NBC's Andrea Mitchell this weekend named the Tea Party as her Person of the Year. Two others on the syndicated “Chris Matthews Show” disgustingly chose WikiLeaks' Julian Assange (video follows with transcript and commentary): read more
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Andrea Mitchell Names Tea Party Person of the Year
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George Will on Sunday gave a much-needed education to the entire “This Week” panel about how the Tea Party is moving the GOP in a positive direction that could alter politics in this nation for years to come. As Christiane Amanpour and her Roundtable guests – Democrat strategist Donna Brazile, National Journal’s Ron Brownstein, and Republican strategist Matthew Dowd – all fretted about the so-called Civil War brewing in the GOP, Will was once again the voice of reason. “At the beginning of the year, the question was, will the Tea Party people play nicely with others and will they obey the rules of politics? Who’s sort of not playing nicely?” asked Will. “Mr. Crist starts losing the primary to a Tea Party favorite Rubio. He suddenly discovers that he’s an independent and changes all his views overnight,” he continued. “Mrs. Murkowski loses a primary and suddenly discovers that she has a property right in her Senate seat and she’s going to run as a write-in. Senator Bennett thought of that in Utah, Senator Castle in Delaware is thinking of a write-in candidate. Who are the extremists?” (video follows with transcript and commentary): DONNA BRAZILE, DEMOCRAT STRATEGIST: But, you know, the Republicans have a great story right now to tell. Excuse my voice. I was up watching the LSU game, clearly. But the — the problem I have — and the Republicans should — should understand — is that there’s still an eternal civil war going on within the Republican Party. In Washington state, in Delaware, and Colorado, many of the mainstream Republican candidates have not endorsed the Tea Party candidates. They’ve provided enthusiasm, they’ve provided a lot of energy and organization for the Republican Party, but we don’t know yet if the Republicans can heal those wounds and provide the kind of turnout they need to beat the Democrats. MATTHEW DOWD, REPUBLICAN STRATEGIST: I think that if you gave most Democrats truth serum and they said who’s place would they rather be in, they would pick the Republicans’ place in this year’s election as opposed to their own place in this year’s election. The problem I think for this class that’s coming in for the Republicans is for Mitch McConnell, who just talked to, is his ability to herd them is going to be like herding quail, because these folks are coming to Washington and think, “I’m not going to be part of this. I’m not going to listen to the leaders. I’m going to do what the voters want me to do,” and they’re not going to be — they’re not going to be acquiescent to what the leadership wants. CHRISTIANE AMANPOUR, HOST: And that’s what I actually — I wanted to ask, because in today’s newspaper, there’s a quote by a senior Republican, you know, consultant that, after the elections, it’s going to be basically all-out war, a struggle for the heart and the soul of the Republican Party. You’re shaking your head. GEORGE WILL: They’ve been writing this story for eight months about what a problem the Tea Party is for the Republican Party. You know what the problem… (CROSSTALK) AMANPOUR: Well, Tom Ross basically told us that they lost because of that and they might lose. WILL: On balance across the country, the Tea Party is enormous help for the Republicans. At the beginning of the year, the question was, will the Tea Party people play nicely with others and will they obey the rules of politics? Who’s sort of not playing nicely? Mr. Crist starts losing the primary to a Tea Party favorite Rubio. He suddenly discovers that he’s an independent and changes all his views overnight. Mrs. Murkowski loses a primary and suddenly discovers that she has a property right in her Senate seat and she’s going to run as a write-in. Senator Bennett thought of that in Utah, Senator Castle in Delaware is thinking of a write-in candidate. Who are the extremists? (CROSSTALK) RON BROWNSTEIN, NATIONAL JOURNAL: Donna, I would say, look — I mean, I think clearly this class of Republicans do not feel they are being sent here to Washington to compromise with Barack Obama or to follow the Republican leadership. So in that sense, there’s going to be tension. And I quote Ken Buck in my story as saying so. But if you look at what they are actually going to be voting on, in all likelihood, over the next two years, there is remarkable unanimity in this class. And despite all the focus on the civil war, I think that is kind of a — what the long-range vision of what the federal government should be doing or not doing is where you will see diversity. (CROSSTALK) BROWNSTEIN: But in the near term — in the — in the near term, I think — in terms — the main thing that the Republicans, I think, are being sent here to do is to block and try to roll back whatever they can what Obama did. I think the spending thing will continue to be a challenge for them, because if you want to reduce the deficits and extend the Bush tax cuts, that does point you back toward cutting Medicare and Medicaid, which is exactly the problem they got into in ’95, and they may end up in that same cul-de-sac next year. But I actually believe there is more commonality in this class than is often assumed. And in the near term, they are going to be a very formidable and, I think, cohesive force. WILL: And