Former Fargo radio personality, MSNBC broadcaster Ed Schultz dies at 64

[demmiblue]

Source: Bismarck Tribune

DETROIT LAKES, Minn. -- Longtime broadcaster Ed Schultz has died, multiple sources say.

Sources say that Schultz died of natural causes at his lake home near Detroit Lakes. He was 64.

Schultz started his broadcast career in TV and radio in Fargo in the early 1980s, including time as sports director at WDAY-TV in Fargo. He went on to host a show at MSNBC and most recently worked for RT.

Schultz is a former quarterback at Minnesota State University Moorhead.

Read more: https://bismarcktribune.com/news/state-and-regional/former-fargo-radio-personality-msnbc-broadcaster-ed-schultz-dies-at/article_054e1c80-7b2d-5214-a91f-d4a26555db4d.html

[AllyCat]

1. OMG no!!! This is terrible.

RIP Ed and thank you for helping to keep us informed (and live broadcasting from our Wisconsin protests).

[milestogo]

100. Not for liberals.

[AllyCat]

112. Reading later that he flipped.

Well, he used to stand for us.

[spooky3]

2. Wow, what happened?

[Iwasthere]

126. natural causes?

I'm 61. I consider that middle age.

[ellie]

3. I just saw this

on Twitter. He was working for RT? I didn't know that.

[ToxMarz]

11. His show was carried on RT for some time

Just like Thom Hartman. I don't think he actually worked for RT. But I don't have any specific knowledge.

On googling, I may be wrong. Haven't listened to him in a while.

[Wwcd]

26. He turned against Dems when he joined RT. Think he was a Republican at heart tho.

He was a great sportscaster however. And admired in that venue.


Adios bro!

[INdemo]

35. bull shit

[Squinch]

36. Which part?

[alp227]

39. Heck, he *began* his career as a conservative talk radio host in North Dakota.

From Wikipedia:

In 1992, Schultz became a conservative political talk show host on WDAY-AM.[13] In 1996, Schultz moved to KFGO.[10] Schultz's News and Views radio show was very similar to his WDAY Viewpoint program and quickly grew into a regional broadcast dominating the North Dakota airwaves, with additional listeners in South Dakota, western Minnesota, Montana, Manitoba, and Saskatchewan. His political views leaned towards the right during the early years, and Schultz told the Los Angeles Times that he "lined up with the Republicans because they were anti-tax and I wanted to make a lot of money."[14][15] His political views became more liberal after he visited a Salvation Army cafeteria in 1998 and later took his radio show on the road riding in a 38-foot motor home. Throughout the tour, Schultz visited families in rural North Dakota and described his tour as "the on-the-job experience that have changed my thinking as to where we're going as a country."[6]

[Wwcd]

46. True. The Conservatie in him was always there. Prob why he was ok with moving to RT.

Kinda played a both-sideism for awhile.
And quite well too. For awhile.

[LenaBaby61]

64. He turned against Dems when he joined RT.

Yeah, he really turned back into a rethuglican. He did some good work, and many friends give him credit for getting Pres. Obama elected. But most of what he was saying about anything liberal the past few years after he joined RT. Stomach churning.

He credited his then girlfriend (She later married Schultz) with changing him into a Dem.

[ehrnst]

69. I recall this interview he did

https://www.rawstory.com/2013/10/bernie-sanders-tells-ed-schultz-southern-democrats-are-tired-of-being-abandoned-by-the-party/

[Dustlawyer]

85. I seriously doubt he went back to being a Republican.

If you read how and why he became “a gun toting, meat eating liberal” you would probably agree with me.

On a personal note, my boss had been on his show several times and Ed knew we were representing several victims of the BP oil spill. He called us to do a show on the health of the Gulf of Mexico a few years post spill. My boss told him the real story was that the victims were all still waiting to have their cases resolved. He told Ed that several producers from other shows he had been on had told him the networks would not do the victim stories for fear of losing BP’s massive advertising. Needless to say Ed came down and did a different story on it for a week straight. A few months later his show was canceled.

