''The Weekly Filibuster'' was an
American talk radio show
Talk radio is a radio format containing discussion about topical issues and consisting entirely or almost entirely of original spoken word content rather than outside music. Most shows are regularly hosted by a single individual, and often featur ...
moderated by
politico
''Politico'' (stylized in all caps), known originally as ''The Politico'', is an American, German-owned political journalism newspaper company based in Arlington County, Virginia, that covers politics and policy in the United States and intern ...
Ben Goodman of the
University of Maine
The University of Maine (UMaine or UMO) is a public land-grant research university in Orono, Maine. It was established in 1865 as the land-grant college of Maine and is the flagship university of the University of Maine System. It is classifie ...
that was usually broadcast on Sunday evenings. The show featured a panel of student
commentators
Commentator or commentators may refer to:
* Commentator (historical) or Postglossator, a member of a European legal school that arose in France in the fourteenth century
* Commentator (horse) (foaled 2001), American Thoroughbred racehorse
* The Co ...
including
Matt Cavedon of
Harvard University
Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of high ...
,
Thomas Dec of
Yale University
Yale University is a Private university, private research university in New Haven, Connecticut. Established in 1701 as the Collegiate School, it is the List of Colonial Colleges, third-oldest institution of higher education in the United Sta ...
(formerly of The University of Connecticut-Stamford),
Robert Burack of the
University of Michigan–Flint
The University of Michigan–Flint (UM-Flint, UMF) is a public university in Flint, Michigan. It is one of the two regional universities operating under the policies of the University of Michigan Board of Regents, the other being the University ...
,
Bob Bowen of
The University of Michigan
, mottoeng = "Arts, Knowledge, Truth"
, former_names = Catholepistemiad, or University of Michigania (1817–1821)
, budget = $10.3 billion (2021)
, endowment = $17 billion (2021)As o ...
, and
Abigail Walls of
Albion College
Albion College is a private liberal arts college in Albion, Michigan. The college was founded in 1835 and its undergraduate population was approximately 1,500 students in 2014.
They participate in NCAA Division III and the Michigan Interco ...
. The show is best known for its involvement in the July 2008
Sonny Landham
William M. "Sonny" Landham III (February 11, 1941 – August 17, 2017) was an American actor and stunt performer. He portrayed Billy Bear in ''48 Hrs.'' and tracker Billy Sole in ''Predator''.
Early life and education
Landham was born February 1 ...
scandal.
History
''The Weekly Filibuster'' was founded by Ben Goodman and Tom Dec and launched with special panelist Matt Cavedon on January 12, 2008.
Cavedon immediately joined the program as a permanent panelist to represent the political right against the liberal Dec.
The show first gained attention when presidential candidate
Alan Keyes
Alan Lee Keyes (born August 7, 1950) is an American politician, political activist, author, and perennial candidate who served as the Assistant Secretary of State for International Organization Affairs from 1985 to 1987. A member of the Repub ...
announced on the January 26, 2008 program that he was considering leaving the
Republican Party.
As the Democratic National Committee's struggle with Michigan and Florida's delegates garnered significant media in March, Robert Burack and Bob Bowen of Michigan, and
Rebekah Hammond of Florida joined the broadcast to comment on the scandal, and would become permanent panelists. Hammond would leave the show in early summer 2008, but return as a guest panelist during the
2008 Democratic National Convention
The 2008 Democratic National Convention was a quadrennial presidential nominating convention of the Democratic Party where it adopted its national platform and officially nominated its candidates for president and vice president. The convent ...
. The show additionally aired on Wednesday nights during summer 2008 and 2009 as "The Weekly Filibuster: Wednesday Edition" and, alternatively, "The Wednesday Filibuster." Abigail Walls served as a conservative panelist during August 2008, and returned a year later to be named as a permanent contributor to the panel.
The show earned national attention in summer 2008 for its series of interviews with the
Kentucky
Kentucky ( , ), officially the Commonwealth of Kentucky, is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States and one of the states of the Upper South. It borders Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio to the north; West Virginia and Virginia ...
Libertarian Party
Active parties by country
Defunct parties by country
Organizations associated with Libertarian parties
See also
* Liberal parties by country
* List of libertarian organizations
* Lists of political parties
Lists of political part ...
nominee for
United States Senate
The United States Senate is the upper chamber of the United States Congress, with the House of Representatives being the lower chamber. Together they compose the national bicameral legislature of the United States.
