After 23 years in radio, Charlie Sykes announces retirement, says not due to rise of Trumpism

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.”

I know that lot of people will assume that my decision has something to do with this current campaign and the rise of Trumpism. But, the reality (as my friends and family know) is that I made this decision a long time ago. Twenty-three years is a long time to do a radio show and most hosts don’t get to go out on their own terms. So I’m lucky to have had that chance.

continue at Right Wisconsin

.@SykesCharlie Congrats on your announcement. You've been on top of the big issues for 23 years. Thanks!!!

— Scott Walker (@ScottWalker) October 4, 2016

Thanks @SykesCharlie for a great run on MKE radio. We appreciate your commitment to advancing conservative principles in WI & nationally.

— Paul Ryan (@PRyan) October 4, 2016

Tell the truth @SykesCharlie, it's because you want to spend more time on Twitter.

— James Wigderson (@jwigderson) October 4, 2016

Image: Politico

Listecki Take 5: Listens to Charlie Sykes, Mark Belling; talks Common Core

What’s your favorite station to listen to when you’re driving?

Obviously, I do (WISN) 1130 (AM), (WTMJ) 620 (AM) because they’re very popular Milwaukee stations; Gene Mueller; Charlie Sykes; I’ll listen to Mark Belling; Jay Weber in the morning – they’re really kind of involved in a lot of the issues that involve Milwaukee.

....

How is Common Core going to affect our high schools?

....
That’s formed and fashioned by ourselves, by our school administrators and it’s our job always to be vigilant to make sure that whatever is being presented to our young people in high school always has both credibility and a sense of responsiveness to the Catholic identity and to Catholic teaching. So, we have to attempt to try to remove it, when in relationship to Catholic schools, from the politically charged environment that Common Core is found in.

It’d be like saying you have state standards, and you work for the church; it’s like saying that the church makes certain demands from you, but the state standards you ignore. Well, you’d say to me, ‘Well, I can’t ignore it because those are standards,’ but when our standards surpass that, then you kind of look at it and you say, ‘Oh yeah, sure, I understand these things,’ but the standards that we have and we maintain surpass those standards that are imposed by the state. And that’s pretty much what our Catholic education is – what we have in terms of curriculum and standards have surpassed that.

We’ve demonstrated it by the number of young people that go to college and become successful coming out of grade schools and into high schools and continue to do that, but you always want to make sure that you pay attention to state standards so we can never be accused of being in isolation. [The Thesis]

Full article at Mke Catholic Herald

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Paul Ryan for President?!

Wisconsin congressman Paul Ryan is strongly considering a run for president. Ryan, who has been quietly meeting with political strategists to discuss a bid over the past three months, is on vacation in Colorado discussing a prospective run with his family. Ryan’s concerns about the effects of a presidential campaign – and perhaps a presidency – on his family have been his primary focus as he thinks through his political future.

“He’s coming around,” says a Republican source close to Ryan, who has been urging the 41-year-old to run.

“With Paul, it’s more about obligation than opportunity,” says another Wisconsin Republican. “He is determined to have the 2012 election be about the big things. If that means he has to run, he’s open to it.”

Ryan hinted at his thinking during a candid interview Friday with Charlie Sykes, an influential talk radio host in Milwaukee, telling Sykes that he was unsatisfied with the current crop of Republican candidates.

Sykes asked Ryan about state of the Republican presidential campaign. “Looking at the Republican field right now, are you confident that the candidates there are able to articulate the issues of the debt and the deficit and the need to reform entitlements in the way that you want to see done?”


Ryan laughed. “Why did you ask me that?”


“You know exactly why I asked you that question.”


“I know. We’ll see. I didn’t see it last night. I haven’t seen it to date. We’ll see. People’s campaigns evolve – they get better. So we’ll see.”

Weekly Standard 

How did I miss that on Sykes?

Since someone asked who's my GOP pick;   Honestly, I haven't had the time to look into it a great deal.  Years past I've always voted Ron Paul in the primaries, mainly to stick it to the Republican establishment.  Do I think neo-libertarian is the way to go?  No.  But do I think any other candidate would or could actually do the work that needs to be done like disbanding the NEA and *gasp* ending the "war"?  No.  It's more than Obama's agenda; the status quo must be challenged.  I'm happy to see some solid pro-life candidates, but the work needed in Washington is much greater than appointing maybe one Supreme Court Justice. 

Could Ryan entering the race change my mind....  Yes.   And not just because he's from Wisconsin.

HT ED