Ed really did care about working class people, it was not an act. He admitted he would catch flack about his BP stories but said his contract with MSNBC allowed him the freedom to do the stories he wanted.

RIP Ed!!!

[CanSocDem]

124. Thank you.

He always sounded 'liberal' to me. I suspect that someone heard him criticize HC and of course that made him a 'russian agent'. The stories he did on the BP oil spill were stellar.

RIP

.

[itcfish]

129. What is RT?

n/t

[brooklynite]

4. Who's available to take over his pro-Russia program?

[lapfog_1]

5. I really liked him in the Air America days

but there was something always a little phony is his "conversion from conservatism".

And he ended his career by selling out to RT and reverting back to conservatism.

Still, I'm sorry for his family.

[Coventina]

6. Wow! I used to be a fan, when he was on MSNBC.

When he joined up with the Putin Propaganda machine, it broke my heart.

Condolences to his family.

But I'm not nearly as saddened as I would have been, had he not gone to the dark side.

[Snarkoleptic]

15. Big Ed did some great work while at MSNBC.

I remember back when rMoney was running for POTUS, Schultz extensively covered the Sensata (sp?) brake plant in Freeport, IL, which rMoney/Bain Capital were in the process of dismantling, in order to relocate it to China. Bain hoisted a Chinese flag in front of the building and the employees were required to train their Chinese replacements.
Schultz rode this story hard and did a couple of live broadcasts from the plant. Interviews with the soon-to-be-unemployed were heartbreaking.

Things did turn weird when he went to RT.

Go easy Big Ed!

[kag]

77. I remember that.

He did do some good coverage of that whole rotten mess.

I, too, was aggravated when went over to RT, but just ignored him for the last few years.

I am also sorry for his family.
RIP, Big Ed.

[whathehell]

109. Yeah, and when he backed up Unions at the Wisconsin Uprising. n/t.

[LittleGirl]

7. Wow

Natural causes. RIP

[BumRushDaShow]

8. Wait wut?

Wow. It's like he flamed out.

Don't know what else to say but R.I.P.

[NRaleighLiberal]

9. What a sad, confusing story he represents- from the right to the left to who knows what

In the end, no idea what he actually represented or believed in.

[musette_sf]

12. exactly my sentiments n/t

[demmiblue]

18. Same.

I was most impressed by his staunch support of workers/unions... I haven't listened to him in ages since we lost progressive radio in my state. I never watched/listened beyond that, but read articles about him here and elsewhere. "In the end, no idea what he actually represented or believed in."... indeed.

[Raine1967]

21. That's exactly correct.

I am really quite shocked at his death, and very sad about it.

he really lost his way after he took that job at RT.

Wow, just --

Wow.

[Adrahil]

22. A paycheck, I think. Was sorry to see his decline. NT

[IronLionZion]

23. Midwestern heartland working Americans were his audience

There are plenty of those types in Trump country and it's better they listen to Ed Shulz encouraging them to vote Dem as an alternative to the usual RW hate radio and Fox News they hear in that part of the country.

[appalachiablue]

25. So true, Ed was very strong on labor & worker rights.

I haven't followed him much except a while on RT after he left MSNBC. But last week surfing, we saw his show for a minute and he looked fine, the same. What a shock, and sudden loss to his family. Thanks much & RIP Big ED.

[underpants]

31. He was a pro talker

The product didn't matter.

[Mr.Bill]

87. I think that's true of a lot more of the talking heads

we watch than we would like to think. How else could Bill Maher date Ann Coulter or James Carville be married to Mary Matlin? It's just show business to many of them. Some are genuine, though, I think.

[JarOCats]

104. I think it takes having skin in the game.

What do Maher and Carville have to lose, no matter which way the wind blows?

Maddow and Reid, on the other hand, have a lot to lose.

Guess which two I trust?

[Mr.Bill]

111. I agree.

It's showbiz for many of them, but not all of them.

[DeminPennswoods]

40. Look no further than ratings and employer

These hosts have a job and that's to drive ratings. When Schultz was at MSNBC, his job was to appeal to MSNBC's target audience. When he went elsewhere his job stayed the same and so his on air presentation was geared to that audience.

