After 23 years, Charlie Sykes is signing off for the last time on his radio show today. He says he will continue to work in some other media.
Sykes’ influence on Wisconsin has been significant and positive. In my 16 years in Wisconsin, the state has moved in the direction of liberty and nurtured some significant national conservative leaders. Sykes can take credit for no small part of that movement and I hope he can reflect back with a warm sense of satisfaction at his contributions.
by Owen | 2036, 4 Oct 1616 | Off-Duty | 0 Comments
Wow, this is quite a development in the landscape of the SE Wisconsin conservative movement.
No, this is not good bye. I intend to continue to be an active and independent voice. But I just won’t be setting the alarm at 4:15 a.m. every morning.
This morning, I announced that I am stepping down from my daily radio show on WTMJ at the end of this year:
“It has been both a pleasure and honor to work here,” said Sykes. “It has been an extraordinary privilege to be a part of the momentous changes that have taken place in Wisconsin over the last two decades. This is not a decision that I made either lightly or recently and it was not driven by this year’s political season. I made this decision more than a year ago for both professional and very personal reasons. My father died when he was 63, and I will turn 62 this year, so this year has always been circled on my calendar. Frankly, if I was ever going to make a move, it was now. While I am stepping back from my daily radio duties I intend to remain an active voice. I want to write more, travel more and pursue new opportunities.”
Brian Fraley has a fantastic retrospective. It is worth a look back on the remarkable impact that Charlie has had over the years. We’ll miss hearing him on the radio, but look forward to his continued contributions in other media. And I’m sure that his family will enjoy him being around more. We should all be so blessed to be able to step back from work and enjoy our families and explore new adventures while we still have our wits and our health.
Donald Trump came off as pretty clueless about Wisconsin and its conservative landscape in a series of talk radio interviews. He hung up on Vicki McKenna. You can hear him bluster with Charlie Sykes here:
Here’s the thing… Wisconsin has been one of the centers of the Conservative movement in the nation for the past 5-8 years. If you are a conservative, you are at least somewhat familiar with Wisconsin and the key players. Trump doesn’t have a clue. It should serve to remind his supporters that whatever Trump is, he is not a Conservative. And a lot of us conservatives are not going to make a choice between two wealthy liberal New York tyrants. We’ll choose another way.
