Friday's CBS This Morning ballyhooed the Justice Department's recent move to relax enforcement of laws against marijuana in the several states that have legalized medical or recreational use of the drug. Gayle King heralded the " historic new regulations ", while Bill Whitaker failed to include talking heads who oppose this move by the Obama administration [MP3 audio available here ; video below ]. By contrast, ABC and NBC's morning newscasts minimized their coverage of the story on Friday. ABC's Good Morning America granted a mere 17 seconds of air time to the federal government's decision, while devoting 25 seconds... continue reading
This week, CNN provided extensive coverage of the 50th anniversary of Martin Luther King's March on Washington, hosting many of the original civil rights activists for interviews. The appearances became chances for Democrats to shill for liberal policies, and sometimes the rhetoric descended into the ridiculous and inflammatory. Here are the five worst moments from CNN's coverage Saturday through Wednesday: Tim Scott? Why Invite Him? On Wednesday's The Lead , USA Today columnist DeWayne Wickham scoffed at the notion that Sen. Tim Scott (R-S.C.), the nation's only black senator, should have been invited to the March on Washington. "And he... continue reading
On Thursday's CBS This Morning , Jeff Pegues spotlighted the lack of GOP speakers at the 50th anniversary commemoration of Martin Luther King's "I have a dream" speech: " Noticeably absent from this event, the GOP. ..the two most senior Republicans in the House...were invited to speak but declined ." However, Pegues failed to mention that the event organizers didn't make much of an effort to get Republican Tim Scott, the only current black U.S. senator, to speak. The correspondent also zeroed in on former President Bill Clinton's dubious claim during his speech at the commemoration – that " a... continue reading
On Thursday's MSNBC Daily Rundown , host Chuck Todd laid blame for Republicans not speaking at Wednesday's anniversary of the 1963 march on Washington on the GOP, rather than event organizers: "...the Bushes couldn't go, there were health reasons why neither President Bush could go and speak. Other Republicans leaders were invited to speak and they politely declined. In hindsight, do you wish there had been Republicans that had agreed to speak?" [ Listen to the audio ] Republican strategist John Feehery pointed out that the only African American in the United States Senate was not invited to speak :... continue reading
Appearing on MSNBC's All In show on Wednesday, August 28, MSNBC's Chris Matthews called it a "great irony" that only two Republican Senators opposed the 1965 Voting Rights Act, an implicit suggestion that the modern GOP opposes voting rights. The MSNBC host's observation came as he recounted that many Democratic politicians in the 1960s, including friends of President Kennedy, were segregationists. Matthews began: "All Kennedy's pals in the South were segregationists. His best friend was George Smathers, his best friend was a segregationist. Richard Russell, the beloved Richard Russell. The Russell Building is named after the guy, an out and... continue reading
When conservatives rally or march over an issue, such as the yearly March for Life , they don't get much attention. Yet, ABC offered two reports on Thursday promoting a liberal-backed strike on fast food restaurants. Good Morning America's Rebecca Jarvis went so far as to link the protest to Wednesday's 50th anniversary of Martin Luther King's rally. Jarvis touted, "They're hoping that scenes like the one behind me in New York will play out today in Chicago, in Denver, in Los Angeles, hoping that workers raising their voice will help raise the minimum wage." She then compared, " The... continue reading
Appearing as a guest on Monday's PoliticsNation on MSNBC, liberal talk radio host Joe Madison declared that Rush Limbaugh is "big, fat, happy with all the health insurance he needs" as he responded to a clip of President Obama complaining that Republicans will not work with him on ObamaCare because they are afraid of a negative reaction from the conservative talk radio host. As he presented a clip of Obama, host Al Sharpton raised Limbaugh's influence on Republican Congressmen: "The President says that -- he really slammed the GOP, saying they care more about what Rush Limbaugh thinks than about... continue reading
In an interview with California attorney general Kamala Harris during live MSNBC coverage of the 50th anniversary of Martin Luther King's "I have a dream" speech, host Andrea Mitchell fretted: "I talked to Jesse Jackson earlier about all the voter suppression efforts , and what's happened since the Supreme Court decision on the Voting Rights Act. What can be done, from your perspective – obviously California has a majority of liberal officials, Governor Brown – but you see what's happening in Texas and North Carolina?" [ Listen to the audio ] Harris seized the opportunity to proclaim: "The Voting Rights... continue reading
For Chris Matthews, every day is a good day to attack President Obama’s critics as racists, but the 50th anniversary of the March on Washington was an especially opportune time. During MSNBC’s live coverage of the festivities on Wednesday morning, Matthews unleashed a tirade against the president’s opponents, saying that racists were at least honest about their beliefs in the early 1900s. Matthews began by sizing up the country as he saw it: “This country is divided right now, heavily divided, sharply divided between the noes out there, the ones who reject an African American president, have rejected him from... continue reading
MSNBC’s Krystal Ball slammed the Republican Party in a tongue-in-cheek monologue at the end of Tuesday’s The Cycle , declaring that the GOP is the new Jim Crow. But in the process, she also drew attention to the problem of complacency among Democratic voters, seemingly resorting to an offensive stereotype that they are generally lazy, disinterested in public policy, and need to be driven by fear. Much of Ball’s rant was focused on how new Republican-imposed voter ID laws in many states have increased the desire to vote among traditional Democratic constituencies. She concluded by blasting the GOP as the... continue reading