NBC's Andrea Mitchell, in a piece aired on Thursday's Today about Virginia Thomas' call to Anita Hill, made a point of tying the wife of Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas to "conservative causes" but offered no ideological label for Hill. Mitchell also offered two sound bites from Hill supporters, but only featured a brief clip of an old audio-book excerpt from Clarence Thomas expressing sympathy for his wife. After the NBC correspondent noted that Hill and her "allies" claimed Thomas' request for an apology was "inappropriate" Mitchell aired Harvard Law School Professor Charles Ogletree calling Thomas' behavior "bizarre." Mitchell also... continue reading
New York Times Tea Party-beat reporter Kate Zernike's obsession with rooting out alleged Tea Party racism rolled on in her Thursday story, " N.A.A.C.P. Report Raises Concerns About Racism Within Tea Party Groups ." The report, released less than two weeks before the November elections, was actually authored by the far-left Institute for Research and Education on Human Rights, which promotes abortion rights, gay rights and fighting bigotry and racism, as noted by the Media Research Center's Scott Whitlock . Zernike flattered the NAACP with her opening description, though these days the NAACP is less an honored civil rights organization... continue reading
On Wednesday's Larry King Live on CNN, liberal comedian Jon Stewart bashed Fox News, labeling their "fair and balanced" slogan a " complete lie ." Stewart also stated that he thought the network was " wrong " and that " they've built ... [a] really effective political organization ," not a news organization. The comedian also lamented how Democrats have " faced a relentless campaign of hyperbole that they are tyrannical socialists " [audio available here ]. Stewart appeared for the entire hour on King's program. Forty minutes in, the CNN host asked his guest, "What do you make of... continue reading
Delaware Senate candidate Christine O'Donnell appeared on Thursday's Good Morning America and attacked the media's reaction to her comments about the First Amendment, pointing out that journalists ignored a gaffe by her opponent, Chris Coons. Her complaints apparently got results: The network played the Democrat's blunder. Asked by reporter Jon Karl about her (correct) assertion that the words "separation of church and state" aren't anywhere in the Constitution, O'Donnell complained that "First, let me point out about that, it's really funny the way that the media reports things." She recounted the debate exchange: "I followed up with, 'Can you name... continue reading
In the wake of Virginia Thomas requesting an apology from Anita Hill, on Thursday's CBS Early Show, fill-in co-host Chris Wragge used the story to raise questions about Thomas's political involvement: "That phone call is bringing up new scrutiny upon Virginia Thomas, who is not just an angry spouse but also a long-time advocate of conservative causes." In the report that followed, CBS chief legal correspondent Jan Crawford implied that since Virginia Thomas is the wife of Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas her conservative activism in a conflict of interest: "She has long advocated for conservative causes....she formed a grassroots... continue reading
In broadcast network stories on how Ginni Thomas left a phone message for Anita Hill ("I would love you to consider an apology sometimes and some full explanation of why you did what you did with my husband"), a revelation which ABC and NBC decided merited their lead slot, the network journalists couldn't resist scolding her for her conservative political activity. "Ginni Thomas has long stretched our idea of what a spouse of a non-partisan Supreme Court justice should be," ABC's Sharyn Alfonsi contended, explaining: "A long-time conservative activist, she now heads Liberty Central , an advocacy group opposing what... continue reading
New York Times reporter David Herszenhorn, recently seen mocking angry Republican voters in Pennsylvania , twice suggested in his front-page story Wednesday that Republican Party candidates were waging a "simplistic" war on spending: " In G.O.P. Calls to Cut Spending, Hows Are Few ." In Indiana, Representative Mike Pence, the No. 3 House Republican, complains about "runaway federal spending on steroids." In Alaska, the Republican candidate for the Senate, Joe Miller, talks about "out of control spending." And in Arizona, Jesse Kelly, a Republican hoping to oust Representative Gabrielle Giffords, says, "We're spending our way into bankruptcy." If there is... continue reading
MSNBC's Thomas Roberts on Wednesday hyped an attack on the "racist" Tea Party by the left-wing Institute for Research and Education on Human Rights (IREHR). Roberts never once mentioned the liberal slant of the group, instead passing it off as a "human rights group." The News Live host interviewed Ben Jealous, the President of the NAACP, who wrote the forward to the report. Roberts parroted, " The Tea Party, the Racism Within. That is the provocative headline of a new report out today by a human rights organization. And some of its findings are pretty troubling. " What, exactly, does... continue reading
On Monday's Joy Behar show on Headline News, the host promoted the latest work of liberal actor Richard Dreyfuss, but soon turned the conversation to Dreyfuss playing Dick Cheney in the 2008 Oliver Stone flop "W." and how he could find the "satanic spot" in his soul to play Cheney. Dreyfuss said you can "find all the villainy in the world in your own heart," and said he tells students to focus on the Hitler inside you when playing a bad guy. Cheney as Hitler: this is just another night on the Joy Behar Show. BEHAR: Now, you played a... continue reading
CNN devoted several segments on Tuesday and Wednesday to Delaware Republican Christine O'Donnell's apparent gaffe on the First Amendment, but barely acknowledged her opponent Chris Coons's own gaffe on the amendment. Analyst Jeff Toobin spun O'Donnell's remark as demonstrating that " she didn't seem to know " the amendment. It took conservative Dana Loesch on AC360 to bring up Coons's own gaffe. Anchor Wolf Blitzer played an edited clip of O'Donnell's questioning of Coons on the First Amendment issue during Tuesday morning's WDEL Delaware Senate candidate debate on his Situation Room program. Blitzer did not play the part where the... continue reading