look at the not-so-near term. In the next two cycles, 2012 and 2014 combined, the Democrats are defending 43 Senate seats, Republicans 22. So the Republican wave that’s now starting is just starting. Indeed. As Will accurately stated, the media have been “writing this story for eight months about what a problem the Tea Party is for the Republican Party.” The liberal press are always trying to figure out a narrative that paints the GOP in the most negative light. First we were told the Tea Party represented an inconsequential fringe of racists and homophobes that will have no impact on elections. Now that its candidates have produced shocking results across the fruited plain, and have reinvigorated conservative voters like nothing we’ve seen in many years, the movement is going to produce a Civil War within the Republican Party that will either hurt it in November or make it impossible for it to govern if its successful at the polls. This is clearly why you could see Will either shaking his head or seemingly laughing to himself as his colleagues waxed philosophically about some as yet unrealized though oft-predicted calamity associated with this movement. Less than two years after Barack Obama and the Democrat Party won a landslide victory that had the potential of being a political realignment shifting the balance of power in this country to the left for many years nay decades, the Republicans are on the precipice of shocking the world by taking back the Congress. Is it any wonder the media are doing their darnedest to figure out a way to undermine it or that Will is getting such a kick out of watching them try?
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George Will Schools This Week Panel on Tea Party Causing GOP Civil War
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For general discussion and debate. Possible talking point: Stephen Colbert disgraces the Halls of Congress! Was this a sad moment in American history, or a good way to publicize the immigration issue? How does this make Democrats look moving into the midterm elections? Any other thoughts?
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Open Thread: Colbert Disgraces Congress
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On the September 15 The View on ABC, co-host Joy Behar insisted that co-host Elisabeth Hasselbeck was wrong to assert that taxes are set to increase in January as the two sparred over the issue. Behar: “It’s not an increase, Elisabeth. It is not an increase.” She soon added, “They are not, stop saying it’s an increase because it’s not.” After Hasselbeck shot back, “Okay, we’ll talk in January,” Behar continued, “The Democrats want to eliminate the tax cuts for the rich. That’s all. Stop doing that.” Behar also exaggerated the anti-big government views of the Tea Party movement, claiming that members “don’t believe in any government at all, zero,” and mocked activists for supposedly not realizing that Medicare and Social Security are run by the federal government. Behar: “They just don’t believe in any government at all, zero. At the same time, it’s fascinating about them, at the same time that they don’t believe in any government, a lot of them are like, ‘Don’t touch my Medicare.’ Well, what do you think that is? That’s the schism within the Tea Party. Don’t touch my Social Security. Get the government out of my house, you know, come on.” Below is a transcript of the relevant portion of the Wednesday, September 15, The View on ABC: ELISABETH HASSELBECK: The Tea Party is more like a generator behind certain candidates. So they’ll get behind certain candidates and raise money for them, whereas they maybe wouldn’t get it someplace else. They’re more like a renegade group that’s kind of pushing candidates forward. They have power, obviously. We just saw this happen. I mean, but to say that she won’t win, don’t discount. We saw what happened with Scott Brown in Massachusetts. SHERRI SHEPHERD: Are they like a rebel branch from the Republican, the Tea Parties? BEHAR: Kind of. HASSELBECK: They don’t take on social issues, which is interesting. They’re purely fiscal. BEHAR: They just don’t believe in any government at all, zero. At the same time, it’s fascinating about them, at the same time that they don’t believe in any government, a lot of them are like, “Don’t touch my Medicare.” Well, what do you think that is? That’s the schism within the Tea Party. Don’t touch my Social Security. Get the government out of my house, you know, come on. HASSELBECK: It’s a different issue because what’s going to happen now with the tax increase is it is actually going to affect senior citizens more than anybody else right now. BEHAR: It’s not an increase, Elisabeth. It is not an increase. HASSELBECK: Let me tell you something, it is going to be an increase, and they are changing the terms- BEHAR: They are not, stop saying it’s an increase because it’s not. HASSELBECK: Okay, we’ll talk in January. BEHAR: The Democrats want to eliminate the tax cuts for the rich. That’s all. Stop doing that. HASSELBECK: They’re changing the lingo, so guess what? All seniors citizens are going to end up paying the price on this tax, and it’s a crime in this country. BEHAR: If you don’t make over $250,000, you’re not going to have tax raising. HASSELBECK: It’s actually going to come from the stocks they hold in dividends, so when you look at it, you’re going to see what’s going to happen. They’re changing all terminology. BEHAR: It’s a very small percentage of people. HASSELBECK: It’s not, because they own the most in dividends of anyone else in this country.