[NRaleighLiberal]

58. just confirms my cynicism about the media in general (all TV in general)

it is to sell ads.

[DeminPennswoods]

101. No need to be cynical, just recognize that, as in any job,

employees, for the most part, follow the dictates of their employer.

[Faux pas]

10. RIP Ed

[irisblue]

13. Sympathy for his wife, Wendy & his children

I enjoyed him on Air America & MSNBC show.

[BeyondGeography]

14. I thought he was basically a good egg

Never could find it in me to hate the guy.

RIP, Ed. The struggle aka life is over.

[CousinIT]

16. Big Ed was a big supporter of labor, unions and worker's rights.

A voice we can ill afford to lose.

Nevermind us, I'm sure his family is heartbroken. Rest in Peace, Big Ed.

[riversedge]

38. That is how I will remember his as--a supporter of unions.

[Bengus81]

17. Flipped around like a windsock...........

Liked him and listened to him all those years ago on Sirius. Then he decided his career would be Putin book licker and trashing Dems about stating the election was influenced by Russia.

Later days Ed..........

[Freddie]

19. Wow. I know he sent mixed messages recently

But I always liked his show. So sad and so young.

[hlthe2b]

20. His wife Wendy had ovarian cancer in 2012... I thought this post was going to say that

she had gone, not Ed.

I did like him during the "Liberal"phase on AAR and on MSNBC. I was sad to see him reverting in his later years.

RIP, Ed.

[a kennedy]

24. RIP Ed

[LisaM]

27. Like most of us, I went from liking him (with reservations) and then having mixed feelings.

I always had a bit of a soft spot for him, because early on in his Air America show, he read one of my emails on the air, and said, "wow, we have smart listeners!" (It wasn't that big a deal, just a little local knowledge of some GOP corruption in a Michigan congressional district).

RIP, Big Ed.

[MFM008]

28. Lets Get to work Ed

RIP.

[SCVDem]

29. Gone fishing!

Bye Ed!

[still_one]

30. Sorry to hear this. I did grow to dispise him after he went back to his far right roots, but this

is very sad

[Paladin]

32. Turncoat. (nt)

[underpants]

33. Originally from Norfolk VA.

I guess he went to Minnesota chasing a football dream.

I can't say I was ever really a fan of his. 64 is awfully young these days.

[SCRUBDASHRUB]

62. That's right. He went to Maury High School. My mom went to Granby (older than he was), but from

Norfolk nonetheless.

Condolences to his family.

[TeamPooka]

34. Ed would saything you paid him to say. nt

[PSPS]

45. That's true for every radio personality without exception. That's their job.

Ed had great radio pipes. I lost track of him a few years ago but I remember him having a likeable and approachable personality, at least on the radio. I'm sorry to hear this.

[TeamPooka]

53. It's not true for every radio personality. Ed was "flexible" Is Hannity? No

Ed was a whore with no scruples.

[Mr.Bill]

113. If MSNBC offered him enough money,

Hannity would sit next to Rachel Maddow and support everything she says.

The reverse is not true.

[TeamPooka]

118. hahaha that's funny. Ed was a whore big time. he was right, then left, then right again, then worked

for Russia.
your fantasy is adorable though.

[CentralMass]

37. RIP Ed.

[CountAllVotes]

41. Another boomer dead in their 60s

One of many more to follow way too soon.

My generation was poisoned, yes poisoned.

None of us of are living long lives.

My own brother died of cancer when he was only 42 years old! Never smoked, drank, nothing but yes he was there too being poisoned as well.

As for myself, I'm living with a progressive disease that nothing can be done for.

Yep, the boomers that everyone is so afraid of are short imo.

RIP Ed Shultz. You deserved a lot more!

[spooky3]

76. I'm sorry to hear about your health, and the loss of your brother.

[CountAllVotes]

110. Why thank you

You are very kind.

It chokes me up. Its been 15 years since my little brother died. He had a difficult life and he managed to get to a point where things were looking up for him and suddenly that was the end of his too short of a life.

As for me, I'm getting old and I don't care as much as I once did which is good. I think you get used to being chronically ill. You sort of have to as otherwise you'll go no doubt.

