Ed Schultz Questions Whether Anderson Cooper Behind GQ Putting Him on Least Influential List

Looks like GQ magazine and CNN's Anderson Cooper have gotten under Ed Schultz's skin. Then again, so many things do.

The magazine last week ranked Schultz in a satirical listing of "The 25 Least Influential People Alive," a tally that also included President Obama. (audio clip after page break)

Schultz complained about this right out of the gate on his radio show Monday, questioning whether Cooper had persuaded GQ to include him on the list and boasting that his ratings are better than Cooper's and those of Nancy Grace on HLN (audio) --

Here's the big social media news surrounding your favorite fat talk show host Ed Schultz is this. Apparently GQ magazine has come out with a list. It's that time of year where lists are lists are lists. The best, I should have been the best looking, but I wasn't. Uhm, and apparently there's a list of 25 of the most least influential people alive. And you know, look, if you do a cable show, you have a radio show, whatever, if you're fat and you've got red hair, look, they're going to pick on you. That's the way it is. And I'm OK with that, just spell the last name right, that would be S-C-H-, don't leave out the C, that really pisses me off when people just go S-H- ...

Now, since, I know that Anderson Cooper floats around in that GQ crowd. I don't know if he's behind it or whether their publicist at CNN or, but let me just say, I'm kicking his ass, OK, and here are the numbers. Let's go back to last Monday night, and I'm doing this because I think my team deserves this. When some snotty-ass Upper West Side writer throws in GQ magazine that nobody watches "The Ed Show," dammit, I'm going to respond to it. Because it's a lie and it's false. And I challenge them to put this information out there.

Let's just go to last week ... Let's go to last Monday night. Last Monday night in the demo, 25-54, my number was 184 (thousand). Anderson Cooper's numbers was (sic) 136! Now in total numbers, total viewership, my number was 940. Anderson Cooper's was 429! In the business, that's called getting your ass kicked! Not that I would do that. I guess Cooper's just a nice little guy.

"A nice little guy" who "floats" with fashionistas. Hmm, what are you suggesting, Ed? In case you're wondering, "The O'Reilly Factor" drew 654,000 viewers on Nov. 21, the evening cited by Schultz, and nearly 1.3 million viewers overall. Schultz's venting continued --

Nancy Grace got a 403. (Schultz mistaken here; actual figure was 412). So I was number two in the time slot. Look, I can't beat O'Reilly in 25 shows, OK? (since "The Ed Show" moved from 10 to 8 p.m.). I might not beat him in 2,500 shows. But if I'm not influential, which is fine, I can take the little cheap shot and everything else, but don't go around printing lies, OK? GQ is printing lies about "The Ed Show." That's the bottom line.

Even though Cooper's show gained in the ratings Nov. 22, the night of the GOP debate on foreign policy, Schultz said "The Ed Show" had twice as many viewers as Cooper on Nov. 23.

Schultz added this several minutes later when he ended the segment --

By the way, I'm very influential. You can go ask the governor of Ohio and it won't be long before you can ask the governor of Wisconsin. So kiss my ass, GQ.

.... Schultz here taking credit for the defeat of an Ohio state law pushed by Gov. John Kasich that limited collective bargaining by public workers. Ohio voters rejected the law in a ballot question on Nov. 1 and the proposal had been frequently criticized by Schultz on his radio and TV shows. Schultz aired both shows from Ohio on election day to cover the outcome of the vote, "The Ed Show" that night indistinguishable from a campaign victory party.

As for the governor of Wisconsin, Schultz is alluding to a recall effort targeting Scott Walker while claiming credit for its success before a single vote has been cast. This is what comes from being one of the "most least" influential people around, in Schultz's typically nonsensical take.

(h/t, Brian Maloney at Radio Equalizer)