A Progressive Media Hero
Today is Stephanie Miller’s birthday, and the perfect excuse to say that “The Stephanie Miller Show” is one of the best things that ever happened to progressive media — and, I believe, our chances of beating back this fascist coup are better because of it.
Before I had the opportunity and pleasure of being a guest on her show, I’ve been a listener and a fan for years. In the progressive talk world, she’s truly one of my heroes.
Since 2004, she’s been getting up before dawn, five days a week, giving a voice to people who don’t have high-paid lobbyists in the halls of power. And she’s doing it without a corporate safety net. That’s awe-inspiring dedication to making this country work for everyone.
Against the Right-Wing Media Machine
Back in 1970, Roger Ailes pitched Nixon’s White House “A Plan for Putting the GOP on TV News.” In 1996, Rupert Murdoch accomplished it with Fox News. Today, studies show that Fox News makes its viewers less informed than people who watch no news at all. An uninformed voter is a Republican voter.
Breaking through that delusion is the job of independent liberal media, and nobody does it better than Stephanie Miller. She doesn't have billionaire benefactors, and she doesn't play it safe for access. When she gets a national microphone to cut through Fox News’ lies — she uses it.
Stephanie Takes On Hannity
Last November, the Fox News manufactured outrage machine found its shiny object of the day: a gag photo of Stephanie kissing Rep. Jasmine Crockett’s shoes. Hannity’s website mocked her with typical, juvenile pejoratives we’ve come to expect from the right. When Hannity invited her on his eponymous primetime Fox show, he must’ve felt like, “Step into my parlor, Stephanie.” Big mistake on his part.
After explaining the obvious—namely, the photo was a joke—Stephanie pulled the covers off of the whole Fox News distraction machine.
On the same day every other network was covering House Democrats releasing new Epstein emails referencing Trump, Hannity asked, “When did you notice Biden’s cognitive decline?”
Stephanie didn’t miss a beat: “You know what’s great about Biden’s decline? Trump is all over the Epstein files. Are you covering that tonight?”
Hannity responded on-air with a feckless, “Not really.”
As Saul Hutson from “The Poke” put it, she managed to “shut up Sean Hannity, even for only a few precious seconds.”
Stephanie’s appearance on Fox News gave true Americans something to savor. We get so few of them nowadays.
Calling Out Obedient Media
In February, on CNN’s Smerconish, Stephanie was booked to discuss CBS tanking Stephen Colbert’s interview with James Talarico. She called it what it was — “CBS obeying in advance, as they say, in fascism” — then kept going: “Michael, can I just say, not you, but the mainstream media is one of the reasons we are where we are.”
Citing Rep. Ted Lieu, she invited the press “to look at the very serious allegations that the president raped children and threatened to kill them in the Epstein files.”
This summer she pressed the Epstein cover-up on CNN again, in a clip watched nearly 300,000 times on Political Voices Network’s YouTube channel.
That’s courage — and it’s why she wins in rooms that were built to beat her.
Which brings me to the personal part.
As I write this, Stephanie has had me on her show three times, and I can’t fully put into words what that means to me. It’s not a favor. It’s Stephanie doing what she’s always done: making room for as many of us in the liberal media trenches as she can.
When someone as inspiring as Stephanie chooses to hand you a mic, you don’t take that lightly — and I don’t.
This is what the independent liberal media fighting for democracy actually looks like: getting up at an ungodly hour, telling the truth when it’s easier to stay silent, making people laugh in the process, and pulling other voices up with you.
That’s the whole culture at the Political Voices Network — Jody Hamilton, Chris Lavoie, Lonny Paul, Sam Schiavello, and everyone who keeps it running — reflects that.
So happy birthday, Stephanie Miller. Thank you for all you do to make the world a better place and America safe for democracy.
You are the real deal.
I am honored to be at the barricades with you. Kicking ass for the working class, together.
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YAAAY! Stephanie Miller's Birthday! Happy Birthday Stephanie! ☺️🎂🎊🎉🪅🤗💙🥳