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Behar Claims Tea Partiers ‘Don’t Believe in Any Govt At All, Zero,’ Taxes Not Increasing in January
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MSNBC’s Ed Schultz on Wednesday falsely claimed the newly released Republican “Pledge to America” doesn’t address job creation. Speaking with Ohio Democrat Senator Sherrod Brown on “The Ed Show,” Schultz said, “This was just released a few moments ago from the Associated Press. They’re calling it the ‘Pledge to America.'” He continued, “The ‘Pledge to America’ is to cut taxes, cut federal spending, repeal healthcare, and ban federal funding for abortion. Nothing in there about job creation…Those are the four main points.” Actually, there are five main points in this 21-page document, the first of which is titled, “A Plan to Create Jobs, End Economic Uncertainty, and Make America More Competitive” (video of Schultz’s remarks follows with transcript, commentary, and full text of the Pledge): ED SCHULTZ, HOST: This was just released a few moments ago from the Associated Press. They’re calling it the “Pledge to America.” Back in the ’90s it was the “Contract With America.” This is the big Republican story this week. They are vowing to, and this is being circulated on Capitol Hill amongst the lawmakers and the GOP. The “Pledge to America” is to cut taxes, cut federal spending, repeal healthcare, and ban federal funding for abortion. Nothing in there about job creation, nothing in there about saving Social Security, nothing in there about public education. Those are the four main points in the “Pledge to America.” As you can see, Schultz claimed his source for this was the Associated Press. For the record, the first piece the AP released concerning the Pledge was published at 4:58 PM EDT, a full hour before Schultz went on the air. It was a brief piece by Julie Hirschfeld Davis with only four paragraphs. Here are paragraphs one and three: House Republicans are vowing to cut taxes and federal spending, repeal the health care law and ban federal funding of abortion. It’s all part of a new campaign manifesto designed to propel them to victory in midterm elections Nov. 2. It emphasizes job creation and spending control, as well as changing the way Congress does business. As you can see, Schultz got his “four main points” from the first sentence in the first paragraph. However, once again proving how many Americans never get beyond the first paragraph, the third paragraph made it quite clear that the “Pledge” emphasizes job creation. Got that, Ed? Can’t you or anyone on your staff read beyond the first paragraph of a four paragraph article? Or was there not enough time to do that in the 62 minutes before you want on the air? Now, if Schultz’s crack staff had actually done just a little bit of homework simply using any search engine on the Internet, they could have found – as I did – that at 5:38 PM EDT, fully 22 minutes before he went on the air, CBSNews.com published the entire text of the Pledge. Readers should be reminded that MSNBC considers itself to be a cable news network, and, therefore, should have some people available to actually uncover the facts rather than allow their hosts to completely misrepresent a breaking story. This is especially important as the following PDF clearly shows “A Plan to Create Jobs, End Economic Uncertainty, and Make America More Competitive” is prominently addressed as the very first agenda item in the Foreword to the Pledge on page four, and then is detailed in pages six through nine: GOP Pledge to America That’s some nice work there, Ed. Your employers at MSNBC, NBC, and parent General Electric must be so proud of you and your staff.
