At the top of Wednesday's NBC Today , co-host Matt Lauer seized on Congresswoman Michele Bachmann's decision not to seek re-election in 2014: "Breaking news. A bombshell announcement from Michele Bachmann. The Tea Party favorite says she won't seek another term in Congress.... But with a swirl of controversy surrounding her, will that future include politics?" [ Listen to the audio ] On ABC's Good Morning America , co-host George Stephanopoulos responded to the news by fretting that Bachmann not being in Congress "takes away a big target for Democrats." Correspondent Jon Karl agreed: "Oh, that's right, George. For some... continue reading
Once again demonstrating the NBC Nightly News is the broadcast arm of MSNBC, anchor Brian Williams – matching what has animated MSNBC hosts – devoted a segment to former Senator Bob Dole railing against the modern Republican Party; ie: conservatives. With “Fighting Words” on screen, Williams on Tuesday night highlighted comments neither the ABC nor CBS evening newscasts found newsworthy, how the 89-year-old “made it clear in a rare interview this weekend the GOP of his day is unrecognizable. He thinks they should pause, rebuild and start over.” After a clip of Dole from Fox News Sunday , Williams touted... continue reading
Appearing as a guest on Sunday's Melissa Harris-Perry show on MSNBC, PBS's Christina Bellantoni labeled Virginia Republican gubernatorial nominee Ken Cuccinelli as "very conservative," but, when discussing presumptive Democratic nominee and former DNC chairman Terry McAuliffe, the PBS NewsHour political editor did not include a liberal ideological label. Additionally, as she recounted Cuccinelli's history of opposing abortion, she euphemistically inserted the word "freedoms" as being what the Virginia attorney general and former state senator has a record of "fighting against." Discussing Cuccinelli and GOP lieutenant govenor nominee E. W. Jackson, Bellantoni asserted: He has long been a very conservative Republican... continue reading
On her Monday show on CNN International, Christiane Amanpour celebrated the same "Catholic" Salon.com writer who penned the revolting piece, " So What If Abortion Ends Life? " and who shuddered at an Olympic gold medalist being "so, so, so into Jesus." Salon.com's Mary Elizabeth Williams is a "pro-choice, liberal Catholic," and Amanpour hyped her "fight" to change the Catholic Church – allowing women to be ordained to the priesthood and thus treated as "equal citizens." Apparently Catholic women are second-class citizens in Amanpour's book. Amanpour teed her up: " Do you think, given all your studies, all your writing,... continue reading
As CBS and NBC both touted President Obama's Tuesday visit to New Jersey, so too did CNN hype Obama's "bromance" with Governor Chris Christie as the President tried to step away from Washington and his administration's scandals. White House correspondent Jessica Yellin said it would be a "good chance" for Obama to trumpet the effectiveness of his government as FEMA's performance after Hurricane Sandy was a "bright spot" for Obama. Although a positive CNN headline read "'odd couple' puts politics aside," correspondents admitted that political gain was a part of the visit for both men. CNN gave the story over... continue reading
According to Chris Matthews on Tuesday, having Rand Paul or Ted Cruz as opponents would result in an easy win for Hillary Clinton in 2016. The Hardball host, who famously had a " thrill " going up his leg for Barack Obama, plotted the former Secretary of State's path to victory. Regarding whether she'll run, Matthews gushed, " It's just a question of what kind of campaign and who's going to help her win it?" (Other than MSNBC, one might wonder?) The cable anchor predicted Clinton would probably be "lucky enough" to have Cruz or Paul as an opponent. Matthews... continue reading
On Tuesday's CBS This Morning , John Dickerson spun a front page scoop from the Washington Post that spotlighted the several private meetings that a top Obama health care adviser had with investment firms on the future implementation of ObamaCare: " It's a little hard to see what those investment firms got that wasn't already publicly available ." The liberal CBS political director brushed aside concerns that " some traders are gaining access to information that is not available to investors in general or the wider public ", as Post writer Tom Hamburger outlined in his Sunday article . Dickerson... continue reading
On Monday's NBC Today , correspondent Tom Costello fretted over the impact of modest reductions in government spending: "401 parks, battlefields, monuments, seashores, volcanos, and deserts make up the National Park System....But the parks and their future are under stress....The Park Service budget hasn't changed since 2006....Now the sequester is forcing another $153 million in cuts just as tourist season begins." During a similar report on Nightly News that evening, Costello warned viewers: "Park advocates say for years the parks have been underfunded. Now some are in trouble....Despite rising costs, the Park Service budget has been flat for seven years... continue reading
After initially ignoring news that two Muslim extremists in London savagely murdered a British soldier in broad daylight, MSNBC host Chris Hayes on Friday finally included the story on his All In show as he began the segment with the news of retaliatory anti-Muslim attacks on London mosques. As he reached the end of the segment, in which he seemed to fret that terrorist attacks make societies "more conservative" and provoke "overreaction," he recounted a British woman, Ingrid Loyau-Kennet, who calmly spoke with one of the terrorists before police arrived, with the MSNBC host concluding: This woman was facing someone... continue reading
Shane Smith, CEO of the online news site Vice , has bought into the lefty claims of climate change as he alarmingly warned it’s a "gun to our heads" and likened it to "nuclear war." The journalist and co-founder of Vice came on Thursday’s edition of PBS’s Charlie Rose show to promote his partnership with HBO and told the CBS This Morning host he doesn’t think there are “two-sides” to the climate change story. When asked by Rose if he was sensitive to criticism that his site was prone to sensationalism, Smith responded he’s more worried about being “guilty of... continue reading