in DFW radio lore, he obviously had an unquestioning following who would buy anything he said. Yet another example of the anti-government paranoia argument that has swayed so many to the right and far-right. What amazes me is the power of that personality to sway folks into unquestioning loyalty, despite facts to the contrary. And, unchecked it has spread through the country so that now there are many folks with these beliefs that hold very high offices and affect our lives directly. Just look at what happened in the Texas legislature this week when state representative Jody Laubenberg claimed rape kits were a form of abortion.
But check out the feud for yourselves. Richie writes at http://www.dfwsportatorium.com/ and Greggo blogs at Greggo's Gigantic Blog and Cafe. http://greggosgiganticblogandcafe.com/. Richie's story is a five part series called the Hard Lie part 2 and Greggo's response is on a podcast from June 24.