Thanks again.

[SWBTATTReg]

42. RIP...nt

[lovemydogs]

43. Wait a minute! To those upset with Ed.

To begin with, the man died. Death is final and sad.
He has no voice now.
I was always taught you don't say bad things when someone dies (except for Trump and Cheney when that happens - haha).
Ed got royally sh**tted on by MSNBC and he may could only find work at the time at RT being over 60 and maybe having to have income. Afterall, Wendy had some health problems. You do what you gotta do in that case.
Being mean does no good except to give yourself a pat on the back.
Let's have a little heart and a little compassion

[dembotoz]

50. yep msnbc screwed him over....and KO and a few others

at times i do wonder what side they are on.....

he established very strong cred with me over the madison union fight a few years back

[Adrahil]

66. Ed was not "shitted" on my MSNBC. His ratings were crap.

While I will not grave dance he WAS in the service of an enemy when he died. He was not on our side.

[JarOCats]

107. I have great sympathy for his family.

But I don't believe in whitewashing a person's character just because he died. If some of us seem harsh in our reactions, it is likely due to the overwhelming outpouring of grief -- which is understandable -- simultaneous with glossing over the grave damage he did to the Democratic Party -- which is neither understandable nor forgivable.

(Do you remember that he actually encouraged Democrats not to vote in the 2010 midterms?)

Should we wait until after his funeral to bring this up? In the name of politeness, certainly. But we haven't a lot of time or energy to waste on politeness right now.

I'm genuinely sorry that Schultz's fans are upset, but if his ignoble past and present serve as a stark lesson in never taking anything at face value, then I'll err on the side of impoliteness.

[elmac]

44. I respect the man for the work he did for the uninsured

and for putting up a fight for progressives most of his broadcast life. I believe he was truly a caring person that would give the shirt off his back to help someone. Like several other progressives he did work for RT for a time and his views differed from mine at the end so I no longer followed his online show. RIP big Ed.

[geardaddy]

47. No!

I love Ed Schultz!

RIP Ed...

[Freethinker65]

48. Thoughts and prayers

[Levaughn]

49. re: Ed Shultz

RIP Ed.

[gopiscrap]

130. welcome to DU

[OMGWTF]

51. Ed Schultz gave my favorite radio personality his start ...

check out Norman Goldman (www.normangoldman.com) who is on the air M-F 3:00-6:00 pm PT. Norm is a retired lawyer whose mission is to teach law, civics, and politics, but he does it in a very, very entertaining way. You can listen to the first hour of his last couple of shows for free.

[sueh]

56. Yes! We would not have Norm if Ed had not invited him to be a fill-in host for him.

IMHO, Norman Goldman is Big Ed's greatest legacy.

RIP, Ed.

[Fla Dem]

52. From the Huffington post with some tweets from co-workers

Ed Schultz, MSNBC Broadcaster And Radio Personality, Dead At 64
The longtime host was 64.

By Lydia O’Connor
07/05/2018 01:19 pm ET

ngtime radio personality Ed Schultz has died, his employer RT America announced Thursday. He was 64.

“We at RT America are sad to announce the passing of Edward Andrew Schultz,” the channel said in a statement. “Ed Schultz passed quietly early morning on July 5 at his home in Washington, D.C. This announcement comes as a shock to all of us here at RT America.”

He died of natural causes, sources told The Bismarck Tribune.

After making a name for himself as a radio and TV personality in Fargo, North Dakota, in the early 1980s, Schultz went on to host a show on MSNBC, a show on RT America and a daily podcast.

After two decades spent covering sports news and hosting a conservative political talk show out of North Dakota, Schultz began hosting “The Ed Show,” a daily show on MSNBC in 2009. On it he took on a more progressive bent, covering liberal causes from labor unions to universal health care.

After MSNBC canceled the “The Ed Show” in 2015, Schultz began hosting a podcast, “Ed Schultz News and Commentary.” Its last episode aired in December. His RT America show began airing in 2016.

Though he remained a divisive figure, particularly among his North Dakota followers, upon hearing of his death, many of those who worked with Schultz recalled his kindness.

