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GOP Strategist Schools Ed Schultz and Former Air America Host

Posted on September 13, 2010 by Benny Hollywood| Leave a comment

Republican strategist Ron Christie on Monday demonstrated why Keith Olbermann is smart to not have conservatives on his program, for most MSNBC hosts are just not up to the challenge. Appearing on the “Ed Show” to address some comments Newt Gingrich recently made about President Obama, Christie refuted former Air America host Jack Rice’s contention that Gingrich was being racist. “I disagree with what he had to say this past weekend, but to suggest that the former Speaker of the House is trying to say, ‘Oh the President of the United States is black and and I’m white’ I think is so far out of bounds and so untrue,” scolded Christie. “This has to stop.”  Minutes later, when the host asked his Republican guest what the “con” was that Gingrich accused Obama of perpetrating on the American people, Christie hit the ball so far out of the park that by the end of the segment, his liberal antagonists were left laughing in astonishment (video follows with transcript and commentary):   JACK RICE, FORMER AIR AMERICA HOST: You don`t have to be a racist and disagree with this president, but when you start bringing up the question of him being born in Mombassa, Kenya, again and again and again, when all of the facts are clear, it seems to me, there`s only one reason that you would do that, it`s synonymous with racism, it just is. RON CHRISTIE, REPUBLICAN STRATEGIST: I totally disagree with you. Look, I`ve known Speaker Gingrich for almost 20 years now. I know him to be a man of character and principle. I disagreed with what he say this past weekend, but to suggest that the former Speaker of the House is trying to say, oh the President of the United States is black and I’m white, I think is so far out of bounds and so untrue. This has to stop. You could disagree with the man on policy. (CROSSTALK) ED SCHULTZ, HOST: I`m curious. CHRISTIE: But has to stop. SCHULTZ: Gentlemen, I`m curious, Newt Gingrich calls President Obama a conman in an interview with “The National Review.” He says, “This is a person who is fundamentally out of touch with how the world works, who happened to have played a wonderful con, as a result, which he is now president.” What con? What are we talking about — what`s he talking about here, Ron? CHRISTIE: Well, the President of the United States said that he was going to change the tone of Washington and he was going to bring civility back. We’re at the most polarized I think we`ve been in the country. The President said that his stimulus package. SCHULTZ: That`s his fault? That`s President Obama`s fault. CHRISTIE: Yes, actually, I do think that it`s President Obama`s fault. SCHULTZ: Is that before or after the health care meeting? Come on now, Ron, you`re being a little tough on the president. He has reached out time and time again. CHRISTIE: Let me answer your question, Ed. SCHULTZ: All right, all right. CHRISTIE: The fact of the matter is a President of the United States can change the tone, the way that leaders on both sides of the aisle deal with civic disagreements. I think if you look at President Bush and what we did with No Child Left Behind, he brought Ted Kennedy, a very liberal former senator. He brought George Miller, a former liberal congressman. (CROSSTALK) SCHULTZ: I got what you`re saying. So, how should President Obama have responded to Senator DeMint`s comment over a year ago that if this is his waterloo, if we could break him? How was the president supposed to — he should have cut off all of the olive branches right there and he didn`t, you know. CHRISTIE: I would have ignored it. SCHULTZ: You would have ignored it but it was said on the right, Ron. It was said on the right, no doubt about it. CHRISTIE: So what, Ed? So, what? SCHULTZ: Are you talking about a dialogue in Washington? I want to know, where is the con? Where was the con? What was the big con that was committed by President Obama?  And you`re saying. CHRISTIE: The big con was perpetuated — Jack, let me say one thing. RICE: Yes. CHRISTIE: The big con that was perpetuated was this President and his economic team, unemployment when he came on office was 6.7 percent. He said, if he spent nearly a trillion dollars, he`ll keep it beneath eight percent, now it`s at 9.6 percent. That is a con, that`s disingenuous. SCHULTZ: That`s not a con. That`s a mis-projection. And the Bush people did it all of the time and you know it. Jack, you got final comment. RICE: Yes, you`re absolutely right. At the end of the day, you turned around and blame President Obama for this. Was it his fault too that people were marching up and down in Washington with pictures of President Obama, with mustaches? That was his problem too, that was his fault? CHRISTIE: They did it to Bush. RICE: Yes, he is the one who changed all this. CHRISTIE: Well, all I have to say is both sides need to cut it out. He`s an American citizen. Let`s finally get to work for the American people. That`s what we elected these people to do. SCHULTZ: All right. Let`s talk about the Pelosi ad. Here it is, this is her opponent putting up an ad claiming that she`s a wicked witch. Here it is. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) ANNOUNCER: I wish there was a political party they could vote for with a. UNIDENTIFIED MAN: More courage. UNIDENTIFIED GIRL: I don`t care about political parties. I just want a home that isn`t blown away by debt. UNIDENTIFIED WOMAN: Hello, my pretty. I will say you from those evil republicans. But first, pay $18,000 for my downtown office and go into massive debt. The Wall Street bailouts and here are my monkeys to make you pay for it all. UNIDENTIFIED MAN: Step back, everyone. UNIDENTIFIED WOMAN: Oh, I`m melting. UNIDENTIFIED GIRL: Thank you for saving us, who are you? UNIDENTIFIED MAN: I`m John Dennis, I`m running for Congress. (END VIDEO CLIP) SCHULTZ: Jack Rice, your thoughts on that. RICE: Thank you for saving us. Yes that`s right, it was President Obama`s fault that he didn`t change the tone in Washington. Yes, this is reminiscent of what we have seen in the past. Again, this is that standard personality attack, a character attack that we`ve seen, rather than saying OK, let`s dig down to the facts. Now if that`s what we`re talking about, notice that this ad does none of that. Instead, it goes back to the things we heard before and I guess they`re pulling them out again because the midterms are here and that`s what they do. SCHULTZ: Ron is that ad demeaning to women? CHRISTIE: Oh, I don`t think that ad is demeaning to women. I just think it`s kind of dumb. I mean, it`s funny but I think that you should be campaigning for what you are for rather for what you`re against. You should be laying out a positive vision. SCHULTZ: Wait a second. That`s what the republicans have been doing for the last three years is basically saying no. CHRISTIE: Give me a break. I`m so tired of all the effigies that President Bush that were burned. That we never heard about anything from the left. They did it to Dick Cheney, they did it to Dr. Condoleezza Rice. I`m saying, the president of the United States needs to lead by example. His going around in Ohio and saying, people threat him like a dog. That`s not presidential. People want to hear the president talk in very confident tones and he sounds like a very thin-skinned individual. SCHULTZ: Ron, you`re amazing, sir. CHRISTIE: I`m sorry. He is. (LAUGHTER) SCHULTZ: You definitely got it down, Ron. I`ll give you credit.   Marvelously played, Mr. Christie. In fairness to Schultz, unlike the cowardly Olbermann, he does bring on conservative guests. Christie is a frequent contributor to the “Ed Show,” and is normally an oasis in the middle of a liberal desert.  Maybe if all the MSNBC hosts were required to have at least one conservative guest on each evening, the network’s ratings would improve. On the other hand, as Christie demonstrated, all it takes is one intelligent, right-thinking person on the set to expose the fallacies being conveyed by most of the anchors on this pathetic network. 

