Nader Blasts 'Hot Air America'

Things turned ugly on the new liberal talk radio network, "Air America," Wednesday night, with guest Ralph Nader blasting the Democratic Party's counterweight to Rush Limbaugh, Sean Hannity and Bill O'Reilly as "Hot Air America."

Nader got into an on-air tussle with "Air America" host Randi Rhodes, during which Rhodes repeatedly informed him she was "pissed" that he was running for president, complaining that he had "screwed up the last election."

The perennial candidate said the fact that Democrats couldn't hang onto what he described as their presidential victory was the party's own fault.

And for good measure, Nader blasted ex-President Clinton as a "draft-dodger."

It was all downhill from there, as Nader and Rhodes screamed at one another for the next 10 minutes.

Some selected highlights, as transcribed by the Web site "The Daily Kos":

On Clinton

RHODES: You know the Democrats' policy, you know when the Republicans talk about regime change was the Clinton administration's policy, but it was regime change from within. It was never military action on our part on Iraq. That was not the policy ...

NADER: ... You know, Clinton was a draft-dodger so he wasn't willing to take on the Pentagon. And he wasn't willing to take on the Congress on many huge military expenditures and that starved many of the necessities back home among the American people. ...

On Nader's Presidential Run

RHODES: How many ways to Sunday do I have to tell you? We can't afford you.

NADER: I'm sorry, can you afford freedom? Can you afford choice? Can you afford civil liberties?

RHODES: Gimmie a Democrat President!

On "Hot Air America"

NADER: ... can you – is this the way you want to start Air America? You want it to be Hot Air America?

RHODES: Oh, no, you see ...

NADER: ... Log on to the web site votenader.org ...

RHODES: Ralph, let me tell you something. If you did get to be president, tell me who you would caucus with. Tell me who you could get to vote for your ... views and visions, and your, your bills! Who is an independent other than Bernie Sanders and Jim Jeffords? Who are you gonna count on? You ... let's say you win, OK?

NADER: You can't win without a huge mobilization of voters ...

RHODES: ... let's say ya do ...

NADER: ... that would replace many members of Congress.

RHODES: ... let's say it's seventy years old, from your house in Connecticut, your little house ...

NADER: ... now wait a minute. Now wait wait wait. You're ...

RHODES: ... you are, you are ready to do this.

NADER: ... listen, listen. Now you're getting nasty.

RHODES: I'm not!

NADER: You are ruining the first day ...

RHODES: I'm not ruining anything.

NADER: ... the first day of Air America.

RHODES: This is Air America.

NADER: ... you're not letting your, you're not letting your guest be, have a chance to speak. You're ...

RHODES: I asked you a question.

NADER: ... you're not letting your guest have a chance to speak.

More bickering

NADER: ... you've got a very bad interviewing technique ...

RHODES: ... uh uh uh. I am not ...

NADER: ... and you're not going to get an audience by overtalking ...

RHODES: ... interviewing you ...

NADER: Do not overtalk!

RHODES: I am not ... interviewing you!

NADER: Do not overtalk!

RHODES: I'm mad at you! Don't you understand the difference?

NADER: Fine, just close up and start screaming to your audience.

RHODES: [laughs] Look. Don't tell me how to do radio; I've done it for twenty years. You screwed up the last election, and now you want to screw up this one, and I'm pissed!

NADER: (pause; speechless) You know, you ought to be ashamed of yourself because you ...

RHODES: But I'm not! You know you should ...

NADER: ... you agree with me ...

RHODES: ... be ashamed of yourself!

NADER: ... you agree with me on so many issues. You really ought to be ashamed of yourself.

RHODES: I'm not ashamed of myself. I can't afford you! [End of Excerpts]

The interview ended when Nader finally hung up on Rhodes.

Editor's note: