See Bonus Coverage at foot: Barnicle accuses Jesse Jackson of "corporate blackmail."
Two veteran members of the Senate, two entirely different treatments from Andrea Mitchell. Reverence for Ted Kennedy; scorn for Strom Thurmond. Guest hosting in Mika Brzezinski's spot on Morning Joe today, Mitchell, emotion in her voice, hailed Kennedy as "valiant" and a "hero." As for Thurmond, Mitchell mocked that he wasn't alive even when he was in the Senate.
View video here.
The reference to the late South Carolina senator arose in the context of a discussion of the way in which, with the nomination of Barack Obama, the torch of Dem leadership has been passed to a new generation, whereas the same isn't true in John McCain's GOP.
PATRICK BUCHANAN: And in the Democratic party there's a whole new generation, whereas take a look at our party, Mike Barnicle. We got John McCain.
Chuckles all around.
BUCHANAN: I mean, I'm not mocking McCain, I'm not mocking McCain --SCARBOROUGH: He's 70-something and he's not the future.
BUCHANAN: That's exactly right, and the torch has not been passed in the Republican party.
SCARBOROUGH: I mean, if Strom Thurmond were still alive, Barnicle, he might be --
BUCHANAN: He'd be on the ticket!
MITCHELL: He wasn't alive when he was in the Senate!
A few moments later, when Mitchell steered conversation to Ted Kennedy's return to the Senate yesterday, her tone turned from mocking to reverential.
MITCHELL: Let me just quickly ask you, Mike, about a moment on the Senate floor: Democrats, Republicans, united in an ovation for Teddy Kennedy, the valiant senator returning to the floor to vote for the Medicare bill, a key bill that he cared passionately about there.
Mitchell continued, as video rolled of the Kennedy family outside the Capitol.
MITCHELL: Teddy, Vicky and Patrick. Mike—what a hero.
BONUS COVERAGE: Barnicle Accuses Jesse Jackson of 'Corporate Blackmail'
Guest Mike Barnicle had some tough words for Jesse Jackson. Discussing Jackson's "nutty" comments of yesterday, Barnicle offered an explanation as to why the would-be vivisectionist might be feeling resentment towards Obama.
MIKE BARNICLE: There's an element of envy and jealousy that's natural in guys like Clinton and Jackson when it comes to this young Obama, taking the spotlight away from them. And in Jackson's case, it's particularly relevant, because if you look at it, and to be honest about it, Jesse Jackson has spent the better half of the last decade perhaps, basically engaging in corporate blackmail, where he would go to large U.S. corporations: banks, financial institutions, and say "look, we need more black faces in the employment lines here, or else we're going to have to picket outside." And they would contribute to Operation Push and other charitable endeavors that Jesse Jackson sponsored.
Nothing that many others haven't said before. But query whether Barnicle has made similar comments in the past, or did Jackson's tangling with Obama prompt Barnicle to attack Jackson for a first time?
Note: Barnicle's comments came before Mitchell's remarks on Thurmond and Kennedy, but I've placed them after in the video clip to track the discussion here.
Update | 9: 15 AM: Andrea Chummy with 'Shrummy,' Rothschild
When veteran Dem campaign consultant Bob Shrum appeared later Andrea chummily called him "Shrummy." She also let it be known that big Hillary backer Lynn Forester de Rothschild [of those Rothschilds] is "a friend of mine."
—Mark Finkelstein is a NewsBusters contributing editor and host of Right Angle. Contact him at mark@gunhill.net.





















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Andrea Mitchell is a pathetic...
July 10, 2008 - 08:14 ET by ThalpyAndrea Mitchell is a pathetic shill for the impotent governing class in the United States. Her news presentations are unworthy of attention.
"Her news presentations are
July 10, 2008 - 08:16 ET by Mark Finkelstein"Her news presentations are unworthy of attention."
And that's why I focus on them like a laser beam ;-)
whatever they pay you for
July 10, 2008 - 11:27 ET by TruthMongerwhatever they pay you for this daily torture, Mark it isn't enough...
I'd rather be waterboarded myself:)
Thanks TM; I actually get
July 10, 2008 - 12:15 ET by Mark FinkelsteinThanks TM; I actually get true--if twisted--pleasure out of watching and writing about the MSM's antics!
→ Jesse Jackson
July 10, 2008 - 08:16 ET by Cool ArrowBarnicle is just exercising his very recently bestowed rigt to say some thngs he's believed forever but was too politically correct to say.
Jackson makes a comment about separating Obama from his bongos and suddenly the MSM comes to the realization that what we've been saying for years is true.
Hey Barnicle. Your sudden epiphany concerning Jackson is no newflash. Not to us.
If Sharpton had made the comments, you can bet your (things that Jackson seems intent on excising) that theMSM would suddenly discover the Tawana Brawley scandal.
As I watched and listened to
July 10, 2008 - 08:28 ET by KarmaAs I watched and listened to Mitchell utter these assinine praises for this man, I wondered where Mary Jo Kopechnes' valiant hero was when she needed him. Pathetic.
That's when one wants to
July 10, 2008 - 09:04 ET by motherbeltThat's when one wants to quote James Taranto's famous tag line for stories about Ted Kennedy:
Mary Jo Kopechne was unavailable for comment.
Why is it that, according to the media, famous people are "valiant: and "a hero" when they go through something that countless other Americans face? Do they suffer more than "ordinary" people when they are ill?