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GOP Strategist Schools Ed Schultz and Former Air America Host

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Protesters at 9/12 Rally March With MRC Signs Declaring ‘Don’t Believe the Liberal Media!’

Posted on September 13, 2010 by Benny Hollywood| Leave a comment

Thousands of protesters descended on Washington, Sunday, for the 9/12 rally and many rallied with MRC signs proclaiming, “Don’t believe the liberal media!” The signs could be seen in the background of cable coverage, including a live report from CNN. (See picture at right.) Be sure and tune in to a major announcement from Brent Bozell at 7pm on September 15, 2010. For more on that and the MRC’s 2010 Tell the Truth campaign, click here . To see conservative journalist Andrew Breitbart and others sporting the MRC’s signs, see a selection of pictures below the jump. Breitbart shows his support:

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George Stephanopoulos Derides John Boehner’s ‘Deep Tan,’ Wonders If He Will ‘Overcome’ It

Posted on September 8, 2010 by Benny Hollywood| Leave a comment

Good Morning America’s George Stephanopoulos on Wednesday quizzed House Minority Leader John Boehner about his tan, dismissing, “…I have to note that if you do win and you do become Speaker, you will probably have the deepest tan of any Speaker in American history.” He also wondered if this was something the Republican would have to “overcome.” The former Democratic operative turned journalist cited PPP , a Democratic polling firm, that queried voters about Boehner’s tan: “And there’s actually been a poll out in your state of Ohio, saying 30 percent of the voters think you spend too much time on your tan. And 27 percent don’t like it. Is this something you have to overcome?” [MP3 audio here .] However, when World News’ Claire Shipman interviewed Nancy Pelosi on October 26, 2006 , just prior to the Democratic take over of the House, the reporter mused, “Do you let yourself think, for example, maybe before you go to sleep at night, ‘Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi?” Stephanopoulos on Wednesday asked the same question, but minus the flowery language: “Mr. Leader, how confident are you that you’re going to be Speaker of the House next year?” The host also pressed Boehner to condemn Terry Jones, a pastor in Florida who will be burning Korans on 9/11: “What is your message to Pastor Jones?” Boehner responded by asserting that just because someone can do something, doesn’t mean they should. That, apparently, wasn’t enough for Stephanopoulos. He challenged, “So, you’re telling him not to do it? Sir? Are you telling him not to do it?” Yet, on the August 4 GMA , Stephanopoulos declared to conservative Laura Ingraham, “This is a country founded on the notion of religious freedom. What better way to say they [the terrorists] haven’t won?” A transcript of the September 8 segment, which aired at 7:11am EDT, follows: 7:11 GEORGE STEPHANOPOULOS: As we said, the President will deliver what he hopes will be a tide-turning speech on the economy in Cleveland. And he is taking direct aim again at our next guest, top House Republican John Boehner. BARACK OBAMA: And the Republican who thinks he’s going to take over as Speaker- [Audience boos.] I’m just saying, that’s his opinion. He’s entitled to his opinion. But, but when he was asked about this, he dismissed those jobs, as government jobs that weren’t worth saving. STEPHANOPOULOS: And House Republican leader John Boehner, joins us now. Thank you, sir, for coming in this morning. You seem to be the President’s new punching bag. HOUSE MINORITY LEADER JOHN BOEHNER: Well, George, I think it just shows how out of touch the White House is. You know, the American people are asking the question, where are the jobs? And yet, here’s the White House worrying about what I’ve got to say instead of working together to get our economy going again and to get jobs back in America. STEPHANOPOULOS: Well, the President is outlining proposals that Republicans have supported in the past. This permanent extension of the Research and Development Tax Credit. This expensing proposal, the small business tax cut of about $100 billion. Those are proposals Republicans have supported in the past. Will you support them now? BOEHNER: George, I’m open to the President’s ideas. But I think the President’s missing the bigger point here. And that is, with all of the spending in Washington, and all the uncertainty facing small businesses, including the coming tax hikes on January the first, until this uncertainty and spending is under control, I don’t think these are going to have much impact. And, so, today, what I’d like to do is work on a bipartisan basis to do two things: First, instead of waiting until after the election to put together some big omnibus spending bill, with a bunch of wasteful spending, why wouldn’t we do this? Why don’t we pass a bill this month at 2008 spending levels. You know, before the TARP, before the bailout, before the stimulus. And let’s put some certainty in the economy. That in and of itself would save about $100 billion this year alone. And then, secondly, why wouldn’t we work together to make it clear that all current tax rates will be extended for the next two years? What that will do- STEPHANOPOULOS: So, you’re open- BOEHNER: What that will do is help small businesses who have no clue what the coming tax rates are going to be, gives them some certainty. And if we’re able to do this together, I think we’ll show the American people that we understand what’s going on in the country. And we’ll be able to get our economy moving again and get jobs growing in America. STEPHANOPOULOS: So, you’re open to the President’s ideas. You’re also making these two proposals of your own for the President. You talked about the two year extension of the Bush tax cuts. As you know, the President is against, right now, the extension for the wealthy. But his former budget director, Peter Orszag, made a similar proposal about the two year extension. But he said, but they have to expire in two years so we can reduce the deficit. Are you open to that part of it as well? BOEHNER: George, we can’t deal with the deficit until we’re willing to get our arms around spending and have a strong economy. And you can’t have a strong economy if you’re raising taxes on the very people you expect to invest in our economy to begin hiring people again. STEPHANOPOULOS: Mr. Leader, how confident are you that you’re going to be Speaker of the House next year? BOEHNER: Well, certainly, George, it’s possible. We’ve got a steep hill to climb. We have got a lot of work to do. But when I travel the country and I travel my district, I’ve never seen the American people more engaged in this election and any election in my lifetime. And, so, we’ve got a lot of work to do. That’s our goal, though. To earn back the majority so we can renew our efforts to drive for a smaller, lest-costly and more accountable government in Washington, D.C. STEPHANOPOULOS: If you win, you will be third in line for the White House. Obviously, the eyes of the world will be on you. I wanted you to weigh in on an issue of national security implications, as well. We’ve seen this Pastor Terry Jones down in Florida, threatening to burn the Koran this weekend. This weekend, General Petraeus has spoken out against it. Secretary of State Clinton has spoken out against it. What is your message to Pastor Jones? BOEHNER: To Pastor Jones and those who want to build a mosque, just because you have a right to do something in America, does not mean it is the right thing to do. We’re a nation of religious freedom. We’re also a nation of tolerance. And I think, in the name of tolerance, people ought to really think about the kind of actions they’re taking. STEPHANOPOULOS: So, you’re telling him not to do it? Sir? Are you telling him not to do it? BOEHNER: Well, listen. I just think that it’s not wise to do this in the face of what our country really represents. And over some, you know, 234 years. STEPHANOPOULOS: Okay. Before you go, I have to note that if you do win and you do become Speaker, you will probably have the deepest tan of any Speaker in American history. And there’s actually been a poll out in your state of Ohio, saying 30 percent of the voters think you spend too much time on your tan. And 27 percent don’t like it. Is this something you have to overcome? BOEHNER: Well, hey probably weren’t there yesterday, when I was out cutting my grass or when I was out riding my mountain bike. All right? STEPHANOPOULOS: So, no worries there? BOEHNER: Thanks, George. STEPHANOPOULOS: Okay. Thank you, Mr. Leader. No comment at all.

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George Stephanopoulos Derides John Boehner’s ‘Deep Tan,’ Wonders If He Will ‘Overcome’ It

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Bozell Column: A Conservative Movie Initiative

