Rabbi Daniel Lapin, 2006-2007 R.I.P. (again!)

Looks like Rabbi Daniel Lapin will be back to wandering in the desert: he's been booted from another radio gig.

He's been removed from San Francisco talk shop KSFO's website and there's no sign of his erstwhile Sunday night show on his own. It's been replaced on the schedule by reruns of SF local talker David Gold.

Lapin's 2006 move from a Sunday evening show on Seattle's KTTH to the San Francisco radio market (he still lives on Mercer Island) was after years of scuttling around KVI, KKOL, and KGNW; not to speak of a failed attempt at syndication in the '90's.

With this, 2007 seems to have been an extension of some bad years he had after the fallout from his involvement with the felonious, convicted lobbyist, and old friend Jack Abramoff.

His non-profit Toward Tradition (which may now be defunct) was on the ropes because of bad press after it was exposed as an Abramoff money laundry. Christian right friends like Ralph Reed and Tom Delay were sullied or going to jail; and the religious right/Republican coalition enabled by the Bush years was imploding.

His far, far right politics plus the gelt-seeking cronyism of the Bush years have proven disastrous to this man of the cloth. Read all about Rabbi Lapin in the files found here.

(Lapin is now pushing an apocalyptic DVD that claims that moral conditions in America are identical to the Old Testament times just before the Great Flood. He might have felt the apocalypto coming, what with all his troubles and that the Prophets are seeing a liberal sea change. Maybe that's why he's such an avid yachtsman. "End of days" is the new century cash cow for religious hustlers, as gay-frighting was in the '90's. Not many Jews doing this schtick, it could be prophetable).

We were writing about Bernie Ward Sunday when ace Toronto reader, and radio wonk/blogger, Lance, wrote to say that Rabbi Daniel Lapin filled-in on Ward's KGO Sunday morning show, Godtalk.

Thinking about how Bernie Ward would be rolling in his crypt if he were dead, what with this right-wing religious extremist hosting his progressive show about interfaith dialog, morality and ethics. We did a little cursory clicking and discovered that the "Radio rabbi" has been erased from the KSFO schedule. He'd been missing during the football season, and we'd stopped paying attention. The last Raiders' game was Dec. 30; we're not sure if he ever returned.

Speaking of religious hustlers, we noticed Lapin's name on Rev. Ken Hutcherson's list of participants in his recent, quixotic, headline-grabbing, fundraising tilt at Microsoft.

Another recent mention in the national press of Lapin's previous notoriety is in Washington Post reporter Dana Milbank's new tongue in cheek "anthropological" study, Homo Politicus, The Strange and Scary Tribes that Run Our Government. He describes Washington DC as Potomac Land and profiles the exotic people and rules that govern the nation's capital. He also captures one of Rabbi Lapin's most memorable moments in the Abrsamoff scandal.

  One of the best displays of Potomac Land's status obsession, and the role of the Cosmos in it, was uncovered by the Senate committee examining the Jack Abramoff affair. Abramoff wrote an e-mail to a friend who was a rabbi. "I hate to ask you for your help with something so silly but I've been nominated for membership in the Cosmos Club, which is a very distinguished club in Washington, D.C., comprised of Nobel Prize winners, etc.," he wrote. "Problem for me is that most prospective members have received awards and I have received none. I was wondering if you thought it possible that I could put that I have received an award from Toward Tradition with a sufficiently academic title, perhaps something like Scholar of Talmudic Studies? Indeed, it would be even better if it were possible that I received these in years past, if you know what I mean."

The rabbi, conservative radio host Daniel Lapin, gave his blessing. "I just need to know what needs to be produced," he replied. "Letters? Plaques?"

You can bet that KSFO, the station that headlines such harsh-tongued extremists as Melanie Morgan and Lee Rodgers, didn't fire Lapin for his extreme views (after all, he's David Duke's favorite rabbi). Although he can be an inspiring public speaker (he addressed the 1996 Republican Convention) he's tedious and didactic on the radio, a fact that's gotten in the way of his radio career.

Lapin has an inability to stay out of the headlines; we doubt we've heard the last of rebbe.

Comments

[radiowonklance]

A few minor corrections: I believe David Gold is on live weekend afternoons on KSFO, KGO's Godtalk (or God Talk) is on Sunday mornings, 6-9 AM PT, not at night, and I think describing that show as "interfaith dialog" is a stretch--it is when Ravi Peruman (who is a Hindu involved in a prominent interfaith group) is guest hosting, but when Ward is hosting I think it is best described as talk radio about ethics and morals. In any event, it's a unique show with a real community associated with it and the "Radio Rabbi" really did a number on it yesterday.

