Larry Elder
Encyclopedia
Laurence Allen "Larry" Elder is an American
radio and television personality. His radio program The Larry Elder Show airs weekdays 9 AM to noon on talk radio
790 KABC
in Los Angeles, California
. His show began September 27, 2010; it was previously heard on the same station weekdays from 3-7 PM from 1994 to 2008 and was syndicated on ABC Radio Networks from 2002 to 2007.
and grew up in the city's Pico-Union and South Central areas, Elder attended Washington Preparatory High School
and later graduated from Crenshaw High School
and earned his B.A..
in Political Science
in 1974 from Brown University
. He then earned his J.D.
from University of Michigan Law School
in 1977. After graduation, he worked with a large law firm in Cleveland, Ohio
, where he practiced litigation. In 1980, he founded "Laurence A. Elder and Associates", a business specializing in recruiting experienced attorneys.
produced by Dennis Goulden
. "I auditioned for and got a television show on PBS, which I hosted for six years. I can't say I had a plan. I literally picked up the phone and talked my way into getting this audition on PBS and they hired me. They just happened to be looking for a cohost." In the early 1990s, the show's name was retitled to The Larry Elder Show and moved to the local Fox Network affiliate WOIO
and cable TV. Goulden and Elder won the Ohio Cable Television Association's "Best Program Series Award" in 1992 for their work on the show, which lasted until Elder moved back to Los Angeles in 1994. Between 2000-2001, Elder hosted the court series, Moral Court
, distributed by Warner Brothers Television. In September 2004, he began the television version of The Larry Elder Show, which was dropped on April 12, 2005 due to low ratings. Elder was profiled by 60 Minutes
and 20/20 and served as replacement for Geraldo Rivera
on CNBC
’s Rivera Live while Rivera was on vacation. He was a host of the PBS program National Desk, including the segment, "Redefining Racism: Fresh Voices From Black America," for which he won an AEGIS Award of Excellence, a Telly award, and an Emerald City
Gold Award of Excellence. Elder also won a Los Angeles Area
Emmy Award
in 2000 for his KCAL-TV
News Special, Making Waves - LAUSD
. He has played himself on the sitcoms Spin City
and The Hughleys
. Elder's newspaper and online column is carried by Investor's Business Daily, World Net Daily, Townhall.com
, Jewish World Review
and David Horowitz's Front Page Magazine
and The Atlasphere.
From 2002 to 2007, Elder's show was nationally syndicated by ABC Radio Networks and its news-talk network, ABC News & Talk
. After Citadel Broadcasting
took over most of ABC's radio operations in 2007, syndication of Elder's show was discontinued in favor of Mark Levin
, and the show reverted to a local show in August of that year.
Elder was one of the rotating talk hosts auditioning for the slot vacated by the now-canceled Imus in the Morning
on MSNBC
. His audition was on May 7 and 8, and Elder was said to be openly pursuing the permanent position. However, the job went to Joe Scarborough
instead.
On July 5, 2008, the pilot Showdown with Larry Elder
aired on Fox News Channel
. The show was not picked up.
On December 11, 2008, Elder announced that the following day, December 12, would be his final day on KABC. Elder is currently "creating a new Internet-based podcast featuring" himself.
Elder began a daily live podcast as well as a webcast starting in December 2009.
On September 22, 2010, Sean Hannity
announced that Elder would return to KABC beginning September 27.
In late March or early April of 2011 Larry started to charge for his podcast (they were available previously for free on the website KABC).
, and have also been described as conservative. He supports free trade
, school choice, same-sex marriage, amnesty for illegal immigrants, and abortion rights
. He opposes the income tax
and supports replacing it with the FairTax
, a national retail sales tax. He is also a firm opponent of the war on drugs
and has been quoted as saying "Philosophically, I think that if somebody wants to sit around and get stoned that's up to him or her. And if that ruins your life, so be it.... So I am for drug legalization." Although he is not an Objectivist
, he says that Atlas Shrugged
, written by novelist Ayn Rand
, is one of his favorite books.
