MSNBC's Dylan Ratigan appeared on Morning Joe, Wednesday, to dismiss Barack Obama as a "little boy" in the eyes of Wall Street and to assert the President "just bends over," rather than stand up to the financial industry. [Audio available here .] The charged language surprised host Joe Scarborough who sputtered, "You know, I was so uncomfortable with a couple of the things you said and then the exclamation point at the end." Speaking of financial reform, Ratigan attacked, "...When the Wall Street guys got across the table from him and said 'Oh, you going to change our tax code,... continue reading
A segment that was billed as a guide to help some of Today's unemployed viewers find work, on Wednesday's show, turned into a platform for the president of the liberal National Urban League to attack those who opposed the President's plans, as he railed against those in Congress who have been filibustering extension of the unemployment benefits. Today co-anchor Matt Lauer, who hosted the segment, even prompted Morial to address how his organization was going to address the obstruction of the Democratic agenda in Congress, in the upcoming midterm elections, as he asked: "How much do you target candidates who... continue reading
Four months after ABC's World News spent a weekend defaming anti-ObamaCare Tea Party protesters as "very ugly" with " reports of racial and homophobic slurs ," citing "protesters roaming Washington, some of them increasingly emotional, yelling slurs and epithets ," Tuesday's newscast, unlike those on CBS and NBC, credentialed the NAACP 's charge that the "Tea Party movement is a threat to the pursuit of human rights, justice and equality for all." Sans any ideological label, anchor Diane Sawyer set up the full July 13 story: "The nation's oldest civil rights organization, the NAACP , has just adopted a resolution... continue reading
On Saturday's CBS Evening News, anchor Jeff Glor reported on an immigration protest in Boston: "...hundreds opposed to Arizona's controversial immigration law protested the presence of Arizona Governor Jan Brewer at a meeting there." One protestor held a sign that read: "Jan Brewer is a Bigot." Glor then turned to a report on a similar immigration law proposed in Pennsylvania. Correspondent Elaine Quijano explained how a CBS News poll showed 52% of Americans support the Arizona's immigration law and that "other states are preparing to follow Arizona's lead": "In Pennsylvania, bipartisan measures to compel construction companies to check worker's status... continue reading
Good Morning America's George Stephanopoulos on Tuesday spun a new ABC News/Washington Post poll , emphasizing problems for the Republican Party over dour news for Barack Obama. The co-host ignored a finding that likely voters want the GOP to take control of Congress by a margin of 56 to 41. He did, however, repeat the lower number of registered voters who prefer the Republicans, 51 percent. Stephanopoulos quizzed former McCain strategist Nicolle Wallace and Democrat James Carville on problems for the GOP: "[Voters] don't necessarily want Republicans...On the economy, voters, 42 to 34 still trust Democrats over Republicans on the... continue reading
On Saturday's CBS Evening News, anchor Jeff Glor decided what should be at the top of Congress's agenda as it returned from the July 4th recess: "Congress returns to Washington next week to face a big backlog of unfinished business, and topping the list is the future of unemployment benefits." In a report that followed, senior White House correspondent Bill Plante chided elected officials for going on vacation without resolving the issue: "It's been ten days since senators went home for their July 4th vacation without extending unemployment benefits ....They've now run out for more than 1.3 million people and... continue reading
Laura Ingraham was invited on Tuesday's Today show, to plug her new book The Obama Diaries , and predict how the midterm elections will go but she couldn't get out of the segment without Today co-anchor Matt Lauer suggesting Republicans are just as unpopular as the Democrats. During the segment Lauer read from a Washington Post poll that stated 6 in 10 Americans don't have faith in President Obama and 7 in 10 don't have faith in congressional Democrats but then also pointed out that 7 in 10 Americans don't have much confidence in Republicans either as he asked Ingraham:... continue reading
MSNBC's Contessa Brewer, who on Monday argued that overturning Don't Ask, Don't Tell is a "civil rights issue," will appear at a July 24 fundraiser in Kentucky to support gay rights in the state. According to a press release : "As the evening's featured guest, MSNBC's Brewer, who has several family ties to Kentucky, will speak on the need for a statewide anti-discrimination Fairness law in the Commonwealth from a national news perspective." On Monday's News Live, Brewer implored , "My big question today: Why aren't more American leaders itching for a fight on gay rights ?" She also said... continue reading
Chris Matthews, on Monday's Hardball, brought on his own personal Congressman, Maryland Democrat Chris Van Hollen, to review how his party was going to distinguish themselves from the GOP in the midterms with Matthews asking the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee head if they were focusing on all the "crazy" Republicans, or in other words "nut collecting." Matthews, after playing a clip of Barack Obama singling out Republicans Joe Barton, John Boehner and Roy Blunt, also reminded Van Hollen the President missed another "crazy" person with "B" name as he proclaimed: "If you're going out looking for nuts, it would seem... continue reading
MSNBC's Contessa Brewer on Monday appeared baffled as to why more U.S. politicians weren't 'standing up' to demand the repeal of "Don't Ask, Don't Tell," touting it as "a civil rights issue." In the span of two hours, the cable network featured a gay member of the military and a conservative to discuss the issue. It was hardly a case of hearing two sides, however. Both guests favored allowing homosexuals to serve openly. Talking to Richard Grenell , a former spokesman for Ambassador John Bolton, Brewer editorialized, " It is a civil rights issue...Is it time for our American leaders... continue reading