January 08, 2005

Commissioner Leonard Takes To The Airwaves

'Oregon Crossfire' Launches Sunday Morning

Some of our readers already know this, but should be reminded in advance anyway. For everyone else, be sure to tune into Newsradio 750 KXL this Sunday morning from 7:00 AM to 9:00 AM for the premier of Oregon Crossfire, featuring Commissioner Randy Leonard and Larry George.

"What I hope happens," Leonard said today when we asked what he sees for the program, "is that this show becomes a place where we can get an honest discussion of some traditional Democratic (as in party) principles that have made this country great."

Leonard says that he aligns himself with what could be called Franklin D. Roosevelt Democrats.

I believe that government should play a role in creating jobs for working class Americans. I also believe that government should create protections for workers such as a minimum wage, minimum pension guarantees, health insurance, the right to organize, et cetera.

It is, and always has been, central to my belief system that we should do all we can to provide a level playing field for working class men and women -- be they of color, straight or gay -- to get a good education and then be given every chance to succeed.

Leonard's co-host for Oregon Crossfire is one Larry George -- son of Senator Gary George, and one-time executive director of Oregonians in Action. "[He] holds view points that are largely at odds with what I have laid out here," Leonard says. "However, he is not fire breathing, obnoxious right winger (read Lars Larson).  I would not have agreed to do this show with someone who was."

We had hoped to have some additional comment on the launch of the program from George himself, and were supposed to receive some yesterday. We've proceeded with this post without it because we wanted to make sure to remind and/or alert our readers prior to the first episode of Oregon Crossfire tomorrow morning.

That absence, however, may lead some readers to do some additional Googling of their own to look into the background of Larry George. Therefore, we feel it's very important to note that the Larry George in question here is not (repeat, not) the Larry George who once posted a comment to this website using a derogatory term for homosexuals.

"Absolutely no, it was not me," the Larry George from Oregon Crossfire told us via email. "One thing I am not is a bigot."

It may seem strange, then, to bring it up at all, but since we managed to run across that other Larry George thanks to a Google session, we figured other people might find it as well, and we wanted to preemptively set the record straight before any rumors started.

In a happenstantial piece of timing, the show will launch mere days after CNN killed its own Crossfire program, not all that long after Comedy Central's John Stewart slammed the show for being little more than theater which damages the public discourse.

Hopefully, despite the similarity in name, Oregon Crossfire is not destined to emulate the defunct model of the soon-to-be-late CNN program.

According to Leonard, he and George were scheduled to meet yesterday to discuss what topics to get into on Sunday's program. For his part, Leonard has asked our readers for suggestions of possible topics, but offers one caveat.

"One of the things I told the folks at KXL was that there may be some subjects and/or personalities that I will not want to discuss given my position on the City Council," he says. "It will be a balancing act, but I am going to try hard to not allow my colleagues at the City to become the subject of our discussions on Sunday mornings."

A final note: The pay Leonard would otherwise receive for co-hosting the program instead, at his request, will be donated to Central City Concern, for whose work Leonard says he has "always been grateful".

So tune in to Newsradio 750 KXL tomorrow morning at 7:00 AM for what Leonard hopes will be a discussion between "a more working class, common sense point of view" and "more libertarian and socially conservative point of view".

And although it may be nearly last-minute as far as tomorrow's show is concerned, feel free to drop some suggestions for the program here in the reader comments.

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