Tammy Bruce

This article is about the political commentator. For the swimmer, see Tami Bruce.
Tammy Bruce
Born August 20, 1962
Los Angeles, California
Occupation radio host, writer, political commentator
Website
tammybruce.com

Tammy K. Bruce (born August 20, 1962)[1] is an American radio host, author, and political commentator. Her nationally syndicated talk show, The Tammy Bruce Show, airs live 4–6pm (M–Th) and 10am–12pm (Fridays) Pacific time online via TalkStreamLive. (A podcast of the show is also available to subscribers at her website). She is a frequent on-air contributor to Fox News Channel, and writes material for the Fox Forum blog.

Bruce's website describes her as a "gay, pro-choice, gun-owning, pro-death penalty, Tea Party Independent" who "worked on a number of Democratic campaigns in 1990s, including the 1992 Boxer and Feinstein Senate races and the Clinton for President campaign" and "also has a history of supporting Republicans as well, including President Reagan, both Presidents Bush and, quite reluctantly, John McCain during the 2008 presidential campaign."[2]

In 2003, Bruce was appointed to serve on Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger's Transition Team after his successful recall election against Gray Davis.[3] She holds a bachelor's degree in political science from the University of Southern California and is currently a PhD candidate at Claremont Graduate University.[4]

Career

Bruce collaborated with Los Angeles professional women to create one of the first ad hoc independent pro-choice activist groups. The group's early feminist activism began in 1987.[5] This group confronted anti-abortion group protesters, and helped develop a strategy to stop "Operation Rescue" from successfully blocking the entrance to abortion clinics. During the years 1987–1990 she also participated in the Los Angeles chapter of the AIDS activist group AIDS Coalition to Unleash Power (ACT-UP).[6]

For seven years, Bruce served as president of the Los Angeles chapter of the National Organization for Women (NOW) (1990–1996). Bruce served two years on NOW's board of directors, but later criticized the organization in one of her books. During the early 1990s, she spearheaded the campaign to publicly criticize the sexualized violence in the novel American Psycho, and led an effort to boycott all titles by the book's publisher, Knopf, for a year.

In 1996, the NOW Executive Board voted nearly unanimously to censure Bruce for what it claimed were "racially insensitive comments" during the O.J. Simpson murder trial.[7] In May 1996, Bruce resigned as president of Los Angeles NOW.[8] Bruce claimed that the censure was due to her focus on domestic violence, as opposed to defense attorney Johnnie Cochran's "racial issues" trial argument.[6] Since then, Bruce has written about the dispute in her critique on what she sees as the failings of NOW, and the political left in general. She has said that the feminist establishment in the U.S. has abandoned authentic feminism.[9] Instead, she advocates a "Feminism [...] that honors all responsible choices, including becoming a wife and mother."[10]

In 2004, Bruce argued that gay Americans were not uniformly supportive of same-sex marriage, and that marriage should be restricted to heterosexual couples.[11] She described civil unions as an alternative providing equal rights.[11]

Bruce hosted a national radio program on Talk Radio Network through much of the 2000s. A weekday version, which aired opposite The Rush Limbaugh Show and The Radio Factor, met with less success. She returned to TRN in 2012 as a guest host following the cancellation of The Laura Ingraham Show.

Personal life

In her book The Death of Right and Wrong, Tammy Bruce writes of her involvement with Brenda Benet, who killed herself in a home she had shared with Bruce. They were romantically involved for a time after Benet left her husband, actor Bill Bixby. Bruce had moved out two weeks prior to Benet's suicide. On the day of the suicide, Bruce thought that she would meet Benet for lunch. According to Bruce, Benet was locked inside the bathroom of her home when she arrived. She sensed something was wrong and went to get help, but once Bruce stepped outside, Benet shot herself. The book Soap Opera Babylon said that Benet was involved with a male costar on Days of Our Lives just prior to her death.

In a 2006 interview with C-SPAN, Bruce stated she was technically bisexual, and that for her identifying as lesbian was a choice.[12]

Books

Films

Tammy Bruce made her film debut in 2081,[14] an independent film based on Kurt Vonnegut's short story "Harrison Bergeron." Bruce plays the role of Diana Moon Glampers, the United States Handicapper General in a technologically advanced, totalitarian-egalitarian state. The film was released in 2010. Bruce also starred in a supporting role in the 2011 documentary The Undefeated.

References

  1. ↑ "California Birth Index".
  2. ↑ "Tammy Bruce: Biography". Retrieved 2010-12-14.
  3. ↑ Nicholas, Peter; Gold, Matea (2003-10-11). "Schwarzenegger Team Focuses on 2 Key Posts". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 2010-05-24.
  4. ↑ "Tammy Bruce". Fox News. 2011-01-13.
  5. ↑ Bruce, Tammy. "The New American Revolution," Morrow, 2005.
  6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 Bruce, Tammy. "The New Thought Police," Random House, 2001.
  7. ↑ Noble, Kenneth B. (1995-12-18). "Outspokenness on Simpson Case Has California Talk Show Host in aCaldron". The New York Times. Retrieved 2010-05-24.
  8. ↑ Gleick, Elizabeth (1996-01-08). "Fighting Words". Time, Inc. Retrieved 2007-04-03.
  9. ↑ Gillin, Beth (2005-11-29). "Packing heat – and political punch". Philadelphia Inquirer. Archived from the original on 2005-12-10. Retrieved 2007-04-03.
  10. ↑ "Feminism 2.0". Prager University. Retrieved 16 January 2015.
  11. ↑ 11.0 11.1 Bruce, Tammy (February 25, 2004). "Respecting Marriage and Equal Rights". Newsmax Media. Retrieved May 7, 2010.
  12. ↑ "Book Discussion New American Revolution – Video – C-SPAN.org". C-SPAN.org. Retrieved 19 January 2015.
  13. ↑ "NYT Bestseller May 11, 2003". The New York Times. 2003-05-11. Retrieved 2008-10-30.
  14. ↑ "Watch "2081" a new film based on Kurt Vonnegut's "Harrison Bergeron"". finallyequal.com. Retrieved 19 January 2015.

External links