He has called himself a "libertarian with a small 'l'" to distance himself from the national Libertarian Party
concerning the 2003 invasion of Iraq
. Elder was registered as Decline to State
, but became a Republican
in May 2003 in support of the War on Terror
, to be more influential within the Republican Party and to open up the possibility of running for office. In his May 13, 2003 column for Jewish World Review
, Elder explained reregistering as a Republican by quoting Nobel
laureate economist Milton Friedman
, who said, "I am a Republican with a capital 'R,' and a libertarian with a small 'l.' I have a party membership as a Republican, not because they have any principles. But because that's the way I am the most useful and have the most influence. My philosophy is clearly libertarian." Elder ended his column by saying, "Make no mistake: My libertarian principles remain unchanged. But as writer Midge Decter
once said, 'There comes a time to join the side you're on.'" Elder has said that the Libertarian Party
differs in ways from the libertarian philosophy, which has roots in the Whig
and Republican parties. Melding the two parties, he sometimes refers to himself as a "Republitarian
," which he defines as a Republican Party member who holds libertarian political ideals.
Elder's name was in an advertisement in the Los Angeles Times
(17 August 2006) that condemned Hamas
and Hezbollah and supported Israel
in the 2006 Israel-Lebanon conflict
.
Following Elder's reregistering as a Republican, in a 2008 interview with The New Individualist Magazine, he said, "A lot of my listeners will often call up and say, 'I preferred you when you were a Libertarian.' I always tell them I never was a 'capital-L Libertarian.' I am still 'small-l.' It’s a philosophy to me, not a party." Elder supported presidential candidates Harry Browne
in 2000, George W. Bush
in 2004, and John McCain
in 2008.
Roll Call
reported that Elder contemplated a possible run for the United States Senate
against California Senator Barbara Boxer
in 2010.
Elder's mother, Viola, died on June 12, 2006 at the age of 81. His father Randolph (Randy), who was born in 1915, passed away on the evening of April 1st, 2011. Elder has one older brother named Kirk. Elder is divorced.
called Michael & Me
, in which he attempts to repudiate filmmaker Michael Moore
's anti-gun politics
and his assertions in Moore's controversial documentary, Bowling for Columbine
.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
radio and television personality. His radio program The Larry Elder Show airs weekdays 9 AM to noon on talk radio
Talk radio
Talk radio is a radio format containing discussion about topical issues. Most shows are regularly hosted by a single individual, and often feature interviews with a number of different guests. Talk radio typically includes an element of listener participation, usually by broadcasting live...
790 KABC
KABC (AM)
KABC is a Los Angeles radio station, and a West Coast flagship station for the Cumulus Media company. A pioneer of the talk radio format, the station went "all-talk" in 1960 and was one of the first stations to do so...
in Los Angeles, California
Los Angeles, California
Los Angeles , with a population at the 2010 United States Census of 3,792,621, is the most populous city in California, USA and the second most populous in the United States, after New York City. It has an area of , and is located in Southern California...
. His show began September 27, 2010; it was previously heard on the same station weekdays from 3-7 PM from 1994 to 2008 and was syndicated on ABC Radio Networks from 2002 to 2007.
Early life
Larry Elder was born in Los AngelesLos Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
and grew up in the city's Pico-Union and South Central areas, Elder attended Washington Preparatory High School
Washington Preparatory High School
George Washington Preparatory High School is a secondary school in the Westmont section of unincorporated Los Angeles County, California, United States that is part of the Los Angeles Unified School District, .It was founded in 1926...
and later graduated from Crenshaw High School
Crenshaw High School
Crenshaw High School is a secondary school located in South Los Angeles, California.The school first opened in 1968 and currently enrolls an average of 2,600 students. Its address is 5010 11th Avenue, near the corner of 50th Street. The school colors are blue and gold, and its mascot is the...
and earned his B.A..
