A little over an hour after two bombs exploded near the finish line of the Boston Marathon, resulting in dozens of casualties and at least two fatalities, New York Times columnist Nicholas Kristof used the tragedy to blame Republicans for blocking B. Todd Jones, Obama's choice for director of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms. A post on his Twitter feed (since deleted) linked to an old Washington Post story on a Republican political maneuver: explosion is a reminder that ATF needs a director. Shame on Senate Republicans for blocking apptment articles.washingtonpost.com/2013-02-01/wor… — Nicholas Kristof (@NickKristof) April 15, 2013... continue reading
Just hours after explosions rocked the Boston Marathon on Monday, Chris Matthews speculated, " Normally domestic terrorists, people, tend to be on the far right ." He then reconsidered and suggested, "...That’s not a good category, just extremists, let’s call them that." [MP3 audio here .] During live coverage, the Hardball host highlighted a possible explosion at John F. Kennedy's presidential library and thought this could be a personal attack on the Democratic Party: " ...But going after the Kennedy Library, not something at Bunker Hill, not something from the freedom trail or anything that kind of historic, but a... continue reading
Never let a tragedy go to waste. New York Times columnist Nicholas Kristof on Monday quickly used the explosions in Boston for political gain, linking the Republican Party to the horrific act. At 4:10pm, Kristof tweeted , " Explosion is a reminder that ATF needs a director. Shame on Senate Republicans for blocking apptment." Kristof then tweeted a link to a Washington Post story about Senator Charles Grassley questioning the fitness of Obama's Alcohol Tobacco and Firearms nominee. Kristof's comments earned a rebuke from the liberal Politico . Dylan Byers reported, "Kristof's tweet earned a number of responses expressing either... continue reading
At the end of an interview with actor Harrison Ford for the NBC Meet the Press web-based feature Press Pass , about his role in a new film about Jackie Robinson, host David Gregory turned to politics: "I know you're politically conscious, politically active. What is your view of the state of things, and the state of the President's performance?" [ Listen to the audio ] Ford replied: "I think the President is doing, you know, all things considered, a wonderful job." He then blamed the media for political division in country: "I wish that the country were not so... continue reading
In an interview with Florida Senator Marco Rubio on Sunday's NBC Meet the Press, moderator David Gregory hyped: "The political problem the party faces, Republicans face, among minority communities, is so large if you look at the results from the 2012 election." Gregory then introduced a clip of Colin Powell ranting over a supposed "dark vein of intolerance" in the GOP during a January appearance on the program. [ Listen to the audio ] Following the sound bite from Powell, Gregory pressed Rubio: "Do you agree with that? And do you think that these [Republican] efforts on immigration [reform] are... continue reading
CBS finally ended their on-air coverage blackout of the Kermit Gosnell murder trial on Monday's CBS This Morning , airing two segments on the story a month after opening arguments began. Jan Crawford acknowledged that the Gosnell case " has received little national news coverage ". Meanwhile, ABC and NBC's morning and evening newscasts continue to ignore the ongoing legal proceedings against the abortionist. Crawford pointed out how conservatives " accused the media of ignoring the story because what it called a bias in favor of abortion rights ", and how those " charges went viral on Twitter ". She... continue reading
ABC has aggressively pushed Barack Obama's gun control scheme in recent weeks. But on Sunday and Monday, the network resorted to playing clips of a rival channel's comedy show, Saturday Night Live . Sunday's World News and Monday's Good Morning America both touted Democratic talking points, lamenting how hard it is to get such legislation passed. On Monday morning, Jon Karl hyped, " Congress is just not eager to enact new gun laws. A fact lampooned on Saturday Night Live ." He then featured a clip of comedian Jay Pharoah impersonating Obama. Pharoah mocked, "This week, the Senate voted 68-31... continue reading
Update: On its First Read blog Monday morning, NBCNews.com claims "Gosnell case gets more and more attention." While NBC News continued to ignore the trial of Philadelphia abortionist Kermit Gosnell on its airwaves, an NBCNews.com article posted Saturday made brief mention of the media blackout: "Conservative bloggers, including at RedState and National Review, have lashed out this week at national media organizations for not paying enough attention to the gruesome trial of a Philadelphia abortion provider accused of killing seven late-term fetuses after they were born alive." Careful to use the term "fetuses," rather than "infants" or "children," staff writer... continue reading
NBC synergy in action. Saturday Night Live opens with a skit hitting President Barack Obama from the left for celebrating picayune progress on gun control and, the next morning, Meet the Press host David Gregory uses that clip to illustrate his liberal point about how the “problem” is insufficient action on gun control. After playing a bit of that comedy video, in which an “Obama” impersonator trumpets “I am so excited to announce that this week the Senate voted 68-31 to begin debating the idea of discussing gun control,” Gregory fretted: “Isn’t that really the problem? Despite all the emotion,... continue reading
On Thursday's The Last Word with Lawrence O'Donnell , host O'Donnell ranted against Republicans who have argued that the proposed new gun laws would not have prevented recent high-profile shootings, as the MSNBC host referred to such talk as "the worst, most vicious lie being told by Republicans." Referring to nine-year-old shooting victim Christina Taylor Green, who died in the Tucson, Arizona, mass shooting that targeted former Rep. Gabby Giffords, O'Donnell absurdly claimed that she "was safe" when magazine clips of more than 10 rounds used to be illegal, and asserted that "cowardly lawmakers' indifference to her right to life"... continue reading