On Monday's Countdown show, MSNBC host Keith Olbermann delivered a "Special Comment" in which he invoked Nazi Germany and suggested that blocking construction of a mosque near Ground Zero could be the first of a "thousand steps" toward another holocaust. He also hinted at a moral equivalence between the Islamic Empire's conquests and America's expansion into the lands of Native Americans as he attempted to discredit former House Speaker Newt Gingrich's concerns about the choice of "Cordoba House" as the original name planned for the mosque as being intentionally symbolic of a Muslim victory at Ground Zero. After starting his... continue reading
NBC's Matt Lauer, invited on former House Majority Leader Dick Armey and Freedom Works' Matt Kibbe to discuss the Ground Zero mosque controversy and claimed that since the group behind the mosque existed in Manhattan before the World Trade Center attack, questioned: "So because of 9/11, do they have to move further away? Do they have to go elsewhere?" Armey, who was on with Kibbe to promote their new book Give Us Liberty: A Tea Party Manifesto, responded to the Today show co-anchor "that because you have the right to do something doesn't make it the right thing to do"... continue reading
In a discussion of the midterm elections on Sunday's Face the Nation, CBS host Bob Schieffer asked members of his political panel a total of seven questions, six of which highlighted Republican difficulties, only one of which actually raised the problems for the Democrats in November. Instead of acknowledging the greater political challenges facing Democrats, Schieffer began by acting as if both parties were equally in trouble: "You have Democrats on the one hand saddled with a very bad economy, high unemployment.... Republicans, on the other hand, have - find themselves suddenly with some very, well, how would I say... continue reading
Dan Harris, who last year gave credence, by including their attacks in his stories, to those who wished to discredit the Tea Party as "actually largely orchestrated by people fronting for corporate interests" and smeared participants as "driven, in part, by a refusal to accept a black President," on Monday night read from the same playbook in maligning the motivations of those opposed to building a mosque near Ground Zero. Harris began his World News story with "how this issue is creeping into campaigns all over the country" and "today conservatives were turning up the volume against the planned Muslim... continue reading
On Monday's Morning Joe, MSNBC's Joe Scarborough and Mika Brzezinski went out of their way to defend President Obama's Friday statement defending the planned mosque near Ground Zero in New York City. Brzezinski cooed that the President " did the right thing by saying what he said ." Scarborough labeled the remark "non-controversial," and later stated the controversy over the mosque was a " wedge issue " [audio clip available here ]. As NewsBusters' Noel Shepard reported , the former Florida congressman turned MSNBC anchor blasted Newt Gingrich for his barrage against the President for his defense of the mosque... continue reading
MSNBC's Dylan Ratigan on Monday dismissed the controversy over the Ground Zero mosque as a "political smokescreen." The liberal anchor derided opponents of the planned construction who live in other states, sneering that there are " people in Kansas, California, Alaska, saying 'Oh my God. The sky is falling. The Muslims are going to kill us! It's all going to end!'" He compared, "But, the people in Tribeca and Soho who are just, kind of, getting a cup of coffee." Earlier in the segment, Ratigan wondered, "But is all this back and forth just a political smoke screen? Polls show... continue reading
Add USA Today to the list of mainstream media outlets denouncing opponents of the plan to build a mosque near Ground Zero. In a Monday editorial, " New York mosque fight stirs all the wrong passions ," the "nation's newspaper" declared: "The argument over building a mosque and Islamic center near Ground Zero is mostly a sorry exercise in political exploitation" and berated that it's "created a convenient rallying point for those who instead want to foment hatred." The Gannett-paper's bottom line, build it: Perhaps those seeking to build the New York mosque will defuse the situation by seeking a... continue reading
Late in the 7:00AM ET hour of Monday's CBS Early Show, correspondent Michelle Miller reported on the "war of words" between actress Jennifer Aniston and Fox News host Bill O'Reilly over women having children without a man. Miller remarked that Aniston had "made a seemingly simple comment supporting the concept," while the "conservative" O'Reilly "slammed the actress" for doing so. The report included sound bites of O'Reilly: "That's destructive to our society....She's throwing a message out to 12-year-olds and 13-year-olds, okay, that 'hey, you don't need the guy. You don't need the dad." Miller followed up by noting: "It's not... continue reading
Good Morning America's Dan Harris on Monday highlighted the worry that the proposed Ground Zero mosque could bring a "rising tide of Islamophobia in the country, with increasingly venomous fights over proposed new mosques in places like California, Wisconsin and Tennessee." [MP3 audio here .] He also repeated the argument of the mosque's proponents, saying, " Defenders point out that also close to Ground Zero are two strip clubs, an adult/lingerie store and an off-track betting parlor. " A follow-up segment with co-host George Stephanopoulos provided a more balanced look. Stephanopoulos talked to Democrat Keith Ellison and Republican Peter King,... continue reading
Appearing on Monday's CBS Early Show to discuss President Obama showing support for a controversial mosque being built near Ground Zero, Face the Nation host Bob Schieffer agreed with the President's sentiment but lamented the political fallout: "The President said and made the right intellectual argument, but I'm not sure that it was great politics for him to say it at this particular time." Schieffer began by outlining White House talking points on the issue to substitute co-host Erica Hill: "The story they tell is the President thought this Ramadan dinner - these were dinners that were started after 9/11... continue reading