Bachelor of Arts
A Bachelor of Arts , from the Latin artium baccalaureus, is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate course or program in either the liberal arts, the sciences, or both...
in Political Science
Political science
Political Science is a social science discipline concerned with the study of the state, government and politics. Aristotle defined it as the study of the state. It deals extensively with the theory and practice of politics, and the analysis of political systems and political behavior...
in 1974 from Brown University
Brown University
Brown University is a private, Ivy League university located in Providence, Rhode Island, United States. Founded in 1764 prior to American independence from the British Empire as the College in the English Colony of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations early in the reign of King George III ,...
. He then earned his J.D.
Juris Doctor
Juris Doctor is a professional doctorate and first professional graduate degree in law.The degree was first awarded by Harvard University in the United States in the late 19th century and was created as a modern version of the old European doctor of law degree Juris Doctor (see etymology and...
from University of Michigan Law School
University of Michigan Law School
The University of Michigan Law School is the law school of the University of Michigan, in Ann Arbor. Founded in 1859, the school has an enrollment of about 1,200 students, most of whom are seeking Juris Doctor or Master of Laws degrees, although the school also offers a Doctor of Juridical...
in 1977. After graduation, he worked with a large law firm in Cleveland, Ohio
Cleveland, Ohio
Cleveland is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and is the county seat of Cuyahoga County, the most populous county in the state. The city is located in northeastern Ohio on the southern shore of Lake Erie, approximately west of the Pennsylvania border...
, where he practiced litigation. In 1980, he founded "Laurence A. Elder and Associates", a business specializing in recruiting experienced attorneys.
Career
While he was a lawyer in Cleveland in the late 1980s, Elder began to host a topic-oriented television show on PBS affiliate WVIZWVIZ
WVIZ is a public television station in Cleveland, Ohio, United States. It was the 100th public television station to sign on in America. Its founder was Betty Cope, a former producer at Cleveland's ABC affiliate, WEWS, who recognized the value of non-commercial educational television for the schools...
produced by Dennis Goulden
Dennis Goulden
Dennis Goulden is a documentarian who has worked as a cameraman, editor, writer, executive producer, producer and director on hundreds of films, and has received over a dozen Emmys and hundreds of other awards for his many years of work.- Early years :...
. "I auditioned for and got a television show on PBS, which I hosted for six years. I can't say I had a plan. I literally picked up the phone and talked my way into getting this audition on PBS and they hired me. They just happened to be looking for a cohost." In the early 1990s, the show's name was retitled to The Larry Elder Show and moved to the local Fox Network affiliate WOIO
WOIO
WOIO, virtual channel 19 , is the CBS affiliate in Cleveland, Ohio. It is licensed to the nearby suburb of Shaker Heights. WOIO is owned by Raycom Media and its sister station to MyNetworkTV affiliate WUAB . The two stations share a studio facility in Cleveland and WOIO's transmitter is located in...
and cable TV. Goulden and Elder won the Ohio Cable Television Association's "Best Program Series Award" in 1992 for their work on the show, which lasted until Elder moved back to Los Angeles in 1994. Between 2000-2001, Elder hosted the court series, Moral Court
Moral Court
Moral Court was a court show that was hosted by Larry Elder, and originally ran from 2000 to 2001.The program had the same concept as a legality court show however the cases were based on ethics and morality with the winner of the case leaving with a cash prize. The judge decides after hearing the...
, distributed by Warner Brothers Television. In September 2004, he began the television version of The Larry Elder Show, which was dropped on April 12, 2005 due to low ratings. Elder was profiled by 60 Minutes
60 Minutes
60 Minutes is an American television news magazine, which has run on CBS since 1968. The program was created by producer Don Hewitt who set it apart by using a unique style of reporter-centered investigation....
and 20/20 and served as replacement for Geraldo Rivera
Geraldo Rivera
Geraldo Rivera is an American attorney, journalist, author, reporter, and former talk show host...
on CNBC
CNBC
CNBC is a satellite and cable television business news channel in the U.S., owned and operated by NBCUniversal. The network and its international spinoffs cover business headlines and provide live coverage of financial markets. The combined reach of CNBC and its siblings is 390 million viewers...