Posted on September 7, 2010 by Benny Hollywood| Leave a comment

The midterm elections this fall will feature young people born in 1992 – in other words, four years after Ronald Reagan left office. What do they know about this man? It’s quite likely that many of them have been told of Reagan’s firm resolve to win the Cold War. But it’s also likely they haven’t learned about the Reagan budget policies that led to a historic economic recovery. Instead, liberal revisionists are working overtime to assign to the Gipper’s tax cut policies the blame for deficits on his watch. Given the disastrous performance of Barack Obama, it’s time to give this man a serious look once again. Young Hollywood director and producer Ray Griggs has made a breezy and yet substantive documentary titled “I Want Your Money” that can educate young voters on the differences between Reaganomics and Obamanomics. Some might say that Griggs is trying to become the conservative Michael Moore, but that would be unfair, since Moore’s documentaries often depart from the classification of “nonfiction.” When Moore claims health care is better in Cuba than America, or that Iraq before the Iraq war was a placid kite-flying paradise under Saddam Hussein, serious filmmakers run from him. Griggs is talking about a real, gripping American disaster: our trillion-dollar deficits under Obama and the ever-increasing weight of the national debt. Conservatives in this film are appalled by the loose spending of George W. Bush and Congress over the last decade, and correctly so. But they know Obama is making those deficit years look like a nursery-school exercise in overspending. What’s emerging now is Tea Party anger, of conservatives who’ve been pushed too hard for too long. “I Want Your Money” is stuffed with weighty conservative experts – Steve Moore, Steve Forbes, Newt Gingrich, Ed Meese, Ken Blackwell, and more. But perhaps the most affecting visuals are the old clips of Ronald Reagan, speaking so clearly about the perils of liberal profligacy. There is Reagan at the convention in Dallas in 1984 joking “We could say they spend money like drunken sailors, but that would be unfair to drunken sailors…because the sailors are spending their own money.” It also has a “BS meter” which goes berserk when Speaker Nancy Pelosi claims that the Democrats will pass the Obama agenda, including ObamaCare, with “no new deficit spending.” The film not only discusses green-eyeshade budgeting, but the larger philosophical debate between capitalism and socialism. In an animated segment, the Reagan character lectures “Obama” about what kind of productivity you would get in a classroom if everyone was awarded the same grade, no matter how serious the effort: a dramatically reduced work effort from the productive people, while the lazy students would forever be lazy. It exposes a real contrast between presidents. As experts point out in the film, Ronald Reagan used clarity to teach you about the real world. Barack Obama uses eloquence to hide what he’s doing, because if his real agenda became clear, as it did with ObamaCare, it would be opposed by the majority. Griggs found a very nice film clip of the late Nobel Prize-winning capitalist economist Milton Friedman speaking to a dark-haired Phil Donahue in 1979. Donahue proclaimed that capitalism was all about greed. Why, Friedman wondered, was it that political self-interest was so much nobler than economic self-interest? A voter born in 1992 has probably never witnessed Milton Friedman’s television work, especially his “Free to Choose” documentary series (also in those paper-stuffed things called books). This kind of exposure could cause a rediscovery, just like this year’s new interest in Friedrich Hayek’s book “Road to Serfdom.” So how will this film get into theaters, since it’s not one of those left-wing documentaries? A national effort is being organized by Motive Entertainment, the company that promoted the grassroots campaigns for “The Passion of the Christ” and the first “Chronicles of Narnia” movie. In mid-September, they’ll begin organizing private screenings to celebrate Constitution Day on September 17. From there, organizers will prepare for an October 15 theatrical launch in more than 500 theaters from coast to coast. But this campaign to show box-office appeal won’t be successful without the same grass-roots energy that mobilized the Tea Party protests. The movie trailer on YouTube has more than two million page views. If everyone who watched the trailer would turn out for the whole movie, then theater owners would have no choice but to take notice. Perhaps, then, Americans will laugh when news anchors (like CNN’s Rick Sanchez) try to describe Obama’s campaign speeches as “Reaganesque.” We can’t even find a Republican who has fully earned that grand adjective, and it certainly doesn’t fit the socialist blather of the current occupant of 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue.

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Bozell Column: A Conservative Movie Initiative

