Tom Barnard the class act

http://www.startribune.com/stories/462/3395332.html

C.J.: On-air comment about Wellstone haunts Barnard
C.J.
Star Tribune

Published Oct. 29, 2002 CJ29

This is why you don't wish people dead, Tom Barnard!

Sen. Paul Wellstone had only 39 days to live Sept. 17 when the local
radio
bully told his listeners: "I hate that little [unprintable], and I hope
he
drops dead." The vulgar reference to the male anatomy was part of Tommy
Barnyard's on-air campaign for his buddy Norm Coleman. Barnyard
instantly
backed off the death wish but not enough to make people forget about
it.
Within hours of the news Friday that Paul and Sheila Wellstone and six
others had died in a plane crash near Eveleth, readers and listeners to
the
Barnyard show began calling me. There was John, so distraught that he
said
he left work early. "I challenge you to go after Barnard for what he
said."
Then, there was Bob regarding ". . . the lovely and hateful Tom Barnard
. .
. I hope you expose that hateful man for what he is." (I did, again, on
Oct.
10.) And Carl: "He needs to be reminded in public of the words he spoke
and
have ownership of them since he always talks about never backing down
and
never apologizing." Well, he didn't apologize in the first or last 30
minutes of his show Monday, although he did call the death
"unbelievably
tragic." As usual, he tried to have it both ways. Barnyard refused to
respond to a listener's mail question on Social Security. "We're not
going
to talk about politics right now because it doesn't make any sense,"
said
Barnard, adding he wouldn't talk about politics again until Thursday.
About
an hour earlier, Barnyard couldn't resist talking politics while
reading a
news story about Rebecca Yanisch wanting the interim senator job; he
said
the election would be affected by the governor appointing a Democrat.

Not good enough, Tom

Although I haven't heard of any apology from Tommy Barnyard's lips, a
colleague reports hearing him refer to the "unfortunate death of
Senator
Paul Wellstone." That's better than on Friday, before the tragedy, when
Barnyard was calling him Senator Welfare. At one point, Barnyard said
something Monday to his morning crew along the lines of, When you guys
heard
about it, doesn't it seem surreal? What seems surreal is that the
cowardly
Barnyard didn't admit his avowed hatred of Wellstone. Barnyard's
cowardly
enclave also apparently hides GM Amy Waggoner, who did not return a
call.
Julie Hoover, ABC's PR person in NYC, and John Hare, prez of ABC Radio,
were
asked to contact Waggoner about whether listeners could expect to hear
Barnyard apologize. In the coming weeks, bet money that Barnyard will
say
something offensive about Wellstone's death.