Al Rantel
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Al Rantel (born October 14, 1955) is a conservative talk show host on KABC radio, Los Angeles, California. Rantel is unusual in being an outspoken conservative who is openly gay. He worked in Florida for many years prior to coming to KABC, and has appeared as a pundit on television news and discussion programs. Rantel received the opportunity to work in LA at KABC due to the encouragement of another east coast transplanted talk host --- Tom Leykis. Leykis has mentioned in interviews that he knew of the opening at KABC and put in a word for Rantel, urging him to apply at KABC. He previously worked for Los Angeles station KNX and Florida stations WINZ, WNWS, and WFTL [1].
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[edit] Show characterisitics
Rantel is one of the few personalities in the industry to host two shows daily, Monday through Friday. The program is produced by John Phillips [2]. His morning show is a 45 minute "appetizer portion" (11:00 to 11:45 a.m. PT) and his evening show fills a standard 3 hour block (6:00 to 9:00 p.m. PT). Paul Harvey's The Rest of the Story is aired in between the first and second hour of the evening program. In addition, each hour of the evening program usually ends 5 minutes prior to the start of the next hour.
Rantel has characterized his program with several trademarks: live on-the-spot promotions of products and services (unusual in talk radio), frequent presentation of unusual and unknown news stories, and citation of analogies and adages, many of which are his own. Soundbites are rarely used, and bumper music is marginalized; segments sometimes begin with the word "alright," the time, or a linkage to the words of the continuity announcer. On the two Friday programs, different bumper music is used; Rantel calls the music clip "the Friday announcement." As a non-syndicated local radio personality, Rantel has a unique manner of announcing his broadcast station, KABC (he formerly elongated the letter "K" and currently inserts the phrase "real radio live and local").
Rantel has also been known to do vocal imitations of various people. He frequently does so when criticizing statements of George W. Bush on illegal immigration. In return, Brian Whitman does a dead-on impression of Rantel whenever he is a guest on Rantel's program.
[edit] Guests
Rantel frequently features guests on his program, coordinating a weekly simulcast with British talkSport host Mike Mendoza and often conversing with conservative author Ann Coulter. When Coulter appears, she usually does so in the first segment of the evening program. Democratic strategist Bob Mulholland, Republican strategist Michael Wissot, public relations guru Michael Levine, and columnist Gustavo Arellano [3] often appear on the program; former California governors Jerry Brown, Gray Davis, and Pete Wilson have made occasional appearances. Despite the numerous appearances of conservatives such as Ann Coulter, the program often features guests with very different opinions than the host. In addition, many guests are authors or leaders of a particular organization.
On the morning program, Newsmax writers often appear to discuss various issues with Rantel. Prior to February 27, 2006, his evening show usually ended with a brief conversation with Mr. KABC; this tradition ended with the expanded syndication of Mark Levin [4] on KABC and WLS.
During the California recall election, Rantel referred to then-Governor Gray Davis as "Governor Lowbeam." He has since not described Davis by that name; Rantel has also remarked that he respects Davis as a former statesman and values his commentary.
When Rantel is absent, Carol Platt Liebau, Rob Nelson or a KABC colleague hosts the program. Rantel, for his part, occasionally hosts The Larry Elder Show when Elder is absent.
[edit] Political views
Rantel is clearly a political conservative on issues such as the role of the Judicial Branch and taxes. He is known to be a strong supporter of the policies and presidency of Ronald Reagan [5]. He is distinctively critical of what he perceives to be political correction, very supportive of Israel, and irritated by antisemitism, outsourcing of tech support, excessive body weight, and certain statements of Lt. Governor Cruz Bustamente and Madeleine Albright. Primarily in regard to differences with the Bush administration over illegal immigration issues, Rantel is noticeably at odds with specific policies of George W. Bush and Republican members of Congress.
[edit] On federal spending
Rantel has criticized "pork" spending projects by Republicans in Congress, including the Transportation Equity Act of 2005 and the so-called "bridge to nowhere." He remarked that the Medicare Prescription Drug, Improvement, and Modernization Act "will bankrupt the United States."
[edit] On marijuana
Rantel has occasionally discussed with guests a perceived lack of logic in the current US prohibition of marijuana. However, he does not support legalizing other psychoactive substances.
[edit] On illegal immigration
Rantel has repeatedly criticized George W. Bush and California Democratic leaders for their stance on illegal immigration. However, he has remarked that he is in favor of legal immigration and considers it necessary for a country's prosperity [6], mentioning that he is the grandson of Italian immigrants. Minutemen Project founders Jim Gilchrist and Chris Simcox have occasionally appeared on the program to discuss the issue. Rantel has said Republicans should not give financial contributions to the Republican National Committee until it has a much stronger stance against illegal immigration. In addition, he strongly opposed immigration reform bill S.2611, which he called "No Illegal Immigrant Left Behind."
[edit] On gay marriage
Rantel has been critical of support for gay marriage [7]. Among political talk radio personalites, KABC colleague Tammy Bruce [8] and KOGO host Steve Yuhas [9] have somewhat comparable perspectives. Rantel is opposed to the Judicial Branch defining marriage instead of the voting public.
[edit] Other views
[edit] On the Catholic church
A former Catholic, Rantel has been critical of the Roman Catholic Church, particularly in regard to the Roman Catholic Church sex abuse scandal and Cardinal Roger Mahony. However, it should be noted that Rantel has praised the historical contributions of Pope John Paul II such as his role in the collapse of the Soviet Union and communism.
[edit] Other information
Of note is that Rantel himself uses most of the products and services he promotes, which have included supplements by Jarrow and Natren, Regenix treatments, Jiffy Lube oil changes, LASIK and cosmetic surgery, legal represenation, high speed internet access, Las Vegas vacations, patio furniture, AIS car insurance, and BOSE audio products.[citation needed] Some of his sponsors have retained spots on the program for multiple years.
Rantel has been supportive of College Republican groups, coordinating live broadcasts on college campuses in southern California. He was formerly an Advisory Board member of the Bruin Alumni Association [10], resigning after expressing displeasure with the direction of the group [11].
[edit] External links
- Official site of Al Rantel.
- KABC radio
- Quotes from The Al Rantel show.
- Newsmax articles written by Al Rantel
- Photos of Al Rantel
- Bio of Al Rantel
- Bio of Al Rantel from his website