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Ed Schultz Falsely Claims GOP ‘Pledge To America’ Doesn’t Address Jobs
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On Wednesday’s Situation Room, CNN’s Jack Cafferty revisited his anti-Sarah Palin obsession and somewhat predictably, grouped U.S. Senate candidate Christine O’Donnell with the former Alaska governor, stating it ” feels like Sarah Palin all over again ….O’Donnell has some big question marks on her resume, just like…Palin.” Most of the viewer e-mails Cafferty read bashed the two politicians. The commentator devoted his 5 pm Eastern hour commentary to the two Republican women. After his “feels like Sarah Palin all over again” line, Cafferty recounted O’Donnell’s emergence on the national political scene, and wasted little time in outlining her negative similarities to Palin: “Suddenly, everybody can’t seem to get enough of her. This is despite the fact that O’Donnell has some big question marks on her resume, just like Sarah Palin. She’s come under fire for allegedly misusing campaign funds for personal expenses-just like Sarah Palin .” The CNN personality briefly touched on the Delaware Republican’s eleven-year-old “dabbled in witchcraft” remarks and her traditional stance on sexuality before returning to his attack: CAFFERTY: O’Donnell has also been in the spotlight for saying that years ago, she ‘dabbled in witchcraft,’ and had one of her first dates with a witch on a satanic altar- she really said that. And she’s used her views on abstinence to rule out masturbation. After her last-minute cancellation of two Sunday show appearances this past weekend, O’Donnell suddenly announced that Sarah Palin has advised her now not to do any more national media interviews, and instead, focus just on local media. Based on Sarah Palin’s interviews with Katie Couric, that’s probably not bad advice. Those were disastrous, remember? I wonder if it means that O’Donnell is as poorly informed on the issues as Sarah Palin was . It all sounds so very familiar, doesn’t it? Palin’s resume [is] littered with goofy comments like saying that she could see Russia from Alaska, or not being able to name a single newspaper that she read on a daily basis. Sarah Palin quit as governor of Alaska midway through her first term. She often refuses to talk about a lot of the issues with the media, unless, of course, it’s with the F-word network- they pay her . But none of that seems to matter. Sarah Palin has become this huge celebrity who is seriously being talked about as a possible presidential contender- which is just what we need. Remember the McCain campaign? Cafferty concluded the segment with his “Question of the Hour” on the two women: “So here’s the question: why do people like Sarah Palin and Christine O’Donnell attract so much attention? Go to CNN.com/CaffertyFile, and please enlighten me, because I don’t have a clue .” Unsurprisingly, only two of the viewer replies which he read just before the top of the 6 pm Eastern hour could be characterized as leaning neutral, with the rest going in full liberal rage mode against the politicians. The CNN personality, along with anchor Wolf Blitzer, also made light of O’Donnell’s witchcraft remarks after he concluded reading the replies. CAFFERTY: Carlos in Pasadena [California]: ‘The popularity of the Tea Party lies with the media because the media loves the anomaly, the weird, the extreme, and the immediate . This, coupled with the quick solution, the sound bite, and an audience that has a brief attention span, makes the Palins et al popular.’ Andy says, ‘ Palin and O’Donnell represent the ideal Stepford housewives. The older conservative white men can fantasize about them, and the older white women can emulate them. It’s scary to think that candidates no longer have to talk about the issues, and can hide behind slideshow bullet points. Once again, beauty reigns in the white man’s world and intelligence is a negative .’ Professor writes, ‘I don’t think the majority of Americans like either one of them, Jack. We simply like watching train wrecks occur. These two whackos are foolish people who think the rest of us are stupid enough to fall for rhetoric and populism .’ Nick writes, ‘It’s because their rhetoric is in the right place. The country is still going through a rough time, economically, and while they have shown time and time again that they do not have the qualifications to fix our problems, much less debate them , they still provide an accurate mouthpiece to vent frustration and anger among Americans. They’re using the current situation for their own political and personal gain.’ Jean writes, ‘Three words: pretty white women- looks and no brains. Who was more famous than Marilyn Monroe? And, they don’t have to be blond to be ditsy .’ Tom in Texas writes, ‘Harken back to some of Palin’s old video, plus Ms. O’Donnell’s recent admissions. You’ve just gotta know, as the song goes, it’s witchcraft.’ If you want to read more on this- got a lot of e-mail- go to my blog, CNN.com/CaffertyFile. WOLF BLITZER: Jack- CAFFERTY: Have you ever been on a date at a Satanic altar? BLITZER: Missed that one. (unintelligible) CAFFERTY: Missed that- me too. (unintelligible) My life has got some voids in it. That’s one . BLITZER: That’s certainly one I have (unintelligible) (both Blitzer and Cafferty laugh) Jack, thanks very much. The CNN commentator has targeted Sarah Palin since the autumn of 2008, devoting 35% of his Cafferty Files segments over a month period to bashing the former governor. Since then, Cafferty has derided Palin as “lame” and referred to her as ” Caribou Barbie .” Just over two months ago, he hypothesized that the Republican’s popularity was a good omen for Democrats: “”If anything could overcome the increasingly sour view of the Obama presidency, it might be this. Why, the Democrats should be positively euphoric .”