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Open Thread: Gingrich Says Americans Are Afraid of Obama’s Radicalism

Posted on September 5, 2010 by Benny Hollywood| Leave a comment

For general discussion and debate. Possible talking point: Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich tells Greta Van Sustern Americans are afraid of the radicalism of Obama, Pelosi and Reid. Thoughts?

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New Evidence Of Controlled Demolition On 9/11

Posted on September 2, 2010 by Benny Hollywood| Leave a comment

(There are several videos click the link above to see them all) The International Center for 9/11 Studies has secured the release of hundreds of hours of video footage and tens of thousands of photographs used by the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) for its investigation of the collapse of the World Trade Center Twin Towers and Building 7. This material is being released to the Center under the Freedom of Information Act, in response to a lawsuit the Center filed against NIST. The Center filed a FOIA Request with NIST on January 26, 2009, seeking production of “all of the photographs and videos collected, reviewed, cited or in any other way used by NIST during its investigation of the World Trade Center building collapses.” Following several unsuccessful attempts to get NIST to even acknowledge receipt of the Request, the Center was forced to file a lawsuit on May 28, 2009. Shortly after the lawsuit was filed, the Request was assigned a reference number, and NIST began periodically releasing batches of responsive records. To date, the Center has received over 300 DVDs and several external hard disk drives that contain responsive records – more than 3 terabytes of data so far – and NIST has indicated that additional records will be released in the future. We are currently looking at the best ways to distribute these materials to interested researchers and journalists around the world. It has taken NIST more than 8 months so far to produce a partial archive of photographs and videos in their possession, but we hope to be more efficient in our efforts. Because of the huge volume of data, we are working on a wiki-style website to facilitate review and discussion of any interesting items that are discovered by researchers. Justin Keogh, our Chief Technical Officer, is preparing the website and materials for release. The first batch of materials we are releasing is a group of video clips sent to us on an external hard disk drive labeled “NIST WTC Investigation Cumulus Video Clips.” We believe NIST entered these clips into a searchable database called the Cumulus database, and used them as the basis for the investigation and reports. Researchers may be interested to see which video clips NIST determined were important to its investigation, and compare these clips to the raw footage we release at a later date. Justin will be posting more details about the data release in the next week or two. Any questions about the FOIA Request, lawsuit, or data release should be submitted via the Contact Us page at the Center’s website: http://www.ic911studies.org/Contact_Us.html Although the Center has extremely limited resources with which it can review this mountain of data, several interesting items have already been discovered. Below are five items the Center has uncovered so far. The items below have not been altered from the original provided by NIST, except in three cases where a short section of footage was extracted from a much longer video. Otherwise, no alterations have been made to the video or audio. For the best viewing experience, you should watch all of the videos below in the highest resolution available. We will supplement the list below in the coming days and weeks. 1. Video Footage of Explosion Before Collapse In the video below, at about the 0:59 mark, a high-pressure explosion occurs in one of the Twin Towers, below the impact zone, while the building is still standing. In the final report on the collapse of the Twin Towers issued by NIST, it appears to attempt an explanation for this explosion by suggesting it is a smoke puff resulting from a pressure pulse inside the building, perhaps from a collapsing wall or ceiling, or sudden opening of a door. (See NCSTAR1-5A, p. 52) However, as can be seen from the screen capture below, it isn’t merely smoke and dust being ejected. There appears to be a massive object being ejected along with the explosion. 2. Audio Evidence of Explosions During Collapse Several videos released to the Center have clear audio tracks that contain distinct sounds of explosions occurring at the World Trade Center. These audio tracks provide support to the many eyewitness statements referring to explosions occurring when the buildings collapsed. Explosions can be heard at the initiation of the South Tower collapse in the following two videos. The explosions are clear enough at normal volumes, but turning your speaker volume up a bit can help provide a full appreciation of the sound. added by: im1mjrpain