’s Rivera Live while Rivera was on vacation. He was a host of the PBS program National Desk, including the segment, "Redefining Racism: Fresh Voices From Black America," for which he won an AEGIS Award of Excellence, a Telly award, and an Emerald City
Emerald City
The Emerald City is the fictional capital city of the Land of Oz in L. Frank Baum's Oz books, first described in The Wonderful Wizard of Oz...
Gold Award of Excellence. Elder also won a Los Angeles Area
Greater Los Angeles Area
The Greater Los Angeles Area, or the Southland, is a term used for the Combined Statistical Area sprawled over five counties in the southern part of California, namely Los Angeles County, Orange County, San Bernardino County, Riverside County and Ventura County...
Emmy Award
Emmy Award
An Emmy Award, often referred to simply as the Emmy, is a television production award, similar in nature to the Peabody Awards but more focused on entertainment, and is considered the television equivalent to the Academy Awards and the Grammy Awards .A majority of Emmys are presented in various...
in 2000 for his KCAL-TV
KCAL-TV
KCAL-TV, channel 9, is an independent television station in Los Angeles, California, USA, owned by the CBS Corporation. KCAL-TV shares its studio facilities with KCBS-TV inside CBS Studio Center in the Studio City section of Los Angeles, and its transmitter is located atop Mount Wilson.-Digital...
News Special, Making Waves - LAUSD
Los Angeles Unified School District
Los Angeles Unified School District is the largest public school system in California. It is the 2nd largest public school district in the United States. Only the New York City Department of Education has a larger student population...
. He has played himself on the sitcoms Spin City
Spin City
Spin City is an American sitcom television series that aired from September 17, 1996 until April 30, 2002 on the ABC network. Created by Gary David Goldberg and Bill Lawrence, the show was based on a fictional local government running New York City, and originally starred Michael J. Fox as Mike...
and The Hughleys
The Hughleys
The Hughleys is an American sitcom that aired on ABC from September 22, 1998 to April 28, 2000 and on the UPN network from September 11, 2000 to May 20, 2002. It starred comedian D. L...
. Elder's newspaper and online column is carried by Investor's Business Daily, World Net Daily, Townhall.com
Townhall.com
Townhall.com is a web-based publication primarily dedicated to conservative United States politics. It was previously operated by the Heritage Foundation, but is now owned and operated by Salem Communications...
, Jewish World Review
Jewish World Review
Jewish World Review is a free, online magazine updated Monday through Friday , which seeks to appeal to "people of faith and those interested in learning more about contemporary Judaism from Jews who take their religion seriously."It carries informational articles related to Judaism, dozens of...
and David Horowitz's Front Page Magazine
FrontPageMag.com
FrontPage Magazine is a conservative online political magazine, edited by David Horowitz and published by the David Horowitz Freedom Center , a non-profit organization in Los Angeles, California.-FPM Man of the Year:On January 1, 2007, FrontPage Magazine named Ignacio Ramos and Jose...
and The Atlasphere.
From 2002 to 2007, Elder's show was nationally syndicated by ABC Radio Networks and its news-talk network, ABC News & Talk
ABC News & Talk
ABC News & Talk was a news/talk and entertainment radio channel programmed and distributed by ABC Radio Networks for satellite radio services. It aired on XM Satellite Radio channel 124, and Sirius Satellite Radio channel 143 both in the United States until 2007-09-24.The channel also existed on...
. After Citadel Broadcasting
Citadel Broadcasting
Citadel Broadcasting Corporation was a Las Vegas, Nevada-based broadcast holding company. Citadel owned 243 radio stations across the United States and was the third-largest radio station owner in the country...
took over most of ABC's radio operations in 2007, syndication of Elder's show was discontinued in favor of Mark Levin
Mark Levin
Mark Reed Levin is a lawyer, author and the host of American syndicated radio show The Mark Levin Show. Levin served in the cabinet of President Ronald Reagan and was a chief of staff for Attorney General Edwin Meese...
, and the show reverted to a local show in August of that year.
