In a report on Monday's Rock Center on NBC, correspondent Mike Taibbi described how Mitt Romney's ancestors settled in Mexico during the late 1800's: "Mitt has said and written almost nothing about them over the years. One of his rare quotes, that they left the U.S. to escape persecution for their religious beliefs." Taibbi then noted: "In fact, Mitt's great-grandfather, Miles Park Romney, led that first expedition to escape not persecution but prosecution for polygamy, what Mormons called 'plural marriage.'" Later, Taibbi cited one of Romney's Mexican cousins on the issue: "Mike, a church school administrator here, says Mitt should... continue reading
On Tuesday morning's Starting Point, CNN political analyst Ron Brownstein ripped candidate Newt Gingrich's campaign strategy as "murder-suicide." The harsh rhetoric was reflective of the network's attitude towards the candidate on Tuesday morning. New Hampshire voters have not yet chosen their GOP candidate, but CNN's hand-picked political team apparently wanted to speed up the process of elimination of the field. For the second day in a row, CNN contributor and phony-conservative David Frum bashed the candidate, predicting he was "about to launch the most amazing self-immolation in American political history." Brownstein used the term "murder-suicide" in reference to the negative... continue reading
Bob Schieffer slammed Mitt Romney on Tuesday's CBS This Morning for his recent "I like to fire people" line, stating that he was " looking for every way he can try to lose and drive down his percentage of victory ." He added, "I guess the only thing worse you could say ... when people are out of work is that Herbert Hoover is my hero or something like that. It just boggles the mind. " [audio available here ]. Right after he harped about Romney's apparent incompetence, Schieffer slipped up himself when he confused Ron Paul, one of Romney's... continue reading
George Stephanopoulos, the former Democratic operative who worked for Bill Clinton and Michael Dukakis, confidently asserted on Tuesday that Democrats are "licking their chops" over Mitt Romney's comment that he likes to "fire" health insurers who don't provide adequate coverage. [MP3 audio here .] Stephanopoulos teased the segment by hyping, "But has Mitt Romney hurt his chances for a big win with these controversial comments?" How did Stephanopoulos and GMA cover another controversial story, the questionably legal appointment of Richard Cordray to run a consumer protection board? They didn't . On Tuesday, however, Stephanopoulos said of Romney's comment: " Democrats... continue reading
Talking to MSNBC host Dylan Ratigan on Monday's NBC Today, co-host Ann Curry portrayed one of Mitt Romney's strength's as a weakness: "How vulnerable do you think Mitt Romney could be in highlighting his business background, given this sort of anti-Wall Street Occupy climate we're in?" Ratigan seized on the opportunity and ranted: "Mitt Romney's liabilities as an American businessman are among the highest of any businessman in this country.....there is a second class of business person that was invented in the past 30 years of this country who literally exploits their ability to borrow money at the risk to... continue reading
On NBC's Rock Center on Monday, correspondent Mike Taibbi led the broadcast with a report on Mitt Romney's family roots in Mexico: "It's a little known fact that there's a whole branch of Mitt's family living right here in Mexico, including his second cousin, Layton Romney." [ Audio available here ] Following the report, host Brian Williams used the story to discuss Mitt Romney's stance on illegal immigration, observing: "And couldn't you make the case the family tree is an aspect of the Dream Act?" Taibbi agreed: "Absolutely. I mean, his father [George Romney] could be the poster boy for... continue reading
The latest liberal tendency - to try and cast Newt Gingrich and Rick Santorum as racists, or cynical race-baiters to a party stuffed full of racists - is an absolute natural for "Reverend" Al Sharpton on MSNBC. On the Sharpton show Politics Nation on Friday night, former CNN reporter Bob Franken shoved both candidates into the mud for their talk of blacks and government dependency: "I think this is very intentional. I think it is part of a hateful campaign that is being very methodically run in the hope it`s going to appeal to voters who would love to see... continue reading
The media has an "antipathy" toward Republican presidential candidate Rick Santorum, asserted Dana Milbank of the Washington Post on CNN's Reliable Sources on Sunday. Given the media's treatment of Santorum after his Iowa success, that would be safe to acknowledge . Milbank noted that the ill-will stems from Santorum's social-conservatism, adding that "liberal pundits and I think the media in general have a particular antipathy towards Rick Santorum because of the cultural differences." When asked why the media were focusing on his social beliefs when voters are concerned about the economy, Milbank lamely responded that "Whenever we focus on the... continue reading
Attempting to dismsiss negative reports about Obama's White House, CNN's Soledad O'Brien completely mangled and fumbled key facts on Monday's Starting Point. O'Brien had claimed that her own network reported on a White House event in 2009 – except that key event details were missing from the CNN reports at the time. The claims that O'Brien dismissed as baseless were made by New York Times reporter Jodi Kantor in her new book "The Obamas." Kantor had written that during the recession in 2009, the White House hosted a Halloween "Alice in Wonderland" themed tea party with celebrity donors – but... continue reading
On the day before the New Hampshire primary, CNN had some choice words for one candidate in particular – Newt Gingrich. The candidate had attacked front runner Mitt Romney for his past in the private sector and his connections to well-funded super PACs that are producing negative attack ads on opponents. CNN contributor and faux-conservative David Frum slammed Gingrich's attacks on Romney as a "suicide destructive mission of revenge." A CNN viewer might have thought he was referring to a suicide bomber in the Middle East. "He's not doing himself any good," Frum scolded Gingrich. "And it's kind of absurd... continue reading