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Jack Cafferty Lumps in Christine O’Donnell in New Attack on Palin
In his 7-question September 22 Q&A with Markos Moulitsas , Time magazine’s Ishaan Tharoor timidly challenged the left-wing blogger on his extremist rhetoric about how conservative Americans, particularly religious ones, are the “American Taliban.” Moulitsas was interviewed as part of his publicity tour for his new book, “American Taliban: How War, Sex, Sin and Power Bind Jihadists and the Radical Right” which “takes aim at what Moulitsas thinks is animating this right-wing revival,” Tharoor noted. “You refer to a whole swath of U.S. conservatives as American Taliban. Is that really helpful?” Tharoor began meekly. Moulitsas, of course, cranked it up to eleven and let loose with a boilerplate screed about how evil and subversive American conservatives are: Since 9/11, I’ve been hearing accusations over and over again that liberals like me want the terrorists to win. I have no love for fundamentalist Muslims — I think they’re basically hard-right Christians. There’s a shared intolerance. Liberals like me don’t want the terrorists to win just like we don’t want the American Taliban to win. I don’t think there’s any reason to say it nicer. It’s a two-word way to bring home just how dangerous these people are. In response, Tharoor then asked: But we don’t see these Americans blowing up statues of the Buddha or riding around in pickup trucks with AK-47s. More importantly, you don’t see Americans stoning adulterers or gays, but I see what Tharoor is getting at. Nonetheless, Moulitsas doubled down on his harsh rhetoric: The fact is that their movement is predicated on the notion that violence is a viable alternative. Abortion doctors have been killed; there’s an ammunition shortage across the country because some of these people are hoarding stores for the coming apocalypse. Sharron Angle [a Republican running for the Senate in Nevada] has warned that if voters don’t elect the right candidates, they may have to resort to “Second Amendment remedies.” The American Taliban may be more constrained by American society and laws than their Middle Eastern counterparts, but that’s not a function of tactics, more just the society they live in. Their goals are the same. This time Moulitsas gave a concrete example, fair enough, but one loopy statement by one candidate is hardly an accurate picture of the entire conservative movement. What’s more, Moulitsas unfairly associated all pro-lifers with the tiny violent fringe who are not representative of the peaceful pro-life movement. All the same, Tharoor failed to suggest that Moulitsas might be more interested in writing a best-selling leftist screed than giving an accurate critique of his political opponents. Indeed, for the rest of the interview, Tharoor treated Moulitsas as a qualified expert to write on the conservative movement, including how Ronald Reagan would allegedly be treated as an apostate from conservatism were he alive and running for office today. Complained Moulitsas: I also think it’s laughable that they keep on talking about Ronald Reagan as the patron saint of modern conservatism. I have sections of the book where I discuss how he would now be drummed out of the Republican Party because he was pro-amnesty, he met with our enemies, he wasn’t rabidly anti-gay, he raised taxes. He was a downright left-wing radical compared to the current bunch. Of course, various other lefty bloggers have been making similar complaints, namely Cenk Uygur, a recurring guest host on left-leaning cable news network MSNBC. But Tharoor failed to raise any skeptical notes about these talking points. Photo credit: Alex Wong of Getty Images via Time.com website.
