A few days after 9-11, President Bush, in an impromptu moment on the White House lawn, referred to the war on terrorism as a crusade. What does that have to do with the vile claim Rep. Pete Stark (D-Calif.) made this week that Pres. Bush sends our soldiers to Iraq to have their heads blown off for his "amusement"?
Nothing that I can see. But on this afternoon's "Hardball," Chris Matthews dredged up that and a couple other statements from the president's past and staged a segment asking whether they were worse than Stark's line. Note the graphic in the screencap, in which MSNBC absurdly asks "who should apologize, Rep. Stark or Pres. Bush?"
View video here.
This is what passes for "balance" in the MSM. For the record, the president's other statements that Matthews compared with Stark's were "bring it on" from 2003 and "the Axis of Evil" from the 2002 State of the Union.
In to debate this contrived comparison were liberal radio talk show host Stephanie Miller and conservative radio talk show host Kevin Miller.
The segment was not without entertainment value. At one point Stephanie Miller [who did acknowledge that Stark's "amusement" crack crossed the line] revealed that:
98% of the callers to my show this morning were saying 'you go, Mr. Stark.'
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OH. My. Gosh. Axis of evil
October 19, 2007 - 18:58 ET by motherbeltOH. My. Gosh.
You have to know that Matthews' first reflex would be to find something to "balance" Stark on the Republican side, but holy cow, is this the best he could come up with?????
Axis of evil ? Bring it on.? Crusade?
Those are equivalent to saying they are sending kids "to get their heads blown off for the President's amusement"???????????
That is thoroughly despicable.
Chris, your desperation is showing.
Finding phony "moral equivalance" is a standard liberal tactic
October 19, 2007 - 19:03 ET by RJBut this is beyond belief.
BTW, to give an even better idea of how far loony left Stark is, he logged on to Daily Kos today to tell posters how much he appreciated their support in this.
I saw that. This is one of
October 19, 2007 - 20:37 ET by motherbeltI saw that. This is one of the comments:
please give your fellow congresspeople some of what you have been eating/drinking.
the reason that congress's approval rating is so low is because they were hired to counter the current Publican, NOT to capitulate every time he says on the teevee that "either congress does as I command them or people and their children will die horribly". (emphasis added).
A real class act.
please give your fellow
October 19, 2007 - 20:43 ET by Jack BauerThat would be magic mushrooms, and a pint of vodka.
But Mommy, nevermind what I
October 20, 2007 - 00:28 ET by candanceBut Mommy, nevermind what I said, he said something worse.
card holding member of the vast right-wing conspiracy
Big Time
October 19, 2007 - 19:26 ET by acumenI guess Bush's "major league a$$hole" comment hit a bit to close to home for Chris to use.
BTW - Kevin Miller used to be the morning guy on our local AM radio station in Raleigh. Would like to have heard his response to Chis attempting to defend the insane Stark comments but I just say no to MSLSD.
98% of the callers to my
October 19, 2007 - 19:02 ET by SMGalbraith98% of the callers to my show this morning were saying 'you go, Mr. Stark.'
Big deal, half of that 98% work for MSNBC.
And including the 87 calls from Olbermann alone kinda' skews the results a bit.
SMG
Only half??
October 19, 2007 - 19:13 ET by motherbeltSounds like that socialite in NY who couldn't understand how Reagan got elected because nobody she knew voted for him.........
Gee...98 % of Air America listeners hate President Bush.
what a shocker.
Could you possibly have the
October 19, 2007 - 19:17 ET by Mark FinkelsteinCould you possibly have the late NY Times film critic Pauline Kael in mind? She is reported to have said something similar about Nixon.
Yes, that's the one....had
October 19, 2007 - 20:06 ET by motherbeltYes, that's the one....had my Presidents mixed up. Thanks for straightening that out..
Fake, but accurate. LOL
As predicted here
October 19, 2007 - 19:23 ET by c5thenMathews, Olberman and the other MSM lackeys are dutifully defending an undefensible statement purely because it was uttered by a liberal. They have no moral convictions or values, only absolute blind loyalty to an ideology that can NEVER EVER be allowed to look mean and hatefull and disgusting as it really is.
The day that "politician" became a career choice is the day we started losing the Republic. Let's get it back! Fred08.com
Mathews, Olberman and the
October 19, 2007 - 19:38 ET by SMGalbraithMathews, Olberman and the other MSM lackeys are dutifully defending an undefensible statement purely because it was uttered by a liberal.