More including several tweets>>>>
https://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/radio-personality-ed-schultz-dead_us_5b3e4d73e4b05127ccf00466

[eppur_se_muova]

54. I will remember the best of what he did, not the worst. Some people deserve that.

Last edited Thu Jul 5, 2018, 05:35 PM - Edit history (1)

I have never seen any "pundit" (not a word I think he would have used to describe himself) put the focus so squarely on the imporatnce of unions, and how thoroughly Uglicans were working to sabotage them. Sad that he lost his way later.

[Dave Starsky]

70. I feel the same way. I think he became misguided.

The Russians excel at doing that to people. Read Malcolm Nance's latest book.

All I can say is that there was a time after the start of the Iraq war when Ed Schultz' voice on the radio was comforting to me. He expressed all of my misgivings about that war and the loss of the influence of labor unions and the voice of the "Average Joe" on national policy. You did not hear that opinion expressed anywhere else. (And just so no one misunderstands, the voice of the "Average Joe" did not include white supremacy.)

Then he went to work for the Russians. He must have had his reasons, but I won't speculate what they were. It must have been pretty important to him.

So I mourn the loss of the man as I knew him best.

[whathehell]

116. Yes, same here. n/t.

[catbyte]

55. I felt like I had whiplash hearing him, but I'll always like him for sticking up for workers--

especially against rMoney in the 2012 election. His later weird, pro-Putin apologist phase was jarring, though. I couldn't understand why he was attacking Democrats for complaining about Russian interference in the 2016 elections when there was so much evidence to support it. Oh, well. It doesn't matter now.

R.I.P., Big Guy.

[rso]

57. Schultz

He became a Putin-trump apologist, probably paid off by someone. No great loss frankly.

[whathehell]

115. People can be appreciated for parts of their lives..

so for some of us, it is "a great loss".

[lunamagica]

59. RIP

[Dopers_Greed]

60. I liked his show on MSNBC

Too bad he ended up becoming a propagandist for Putin.

RIP

[MikeJelf]

61. The Good Die Too Young

My thoughts are with those near to you Ed. It will be a great pleasure to meet you on the other side.

[TexasBushwhacker]

63. Some articles are saying he died in DC

http://kfgo.com/news/articles/2018/jul/05/ed-schultz-dead-at-64/

[pnwmom]

75. Why is that hard to believe? The mean life expectancy is the mean. Half of people

die before then. It's shocking when a child dies of natural causes, but not when a 64 year old does.

[pnwmom]

88. I had several high school classmates die in their twenties and thirties, three of cancer

and one of another natural cause. It happens.

[pnwmom]

92. So I'm kind of surprised at people thinking it's shocking that a 64 year old would die.

My good friend's mother died at 60. My son-in-law's mother died in her fifties. By the 60's it's happening more and more often.

[whathehell]

117. It's the young end of "average"

Good enough?

[NickB79]

102. I knew a kid who's dad died of a heart attack at age 43

It happens every day.

[brooklynite]

125. No, that would be the MEDIAN, not the MEAN...

[Retrograde]

89. Happened to my father at 63

heart attack two weeks after a checkup giving him a clean bill of health

[oberliner]

91. That's awful

Very sorry to hear that.

[pnwmom]

121. My grandmother also died of a sudden heart attack shortly after a physical.

People don't realize that the average life expectancy of people who are born today isn't the same as those who were born in 1950 -- and that half of people die before the mean age, half after.

[Codeine]

94. "Natural causes" just means

not dying due to an external impetus. Cancer is natural causes. Diabetes is natural causes. He was a big dude, and being heavy can take a toll. Lots of folks start kicking off around that age.

My mom died at 65 from liver disease. Nobody was surprised.

[PaulX2]

67. I Was A Friend Of Ed and Wendy's

They were in Seattle a few years ago and we were supposed to go out to dinner. He had to cancel so he could have a "business" dinner. I told him we were going to the Metropolitan Grill for the best steak around, and he had to demand they took him there. They did and Ed bragged about how good that steak was for days on his radio program.

The Metropolitan bought me a dinner for the "free" advertising.....