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Time Interviewer Timidly Questions Daily Kos Founder’s Extremist Rhetoric About Conservatives
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ABC, CBS and NBC all ran full stories Monday night on how an old video clip showed Delaware Republican Senate candidate Christine O’Donnell talking about how, as a high-schooler, she had “dabbled into witchcraft.” CBS, however, used O’Donnell to pivot to marveling at how other Tea Party-affiliated Senate candidates remain viable despite what CBS considers exotic views. “Christine O’Donnell’s witchcraft comments may have spooked some Republican leaders,” Nancy Cordes related on the CBS Evening News, “but her fellow Tea Party Senate candidates are living prove that unusual assertions are not necessarily campaign killers.” Cordes elaborated with some contestable summaries of positions expressed: Take Kentucky’s Rand Paul who questioned the historic civil rights act, but is still tied with the Democrat in a recent poll. Nevada’s Sharron Angle is neck and neck with Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, even after she advocated an armed insurrection against the government. And Utah attorney Mike Lee is crushing his Democratic rival even though Lee favors dismantling Social Security and eliminating unemployment benefits. Priorities he shares with Alaska’s Joe Miller. Katie Couric set up the story: “Republicans were counting on picking up a Democratic Senate seat in Delaware. That is until Tea Party favorite Christine O’Donnell won the GOP nomination. Will her past statements about, among other things, witchcraft, come back to haunt her?” On ABC’s World News, Jonathan Karl finally delivered a broadcast network mention of reasoning that should be “haunting” O’Donnell’s Democratic opponent: And O’Donnell isn’t the only one haunted by past statements. Politico obtained this article, “The Making of a Bearded Marxist,” where the Democratic candidate, Chris Coons, wrote in his college paper that “my own favorite beliefs in the miracles of free enterprise and the boundless opportunities to be had in America might be largely untrue.” Not surprisingly, Coons says he won’t make an issue out of old comments. Unsaid: Politico “obtained this article,” from the Amherst College student newspaper, back in May. Politico’s May 3 headline: “ Coons took ‘bearded Marxist’ turn .” It took four months for someone at a network to care. (An oddity: Every network — cable and broadcast — but CBS managed to obtain a good quality version of the 1999 Politically Incorrect clip played by Bill Maher on his HBO show on Friday night, even if just from a recording of the HBO program which has been re-run several times by the pay-cable channel. CBS, in contrast, played a low quality clip, with awful audio, lifted from a Web video on the left-wing Think Progress site.) Friday night : “CBS Dishonestly Touts ‘Non-Partisan Watchdog’ Group’s Quest for a ‘Criminal Investigation’ of Christine O’Donnell” The piece on the Monday, September 20 CBS Evening News: KATIE COURIC: Republicans were counting on picking up a Democratic Senate seat in Delaware. That is until Tea Party favorite Christine O’Donnell won the GOP nomination. Will her past statements about, among other things, witchcraft, come back to haunt her? Congressional correspondent Nancy Cordes reads the tea leaves. CHRISTINE O’DONNELL, ON POLITICALLY INCORRECT IN 1999: Because I dabbled into witchcraft, I hung around people who were doing these things. NANCY CORDES: Christine O’Donnell’s witchcraft comments may have spooked some Republican leaders. KARL ROVE: She’s got to deal with it and explain it. CORDES: But her fellow Tea Party Senate candidates are living prove that unusual assertions are not necessarily campaign killers. RAND PAUL: Watch out, here we come. CORDES: Take Kentucky’s Rand Paul who questioned the historic civil rights act, but is still tied with the Democrat in a recent poll. Nevada’s Sharron Angle is neck and neck with Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, even after she advocated an armed insurrection against the government. LAURA MYERS, LAS VEGAS REVIEW-JOURNAL: Senator Reid still is not very popular in Nevada because a lot of people blame the bad economy on him. CORDES: And Utah attorney Mike Lee is crushing his Democratic rival even though Lee favors dismantling Social Security and eliminating unemployment benefits. Priorities he shares with Alaska’s Joe Miller. LARRY SABATO, UNIVERSITY OF VIRGINIA: Here’s the difference: Delaware is a Democratic state and those other Tea Party states are either competitive purple or Republican red. CORDES: Back in Delaware, supporters of Christine O’Donnell- O’DONNELL ON POLITICALLY INCORRECT: One of my favorite first dates was with a witch on a satanic altar and I didn’t know it. CORDES: -say they’re not fazed by the latest skeleton in her closet. MAN: I’m going to vote for people on what they’re running on, not what they did 20 years ago because I’d never get elected myself if that happened. CORDES: O’Donnell was a frequent guest on comedian Bill Maher’s program back in the 1990s and he plans to release more colorful clips like that one. For now, she’s laughing off the threat saying, “Hey, Bill wanted ratings, I gave them to him.” Katie?
