Former Democratic Congressman Anthony Weiner, now a New York mayoral candidate, admitted Tuesday to sending out lewd photos of himself even after he resigned from Congress for doing so back in June of 2011. During the previous scandal, up until Weiner's resignation, members of the media moved from casting the evidence against him as a smear job to acknowledging his mistake while imploring him to stay in Congress to mourning the "tragedy" of his downfall and resignation and insisting he was too talented to stay out of politics for long. When the lewd photos first broke, the press began by... continue reading
Appearing on Monday's The Last Word , MSNBC contributor Goldie Taylor called Rush Limbaugh "dangerous," and accused him of "pimping his audience" in response to the conservative talk radio host's reaction to President Obama's statement on the George Zimmerman verdict. After a clip of Limbaugh, Taylor began her response: My emotionally honest response? He's a carnival barker. You know, Rush Limbaugh is not the first in history to take advantage of waves of populism. This happens to be a more extended wave, something I think brought on by the election of an African-American President. But, you know, the real answer... continue reading
In an adoring softball interview with San Antonio Mayor Julian Castro on her Monday MSNBC show, host Andrea Mitchell eagerly wondered if the Democrat was leading the way in turning the solidly red state blue: "Take a look at Texas Monthly , both you and your brother [Congressman Joaquin Castro] and Wendy Davis are on the cover of Texas Monthly . Is there a Democratic revival coming up in Texas?" [ Listen to the audio ] Castro seized the opportunity to proclaim: "It is an exciting time to be in Texas right now, as a Democrat....And the question is not... continue reading
The three network morning shows on Tuesday predictably lost all perspective over the birth of the royal baby, devoting a staggering 85 minutes of coverage to Britain's new prince. Yet, ABC, NBC and CBS still declined to offer any update on a political story important to America, the widening Internal Revenue Service scandal. Over four hours, the Today show obsessed over the royal birth for 41 minutes and 19 seconds (or 16 segments). Good Morning America , half the length of its NBC counterpart, almost equaled Today with 33 minutes and 16 seconds (13 segments). Just as on Monday, CBS... continue reading
On Tuesday, neither ABC's Good Morning America nor CBS This Morning mentioned San Diego Mayor Bob Filner's Democratic affiliation, as they reported on the new sexual harassment lawsuit against the former congressman. The CBS morning show devoted a full report to the latest development in the sex scandal, while the ABC broadcast only devoted a news brief to the story. NBC's Today has yet to devote even a news brief to the ongoing controversy surrounding the liberal politician. The only mention so far on the morning newscast was when correspondent Mike Taibbi made a 13-second reference to Filner during a... continue reading
Not even the birth of the royal baby could keep Chris Matthews from making a snide liberal attack. In a closing commentary, Monday night, the Hardball anchor touted the special relationship between Britain and America. But after nicely noting that "when it counts, we are with the Brits and they with us -- from the Falklands to Iraq and back to two world wars," he gratuitously played a clip from the left-leaning British film Love Actually . After showing footage of the fictional prime minister, played by Hugh Grant, slamming a George W. Bush-esque actor, Matthews marveled, "wow." He added,... continue reading
On Tuesday's NBC Today , during a report on a attack against Iraq's Abu Ghraib prison that freed hundreds of Al Qaeda terrorists, chief foreign correspondent Richard Engel couldn't resist slamming the U.S. for past abuses at the facility: "Abu Ghraib prison, notorious for American abuses and humiliations that [turned] an untold number against the United States, remains an open wound." [ Listen to the audio ] Engel began the segment by dismissing the Iraq war as a futile effort: "Iraq is now back in a civil war U.S. officials tell NBC News. The hard-fought U.S. surge there, the benefits... continue reading
CNN anchor Don Lemon lectured conservative radio host Ben Ferguson for being quick to pan President Obama's Friday address on race, during Saturday's 4 p.m. ET hour of Newsroom . Lemon -- who has played the race card by twice comparing traditional marriage supporters to segregationists -- told Ferguson that since he's white, he has a "place of privilege" that minorities don't have and therefore can't fully understand the plight of black people in America. [Video below the break. Audio here .] He first told Ferguson, "you still have a certain entitlement as a white person that many people of... continue reading
As MSNBC's Melissa Harris-Perry made multiple appearances on Friday's MSNBC evening shows to discuss President Obama's surprise statement on the George Zimmerman acquittal, the MSNBC host declared that, after Obama became President, "every move that he made became where he ended up carrying the burden of race," during her appearance on All In with Chris Hayes . A couple of hours later, as she appeared on PoliticsNation , Harris-Perry drew a parallel to the views of former confederates in the 1870s and those in modern times who dismiss liberal preocupation with racial issues. Harris-Perry: Part of what you hear is,... continue reading
While eulogizing left-wing White House correspondent Helen Thomas on Saturday's NBC Nightly News , correspondent Andrea Mitchell conveniently minimized the controversial end to Thomas's journalistic career: "No longer in daily journalism, she drew criticism for taking sides on the Israeli/Palestinian conflict. But by then she was already a legend." [ Listen to the audio ] At no point did Mitchell play a soundbite of Thomas's offensive 2010 remarks that Israelis should "get the hell out of Palestine" and go back to Poland and Germany. Instead, Mitchell played a clip of Ann Curry's fawning 2009 interview with Thomas, including softballs like:... continue reading