On Friday's Rachel Maddow Show on MSNBC, Dan Rather poured cold water on Wendy Davis' chances of winning the Texas gubernatorial race, but maintained a glimmer of hope: "I'm not predicting she'll win. If you have to bet the trailer money, you bet she loses. But overnight's a long time in politics – a week is forever – and we're talking about an election that doesn't happen [until] a year from now. So, let her rip ." Rather and Rachel Maddow also hyped the supposed extent of Davis' likely Republican opponent, Greg Abbott. After the MSNBC host labeled Abbott a... continue reading
ABC's mid-morning talk show The View has repeatedly featured anchors and guests who promote the debunked 9/11 truther movement. That tradition continued on Tuesday as conspiracy theorist Jesse Ventura appeared as a co-host. Although Whoopi Goldberg, Sherri Shepherd and Jenny McCarthy avoided Ventura's September 11th beliefs, the former Minnesota governor expounded on his other favorite conspiracy theory: the assassination of John Kennedy. Asked by Shepherd who killed JFK, Ventura demurred: " T hat's a difficult thing to say because he made so many enemies and I don't even have the time to go into that but I can tell you... continue reading
On Friday's All In show, as Chris Hayes celebrated Texas Democratic State Senator Wendy Davis's announcement that she will run for governor, the MSNBC host characterized her run as "literally a matter of life or death for many Texans," as he lambasted Texas Republicans for opposing Medicaid expansion. Hayes took a shot at Republican Senator Ted Cruz as he rejoiced in Davis's infamous filibuster to support abortion: "You remember Wendy Davis, the woman who waged an epic 11-hour filibuster to temporarily block a Republican proposal restricting abortion in the state, sporting a pair of neon pink sneakers throughout. And the... continue reading
Hard-left MSNBC host Ed Schultz on Monday took his assault on the Republican Party to a new level, declaring that John Boehner is a "traitor" to America for not giving in to Barack Obama on the government shutdown. After railing about how congressional GOP members are trying to destroy the country, the Ed Show anchor delivered his verdict: " And they will shut down the government and they will not pay the bills to get their way. The word is treason, the treasonous John Boehner." [MP3 audio here .] Schultz bizarrely added, "The United States is at risk right now... continue reading
Over the weekend, CNN anchors and guests blamed Republicans for the shutdown and smacked them for "holding the American people hostage" while opposing ObamaCare. That extended CNN's streak of pounding Tea Party Republicans for igniting the shutdown. Below are some of the worst quotes from CNN anchors or guests on Republicans, the shutdown, and ObamaCare: Republicans Just Want to 'Destroy' Government "It seems like the game has changed down there. It used to be that the two sides went at it, but at the end of the day, they all believed in government. It seems now that what's motivating the... continue reading
On Monday, the hosts of NBC's Today eagerly played clips of Saturday Night Live bashing Republicans over the government shutdown. In the morning show's 7 a.m. ET half hour, fill-in co-host Tamron Hall played a clip of SNL host Miley Cyrus doing a parody music video blaming the GOP for the shutdown and gushed: "I think she [Cyrus] might become a member of the five-timers club. You know, the group of hosts who've hosted five times." [ Listen to the audio ] At the top of the 9 a.m. ET hour, co-host Willie Geist touted: "7th day now of the... continue reading
Who does George Stephanopoulos work for? ABC News or the Democratic Party? In a This Week Interview on Sunday, the former operative to Bill Clinton foisted the blame for the government shutdown on John Boehner and House Republicans. During the 13 minute interview, Stephanopoulos repeatedly started questions this way: "The Democrats say...The Democrats, including Senate Democrat Harry Reid, have said...But Mr. Speaker, [Obama] says...The President has pointed out..." Six times, the anchor began his query with an observation over what the Democrats "say" on this issue. Rejecting the concept of Democratic responsibility, Stephanopoulos touted Majority Leader Reid, noting that he... continue reading
In a dramatically one-sided report on Monday's NBC Today about the government shutdown, White House correspondent Peter Alexander declared: "President Obama is sticking to his guns, demanding Republicans end the shutdown by passing a so-called 'clean C.R.,' a budget extension without any changes to the President's health care law." [ Listen to the audio ] After a brief soundbite of Speaker John Boehner explaining that such a bill could not pass the Republican-controlled House, Alexander offered more administration spin: "The White House is challenging Boehner to put that to a test. And a pro-Obama group is accusing the GOP of... continue reading
From the debate over ObamaCare over the past few years, Bob Schieffer learned not of all the problems that need to be addressed or that it lacks public support, but that it should have been enacted without delay so critics would have been thwarted. “The opponents of this have had two years to just go at it from all different angles,” he lamented. “One lesson in all of this,” Schieffer opined on Sunday’s Face the Nation , is “never pass a law again that doesn’t go into effect immediately.” He acknowledged “nobody really knew what was in it,” insisting “the... continue reading
The Washington Post ’s Colby King took another stab Saturday at impugning and discrediting the Tea Party as a bunch of racists who are little more than an extension of the Confederacy. In a column titled “ The rise of the New Confederacy ,” King, a regular on Inside Washington , argued: “Today there is a New Confederacy, an insurgent political force that has captured the Republican Party and is taking up where the Old Confederacy left off in its efforts to bring down the federal government.” The former deputy editorial page editor, whose column appears every Saturday, paid a... continue reading