As the government shutdown was nearing it's end Wednesday evening, NBC Nightly News anchor Brian Williams conducted a live interview with John McCain, urging the Arizona Senator to slam fellow Republicans over the budget showdown: "Senator, let's talk about the damage in order, to the country, to your party, your profession, and how much of this do you lay at the feet of Senator Cruz from Texas?" [ Listen to the audio ] McCain began by noting political damage for both parties in the wake of the stalemate but then quickly obliged Williams, launching into an rant against conservatives in... continue reading
On Wednesday's PoliticsNation , MSNBC.com Executive Editor Richard Wolffe asserted that Republicans like Texas Rep. Louie Gohmert "should never have been elected [to] office in the first place," as he joined host Al Sharpton in lambasting several Republicans who have talked about impeaching President Obama. Wolffe, who was a regular on Countdown with Keith Olbermann and other MSNBC shows during the years when the subject of impeaching Bush administration members was sometimes raised, was critical of Texas voters as he responded to several soundbites of Texas political figures talking about impeachment. Wolffe began: Well, what's remarkable is, you got to... continue reading
On Thursday's CBS This Morning , Sharyl Attkisson revealed a new debacle involving the smuggling of weapons into Mexico on the Obama administration's watch. Attkisson pointed out how "a grenade used in the murders of three Mexican police officers last week has been linked to an alleged arms trafficker that U.S. officials left on the street to operate long after they had evidence of his crimes." The correspondent, whose reporting on the Fast and Furious gunrunning scandal won CBS Evening News an Edward R. Murrow Award in 2012 , also underlined that this blundered operation was " overseen by the... continue reading
Norah " we shouldn't editorialize " O'Donnell boosted President Obama mere seconds after the liberal politician finished his Thursday presser about the end of the partial government shutdown. The CBS anchor claimed that Obama was trying to " be, sort of, the grown-up in the room , and to look forward and say, here are the three ways we can now work together. " O'Donnell later asserted that the President had gone back to his semblance of a bipartisanism in his lecture-like address: [MP3 audio available here ; video below ] NORAH O'DONNELL: I think he's gone back to the... continue reading
Chris Matthews is convinced the conservative opposition to Barack Obama isn’t about opposition to big government spending but race. Appearing on MSNBC, right after the President delivered his speech on the shutdown deal, the Hardball host demanded to know why a “small part” of the GOP thinks they can beat Obama as he questioned: “Why does a group of people that always loses elections or tends to do lately, why do they call themselves American people because -- do they still count blacks as three-fifths? Three-fifths of a vote?” The following is the relevant Matthews rant as it was aired... continue reading
Liberal cable anchor Chris Matthews on Thursday sneered at conservatives Mike Lee and Ted Cruz, trashing their "white" "minority" base. The Hardball host also defined a patriot as someone who "believes in government." According to Matthews, conservative Republicans in the House and Senate don't meet this standard. The host fumed, " They all run around as if 'we got all of these white people out here,' this little minority of the country. 'But they're better Americans than the rest and we represent them.'" Perhaps the journalist is unaware that Cruz is multi-ethnic and not "white." [MP3 audio here .] Matthews... continue reading
Teasing an upcoming softball interview with Democratic House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi on Wednesday, MSNBC host Andrea Mitchell wondered: "Does she now hold all the cards after President Obama says the Speaker has lost control?" Mitchell later introduced Pelosi by proclaiming: "John Boehner is gonna have to turn to the Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi to save the country from default , to put up Democratic votes to get this [budget deal] through." [ Listen to the audio ] Near the end of the friendly exchange, Pelosi credited her Senate counterpart for the deal: "I never saw anything like what Harry... continue reading
On Tuesday's PoliticsNation , MSNBC contributor Goldie Taylor accused the Heritage Foundation of "strapping dynamite to the bridge" in trying to influence the agreement to end the government shutdown, and went on to mock Heritage President Jim DeMint as wearing "clown pajamas." After host Al Sharpton griped about DeMint being a "far, far right" influence on congressional members, Taylor complained: "In effect, what Heritage has done is they have strapped dynamite to the bridge on the way to reconciliation in opening up this government." A bit later, Sharpton played a clip of Texas Republican Senator Ted Cruz using a Chuck... continue reading
After spending days trashing the Republican Party as guilty of " treason " and "economic terrorism," left-wing MSNBC anchor Ed Schultz on Wednesday spotlighted the Taliban's criticism of the shutdown. The host lectured that "no matter what the final outcome of the showdown is...damage to our global reputation has already been done." He then proceeded to showcase international attacks on America. Schultz went so far as to highlight, " Heck, even the Taliban militants took the opportunity to taunt the United States. The group issued this statement, accusing U.S. politicians of 'sucking the blood of their own people.'" [MP3 audio... continue reading
CNN gave liberal actor Robert Redford a podium to bash Republicans with on Wednesday's New Day . Redford accused some Republicans of wanting to "destroy" President Obama. "I think that no matter what you would propose they would go against it because their determination was to destroy this person ," Redford said of the "minority faction" in Washington versus President Obama. [Video below. Audio here .] "Well, I think whatever idea I would have had to make things work just wouldn't have been accepted by this minority faction," Redford responded when asked by CNN's Nischelle Turner for his "advice" for... continue reading