06/01/2004: 
Stuff That Doesn't Suck
Will Howard Stern Have The Last Laugh Over Bush?
There is an article in the June 2004 issue of The Atlantic about Howard Stern. In this article, Ross Douthat examines Stern's latest run- in with the FCC. The article also tells non- Sterninites about Howard's political adventures to date as a New York State gubernatorial candidate and as a "kingmaker" for two other governors. In 1994, Howard ran as a Libertarian for the governorship of New York State. When he and the Wack Pack hired a bus to go to the Libertarian convention and convinced them to nominate him as their candidate, it and the subsequent political campaign was Howard Stern's radio show at its absolute best. He was polling 6% when he dropped out because he refused to release his taxes. He subsequently endorsed Republican candidate George Pataki on his radio show and urged his supporters to vote for him and the rest is history. Stern also endorsed New Jersey Republican gubernatorial candidate Christie Todd Whitman. The price: if she won, she had to name a rest stop after him. It exists today on Interstate 290 near Burlington City, New Jersey.
Howard Stern is no political neophyte, and as far as I understood, no big fan of either party, instead taking it issue by issue. He was the only New York broadcast still on the air the morning of 9/11 and it changed him as surely as it changed Rudy Giuliani. As a result, Stern was for everything Bush was doing in the war on terrorism up to the time of Boobiegate, when Bush, Jr. unleashed the FCC in order to throw some red meat at the Christian Right. By unleashing the forces of censorship once again, Bush, Jr. has destroyed the fragile coalition of people who, like Stern, was for getting the terrorists but against Bush on every other issue. Howard Stern has millions of daily listeners and millions more who used to or hate him but don't want to see him censored. Bush Jr. needs to do more to look Presidential and above party and he is not doing it right now. By picking on Howard Stern, he is making sure that Howard convinces every one of his listeners to vote for Kerry, who he doesn't like, but knows is the only alternative. Can he do what Al Franken only deams of? He's done it before; will he do it again???