Elder was one of the rotating talk hosts auditioning for the slot vacated by the now-canceled Imus in the Morning
Imus in the Morning
Imus in the Morning is an American radio show hosted by Don Imus on Cumulus Media Networks , and simulcast for television on Fox Business Network....
on MSNBC
MSNBC
MSNBC is a cable news channel based in the United States available in the US, Germany , South Africa, the Middle East and Canada...
. His audition was on May 7 and 8, and Elder was said to be openly pursuing the permanent position. However, the job went to Joe Scarborough
Joe Scarborough
Charles Joseph "Joe" Scarborough is an American cable news and talk radio host, lawyer, author, and former politician. He is currently the host of Morning Joe on MSNBC, and previously hosted Scarborough Country on the same channel...
instead.
On July 5, 2008, the pilot Showdown with Larry Elder
Showdown with Larry Elder
Showdown with Larry Elder was an hour-long political commentary show on Fox News hosted by Larry Elder. It aired just one time, on Saturday, July 5, 2008 at 8 PM....
aired on Fox News Channel
Fox News Channel
Fox News Channel , often called Fox News, is a cable and satellite television news channel owned by the Fox Entertainment Group, a subsidiary of News Corporation...
. The show was not picked up.
On December 11, 2008, Elder announced that the following day, December 12, would be his final day on KABC. Elder is currently "creating a new Internet-based podcast featuring" himself.
Elder began a daily live podcast as well as a webcast starting in December 2009.
On September 22, 2010, Sean Hannity
Sean Hannity
Sean Hannity is an American radio and television host, author, and conservative political commentator. He is the host of The Sean Hannity Show, a nationally syndicated talk radio show that airs throughout the United States on Premiere Radio Networks. Hannity also hosts a cable news show, Hannity,...
announced that Elder would return to KABC beginning September 27.
In late March or early April of 2011 Larry started to charge for his podcast (they were available previously for free on the website KABC).
Politics
Elder's political views are philosophically libertarianLibertarianism
Libertarianism, in the strictest sense, is the political philosophy that holds individual liberty as the basic moral principle of society. In the broadest sense, it is any political philosophy which approximates this view...
, and have also been described as conservative. He supports free trade
Free trade
Under a free trade policy, prices emerge from supply and demand, and are the sole determinant of resource allocation. 'Free' trade differs from other forms of trade policy where the allocation of goods and services among trading countries are determined by price strategies that may differ from...
, school choice, same-sex marriage, amnesty for illegal immigrants, and abortion rights
Pro-choice
Support for the legalization of abortion is centered around the pro-choice movement, a sociopolitical movement supporting the ethical view that a woman should have the legal right to elective abortion, meaning the right to terminate her pregnancy....
. He opposes the income tax
Income tax
An income tax is a tax levied on the income of individuals or businesses . Various income tax systems exist, with varying degrees of tax incidence. Income taxation can be progressive, proportional, or regressive. When the tax is levied on the income of companies, it is often called a corporate...
and supports replacing it with the FairTax
FairTax
The FairTax is a tax reform proposal for the federal government of the United States that would replace all federal taxes on personal and corporate income with a single broad national consumption tax on retail sales. The Fair Tax Act would apply a tax once at the point of purchase on all new goods...
, a national retail sales tax. He is also a firm opponent of the war on drugs
War on Drugs
The War on Drugs is a campaign of prohibition and foreign military aid and military intervention being undertaken by the United States government, with the assistance of participating countries, intended to both define and reduce the illegal drug trade...
and has been quoted as saying "Philosophically, I think that if somebody wants to sit around and get stoned that's up to him or her. And if that ruins your life, so be it.... So I am for drug legalization." Although he is not an Objectivist
Objectivism (Ayn Rand)
Objectivism is a philosophy created by the Russian-American philosopher and novelist Ayn Rand . Objectivism holds that reality exists independent of consciousness, that human beings have direct contact with reality through sense perception, that one can attain objective knowledge from perception...
, he says that Atlas Shrugged
Atlas Shrugged
Atlas Shrugged is a novel by Ayn Rand, first published in 1957 in the United States. Rand's fourth and last novel, it was also her longest, and the one she considered to be her magnum opus in the realm of fiction writing...