The composition and pow ...
,
Sonny Landham
William M. "Sonny" Landham III (February 11, 1941 – August 17, 2017) was an American actor and stunt performer. He portrayed Billy Bear in ''48 Hrs.'' and tracker Billy Sole in ''Predator''.
Early life and education
Landham was born February 1 ...
.
The show was also featured on
Politico.com's KoteckiTV (and subsequently, MSNBC) for hosting a debate between
MSNBC-TV's David Shuster
David Martin Shuster (born July 22, 1967) is an American television journalist and talk radio host. He most recently served as principal anchor and managing editor for i24 News, previously serving as an anchor for MSNBC and worked for Fox News, ...
and Politico's
James Kotecki.
The show was among the first in the media to speculate that Sen.
John McCain might pick
Alaska
Alaska ( ; russian: Аляска, Alyaska; ale, Alax̂sxax̂; ; ems, Alas'kaaq; Yup'ik: ''Alaskaq''; tli, Anáaski) is a state located in the Western United States on the northwest extremity of North America. A semi-exclave of the U.S. ...
Governor
Sarah Palin as his vice presidential
running mate
A running mate is a person running together with another person on a joint ticket during an election. The term is most often used in reference to the person in the subordinate position (such as the vice presidential candidate running with a pr ...
.
The show aired coverage from the floor of the
2008 Democratic National Convention
The 2008 Democratic National Convention was a quadrennial presidential nominating convention of the Democratic Party where it adopted its national platform and officially nominated its candidates for president and vice president. The convent ...
and has featured interviews with many guests including
Katrina vanden Heuvel
Katrina vanden Heuvel (; born October 7, 1959) is an American editor and publisher. She is the publisher, part-owner, and former editor of the progressive magazine ''The Nation''. She was the magazine's editor from 1995 to 2019, when she was s ...
,
Chris Cillizza, Gov.
Paul Cellucci
Argeo Paul Cellucci (; April 24, 1948 – June 8, 2013) was an American politician and diplomat from the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. A Republican, he served as the 69th governor of Massachusetts from 1999 to 2001, and as the United State ...
,
Jack Cafferty, Gov.
Pete du Pont,
Autistic Self Advocacy Network President
Ari Ne'eman
Ari Daniel Ne'eman (; born December 10, 1987) is an American disability rights activist and researcher who co-founded the Autistic Self Advocacy Network in 2006. On December 16, 2009, President Barack Obama announced that Ne'eman would be appoint ...
,
James Kotecki, Gov.
Jane Swift
Jane Maria Swift (born February 24, 1965) is an American politician and nonprofit executive who served as the 69th lieutenant governor of Massachusetts from 1999 to 2003 and, concurrently, as acting governor from April 2001 to January 2003. She wa ...
,
David Shuster
David Martin Shuster (born July 22, 1967) is an American television journalist and talk radio host. He most recently served as principal anchor and managing editor for i24 News, previously serving as an anchor for MSNBC and worked for Fox News, ...
,
Kerry Healey,
John Frary,
Rabbi Dennis Shulman,
Matthew Yglesias
Matthew Yglesias (; born May 18, 1981) is a liberal American blogger and journalist who writes about economics and politics. Yglesias has written columns and articles for publications such as ''The American Prospect'', ''The Atlantic'', and ''Sla ...
,
Cyrus Krohn,
Rick Noreiga,
Joe Lauria,
Former Senator Bob Smith,
Thurston Clarke
Thurston Clarke (born 1946) is an American historian, author and journalist.
Education and career
Clarke was educated at Yale University, Columbia University and the School of Oriental and African Studies, London.
Clarke is the author of thirt ...
,
Alan Keyes
Alan Lee Keyes (born August 7, 1950) is an American politician, political activist, author, and perennial candidate who served as the Assistant Secretary of State for International Organization Affairs from 1985 to 1987. A member of the Repub ...
,
Wayne Root
Wayne Allyn Root (born July 20, 1961) is an American conservative television and radio host, author, activist, conservative political commentator and conspiracy theorist. He is the host of two new television shows, daily at 7 PM ET on Lindell TV ...
, and
Rick Davis
Richard Dean Davis (born November 24, 1958) is an American former soccer midfielder, and former captain of the U.S. National Team for much of the 1980s. He is considered by fans the best U.S.-born player of the North American Soccer League er ...
.
