April 1998
Boston radio legend David Brudnoy joins LP
After years as a "libertarian" Republican, he finally admits that the GOP is hopeless
Radio talk show host David Brudnoy, who beams 50,000 watts of libertarianism five nights a week to 38 states from WBZ in Boston, Massachusetts, has joined the Libertarian Party.After years of arguing that the Republican Party was the best political tool to achieve liberty in the United States, Brudnoy admitted in a speech at the LP of Massachusetts convention that he had been wrong, and officially joined the Libertarian Party on February 21.
"David Brudnoy is an old friend of Libertarians. It's a pleasure to officially welcome him to the party," said Steve Dasbach, the LP's national chairman.
Brudnoy was the convention's featured dinner speaker, and addressed one of the largest crowds ever to attend a state Libertarian convention in New England history. In his speech, which was taped by the C-SPAN television network, he described his "Libertarian Journey."
As part of that journey, Brudnoy told how he had "determined that the Republicans weren't going to do what they said," said Dasbach. "He mentioned that six years ago, he told New Hampshire Libertarians that the way to achieve liberty was through the Republicans. In this speech, he said he was wrong."
So Dasbach and Michael Cloud, one of the organizers of the 1996 Harry Browne for President campaign, invited Brudnoy to join the party. Brudnoy responded: "Yes, I've been thinking about joining."
Dasbach said he was "very pleased" by Brudnoy's decision.
"We have more and more people who are prominent who are joining [the Libertarian Party]," he said. "And that helps get the message out."
The David Brudnoy Show broadcasts on WBZ Radio 1030 AM, and airs Monday through Friday from 7:00 pm until midnight. WBZ's 50,000-watt signal reaches as many as 38 of the United States.
"He's exceptionally witty, informed, articulate, bold, and insightful -- earning the respect of radio listeners nationwide," said Carla Howell, the State Chair of the Massachusetts LP.
"Brudnoy's breadth and depth of knowledge is extraordinary -- covering subjects as diverse as politics, literature, and the arts," she said. "He makes himself very accessible to callers. From the moment he hits the airwaves, his warm voice exudes the comfort and ease of an old friend who has stopped by to swap gossip in your kitchen. And he proclaims his Libertarian politics frequently on the air."
100 Most Influential
Brudnoy, who was named as one of the "100 Most Influential" radio talk show hosts in 1998 by Talkers magazine, is also a professor at Boston University, movie critic for the Tab newspaper in Boston, and author of the critically acclaimed autobiography, Life is Not a Rehearsal (Doubleday, 1997).Included in that frank memoir is a description of Brudnoy's nine-year battle with AIDS. After a brush with death in 1994, his health rebounded remarkably -- "most fortunately for Libertarians and the many he entertains and endears," said Howell.