It's interesting to note, however, that nearly all the lefty bloggers don't like Matthews. At least the ones I am able to endure. They essentially view him as a brown-nose, inside-the-beltway journalist who goes too easy on GOP elected representatives who appear on his show.
Something to that. He blasts the GOP and then usually genuflects before them (some of them, at least) when they appear on his little pretend news program. E.g., McCain in particular. None of that hysterical "the Jacobin neocons are coming!!" nonsense when McCain is on.
SMG
Double-Standard and Bush Apology
October 19, 2007 - 19:31 ET by exLib1st of all, I remember clearly that Bush had to practically prostrate himself before the denizens of the MSM after the Crusades remark. He made many apologies and I think that he owns a royalty to the MSM everytime he says "Islam is a religion of peace and has been hijacked".
2nd, the Double-Standard at work once again.
When a Republican does or says anything worthy of rebuke, it's all about them.
Whenever a Democrat does something wrong it's either "Everybody" does it or "Look at what the Republicans got away with saying. Nevermind that 90% of the time the Dems get away with stuff the GOP dreams about getting away with saying.
Bush saying axis of evil is
October 19, 2007 - 19:46 ET by chessplayerBush saying axis of evil is the same (in Matthew`s mind) as Stark saying Bush is sending troops to Iraq so he can get some chuckles when they are killed? Unreal.
Pete Stark is unworthy of attention - but still stupid.
October 19, 2007 - 19:47 ET by acaiguanaEverything he said reflects the baseline foundation of the Democrat Party line as many Bay Area Liberals would parrott these same words. "lies"...
But the issue isn't the insanity of Stark.
The issue is the real insanity of Chris Matthews.
By simply elevating this to the MSM (or not) TV coverage through Hardball, Matthews has given credence to the idea that Stark can be defended.
This is the problem.
And I believe even Democrats who are not insane can see the futility of this.
Which means Matthews cannot.
Which validates my complete opinion that Matthews is a very shallow intellect. But he stands in all of his glory as the icon of the Democrat Left intellectualizing and politicizing of everything.
Rather than the idea that politics should really be grounded in the commen good.
Ah well.
Nothing new here.
ACA
...
Quoted from: 'Acaiguana Notes from the Bomb Shelter' (soon to be a movie at theaters near you)
By simply elevating this
October 19, 2007 - 20:11 ET by motherbeltBy simply elevating this to the MSM (or not) TV coverage through Hardball, Matthews has given credence to the idea that Stark can be defended. -acaiguana
That's not the worst of it. I caught the last part of that segment. That Stephanie Miller that he had on finished up by saying she wished there were more who had Stark's "passion."
She also misses Stalin's passion.
October 19, 2007 - 20:14 ET by acaiguanaWould you think?
ACA
...
Quoted from: 'Acaiguana Notes from the Bomb Shelter' (soon to be a movie at theaters near you)
Welcome back to the threads,
October 19, 2007 - 20:13 ET by Mark FinkelsteinWelcome back to the threads, acaiguana.
Mark, just can't keep a mean dog under the porch, huh?
October 19, 2007 - 20:15 ET by acaiguanaContext is everything.
ACA
...
Quoted from: 'Acaiguana Notes from the Bomb Shelter' (soon to be a movie at theaters near you)
And apart from anything
October 19, 2007 - 20:21 ET by Jack BauerAnd apart from anything else about this mentally unhinged individual, every video I see of Stark shows him in the odious habit of speaking publicly whilst masticating on some disgusting form of "food."
Didn't his mother clip him around the ear whilst instructing him never to talk with his mouth full?
What an all-round, ill-mannered lout Stark Raving Nuts is.
Which validates my
October 19, 2007 - 23:58 ET by BacchusWhich validates my complete opinion that Matthews is a very shallow intellect.
Seconded (in a long line of seconders, no doubt). A memorable - to me - Matthews quote: "I hate this war!" Milblogger Greyhawk (below) declares from Iraq: "We've won the war in Iraq." Premature?
MUDVILLE GAZZETTE (October 19, 2007): On Victory
The Iraqis decided their own fate by choosing en masse to stand up to the terrorists. I'm happy for them that they did. To puctuate the point, Charles Gibson reported today (yesterday?) that... well, there was no news to report from Iraq. No bombs. No attacks. Nada.