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Newsweek’s Alter: ‘Radical Republicans’ Have ‘Extreme Agenda,’ Progressives ‘Need to Learn What the Stakes Are’

Posted on September 2, 2010 by Benny Hollywood| Leave a comment

Appearing as a guest on Tuesday’s Rachel Maddow Show on MSNBC, Newsweek’s Jonathan Alter repeatedly characterized the conservative wing of the Republican party as “radical” and “extreme” as he and host Maddow discussed the possibility that conservative talk radio host Bill Cunningham would broadcast his radio show from House Minority Leader John Boehner’s office on Election Day. Alter asserted that the Republican party became radical in 1994, and soon advised “progressives” that they “need to learn a little bit about what the stakes are” because Republicans currently have a “radical agenda.” Alter: You know, it began in 1994. That was where we got radical Republican leadership for the first time. The reason that they succeeded was that the moderate Republican leadership of the old days had failed to regain control of the House of Representatives. So the lesson after ‘94 was: Be radical and maybe you can come back into power. … so the message is not really for other Republicans. The message is for Democrats and how much do Democrats care about turning over a branch of our government to extremists, to radicals. He soon concluded: I do think it’s a challenge for progressives, who are saying, ‘Oh, I’m not, you know, I’m disappointed in Obama. I’m not that excited, you know. I’m not going to work the way I did the last time.’ Well, they need to learn a little bit about what the stakes are. So an incident like this reminds us that we’re talking about a different crowd with a radical agenda that they want to impose on our country. It is no wonder that Alter would find the views of conservatives “radical,” since last November, as he recounted that conservatives like former Congressman Bob Barr, Grover Norquist and David Keene are “principled conservatives” as they disagreed with Rudy Giuliani on the trying of terrorist suspects in civilian courts, Alter admitted to disagreeing with conservatives 98 percent of the time. Alter: “But, you know, they are principled conservative – even if you disagree, as I do with, you know, 98 percent of what they stand for.” Below is a complete transcript of the segment with Jonathan Alter from the Tuesday, August 31, Rachel Maddow Show on MSNBC: RACHEL MADDOW: So if we believe [Bill Cunningtham], the “Obama’s a Muslim” radio guy who so horrified the Republican leadership in 2008 that they apologized for him and repudiated him and said they regretted him being at a John McCain event, he now says he has been invited by the Republican leadership to broadcast from House Republican Leader John Boehner’s office on Election Day. Now, we asked John Boehner’s office to confirm talk show host Bill Cunningham’s claims about this invitation. Mr. Boehner’s office replied to us tonight saying in part, quote, “Leader Boehner has made no plans for election night.” So maybe it will happen, maybe it won’t. But if the anti-Obama attacks that were deemed out of line and out of bounds by Republicans during the smash mouth presidential campaign are now back in bounds, that stuff’s now okay, then I want to know is there any new line? Is there anything anymore that is too much of a low blow? Joining us now is Jonathan Alter, Newsweek senior editor and columnist and MSNBC contributor. His latest book is The Promise: President Obama Year One. Jonathan, thanks very much. JONATHAN ALTER, NEWSWEEK: Hi, Rachel. MADDOW: Hi. Is there less of a down side in a midterm than there is in a presidential election to latching the party onto one of these “Obama’s a Muslim” far-right guys? ALTER: You know, I don’t think they’re even kind of making that kind of cool, political judgment. They have just become a talk show party. You know, Obama asked them, the Republican leadership, point blank in February of 2009, in a private meeting that I have in my book, “”Do you want to be the party of Rush Limbaugh?” And they didn’t answer the question, but the answer is apparently yes. They are willing to latch themselves to these extreme folks. And this represents a pretty big change in American politics because we’re not talking about obscure back benchers. We’re talking about the leadership of one of our major political parties, and there is a very strong possibility that John Boehner will be the next Speaker of the House of Representatives, in line in presidential succession. MADDOW: In terms of John Boehner’s role, though, we talked a week ago about whether or not him becoming an opposite number to President Obama for these elections was a good thing for Democrats or a good thing for Republicans. We thought it seemed like a bad choice for Republicans. But if they really are having talk show hosts broadcast from his office on election night, that not only says they think they’re going to win, but it says that they really do want him to be the center of attention, doesn’t it? ALTER: Well, they just are, you know, looking forward to a big victory. I mean, Boehner is getting kind of cocky at this point. So whether they’ve made these plans with this guy Cunningham or not, who knows? Cunningham insists that he has been invited in there. But the larger point still obtains that they are willing to be associated with people who are out of bounds. Now, the clip just showed, you know, that he called him Barack Hussein Obama. At this point, since Obama decided on Inauguration Day to be sworn in as Barack Hussein Obama, that insult doesn’t sound that terrible. But this is a guy who has said that Obama has the mark of the beast on him, that he’s the anti-Christ. Cunningham has said that. So we’re talking about some pretty wacky stuff, and I think one of the big stories of our politics is that the wacky has now moved from the fringe into the center of our politics. MADDOW: But it does imply some sort of calculation that that’s a good move, that the excitement that you get for people who are far right, from bringing in people like that, compensates for any price you’ll pay with anybody who considers themselves a moderate. Is it just a calculation that there are no moderates anymore? ALTER: Well, remember, they’re still in primary mode. And in primary mode, there’s a great danger within the Republican party in seeming moderate. It’s almost a dirty word to be moderate. Look at what happened to Senator Bennett of Utah, which is a classic example, a very conservative Senator. But, you know, he dared to work with some Democrats on some moderate legislation. And he was just, you know, thrown out of the party. So this is not your father`s Republican party. This is a different kind of political party nowadays, and I think the entire political system is just beginning to accommodate itself to this. You know, it began in 1994. That was where we got radical Republican leadership for the first time . The reason that they succeeded was that the moderate Republican leadership of the old days had failed to regain control of the House of Representatives. So the lesson after ‘94 was: Be radical and maybe you can come back into power. MADDOW: Yeah, count on your base. Don’t count on the middle. ALTER: Right, so the message is not really for other Republicans. The message is for Democrats and how much do Democrats care about turning over a branch of our government to extremists, to radicals. And so if this can’t close the so-called enthusiasm- MADDOW: Enthusiasm gap? ALTER: -gap, you know, what can? And I do think it’s a challenge for progressives, who are saying, “Oh, I’m not, you know, I’m disappointed in Obama. I’m not that excited, you know. I’m not going to work the way I did the last time.” Well, they need to learn a little bit about what the stakes are . So an incident like this reminds us that we’re talking about a different crowd with a radical agenda that they want to impose on our country. MADDOW: Jonathan Alter of, Jonathan Alter, I’m sorry, an MSNBC contributor, the author of The Promise about President Obama’s first year in office. It is great to have you here. Thanks, Jon. ALTER: Great to see you, Rachel.

