On Wednesday's The Last Word show, MSNBC host Lawrence O'Donnell tried to link rhetoric by NRA Executive Vice President Wayne LaPierre to the ricin attack on New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg as he played several clips of LaPierre criticizing the liberal mayor's support for gun control before getting to the story of the tainted letters. After running the clips, O'Donnell ominously related: Wayne LaPierre and the NRA have made New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg their number one enemy for his gun control advocacy. And now the Mayor and the organization he founded, Mayors Against Illegal Guns, are the apparent... continue reading
On Thursday's NBC Today , co-host Savannah Guthrie asked special correspondent Tom Brokaw about his recent comment that the press "has to be careful about having a glass jaw" when it comes to the Obama Justice Department investigating reporters: "...you made a remark that journalists...shouldn't have what you called a 'glass jaw' when it comes to some of these investigations, citing the First Amendment and threats to the First Amendment." [ Listen to the audio ] Brokaw stood by his statement: "Well, the First Amendment is a critically important part of the Constitution. It is not unconditional, obviously. Any number... continue reading
As MSNBC's Al Sharpton hosted a panel on Wednesday's PoliticsNation to discuss Minnesota Republican Rep. Michele Bachmann's retirement, MSNBC analyst Karen Finney claimed that Bachmann never had an idea "that wasn't about hate or wasn't about being against something," while MSNBC analyst and former Pennsylvania Democratic Governor Ed Rendell similarly charged that historians will put her "in a group of people during this era who were just haters, who breeded hate and discontent." After Sharpton introduced the panel by asking how history would treat Bachmann, Rendell replied: Well, I think she'll be put in a group of people during this... continue reading
ABC and NBC on Wednesday night continued to hype the "stunning" retirement of "lightning rod" Michele Bachmann. World News reporter Jeff Zeleny noted that although the politician "rode the Tea Party wave," her "words often created trouble." The journalist made sure to use the words "Tea Party" and "Republican" six times in the two and a half minute segment. In contrast, when controversial Democrat Jesse Jackson Jr. resigned from Congress, the networks failed to use a partisan label 73 percent of the time . Zeleny also highlighted, " But Bachmann downplayed the fact that she's at the center of three... continue reading
Republican Congresswoman and Tea Party favorite Michele Bachmann’s announcement on Wednesday that she is not running for re-election marks the end of a four-term congressional career full of vicious attacks from liberal journalists. Over those years Bachmann’s outspoken defense of fiscally and socially conservative issues drew the ire of the liberal media elites. From Lois Romano depicting her as a "maniacal" "knife-wielding" ideologue in an unflattering Newsweek cover story to Chris Matthews demeaning her as a "hypnotized" "zombie" so-called journalists have repeatedly bashed Bachmann and the conservative causes she fought for. The following is a list of the Top 10... continue reading
Talking to CNBC Mad Money host Jim Cramer on Wednesday's NBC Today about signs of improvement in the economy, co-host Matt Lauer wondered about past media fearmongering: "[What] we talked about over and over again over the last year was the sequester and whether it would pour a lot of cold water over our recovery here. Has that happened?" [ Listen to the audio ] Cramer replied: "No, it didn't. It didn't even hurt the defense stocks, those are the hottest stocks there is. So the stock market is terrific, housing's good, spending is going to increase. Things are going... continue reading
In January my colleague Clay Waters noted how New York Times economics reporter Eduardo Porter called for Americans to pony up more in taxes in a piece headlined, " A Tax Bite Tailored To Help All ." Porter was back at it again Wednesday in a Business Day section front-pager headlined, "The Trouble With Taxing Corporations." "We have a tax problem; we are not collecting enough tax revenue -- period," Porter approvingly quoted the University of Michigan's Jim Hines, who whined, "we are never going to finance what we need with corporate taxes." Picking up on this thread, Porter lamented... continue reading
CNN couldn't hold back a parting shot at Rep. Michelle Bachmann (R-Minn.) when the Congresswoman announced on Wednesday that she would be retiring after 2014. On Wednesday morning's Newsroom , anchor Carol Costello said Bachmann became " the butt of a thousand jokes " and CNN dug up a 2012 Saturday Night Live mockery of her, as well as Newsweek 's unflattering 2011 cover of the Congresswoman as the "Queen of Rage." [Video below. Audio here .] "It's kind of surprising since Bachmann became the face of big government rage," Costello said of her upcoming retirement. "In fact, Newsweek tagged... continue reading
MSNBC on Wednesday debuted yet another hard-left Lean Forward ad. This time, liberal anchor Alex Wagner slammed anyone who wants border security, sneering that they want "bigger, meaner, scarier fences" and "electrified, alligator moats to prevent 'them' coming in." Each time Wagner mockingly spoke for those who opposed illegal immigration, she used air quotes to describe "them," implying a racist motive. [MP3 audio below .] When describing people who broke the law, Wagner derided, "We gotta punish people who came here the wrong way, even if they've been contributing to American society for a decade or more." MSNBC's Lean Forward... continue reading
Wednesday's CBS This Morning zeroed in on the House Judiciary Committee's inquiry into whether Attorney General Eric Holder lied under oath during his testimony regarding the Justice Department's controversial investigation of journalists. Jan Crawford's two-and-a-half minute report on the congressional investigation into Holder stood out as the only coverage on the Big Three networks on their Tuesday evening and Wednesday morning newscasts. Crawford underlined that "conservative and liberal voices " are clamoring for Holder's resignation in the wake of the questionable surveillance of the Associated Press and Fox News' James Rosen. She also asserted that "everyone in Washington is talking... continue reading