For decades, the typical American citizen kept their votes to themselves. Don't ask, don't tell. As an elder member of the Howard Stern Show, those bygone days must be the kind Ronnie "the limo driver" Mund, 70, must pine for.
Younger, progressive writers for the satellite morning radio comedy show have jeopardized the very friendship they have with Ronnie by pressing Mund to reveal on the air who he is voting for in this year's presidential election. "Certain people, the way they talked to me, it made me realize that … they never were really my friend…" Ronnie said. The Howard Stern Show website quoted him from the radio program last week. As a result of his co-workers insisting he divulge his allegiance Ronnie has been more determined than ever to retire from the show and move to Las Vegas this January, which has loosely been his plan since 2019.
Ronnie can be very entertaining depending on his mood. In recent years the bad-mood-Ronnie has far outweighed the good, made even worse by being in a lock down Covid depression, as Howard Stern points out regularly.
When "grouchy Ronnie" pipes in he is boorish, close-minded, defensive and any debate with him results in his loud over-talking, where he repeats a phrase over and over to drown out any point his opponent might make–reminiscent of a certain debater earlier this fall.
In Ronnie's defense, his so-called friends have put him between a rock and a hard place. If Ronnie says he's voting for Trump he loses a lot of respect from most of the show's left-leaning staff. If he admits he is switching from his 2016 Trump vote, for Biden this round, then: 1. He has to answer to his Trump buddies, a lot of whom are of the NASCAR ilk and are pro Trump. 2. He has to admit he was wrong about Trump and that all of the people who attack him on the air on a daily basis were right, which would eat him alive.
"Why do I have to f*cking tell you who I'm voting for? How is that any of your business?" Mund recently shouted at writers Jason Kaplan and Chris Wilding. In this country your vote is secured as a secret ballot for a reason. To avoid this exact type of situation. To avoid: Backlash. Feuds. Judgment.
Yes, morning radio gins up as much theater as possible. Though this is probably genuine drama, it helps illustrate to all of us a life guideline. If you have different political opinions as the people you like or even love, do not share who you are voting for, or that friendship might quit and move to Las Vegas.