KPTK days.

God I Miss Progressive Talk Radio in Seattle!

[Upthevibe]

68. Since when does someone die from natural

causes at 64!??

[pnwmom]

73. Your friends must be leading charmed lives. Several of my high school classmates had died

by the time I was 40.

It's a bell curve. Lots of people die by the time they're 64, even though the mean life expectancy is older.

[JenniferJuniper]

78. Um, like all the time.

[Codeine]

95. Pretty common, actually.

Life expectancy is a mean, and statistics can fall the wrong way for a person.

[TexasBushwhacker]

97. It happens all the time

I'm 61 and LOTS of my high school classmates have died, most of natural causes. Lots of cancer and heart disease. Since I graduated in 1975, AIDS took all my gay classmates in the 80s.

[JarOCats]

108. The first dead body I ever saw in a casket...

...was that of my fourth-grade teacher, two weeks after she checked out just fine at her annual physical. Aneurysm. She was dead before she hit the floor. She was 33.

Don't get me started about everyone else I've known who died before they hit their forties. Just be grateful you haven't experienced the loss of someone young. Yet.

[ancianita]

71. I admired him so much, and his great defense of unions when hardly anyone in media would.

[Politicub]

72. He was relatively young

May he Rest In Peace.

[BadGimp]

74. So Long Big Eddy!

You were strong and you were a fighter for us.

You will be missed ole friend...

[Omaha Steve]

79. RIP

[louis c]

80. Is the wake in Moscow?

[LyndaG]

81. Sad for Wendy, his family, and dogs

I remember his catch phrase on MSNBC: "Get your cell phones out"!

[ladym55]

82. He did good work on MSNBC

I remember his staunch support of Wisconsin in the face of Scott Walker's attack on public workers and union members. He went to Nebraska and stood with the people against the pipeline there.

I don't know what happened and how he ended up on RT. I am going to remember him for the good things he did on MSNBC. "Let's get to work!"

[47of74]

83. RIP Ed Schultz

[TomCADem]

84. Headline Should Note His Work as a Russian Stooge

You can’t erase how he sold out and became a Russian paid Trump supporter at the end.

[YOHABLO]

93. 64 is young these days to pass away of natural causes. I had no animosity towards Schultz.

I agreed with a lot of his ideas. It's about knowing where a person's heart is, and Ed's was in the right place.

[Rhiannon12866]

98. Well said and I agree.

I regularly watched his MSNBC show and came close to attending his rally in DC. His voice will be missed.

[whathehell]

119. Yes, it is.

Thank you.

[Codeine]

96. People do understand that "natural causes"

includes heart disease, cancer, liver disease, the frickin’ plague, right? — basically anything that isn’t the equivalent of an accident or homicide or suicide.

Over 99% of people die of natural causes. 64 isn’t an unusual age to shrug off the mortal coil.

[TexasBushwhacker]

128. Yeah, the median age of death in the US is 84

86 for women and 82 for men. That means HALF die before then. We seem to forget that.

[ChazII]

99. Condolences to the Schultz family. n/t

[JarOCats]

103. That his background and his turn to Putin troll are news to many is surprising.

The truth is hard to take, I know -- but, IMO, Schultz was nothing but a shameless opportunist, who was very skilled in convincing his audience du jour that he was sincere.

The forgotten right-wing past of Ed Schultz: The most reliable Democratic partisan on television used to be the Rush Limbaugh of the Great Plains
https://www.salon.com/2011/04/14/ed_schultz_right_wing_past/

How Ed Schultz transformed from MSNBC lefty to the American face of Moscow media
https://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/style/how-ed-schultz-transformed-from-msnbc-lefty-to-the-american-face-of-moscow-media/2016/12/20/320713f4-c322-11e6-8422-eac61c0ef74d_story.html?noredirect=on&utm_term=.54d9a57bab30

Ed Schultz Touts Putin and Himself in Bonkers Interview
https://www.thedailybeast.com/ed-schultz-touts-vladimir-putin-and-himself-in-bonkers-interview

[grantcart]

114. Wow

[JI7]

105. I only watched him when he was on MSNBC

So i feel sad for what i remember of him then which was a nice guy concerned with working people.