, written by novelist Ayn Rand
Ayn Rand
Ayn Rand was a Russian-American novelist, philosopher, playwright, and screenwriter. She is known for her two best-selling novels The Fountainhead and Atlas Shrugged and for developing a philosophical system she called Objectivism....
, is one of his favorite books.
He has called himself a "libertarian with a small 'l'" to distance himself from the national Libertarian Party
Libertarian Party (United States)
The Libertarian Party is the third largest and fastest growing political party in the United States. The political platform of the Libertarian Party reflects its brand of libertarianism, favoring minimally regulated, laissez-faire markets, strong civil liberties, minimally regulated migration...
concerning the 2003 invasion of Iraq
2003 invasion of Iraq
The 2003 invasion of Iraq , was the start of the conflict known as the Iraq War, or Operation Iraqi Freedom, in which a combined force of troops from the United States, the United Kingdom, Australia and Poland invaded Iraq and toppled the regime of Saddam Hussein in 21 days of major combat operations...
. Elder was registered as Decline to State
Decline To State
Decline to State is an affiliation designation on the California voter registration form that allows voters to register to vote without choosing a party affiliation. It is similar to what in other states would be called declaring oneself as an independent...
, but became a Republican
Republican Party (United States)
The Republican Party is one of the two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Democratic Party. Founded by anti-slavery expansion activists in 1854, it is often called the GOP . The party's platform generally reflects American conservatism in the U.S...
in May 2003 in support of the War on Terror
War on Terror
The War on Terror is a term commonly applied to an international military campaign led by the United States and the United Kingdom with the support of other North Atlantic Treaty Organisation as well as non-NATO countries...
, to be more influential within the Republican Party and to open up the possibility of running for office. In his May 13, 2003 column for Jewish World Review
Jewish World Review
Jewish World Review is a free, online magazine updated Monday through Friday , which seeks to appeal to "people of faith and those interested in learning more about contemporary Judaism from Jews who take their religion seriously."It carries informational articles related to Judaism, dozens of...
, Elder explained reregistering as a Republican by quoting Nobel
Nobel Prize
The Nobel Prizes are annual international awards bestowed by Scandinavian committees in recognition of cultural and scientific advances. The will of the Swedish chemist Alfred Nobel, the inventor of dynamite, established the prizes in 1895...
laureate economist Milton Friedman
Milton Friedman
Milton Friedman was an American economist, statistician, academic, and author who taught at the University of Chicago for more than three decades...
, who said, "I am a Republican with a capital 'R,' and a libertarian with a small 'l.' I have a party membership as a Republican, not because they have any principles. But because that's the way I am the most useful and have the most influence. My philosophy is clearly libertarian." Elder ended his column by saying, "Make no mistake: My libertarian principles remain unchanged. But as writer Midge Decter
Midge Decter
-Biography:Midge Rosenthal Decter was born on July 25, 1927 in Saint Paul, Minnesota. She attended the University of Minnesota, the Jewish Theological Seminary of America, and New York University....
once said, 'There comes a time to join the side you're on.'" Elder has said that the Libertarian Party
Libertarian Party (United States)
The Libertarian Party is the third largest and fastest growing political party in the United States. The political platform of the Libertarian Party reflects its brand of libertarianism, favoring minimally regulated, laissez-faire markets, strong civil liberties, minimally regulated migration...
differs in ways from the libertarian philosophy, which has roots in the Whig
Whig Party (United States)
The Whig Party was a political party of the United States during the era of Jacksonian democracy. Considered integral to the Second Party System and operating from the early 1830s to the mid-1850s, the party was formed in opposition to the policies of President Andrew Jackson and his Democratic...
and Republican parties. Melding the two parties, he sometimes refers to himself as a "Republitarian
Libertarian Republican
A libertarian Republican is a person who subscribes to libertarian philosophy while typically voting for and being involved with the United States Republican Party.Sometimes the terms republitarian or liberty Republican are used as well...