Sonny Landham
William M. "Sonny" Landham III (February 11, 1941 – August 17, 2017) was an American actor and stunt performer. He portrayed Billy Bear in ''48 Hrs.'' and tracker Billy Sole in ''Predator''.
Early life and education
Landham was born February 1 ...
,
Mike Gravel
Maurice Robert "Mike" Gravel ( ; May 13, 1930 – June 26, 2021) was an American politician and writer who served as a United States Senator from Alaska from 1969 to 1981 as a member of the Democratic Party, and who later in life twice ran for ...
,
Brian Moore, and
Gene Amondson all appeared on the program on multiple occasions.
The show last aired on January 3, 2010.
Sonny Landham comments
Sonny Landham first appeared on ''The Weekly Filibuster'' on July 23, 2008, to address controversial comments in the ''
Louisville Courier-Journal
The ''Courier Journal'',
also known as the
''Louisville Courier Journal''
(and informally ''The C-J'' or ''The Courier''), and called ''The Courier-Journal'' between November 8, 1868, and October 29, 2017,
is the highest circulation newspape ...
''. When asked if was calling for the genocide of
Arab people. He replied, "I call for outright bombing them back into the sand until they surrender and if they don’t surrender, then you continue the war. Because if you don’t, you will never have peace in the United States. Now do you want peace in the United States or do you want to live to some utopian ideals that are impossible in a world?" He further called for Arabs to be banned from entering the United States, and referred that ethnic group as "camel dung-shovelers", and when questioned on this, suggested using the epithets "
rag-heads" and "
camel jockey
Camel racing is a popular sport in Western Asia, North Africa, the Horn of Africa, Pakistan, Mongolia and Australia. Professional camel racing, like horse racing, is an event for betting and tourist attraction. Camels can run at speeds up ...
s".
Landham was at the time the
Libertarian Party
Active parties by country
Defunct parties by country
Organizations associated with Libertarian parties
See also
* Liberal parties by country
* List of libertarian organizations
* Lists of political parties
Lists of political part ...
nominee for a
United States Senate
The United States Senate is the upper chamber of the United States Congress, with the House of Representatives being the lower chamber. Together they compose the national bicameral legislature of the United States.
The composition and pow ...
from Kentucky held by
Mitch McConnell. On July 28, the Kentucky Libertarian Party asked Landham to withdraw his nomination, cgiting those comments and explaining that his politics did not agree with their platform and values.
Guest hosts and panelists
On several occasions, Tom Dec and
Matt Cavedon guest moderated the program, though Burack typically substituted when
Ben Goodman was unavailable.
While Robert Burack, Tom Dec, Bob Bowen, and
Matt Cavedon appeared regularly, several panelists joined the show for extended stints, including Republican
Sage Koontz at
The University of Virginia
The University of Virginia (UVA) is a public research university in Charlottesville, Virginia. Founded in 1819 by Thomas Jefferson, the university is ranked among the top academic institutions in the United States, with highly selective adm ...
,
Jay Gobeil of the
University of Maryland, College Park
The University of Maryland, College Park (University of Maryland, UMD, or simply Maryland) is a public land-grant research university in College Park, Maryland. Founded in 1856, UMD is the flagship institution of the University System of M ...
. Several guest panelists have made repeated appearances including
Jonathan Padilla at
Harvard University
Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of high ...
and
Sam Free at
The George Washington University
, mottoeng = "God is Our Trust"
, established =
, type = Private federally chartered research university
, academic_affiliations =
, endowment = $2.8 billion (2022)
, presid ...
.
Ian Engdahl of
Rhodes College
Rhodes College is a Private college, private Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Memphis, Tennessee. Historically affiliated with the Presbyterian Church (USA), it is a member of the Associated Colleges of the Sout ...
made one guest appearance and would go on to serve a stint as the show's main announcer and semi-regular newsreader.
Boston
Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- mo ...
ian
Peter Christopher of the
University of Maine
The University of Maine (UMaine or UMO) is a public land-grant research university in Orono, Maine. It was established in 1865 as the land-grant college of Maine and is the flagship university of the University of Maine System. It is classifie ...
was a frequent substitute and guest panelist. He co-hosted ''Drive Time'', a popular morning show on the
University of Maine
The University of Maine (UMaine or UMO) is a public land-grant research university in Orono, Maine. It was established in 1865 as the land-grant college of Maine and is the flagship university of the University of Maine System. It is classifie ...
's
WMEB with Goodman during the school year.
References
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Weekly Filibuster
American talk radio programs