MSNBC's Chuck Todd on Friday eagerly promoted "rising star" Joaquin Castro, a liberal Congressman from Texas. On the same program that he suggested Republicans don't care about minorities , Todd speculated on a Democratic revival in the Lone Star State. He wondered, " Is 2014 the year that Texas Democrats finally elect someone, some member of their party, to a statewide office?" [MP3 audio here .] Todd hyped a Texas Monthly Article on " Mr. Castro Goes to Washington ." The Daily Rundown host sympathized with the difficulty of being a Democrat in the GOP-controlled House: "Compare the Texas legislature... continue reading
MSNBC journalist Luke Russert on Thursday reported on the 2014 Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) and dismissed two potential presidential candidates. Russert wondered if the Republican Party might nominate a "pragmatic governor" like Chris Christie. He added, " Or are we going Ted Cruz? Are we going Rand Paul and the GOP is going to have their 2016 Barry Goldwater moment?" [MP3 audio here .] Barry Goldwater lost the 1964 presidential election in a massive landslide, winning only six states. Russert has a history of verbal gaffes. On September 24, 2008 , he talked to Matt Lauer about the presidential... continue reading
On MSNBC's Daily Rundown on Friday, NBC political director and host Chuck Todd used low attendance at a Conservative Political Action Conference panel discussion to take a cheap shot at Republicans: "For a party struggling to change its demographic destiny, this picture taken by a Brookings Institution fellow of an almost empty ballroom at a panel on Republican outreach into minority communities, should be a bit of a warning. You don't want to play into your party's stereotypes there." [ Listen to the audio ] On Thursday, Brookings fellow John Hudak tweeted during the 2 p.m. ET event: "Big problem... continue reading
MSNBC's Chris Matthews compared the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) to the cantina from Star Wars in a bizarre rant on Thursday's Hardball . Matthews trashed the gathering and took aim at "the Joe McCarthy imitator" Sen. Ted Cruz. Matthews couldn't get the event name right, though: " Do you remember the bar scene in Star Wars with all those wild-eyed creatures from every part of the solar system? Well today here in Washington the whole tapestry of weirdness was reenacted at the annual convention of something called CPAC, the Conservative Political Action Committee [sic]." [Video below. Audio here .]... continue reading
On Thursday's OutFront , CNN's Erin Burnett teed up Democrat Rep. Elijah Cummings to call for Rep. Darrell Issa's ouster as chairman of the House Oversight Committee. After a hearing where former IRS chief Lois Lerner dodged questions on the scandal she is at the center of, CNN joined NBC in focusing its outrage instead on Issa, who cut Cummings' microphone when the latter began railing against the proceeding. Burnett called that a "new low" for Congress on Wednesday, and then on Thursday she relayed the call for Issa's removal from the Congressional Black Caucus. [Video below the break. Audio... continue reading
Both NBC's Today and CBS This Morning on Thursday saw the beginning of the end of an investigation into the Obama administration's IRS scandal following tirade by Democratic Congressman Elijah Cummings at the conclusion of a Wednesday hearing on the topic. [ Listen to the audio ] On Today , news reader Natalie Morales proclaimed: "Well, after a shouting match on Capitol Hill, California Republican Darrell Issa says his probe of alleged IRS abuses may have hit a dead end." The headline on screen read: "IRS Hearing Showdown; Probe In Danger After Chaotic Hearing." CBS This Morning co-host Charlie Rose... continue reading
The journalists at Good Morning America were sufficiently provoked by a new pro-American Cadillac commercial that they devoted a whole segment to wondering if the spot was "arrogant" and "xenophobic." GMA 's reporters, who couldn't find any time to cover former IRS head Lois Lerner pleading the Fifth on Capitol Hill, devoted almost three minutes to the "backlash" against the car commercial. The ad features a man strolling around his large house, praising the free enterprise system and the work ethic of Americans: "Other countries, they work. They stroll home. They stop by the café. They take August off. Off!"... continue reading
Sunny Hostin blasted an Indiana mall's ban of people wearing raised hoodies on Thursday's New Day : "This is... akin, in my view ... to 'stop and frisk' – to the pretext of 'stop and frisk' – and I think many courts have found that this type of behavior is unacceptable, and downright unconstitutional ." The CNN legal analyst also contended that " 'hoodie' is code for 'thug' in many places ," and later claimed that "to identify just hoodies in my view...it's very, very clear what we're talking about here. We're talking about racial profiling . It's code for... continue reading
Good Morning America's Robin Roberts has repeatedly been awarded interviews with Michelle and Barack Obama. There's a good reason for this: She doesn't ask tough questions. On Thursday, the co-host promised a "revealing, one-on-one conversation" with Mrs. Obama . Roberts did bring up ObamaCare, but offered no tough questions about the repeated delays. Talking to the First Lady at a Black Entertainment Television conference, Roberts vaguely began: "[The health care law] has not been without its critics who question whether or not this will work." The journalist continued, " How do you see that and being able to close the... continue reading
NBC's Lauer Sees GOP More Hostile to Obama Than Russia: Why Hasn't 'Politics Ended at Water's Edge'?
Talking to MSNBC Morning Joe host Joe Scarborough on Thursday's NBC Today about the Ukranian crisis, co-host Matt Lauer saw the Republican Party, not Russia, as President Obama's fiercest adversary: "We're six days into this crisis now, the rhetoric seems to be heating up. Not between Russia and the United States, but between Republicans in Congress and the administration." [ Listen to the audio ] Lauer pressed Scarborough: "You heard John McCain say it was a massive intelligence failure and a misreading of Vladimir Putin's intentions. Lindsay Graham weighed in, saying, 'What we're seeing in the Ukraine right now is... continue reading