Republican House Speaker John Boehner’s convention speech, in which he compared removing an obnoxious bar customer to throwing the current president out of office, threw the MSNBC crew went into a tizzy. On Tuesday night’s live coverage of the Republican National Convention, an incensed Lawrence O’Donnell railed against Boehner’s “ugly imagery of grabbing this president, throwing him out physically.” Ed Schultz thought it was “embarrassing” that he couldn’t believe that on the first night of their convention Republicans were “talking about bar bouncing.” The following exchange was aired on MSNBC’s August 28 live coverage of the GOP convention: For context,... continue reading
MSNBC 's immediate reaction to Ann Romney's Tuesday night speech at the Republican National Convention was to stick by the left-wing talking point that she can't relate to ordinary Americans, especially women. Lawrence O'Donnell seconded Rachel Maddow's claim that Mrs. Romney " has not had most women's economic experiences ," and went further: "She began her speech...by talking about women's struggles in this economy and in life that she, actually, in her life, doesn't know anything about ." O'Donnell then blasted the Republican presidential candidate's wife for supposedly disregarding women who have taken government assistance in their lives: "The one... continue reading
CBS This Morning anchor Charlie Rose on Tuesday pestered Rick Santorum about Todd Akin and tried to goad the former Republican presidential candidate into bashing Mitt Romney. Highlighting Akin and his gaffe about rape, Rose needled, " What does that say to you? Does that say something about the party and its image?" Rose followed up by pushing the former senator, who will be speaking at the Republican convention. The host demanded to know the "the differences today between Rick Santorum and the governor, in terms of how you see the world and how you see the particular issues that... continue reading
In light of Tropical Storm Isaac threatening the Gulf coast during the Republican National Convention, The New Yorker's Ryan Lizza evoked shades of Hurricane Katrina and the Bush malaise on Monday's Starting Point. "Does the Republican Party worry about that right now, that when you think of hurricane and Republicans, that it's not necessarily two things that have gone together in the past?" asked Lizza, who ignored the fact that a Democrat, not a Republican, is in the White House, and will be in charge if Isaac makes landfall and wreaks havoc. [Video below. Audio here .] "And obviously, when... continue reading
Following the liberal media's precedent at GOP conventions, CNN hit the Republican Party for being too extreme and intolerant on Monday morning. As the MRC reported Monday in a Media Reality Check , “ The Media vs. the GOP: Intolerant, Anti-Women, and Always Too Conservative ,” the media have repeatedly lectured Republicans at the conventions for being too conservative and exclusive of women and minorities. "Some Republicans worry that the Republican Party will come off even more conservative during – over the course of the next three days," warned anchor Carol Costello, framing the party's hypothetical rightward shift as a... continue reading
Wolf Blitzer pressed Florida's GOP attorney general on Monday about the party platform's opposition to abortion in all cases, asking her if it was the "problem" Republicans had with women. "Is that the problem that he has – that Romney, and Republicans for that matter, have with women?" Blitzer asked after reading the section of the GOP platform supporting a human life amendment to the Constitution. "Why does Romney have such a problem across the country getting as much support among women as he has – as the President has?" Blitzer asked after citing a poll showing Romney lagging far... continue reading
In an interview with New Jersey Governor Chris Christie on Tuesday's NBC Today , co-host Matt Lauer was aghast at an off-the-cuff joke by Mitt Romney on Friday: "...he said, 'No one's ever asked to see my birth certificate,' an obvious reference to the birther debate. Is it – he says it was a joke. Is it funny to kind of pay attention to a fringe group and question the very legitimacy of the President of the United States's citizenship?" [ Listen to the audio ] Christie replied: "Yeah, but he hasn't. I mean, he has been the clearest, the... continue reading
Former Democratic operative George Stephanopoulos on Tuesday hit Chris Christie, the Republican National Convention's keynote speaker, with liberal talking points about his state. Reading off a sheet of paper, the Good Morning America host recited, " You know, the Democrats are already ready for you to talk about the New Jersey experience. They're pointing out, ahead of your speech, that New Jersey is near the bottom of states in unemployment. " [MP3 audio here .] Stephanopoulos parroted, "Forty eight in unemployment. Forty seven in economic growth." Christie shot back, pointing out that in the last 12 months "we're ranked fourth... continue reading
New Jersey Governor and Republican keynote speaker Chris Christie had to combat and correct several of his hosts’ liberal assumptions on CBS This Morning on Tuesday. CBS’s Norah O’Donnell had trouble grasping that Mitt Romney’s plan for tax simplification included lower overall tax rates, but not necessarily a lower tax burden on wealthy individuals. Three times, O’Donnell claimed to Christie that Romney would cut taxes for the rich: “He says he's going to cut everybody's tax rates by 20%... He said he will cut everybody’s taxes by 20%...So, he will cut the wealthiest Americans' taxes?” Christie attempted (probably without success)... continue reading
On Monday's Charlie Rose show on PBS, during a discussion of Mitt Romney's selection of Paul Ryan having the positive effect of "energizing" the GOP base, Time magazine's Joe Klein faulted Romney for not taking a "moderate stance" for the general election, asserting that the "Republican base is the problem, not the solution." He began: Could I just say that the Republican base is the problem, not the solution to winning the presidency for Mitt Romney right now? ... if they only represent 47 percent of the population in the end, you have to get that three percent in the... continue reading