," which he defines as a Republican Party member who holds libertarian political ideals.
Elder's name was in an advertisement in the Los Angeles Times
Los Angeles Times
The Los Angeles Times is a daily newspaper published in Los Angeles, California, since 1881. It was the second-largest metropolitan newspaper in circulation in the United States in 2008 and the fourth most widely distributed newspaper in the country....
(17 August 2006) that condemned Hamas
Hamas
Hamas is the Palestinian Sunni Islamic or Islamist political party that governs the Gaza Strip. Hamas also has a military wing, the Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Brigades...
and Hezbollah and supported Israel
Israel
The State of Israel is a parliamentary republic located in the Middle East, along the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea...
in the 2006 Israel-Lebanon conflict
2006 Israel-Lebanon conflict
The 2006 Lebanon War, also called the 2006 Israel-Hezbollah War and known in Lebanon as the July War #Other uses|Tammūz]]) and in Israel as the Second Lebanon War , was a 34-day military conflict in Lebanon, northern Israel and the Israeli-occupied territories. The principal parties were Hezbollah...
.
Following Elder's reregistering as a Republican, in a 2008 interview with The New Individualist Magazine, he said, "A lot of my listeners will often call up and say, 'I preferred you when you were a Libertarian.' I always tell them I never was a 'capital-L Libertarian.' I am still 'small-l.' It’s a philosophy to me, not a party." Elder supported presidential candidates Harry Browne
Harry Browne
Harry Browne was an American libertarian writer, politician, and free-market investment analyst. He ran for President of the United States as the nominee of the Libertarian Party in 1996 and 2000....
in 2000, George W. Bush
George W. Bush
George Walker Bush is an American politician who served as the 43rd President of the United States, from 2001 to 2009. Before that, he was the 46th Governor of Texas, having served from 1995 to 2000....
in 2004, and John McCain
John McCain
John Sidney McCain III is the senior United States Senator from Arizona. He was the Republican nominee for president in the 2008 United States election....
in 2008.
Roll Call
Roll Call
Roll Call is a newspaper published in Washington, D.C., United States, from Monday to Thursday when the United States Congress is in session and on Mondays only during recess. Roll Call reports news of legislative and political maneuverings on Capitol Hill, as well as political coverage of...
reported that Elder contemplated a possible run for the United States Senate
United States Senate
The United States Senate is the upper house of the bicameral legislature of the United States, and together with the United States House of Representatives comprises the United States Congress. The composition and powers of the Senate are established in Article One of the U.S. Constitution. Each...
against California Senator Barbara Boxer
Barbara Boxer
Barbara Levy Boxer is the junior United States Senator from California . A member of the Democratic Party, she previously served in the U.S. House of Representatives ....
in 2010.
Personal
Laurence A. Elder was born in 1952, the second of Randolph and Viola Elder's three sons. At the time, the family lived in the largely Latino Pico-Union district of Los Angeles. Elder's father, Randolph, was on his own from the age of 13, and worked a variety of jobs. He enlisted in the military and served as a cook in the Philippines during World War II. Following the end of the war, he was refused employment as a short-order cook many times because he had no references. Elder's father moved to California, and worked several jobs at once to support his family. He also attended night school to earn his GED. By his early forties he had saved enough to open his own café, which he successfully owned and operated near downtown Los Angeles for 30 years. In his book Tribute to My Father, Elder wrote, "A tougher life I have rarely come across. Yet he never hated, he was never bitter, he never condemned his circumstances, and he always said there are very few problems that cannot be solved through hard work." Elder told a Reason interviewer in 1996 that his father was his role model, "He was the hardest working man I've ever known.... He had a work ethic that was beyond belief."Elder's mother, Viola, died on June 12, 2006 at the age of 81. His father Randolph (Randy), who was born in 1915, passed away on the evening of April 1st, 2011. Elder has one older brother named Kirk. Elder is divorced.