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CBS Befuddled by How Tea Party Candidates Have Survived Despite Their ‘Unusual Assertions’
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Tagged Cbs, christine, nancy cordes, News, party-senate, politico, politics, senate-majority, social, tea parties
I didn’t know about what follows when I posted last night (at NewsBusters ; at BizzyBlog ) on Atlantic politics editor and CBS Campaign 2010 “Chief Political Consultant” Marc Ambinder’s September 15 prediction that “The media is going to help the Democratic Party’s national messaging.” Though drop-dead obvious, I still found it interesting that someone in Ambinder’s position would admit it. It turns out that only two days after Ambinder put forth his prediction, he proactively made it come true. Despite the inquisitive title of his September 17 post (“Will the White House Play the Palin Card?”), Ambinder clearly believes that going after Sarah Palin should be part of the White House’s and Democrats’ strategy during the next seven weeks. It’s enough to make you wonder if he has already written his CBS election post-mortems. Behold Ambinder’s cluelessness: … when Tea Partiers are in “elect someone like Christine O’Donnell mode,” Democrats sense an opportunity. Simply put, the crazier the Tea Party seems, the more Democrats can link the Republican agenda to its source of energy, which in turn fires up rank-and-file Democrats. There is, in fact … someone whose very name provokes disgust among Democrats, someone whose name identification is 100 percent and whose ubiquity is extremely useful. That person is Sarah Palin. All that’s required is for the President to utter her name a couple of times. The Fox-Rush-Redstate nexus would explode. Palin would bask in the attention and respond. And respond. And respond. … Elevate Sarah Palin? How much higher can she go? Everyone knows her. Some of Obama’s advisers have argued in the past that the attention paid to Palin by Americans in the last stages of the 2008 campaign is one reason why Obama was able to win so cleanly. Palin and the Tea Party movement are not the same thing. The movement, evolving out of movement conservatism, is principally about government and the economy. Palin revels in the culture wars. But when that part of the Tea Party that does care about social issues becomes the story, linking the two in the public’s mind is easier. Anyone who thinks that Palin hurt John McCain’s campaign wasn’t watching the same election as everyone else. McCain was suffering from intense conservative disinterest until he picked Palin. When he did, she energized the sensible, conservative base of the party as no one ever has. The fact that McCain’s people then seemingly did all they could to water her down in the ensuing weeks is primarily McCain’s fault, not hers. Despite that, residual affection for Palin is what prevented McCain’s 7-point loss from going into double digits, and, for better or worse, arguably salvaged his ability to continue on as a U.S. Senator. Despite well over a year of exposure to it, Ambinder betrays a total misunderstanding of the Tea Party movement. Fiscal issues are currently very important, but if he thinks there’s a big divide within the movement on social issues, he’s got another thing coming. The overriding issue is, to steal from Mark Levin, liberty versus tyranny. There is probably no better example of how all of the supposedly divide-creating issues (fiscal, social, constitutional) tie together under the liberty vs. tyranny banner than Palin’s completely accurate, totally courageous assertion that statist health care will inexorably lead to “death panels” — and that they are designed into legislation this Congress has already passed and this President has already signed. So let me get this straight: During the next seven weeks, Marc Ambinder will be CBS’s “Chief Political Consultant” on Campaign 2010. He’s part of a team that will, in the network’s own words , provide “reports and political analysis (that) will be prominently featured across all CBS News broadcasts and platforms on the run-up to election night 2010 on Nov. 2.” At the same time, Ambinder has not only clearly chosen sides, but is actively providing “messaging” advice to which he hopes Team Obama and the Democrats pay heed. Assuming he continues to do this, Ambinder’s contributions to CBS’s “reports and political analysis” will then necessarily involve evaluating first, whether the home team followed his advice, and second, whether following or not following his advice was successful. Of course, you’ll never hear Ambinder tell his audience that “This is (or isnt’) what I suggested.” No-no-no. CBS will present its “Chief Political Consultant” as an impartial, disinterested observer. What horse manure. And they wonder why their ratings continue to drop. Cross-posted at BizzyBlog.com .
