For a number of years, I hesitated to go on Bill Maher’s show on HBO. I didn’t have anything to prove. I didn’t need it. It seemed like a hassle to be the one conservative on a stage with an audience that would not be on my side, surrounded by progressives on stage. Why bother?
But, finally, a few years ago, I decided I might as well. After five years at Fox News, suddenly a free agent, I decided to do it. I was very apprehensive until I learned one key detail. Most of the people who had worked for Maher had worked for him for over a decade.
That fact, right there, told me that I was dealing with a nice guy. People’s politics do not matter to me so much as their character and civility in dealing with others. It is somewhat of an anomaly in Hollywood to be a person in his position and have staff that have worked for him for that long.
Contrast Maher with Kamala Harris, who has had ridiculous staff turnover in the two years she has been in the White House — never mind her time in the Senate. Harris is known as high maintenance and willing to blame her staff for her shortcomings. She cannot keep people.
In Congress, Rep. Victoria Spartz (R-IN) is considered the worst person to work for. In May of last year, four members of her staff quit the same week and other staff had already quit.
Those former staffers and other Republicans told POLITICO she frequently yells and curses at aides, belittling her staff’s intelligence and berating them in front of others — members, constituents and even with reporters in close proximity. On more than one occasion, three former staffers said, Spartz likened her aides’ writing skills to those of elementary-school students and proclaimed that her children were more talented than her staff.
“That’s the common theme: Staffers do their job, and then Victoria comes in saying that they have no idea what they’re doing, that they are morons, calling them ‘idiots,’” said one former staffer. “Senior staff was amazing. That staff was really trauma bonded … we’ve all been through some shit.”
In a statement for this story through a spokesperson, Spartz acknowledged that her working style is “not for everyone.”
I say all that to lead into this. By now, you have probably heard about Steven Crowder and the Ring camera footage with his wife. It gets worse. The New York Post has more details, and they are not very flattering. I do not really know him. He sounds like an exceptionally difficult person to work for.
When I signed my radio contract, I texted Rush to tell him. I don’t have it exactly, but I received a reply that basically read, “Lesson One: Hire a designated asshole whose job is to tell you when you’re screwing up and to tell other people no for you.”
Rush’s point, on which he willingly expanded and expounded over time, was that in radio, everyone tells you how great you are until the moment you are canceled. Moreso, in the entertainment industry, you are more likely to encounter people willing to cater to your every vice so long as you keep the money rolling in. The moment you crash and burn, they throw you under the bus.
I had a decade of advice from Rush on how to do radio. He was not just a friend but a valued mentor. From using a pregnant pause, which I might do a bit much, to finding things to talk about relationally with the audience not involving politics, to finding me my agent, to the basics of business, Rush never failed to give great advice. His first lesson remains one of the best.
Everyone needs someone who can tell them when they’ve gone too far or in a bad direction. From the Post piece on Crowder,
Many blame this public unraveling on his habit of purging anyone who challenges him.
“These terrible ideas and moves have always been in his nature but over time he has surrounded himself with only yes men, and his family who works for him. They don’t tell him otherwise,” said an ex-staffer, adding, “There is no one there to hold him to account.”
I don’t hold myself out as having dazzling brilliance or great wisdom, but I will tell you what Rush said is true. You must have those around you who have license to challenge, direct, and hold you accountable. Otherwise, you will turn towards your vices and take the yeses of the yes men as affirmation you are on the right course. And that will ruin you.
Now, for a tangent: TV talk shows are shutting down because of the writers’ strike in Hollywood. I literally do a three-hour show five days a week, mostly extemporaneously, without ever having a scriptwriter, and maintain consistently good ratings. How the heck are these people incapable of doing a 30-minute TV show without writers?!
The Need for Accountability