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On Hardball: It’s the Year of the Woman But It’s Not the ‘Compassionate’ Woman We Like

Posted on August 30, 2010 by Benny Hollywood| Leave a comment

The news that it could be a good year for women electorally did not cheer up the likes of MSNBC’s Chris Matthews, Bloomberg’s Margaret Carlson and the Politico’s Jeanne Cummings, because it turns out it’s only going to be a good year for women on the Republican side like Nikki Haley, Meg Whitman, and Carly Fiorina or as Carlson put it: “It’s not a compassionate women year.” [ audio available here ] Matthews, on Monday’s Hardball, invited on Carlson and Cummings to take a look at “gender politics” and found that it could be a good year for women, just not the kind of women they like, in other words the more conservative momma grizzly types that Sarah Palin supports. Cummings even bemoaned that a loss of the House could result in “one giant blow to women” in that it “could take down the Speaker, Speaker Nancy Pelosi” who was “a real shining star for the achievements and the rise of women in government.” The following is the full segment as it was aired on the August 30 edition of Hardball: CHRIS MATTHEWS: Wow, we’re talking gender politics. We’re back. High profile victories this summer by Nikki Haley in South Carolina and Sharron Angle winning that nomination in Nevada for the Senate. Meg Whitman spending zillions out there running for the governorship of California. This could be the Year of the Woman, maybe. But will women gain ground in Congress this November? On Sunday the Los Angeles Times had a sobering outlook piece. Quote: “After the November election, Congress could end up with as many as 10 fewer female members, prognosticators now say. The first backslide in the uninterrupted march of women coming to Washington since 1978.” Joining us now is Bloomberg’s Margaret Carlson and Politco’s Jeanne Cummings. Now I know we have to decipher between right and left, the big executive positions and the somewhat lowlier U.S. Congress positions. But look at this now. In the Congress there are a total of 90 women now, Senator and House members: 69 Democrats, 21 Republicans. Margaret, it looks like liberals are in trouble this year, progressives, if you will. That includes a lot of women.  MARGARET CARLSON, BLOOMBERG: Well, there are more Democratic women than, than Republicans, liberals. So you’re gonna have, this is like a final piece of equality for women where they can lose with men- MATTHEWS: Right. CARLSON: -when incumbents are in trouble. So women have finally achieved some kind of parity, and boom, it’s time to boot them out. But there’s a certain kind of woman that’s gonna do okay. I mean you have the momma grizzlies but it’s the grizzly part of it, not the momma part that’s working. You have to be a bear- MATTHEWS: Give me names, give names. CARLSON: You have to be a bear who’s gonna knock down the tent. MATTHEWS: Who are the heavyweight women? CARLSON: Linda McMahon? Can you imagine more of a bear. I mean it’s softcore wrestling- MATTHEWS: Of world heavyweight wrestling. CARLSON: -porn. MATTHEWS: And, and Meg Whitman in California. CARLSON: Yeah and it’s the corporate titan bear. Carly Fiorina, Meg Whitman as you say. So that is the kind of woman. It is n ot the kind of – it’s not a compassionate women year. MATTHEWS: Right, it’s tough for women. Let me got to that, Jeanne Cummings is this, is this the upgrade to the tougher executive positions? I’ve always said, and it’s a tough line but you gotta get on, the on deck circle to really have lots of shots at the presidency. If women start winning these big governorships across the country like California knocking off Jerry Brown, it’d be a giant killer, things like that really – people tell me Meg wants to be, Meg Whitman wants to be president. Is this what’s going on here on the Republican side. JEANNE CUMMINGS, POLITICO: Well absolutely. I mean women like any, all the different types of people before them are earning their way up the ladder, one rung at a time. And winning some of those big governor races is important. We certainly saw how Hillary Clinton was able to use her Senate position, and her prior role as First Lady, but largely her Senate position