[Deuce]

106. RIP...

[Raine]

120. VERY sad news

I love how Ed spoke up for the real workers not the corporations. Ed was always my favorite on MSNBC.

[Judi Lynn]

122. Ed Schultz Respected the Wisdom of Working-Class People and Loved Telling Their Stories

The veteran broadcaster, who has died at age 64, gave the microphone to Americans who are rarely, if ever, asked their opinions by cable hosts.

By John Nichols Twitter TODAY 6:10 PM

here was nothing Ed Schultz loved more than flying into the midst of a labor struggle that most of the media was missing—or misreporting—to give workers a chance to tell their stories. He loved unions and union members, and he had a deep faith in their ability to touch the hearts and souls of the millions of Americans who listened to his Straight Talk from the Heartland radio show and tuned in to watch him on MSNBC’s The Ed Show.

It was a faith that most media personalities lack, perhaps because they don’t come from a working-class background or haven’t spent enough time in places like Fargo or Freeport or Racine or Lorain.

But for Ed Schultz, who died Thursday at age 64, this faith ran deep. It inspired him. He acted on it, again and again and again.

When Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker launched his 2011 assault on public employees and their unions, thousands of workers marched into the streets of Madison. Ed was telling the story from the start—initially on the radio and then on MSNBC. But phone interviews and satellite feeds did not satisfy him. Ed wanted to be in the thick of it. Within days, he was in Madison, literally claiming a corner of the Capitol Square and going live night after night.

More:
https://www.thenation.com/article/ed-schultz-helped-workers-tell-stories/

[TomCADem]

123. Ed Schultz hits a new low at CPAC.

Ultimately, Ed Schultz began to confuse racism with being a progressive. Scapegoating immigrants and trade does not mean that you care for American workers. It just means that you are buying into the right wing and Russia's efforts to divide American workers by putting them against each other based on race, religion and national origin.

https://newrepublic.com/minutes/140860/ed-schultz-hits-new-low-cpac

Ed Schultz hits a new low at CPAC.It wasn’t entirely surprising that the former progressive talk radio host and MSNBC personality agreed to speak at annual conservative conference this year. Once a self-styled “prairie populist,” he signed on last January with RT America, where he anchors the nightly news for the state-run Russian network. He’s changed his tone on President Vladimir Putin, whom he used to deride as “Putie.” “Schultz, who once said on MSNBC that Putin is ‘crippling’ his country, now has a Russo-friendly, or perhaps American-skeptical, viewpoint on any number of issues,” The Washington Post reported in December.
Schultz has done an about-face on Trump, too. After calling him a racist and ridiculing his presidential ambitions in 2011, he praised Trump’s political skills during the campaign and downplayed Russia’s role in his election. Still, none of that quite compares to the praise Schultz heaped on the president on Thursday, talking with reporters on CPAC’s radio row. “I think he’s pragmatic, and I think he wants to win—he wants to win for the little guy,” Schultz said.

Schultz predicted Trump “will go with the people” on healthcare, speculating that the president might slow Republican efforts to repeal the Affordable Care Act, and criticized Democrats’ opposition strategy. “They ought to be focused on saving healthcare,” Schultz said. “They ought to be focused on making sure we don’t privatize Medicare, Medicaid, and Social Security. That’s where the Democrats ought to be. Instead, they’re chasing down scandals or they’re making them up. I’m just—I’m a little disappointed in them right now.”

Rather, Democrats are probably disappointed in Schultz. He used to be a warrior for the working class—cable’s biggest critic of union-busting Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker, who also spoke at CPAC on Thursday. MSNBC’s Chris Matthews even once told Schultz he should run the AFL-CIO. But like a disconcerting number of white-working class Democrats, Schultz found common cause with Trump after supporting Bernie Sanders in the Democratic presidential primaries.

[Jimbo S]

127. I've missed him dearly

He was my favorite on MSNBC. Hadn't followed him since he left. I always thought he was THE one person who could connect best with Joe Lunchbox about the ways of progressive policies.