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Marc Ambinder Fulfills Own Prediction, Provides Messaging Assistance to Dems: ‘Go After Palin!’
Posted in Hollywood, Hot Stuff, News
Tagged 2010 congressional, attention, Cbs, chris-matthews, country, during-the-next, florida, House, president, Sarah Palin, tea parties
It’s one thing to acknowledge that most voters in a liberal-leaning state like Delaware may be reluctant to vote for a solid conservative, but, as he appeared on Sunday’s Today show on NBC, Meet the Press host David Gregory claimed that Delaware GOP Senate nominee Christine O’Donnell’s “extremist statements and some views” would not only be a “real problem” in Delaware, but “it would be the case almost anywhere.” And, rather than noting the liberal lean of Delaware, which has not voted Republican in a presidential election since 1988, Gregory described the state as “more moderate.” Gregory: “Christine O’Donnell also represents a real problem for the Republican party. I mean, her track record of statements, extremist statements and some views on issues are going to be a real problem – not just in a state like Delaware that’s more moderate, but it would be the case almost anywhere.” And, as Gregory described how President Obama might try to portray Republicans as extreme, the NBC host seemed to channel MSNBC’s Chris Matthews as he suggested that Obama might claim that “warlord-ism” is “going on within the party, extremism within the party.” After noting that the Tea Party movement indicates Republicans are energized to vote in November, Gregory continued: Beyond that, you’ll see the President and his allies saying, “Look, this is a Republican party going through a revolution. They don’t know which side is up. There’s a kind of warlord-ism going on within the party, extremism within the party. This is not a party that you want to have leading the country.” That will be the argument that you hear more and more, and that you’re already hearing the President make. Below is a transcript of the relevant portion of the Sunday, September Today show on NBC: LESTER HOLT: Another woman to watch on the Republican side, virtual underdog Christine O’Donnell, pulled off the win in Delaware this past week. Same in New Hampshire, Tea Party candidate. What do we make of all this? And does it propel this Tea Party belief to a new level? DAVID GREGORY: I think it does because this was seen as even more unlikely than some of the other Tea Party triumphs around the country. Christine O’Donnell also represents a real problem for the Republican party. I mean, her track record of statements, extremist statements and some views on issues are going to be a real problem – not just in a state like Delaware that’s more moderate, but it would be the case almost anywhere. That’s why you’ve seen the likes of Karl Rove come out and say that this is a problem for the party. Even if he’s behind her or he thinks she can rehabilitate herself, the reality is that she makes it so much more difficult for Republicans to make a pick up there in that Senate race in Delaware. And that’s the larger issue, which is, is the Tea Party moving the party in a direction of narrow gains but more widespread losses when it comes to general elections? HOLT: And how do Democrats (INAUDIBLE)? How does the President and Democrats look at this, maybe borrow something with a playbook? What’s the thinking? GREGORY: Look, on the one hand, it hurts Democrats in the fall because there’s so much energy and enthusiasm on the Republican side. Conservatives are going to come out to vote. Democrats, liberals, that base of support that voted for Obama in ’08 doesn’t necessarily come out in those kinds of numbers for the midterm race. Beyond that, you’ll see the President and his allies saying, “Look, this is a Republican party going through a revolution. They don’t know which side is up. There’s a kind of warlord-ism going on within the party, extremism within the party. This is not a party that you want to have leading the country.” That will be the argument that you hear more and more, and that you’re already hearing the President make.
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NBC’s Gregory: Obama to Claim ‘Warlord-ism’ in GOP, O’Donnell’s ‘Extremist’ Views Would Be a ‘Real Problem’ ‘Almost Anywhere’
Posted in Hollywood, Hot Stuff, News
Tagged 2010 congressional, allies, democrats, gregory, News, president, real-problem, tea parties, today
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