gave her- MATTHEWS: I agree. CUMMINGS: -the credentials to go out there and run on the campaign trail. And so I think this is clearly, that women have now gotten to the point where they are accepted by voters as competent executives, tough enough to run, smart enough to run governments, and those are great achievements for women. I would point out that if- MATTHEWS: These- CUMMINGS: Just one quick thought. MATTHEWS: Sure. CUMMINGS: That, that if the losses are as bad as they, as some believe they could be in the House, there could be one giant blow to women. And that is, it could take down the Speaker. Speaker Nancy Pelosi. Certainly she’s not gonna lose her House seat, but she could lose the Speakership itself. And that has been, for many women, particularly Democratic women, a real shining star for the achievements and the rise of women in government. MATTHEWS: We haven’t had a woman governor of New York, Pennsylvania, California, or probably Illinois. These are big, the big jobs. These are women coming out of industry with a proven executive record. CARLSON: And mixed, and mixed. MATTHEWS: You, you mentioned, Jeanne, you said they’re working their way one step at a time. Meg Whitman is not going one step at a time, she’s going right for governor. CARLSON: Yeah. MATTHEWS: Carly Fiorina is going right from HP for, for Senate. CARLSON: And by the way her reputation was mixed as a, as a corporate executive. MATTHEWS: So are things changing? Is the glass ceiling getting smashed at the top? CARLSON: Well no. I think there’s a certain kind of corporate woman that, that does look like she can run a big state because she’s run a big country, I mean, a big company. MATTHEWS: Could it be that men are blowing it? Just to be blunt, could it be that the quality of male candidates has declined. Women candidates have gone up and they’re passed them on the old vector there. CUMMINGS: Well I think that the women candidates can run in this year, the Year of the Outsider. They can run as genuine outsiders. And that is an asset when you have an anti-incumbent election. MATTHEWS: Wow! CUMMINGS: And the other thing, in terms of Fiorina and Meg Whitman, they, they both are shooting, going to, trying to go from the corporate boardroom right into the Governor’s office or the Senate office, it is true. However, their candidacies were made possible by the victories of women before them. MATTHEWS: Yeah that’s certainly true. Well what do you make of Momma Grizzly’s comment the other day? Sarah Palin’s, that her biggest accomplishment was that she produced a combat vet. It sounds like women are running what we used to call the Daddy Party, the right, you know the Macho Party? CARLSON: Yeah. MATTHEWS: Women are now openly saying, “I’m tougher than the men, I can produce as a mother a got vet, get out of my way.” Jeanne, this is strong, strong tea here, if you will? CUMMINGS: Absolutely. And I have to say, Sarah Palin, I think, has done something unprecedented when you look at gender politics. And that is, she is so influential. She is a king maker. MATTHEWS: That’s true. CUMMINGS: And we have not seen a female king maker in political history. She has really broken new ground. I mean, what does a Huckabee nomination get you? Page three on the local paper? But Palin’s nomination can be a complete game changer, as we have seen in these races. MATTHEWS: We’re looking at that picture as you’re speaking, Jeanne, of her endorsing Nikki Haley. Haley was at the back of the pack, she’s now probably gonna be the next governor of South Carolina. CARLSON: But wait Chris, she’s a king maker but she’s also a queen killer. She killed Senator Kay Bailey Hutchison in Texas in favor of the incumbent, Governor Perry. MATTHEWS: Yeah. CARLSON: And look what she did to Lisa Murkowski in Alaska. So let us, she is an equal opportunity maker and destroyer, and not always for the women. MATTHEWS: Yeah I also, I also think and I gotta be careful, she’s picking women candidates that men are ready to vote for too. CARLSON: Yes. MATTHEWS: This isn’t just women voting for women here. There’s a lot of, obviously a lot of those right-wing men love Sarah Palin. Let’s be honest here. Jeanne, thanks so much, Jeanne Cummings for joining us. Margaret Carlson, thank you.