Books
- The Ten Things You Can't Say in America ISBN 0-312-28465-9
- Showdown: Confronting Bias, Lies, and the Special Interests that Divide America ISBN 0-312-32017-5
- What's Race Got to Do with It? : Why It's Time to Stop the Stupidest Argument in America (2009), ISBN 0-312-54147-3 originally titled Stupid Black Men: How to Play the Race Card—and Lose, ISBN 0-312-36733-3.
DVD
In 2005 Elder created a self-financed DVDDVD
A DVD is an optical disc storage media format, invented and developed by Philips, Sony, Toshiba, and Panasonic in 1995. DVDs offer higher storage capacity than Compact Discs while having the same dimensions....
called Michael & Me
Michael & Me (documentary)
Michael & Me is an independent, self-financed 2005 DVD documentary created by Los Angeles-based radio and television talk show host Larry Elder. His documentary attempts to disprove statements made by filmmaker Michael Moore in his 2002 documentary Bowling for Columbine. about the relationship...
, in which he attempts to repudiate filmmaker Michael Moore
Michael Moore
Michael Francis Moore is an American filmmaker, author, social critic and activist. He is the director and producer of Fahrenheit 9/11, which is the highest-grossing documentary of all time. His films Bowling for Columbine and Sicko also place in the top ten highest-grossing documentaries...
's anti-gun politics
Gun politics
Gun politics addresses safety issues and ideologies related to firearms through criminal and noncriminal use. Gun politics deals with rules, regulations, and restrictions on the use, ownership, and distribution of firearms.-National sovereignty:...
and his assertions in Moore's controversial documentary, Bowling for Columbine
Bowling for Columbine
Bowling for Columbine is a 2002 documentary film written, directed, produced, and narrated by Michael Moore. The film explores what Michael Moore suggests are the causes for the Columbine High School massacre and other acts of violence with guns...
.
Video
- Redefining Racism: Fresh Voices from Black America—"Probes the deep chasm between black and white Americans and the increasing hostility towards whites felt by a vast number of African-Americans"
- Title IX And Women In Sports: What's Wrong With This Picture? Whidbey Island Films
- Michael & Me (2005)
External links
- Larry Elder's Official Website
- Larry Elder at Townhall.comTownhall.comTownhall.com is a web-based publication primarily dedicated to conservative United States politics. It was previously operated by the Heritage Foundation, but is now owned and operated by Salem Communications...
- Larry Elder at Jewish World ReviewJewish World ReviewJewish World Review is a free, online magazine updated Monday through Friday , which seeks to appeal to "people of faith and those interested in learning more about contemporary Judaism from Jews who take their religion seriously."It carries informational articles related to Judaism, dozens of...
- Larry Elder at WorldNetDailyWorldNetDailyWorldNetDaily is an American web site that publishes news and associated content from a U.S. conservative perspective. It was founded in May 1997 by Joseph Farah with the stated intent of "exposing wrongdoing, corruption and abuse of power" and is headquartered in Washington, D.C.-History:In...
- Larry Elder Features at Creators SyndicateCreators SyndicateCreators Syndicate is an independent distributor of comic strips and syndicated columns for daily newspapers. It was founded in 1987 by Richard S. Newcombe, and is based in Los Angeles. Creators was one of the first syndicates to allow its clients to maintain creative control of their material...
- Larry Elder at FrontPageMag.comFrontPageMag.comFrontPage Magazine is a conservative online political magazine, edited by David Horowitz and published by the David Horowitz Freedom Center , a non-profit organization in Los Angeles, California.-FPM Man of the Year:On January 1, 2007, FrontPage Magazine named Ignacio Ramos and Jose...
- Podcasts of Elder's recent articles
- "Elder Statesman", interview in ReasonReason (magazine)Reason is a libertarian monthly magazine published by the Reason Foundation. The magazine has a circulation of around 60,000 and was named one of the 50 best magazines in 2003 and 2004 by the Chicago Tribune.- History :...
with Nick GillespieNick GillespieNick Gillespie is the editor of Reason.com and Reason.tv and was the editor in chief of Reason magazine from 2000 to 2008...
and Steve Kurtz