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October 29, 2021

Dan Bongino puts his career on the line over vaccine mandates

By Andrea Widburg

I discovered Dan Bongino's podcast very early on, perhaps in 2016.  I liked the clarity with which he described political issues, his insights, and his ebullience.  Most of all, I liked his consistent principles.  "Dan," I thought, "means what he says."  Bongino's fight with Cumulus Media, which syndicates his daily three-hour-long radio, proves that he really does live by his principles.  That's why, despite being vaccinated himself, Bongino is threatening to pull out from Cumulus Media unless it revokes the vaccine mandates it imposed on all its employees.

In the early days, Bongino's self-produced hour-long podcast was just Bongino; his wife; and his producer, Joe Armacost.  Every weekday, year in and year out, with passion, humor, and insights, Bongino discusses the political news of the day.

At least once a week, a political story arises about a Democrat, or many Democrats, engaging in some act of hypocrisy, of the type giving rise to the expression that if leftists didn't have double standards, they wouldn't have any standards at all.  Bongino always makes the point that, unlike leftists, his principles are fixed.  If it's wrong to do something, you don't do it, regardless of the political advantage you can gain.

Over the years, Bongino started to appear occasionally on various Fox News shows, including guest hosting for Sean Hannity.  Eventually, Fox gave him his own show, Unfiltered with Dan Bongino, which runs every Saturday night.

Then, when the great Rush Limbaugh passed away, Cumulus Media, which has 428 stations in 87 media markets, entered into an agreement with Bongino giving him a three-hour show in what was Rush Limbaugh's time spot. Rush wasn't with Cumulus media, but his passing left an audience hungry for top-quality content during that time spot.

While all these major changes were going on in his life, Bongino got diagnosed with Hodgkin's Lymphoma (which was diagnosed thanks to someone watching his video program and noticing what proved to be a tumor on his neck).  Despite surgery and further treatment (either chemo or radiation), Bongino kept doing his podcast.  Thankfully, he's now in remission.

Because of his cancer diagnosis, Bongino's doctor recommended that he get a COVID vaccine, which he did.  What this means is that when Cumulus Media announced that all employees must get vaccinated, Bongino was covered.  Bongino, however, took issue with an employer having the power to force an essentially experimental genetic modification treatment on its employees.

When Cumulus started firing employees without regard to natural immunity or religious objections, Bongino took a stand: "You can have me, or you can have the mandate.  But you can't have both of us."

Considering that the Cumulus deal must be a valuable one to Bongino, he is truly putting his principles on the line.  Cumulus is not backing down — it's still firing ordinary people for refusing to take a potentially dangerous "vaccine" that doesn't prevent people from giving or getting COVID.

Although it's unclear whether Cumulus cut Bongino off or Bongino boycotted Cumulus, what's clear is that, starting this week, the radio audience began hearing repeats, not original content.  During his podcast, however, Bongino explained that he's still in the fight:

"They didn't consult with us content providers. I strongly object to the mandate," Bongino said.

"The fight with them is having a real impact. Behind the scenes, it's getting a little ugly here. I wasn't on the radio today. I don't know what they did, played the 'best of' or whatever. You don't treat people this way. You don't let people go because they insist their body is theirs," he added.

If you believe in the righteousness of the position that Bongino has taken, you can help: let Cumulus know that you will stop listening to its stations until the company revokes its mandate — and then stop listening.  (Sometimes it's easy to make the threats and hard to follow through.)  Try listening to Bongino's podcast directly, as I have for so many years.

A lot of companies are beginning to back down in the face of American resistance.  You can help Cumulus see the light and join those companies that withdrew mandates for an experimental vaccine that ought to be left to each individual's decision-making.

Image: Dan Bongino.  Rumble screen grab.

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