[sparky]

One slight correction, Bla'M. God Talk is on early Sunday mornings from 6-9 am PST. When Bernie was on, I listened to it most Sundays. He referred to it as "The Church of the Holy Donut." Who in the hell at KGO thought it was a good idea for Lapin to host it???

[Tommy008]

The City of Seattle each year should declare the King Coubty Republican Assclown of the Year. Each year at summer solstice time the Seattle Symphony will perform Carmina Burana by Carl Orff. During the stirring opening section, O Fortuna, as the choiir chants furiously in Latin, huge photos of this year's winner, Rabbi Daniel Lapin, will be shown on a gigantic back screen, with captions like HYPOCRITE! PHONY! ASSCLOWN! HATEMONGER! LIAR! FRAUD!along with descriptions of what he's done, such as the dummying up of phony plaques and awards for Jack Abramoff, and chortling on air over the death of a Kennedy cousin in a skiing accident while saying it was a "cleansing of the gene pool" .

[sparky]

ok, Lance types faster than I do!

[Dago Murphy]

Is it finally the end of the reign of religionists who would force their sectarian peculiarities down the secular throats of us all? I hope so. It has ended in utter failure every time they've attempted it. But you're right, Michael, we've not heard the last from them.

[mercifurious]

Is it finally the end of the reign of religionists who would force their sectarian peculiarities down the secular throats of us all?

Their true downfall will come as a result of forcing their sectarian peculiarities on each other - see: Evangelicals vs. Mormons

Our founding fathers came from this atmosphere, and knew that church/state integration would lead to sectarian conflict/war. Those who do not learn from history are doomed to repeat it.

[mykle]

Michael: if I didn't know you better, I might think your near obsessive attention to the trials of Rabbi Lapin were rooted in anti-Semitism.
Search your soul, and make sure this isn't about a deep distrust of Jews and a need to make someone separate.

[wutitiz]

The whole religion-conservatism connection has been of questionable outcome for conservatives, and probably for the religious too.

Prior to the 'Moral Majority' in the 80's, fundamentalist Christians did not talk much about politics and were as much linked to the left as to the right. Jimmah Carter paraded his being "born again."

Conservatism is at a natural disadvantage politically due to the 'dilute costs/concentrated benefits' principle. This is why gov't growth has been unabated since early in the 20th century.

Conservatives eagerly accepted the partnership with evangelicals, who offered motivation & energy. If you attend your R caucus coming in several weeks (Feb 9) you will undoubtedly find it dominated by evangelicals. They have the energy to show up. Dems are the party of gov't and can draw on those whose livelihood depends on gov't, and thus are powerfully motivated.

Unfortunately, the alliance has brought an endless series of embarassments to conservatives. If liberal Mike Huckabee is nominated, it will have culminated in disaster for conservatives.

As a conservative, I can't help but have developed a respect for evangelicals over the years, but I wonder if the alliance has become an albatross around the neck of conservatism.

[sarge]

Right on wutitz. If it's souls the evangelicals are after in the long run, their insinuation into the political process has done nothing but hurt that. Many peoples' views of Christianity have been formed by the criticism and scorn brought down on them by their being in the political fray. My kid simply thinks they' are equal to the KKK. That's not fair, but that's what they've put themselves in line for. Liberal Christians who don't play the legislating morals political game are constantly defending their Christianity from being tarred by the same brush. Most evangelicals don't care about politics, but they all get the stigma brought on by Lapin's friends like Falwell, Hutcherson, etc.

[Tommy008]

I see bad, evil, hateful Jewish men occaisionally on trial for murder on CourtTV in the mornings, when they cover real trials. One time they showed the trial of a Rabbi, who was convicted of murdering his wife and given the death penalty. These men are seen along with of course with the usual shitload of evil, foul, regular whitebread goy folks and a few nasty blacks and Hispanics. Is it "anti-semitic" for Court TV to cover the trials of these very occaisional evil Jews? Should they turn off their cameras at those trials? Michael, in covering Rabbi Lapin'S various transgressions; foul, scumbag persona, and self-imposed failures, is simply doing the same as Court TV does in their trial coverage.

[Talia]

He's back on the air! AND THANK GOD! Looks like all you left wing haters are gonna have to try harder.

[Dissertation Titles]

Blogs are so informative where we get lots of information on any topic. Nice job keep it up!!

[james]

Check out Jewish whistle blower Sun. Jan 23, 2005. It tells the tail of how Lapin and Medved were run out of Los Angeles on a rail, both winding up in Seattle at the same time. After participating in a big slumloard fraud down there they brought their spritual flimflam up here to a new pack or rubes. Stay away from them, their Jews for Jesus scam is toxic.