Steve Gilliard, 1964-2007

It is with tremendous sadness that we must convey the news that Steve Gilliard, editor and publisher of The News Blog, passed away June 2, 2007. He was 42.

To those who have come to trust The News Blog and its insightful, brash and unapologetic editorial tone, we have Steve to thank from the bottom of our hearts. Steve helped lead many discussions that mattered to all of us, and he tackled subjects and interest categories where others feared to tread.

Please keep Steve's friends and family in your thoughts and prayers.

Steve meant so much to us.

We will miss him terribly.

LA Times: "Governor calls Limbaugh 'irrelevant' "

Governor calls Limbaugh 'irrelevant'

Schwarzenegger's repudiation of the conservative talk show host comes as he is accused of betraying his party's values.

By Robert Salladay, Times Staff Writer
March 21, 2007

SACRAMENTO — After repeatedly being asked about his conservative critics, including talk show host Rush Limbaugh, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger dropped his diplomatic veneer Tuesday and declared their views irrelevant to his work in California.

"All irrelevant. Rush Limbaugh is irrelevant. I am not his servant," the governor said on NBC's "Today" show.

Limbaugh then declared on his radio program that Schwarzenegger, lacking the communications skills to persuade Californians of his Republican values, had sold them out.

"If he had the leadership skills to articulate conservative principles and win over the public as [former President] Reagan did, then he would have stayed conservative," said Limbaugh, who is often seen as the embodiment of all conservative viewpoints.

The tiff marked Schwarzenegger's most high-profile repudiation of a conservative critic. Many fellow Republicans view his support of stem-cell research, mandatory curbs on carbon dioxide emissions and universal healthcare as a betrayal of his party's ideals.

In the NBC interview, Schwarzenegger said he was "the people's servant of California. What they call me — Democrat or Republican or in the center, this and that — that is not my bottom line. This is for them to talk about."

Labels: arnold, california, limbaugh