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NBC’s Todd: Liberal Victory Means ‘Hope’ But Conservative Wins Will Demonstrate ‘Fear’

Posted on August 24, 2010 by Benny Hollywood| Leave a comment

NBC’s Chuck Todd couched it in terms of how “both parties” are peddling “fear” in this year’s election season — but his formulation Tuesday night of how 2008 was “the hope election” while this one will be “the fear election” – offered a likely preview of how the MSM will try to discredit voter repudiation of liberal Democratic Obama allies when they hardly cast in a negative light the 2008 voter rejection of a third Republican term. Todd concluded a short NBC Nightly News story: I had one observer tell me, if 2008 was the “hope election,” 2010 may be known as the “fear election,” as both Republicans and Democrats are playing on the fears of voters about the future of the economy to try to win votes in November. NBC’s chief White House correspondent, and former political director, presented a brief look at “finger-pointing” from House Republican Leader John Boehner who urged President Obama to force his economic team to resign, followed by Vice President Joe Biden’s retort about how Republicans had turned a surplus into a deficit. Flashback . When Republicans won back the House and Senate in 1994, the late Peter Jennings reflected the media’s denigration of it as a “temper tantrum” by “angry voters.” ABC World News Tonight anchor Jennings in his daily ABC Radio commentary from November 14, 1994: Some thoughts on those angry voters. Ask parents of any two-year-old and they can tell you about those temper tantrums: the stomping feet, the rolling eyes, the screaming. It’s clear that the anger controls the child and not the other way around. It’s the job of the parent to teach the child to control the anger and channel it in a positive way. Imagine a nation full of uncontrolled two-year-old rage. The voters had a temper tantrum last week…. Parenting and governing don’t have to be dirty words: the nation can’t be run by an angry two-year-old. From the Tuesday, August 24 NBC Nightly News, transcript provided by the MRC’s Brad Wilmouth: BRIAN WILLIAMS: Pessimism about the economy boiled over in public in the political arena today, with top Republicans and Democrats trading accusations over whose fault it is. Our chief White House correspondent Chuck Todd with us from our Washington newsroom. Chuck, I’ll say it with sarcasm: This is what people love about Washington, isn’t it? CHUCK TODD: Yeah, that’s right. It is finger-pointing time. Look, John Boehner – he’s the House Republican Leader – and he gave a big speech on what he would do if he were Speaker of the House, should Republicans get control of the House in November. And here’s what he had to say about the President’s economic team. JOHN BOEHNER, HOUSE MINORITY LEADER: President Obama should ask for and accept the resignations of the remaining members of his economic team starting with Secretary Geithner and Larry Summers, the head of the National Economic Council. TODD: Well, Vice President Biden served as the surrogate for the Obama administration, and here’s what he said in response to Boehner’s call. VICE PRESIDENT JOE BIDEN: They took a $237 billion operating surplus inherited from the Clinton administration, and left us with a $1.3 trillion deficit. And in the process, quadrupled the national debt, all before we literally turned on the lights in the West Wing. TODD: Now, it doesn’t take a polling expert to tell you the economy is the number one issue for pretty much every American out there. I had one observer tell me, if 2008 was the “hope election,” 2010 may be known as the “fear election,” as both Republicans and Democrats are playing on the fears of voters about the future of the economy to try to win votes in November, Brian.

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‘Glee’ Creator On Britney Spears Cameo: ‘It Was Like The President Had Come’

Posted on August 23, 2010 by Benny Hollywood| Leave a comment

‘I couldn’t get into my own sets at one point, which I thought was hilarious,’ Ryan Murphy says. By James Dinh Heather Morris and Britney Spears on the set of “Glee” Photo: Facebook Britney Spears may be a pop princess, but “Glee” creator Ryan Murphy felt as if the president had stopped by the set during Spears’ recent visit to William McKinley High. Murphy dished about what went down when the singer filmed her cameo for the “Britney/Brittany” episode. “It was literally like the President had come,” Murphy told E! Online . “We all had to wear wristbands. I couldn’t get into my own sets at one point, which I thought was hilarious.” Murphy thought Spears was moved by the cast’s admiration for her. “I think she was really impressed about how so many kids of the show do what they do because they grew up wanting to be Britney Spears,” he said. “She was really sweet with them. We had a number with a bunch of eight-year-old dancers in the show and she spent a lot of time talking to them, and they did the number for her … She was so sweet, she’s great with kids, she was so awesome.” But security remained tight, Murphy said, because “everybody was sort of trying to get into the set and find out what the hell she’s doing in the episode.” What Spears will be doing on the show is still unknown, but a picture the singer tweeted from the set suggests that she may be playing some sort of receptionist. Aside from hanging with the pop princess on set, the “Glee” creator also got to hear some of Spears’ new material. “I got to hear some of the music she’s putting out later this fall or early next year,” Murphy said. “It’s really a great return to form for her; the songs are amazing so I feel she’s riding the crest.” And while there has been talk of Madonna tunes blaring the speaker intercoms once again, Murphy has also revealed that Britney “probably” will reprise her cameo spot on “Glee” episodes. Last week, the singer tweeted photos of herself on set alongside Murphy and castmember Heather Morris. Posing in front of a set that looked similar to the singer’s “Me Against the Music” video backdrop, Spears channeled the Madonna look that was donned in their 2003 collaboration. What kind of character do you want to see Britney play on “Glee”? Share your thoughts in the comments below! Related Photos The Year In ‘Glee’ What Other ‘Glee’ Music Videos Do We Want To See? Related Artists Britney Spears

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‘Glee’ Creator On Britney Spears Cameo: ‘It Was Like The President Had Come’

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