Here's one you missed,
October 19, 2007 - 20:31 ET by drillanwrHere's one you missed, Chrissy:
Pres. Bush: "That Chris Matthews ... <heh-heh> ... Yeah, he's a poopy-head ... Sniffs Olberman's underwear ... <heh-heh> ... Picks his nose and eats it ... <heh-heh> ... "
Honest tuh gawd, Chrissy! I heard W say it! Here's the video:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lbl6Q4DCSu0
Oh, Stephanie, would that be ALL 20 listeners, and did you have to stretch to fill the hour between calls and commercials?
98%?
October 19, 2007 - 20:31 ET by phaedrus461798%? On Air America? What, is that like 7 of your total 8 callers?
The other 2% must've been
October 19, 2007 - 20:32 ET by drillanwrThe other 2% must've been wrong numbers ... or Randi Rhodes on a tomato juice OD again.
that's actually 7 of her 8
October 19, 2007 - 20:39 ET by motherbeltthat's actually 7 of her 8 listeners.
To Mathews and Co., Mierda
October 19, 2007 - 20:39 ET by ChriswelLTo Mathews and Co., Mierda de Toro
-cs™
Seriously ... Has MSLSD
October 19, 2007 - 20:47 ET by drillanwrSeriously ... Has MSLSD just become some tax write-off for NBC?
They can't possibly believe/think they have a chance to be competitive with this unprofessional garbage, show after show, day after day, week after week ... There are ONLY three cable news outlets ... and MSLSD seems to delude itself into cheering because they come in third in the race ... No, there's NO bronze medal for that ... Heck, MSLSD is so low in the ratings one FNC program equals two or three of their ratings at a time!
How in the heck does Tucker Carlson drag himself out of bed everyday to go there? Pay check or no pay check ... I'd bet he's counting the days until his contract is up ... Hell, I couldn't even tell you what time HIS program is squeezed on there ...
98% of the callers to my
October 19, 2007 - 20:48 ET by Jack BauerFinally we have a consensus. 98% of conservatives are also calling for Stark to go.
LOL! Not to mention "You
October 19, 2007 - 20:59 ET by drillanwrLOL!
Not to mention "You go ---" is soooo 90s ...
Her Speakerness Pelosi
October 19, 2007 - 20:55 ET by motherbeltHer Speakerness Pelosi actually gave Stark a rap on the knuckle...sort of.
But she didn't actually say his comments were out of line; only that they "distracted" from the issue at hand.
<sarc> Take that, Fortney "Pete"!
Come on, mb -
October 19, 2007 - 21:00 ET by drillanwrShe can't take the risk of getting a frown line, ya know! Sheesh!
A few days after 9-11,
October 19, 2007 - 22:03 ET by GregEA few days after 9-11, President Bush, in an impromptu moment on the
White House lawn, referred to the war on terrorism as a crusade. What
does that have to do with the vile claim Rep. Pete Stark (D-Calif.)
made this week that Pres. Bush sends our soldiers to Iraq to have their
heads blown off for his "amusement"?
Yes, but when Bush used the word "crusade" that day, surely Matthews immediately mentioned something off the wall that a Democrat said 4-5 years earlier too, to offset the Bush crusade remark. He's an objective reporter. He did that didn't he? Surely he did.......uh....didn't he? Oh, wait a minute....
I don't want to be like the
October 19, 2007 - 23:03 ET by rob6677I don't want to be like the dems and start pointing out superficial nonsense, but dammit, I'm going to do it anyway...
Is it me or is Mathews' head getting larger and larger? I would go as far as to say he has a very good chance at being the evil "genius" in the next Bond movie!
Now, I don't watch Hardball, but for the sake of the people that do and those of us who have to see his parade size cranium on NB, can't the camera operator get a concave lens or just not get too close?
Also, the next time he's on the screen next to two other people, how about putting him in a smaller window, helium head will still be larger than the other guests, but it won't frighten the children (and the dog) as much!
P.S. I have copyrighted the phrase Helium Head, and everytime it's used I think I should be paid $1.99. All procedes gained from the Helium Head promotion will be donated to anyone that gets him off the air!
"I'm interested in the fact that the less secure a man is, the more likely he is to have extreme prejudice." Clint Eastwood
Yes, rob
October 20, 2007 - 11:51 ET by drillanwrMatthews is his own gaseous planet ... Swirling chaos, unstable, and just waiting to implode upon himself and become the black hole we all know he is ...