It's like the tabloids that scream headlines about "So-and-so's brave battle" as if everyone else whimpers and whines when faced with something like cancer or whatever.
As for Mitchell's Thurmond comment, the man is dead, Andrea. Give it a rest, for crying out loud!
Shoot 'em all; let God sort 'em out! - Marge Simpson
I hear ya'
July 10, 2008 - 10:31 ET by KarmaI hear ya' motherbelt.
The elitists' unbridled fascination and adoration of their membership is only exceeded by my disdain for them, but I'm fairly certain they don't lose any sleep over how people like me actually feel about them. However, I'm absolutely certain that I gain blissful sleep over how they feel about me and those like me. Life is great that way.
Valiant. Hero.
Teddy from MA? Not a chance.
Big John from LA? (...he stood six foot six and weighed two forty five...) Now you're talkin' !
Andrea loves uncle teddy
July 10, 2008 - 08:31 ET by cocodrieAndrea loves uncle teddy because he terminated his problems personally instead of contracting them out like a recent president did.
Dude, that's cold. Nice
July 10, 2008 - 09:03 ET by PeskyDaneDude, that's cold. Nice one, though.
I don't recall Strom ever
July 10, 2008 - 08:54 ET by 10ksnookerI don't recall Strom ever killing any one.
With NO respect due to Mitchell
July 10, 2008 - 09:00 ET by DelsaI have to say.
This woman and those of her ilk ie: the upper class, are absolute pigs.
When Kennedy dies the MSM will take months to bury him. They will lament his passing as the end of the Camelot they once knew.
They will pass the tourch to the next Kennedy generation.
And they will NOT speak of the night he got away with murder.
They will, as they already have, continue to cannonize the SOB.
Strom NEVER killed anyone.
Mitchell is an ass and in the tank for SOBama.
An asside.. Barnicle is spot on with how Jackson operates.
One more thing.
I cannot stand A Mitchell
Gee it's so easy for these
July 10, 2008 - 09:10 ET by taterGee it's so easy for these media types...
A person with a (D) by their name...a hero no matter what.
A person with a (R) by their name...the most horrible human being on earth no matter what.
www.theholyrosary.org
"There is no problem, I tell you, no matter how difficult it is, that we can not resolve by the prayer of the Holy Rosary." -Sister Lucia
Big Deal
July 10, 2008 - 09:43 ET by Agrarian-DecentralistMuch ado about nothing. Ted Kennedy is a Senator recently diagnosed with life-threatening cancer who returned for a vote on a bill important to his legacy. Strom Thurmond was a guy who insisted on remaining in the Senate years past the point when his age allowed him to operate effectively. The first situation naturally elicits sympathy. The second, whether we like it or not, draws jokes about age and competence.
welcome back AD
July 10, 2008 - 09:51 ET by candanceNice to have our Certified Genius back to steer us all onto the right path.
Two questions for you my dear. First, Ted Kennedy is 76 now. At what point do the old person jokes begin? When Ted hits that magical number, do we have your permission to ridicule him?
Secondly, please cite a time when the MSM said a kind word about Strom Thurmond regardless of his age.
Candance...I have half a
July 10, 2008 - 09:54 ET by bassndudeCandance...I have half a mind to make fun of him now...After all, Mary Jo, RIP, she would find them funny and I bet she would tell a few of her own. And Kennedy needs to get out. After all, he is not playing with a full deck any more..
Save a SeAL, club a liberal!!
Ted's age
July 10, 2008 - 09:58 ET by candanceKennedy is five years older than McCain and the age jokes about McCain abound. So apparently, if McCain is free game then Kennedy should be too.
Don't tell me a 76 year old undergoing chemo is perfect shape.
The second, whether we like
July 10, 2008 - 09:52 ET by motherbeltThe second, whether we like it or not, draws jokes about age and competence.
That's all very well, but why use Kennedy's situation to bring up Thurmond?
They can't resist bashing a conservative even when he's dead. Ditto Jesse Helms.
Shoot 'em all; let God sort 'em out! - Marge Simpson
A-D: I admire your
July 10, 2008 - 09:53 ET by Mark FinkelsteinA-D: I admire your independence of mind, and take your point. But if you haven't already, I'd encourage you to view the video. Mitchell wasn't merely making the obligatory sympathetic statement about someone confronting cancer. There was real emotion in her voice in calling Kennedy a "hero." She clearly reveres the guy.
Helping pass another social
July 10, 2008 - 10:03 ET by zfHelping pass another social spending bill to cause further damage to the economy and bound more people even deeper into Big Brother elicits no sympathy from me at all, terminally ill or not. I'm sorry to hear of his disease, but that doesn't change the fact he is still a piece of trash.
And "legacy?" Don't make me vomit. He was just another idiot Democrat with a nasty streak and immoral bent to boot. He was just louder than the others. You talk about Strom Thurmond being ineffective, the Democrats are by nature ineffective.
If a prominent Republican had been in Kennedy's place and went back to work to push say, the terrorist spying bill, the MSM would have zero sympathy for him or her.
AD, Kennedy has the same
July 10, 2008 - 10:10 ET by bassndudeAD, Kennedy has the same cancer that killed my brother in law, a few years back. But in my view, Kennedy deserves no better treatment, nor consideration, than he gave Mary Jo. He made no attempt to save her, now he should take his medicine and go.
Save a SeAL, club a liberal!!
The dems "new generation" is
July 10, 2008 - 09:50 ET by zfThe dems "new generation" is actually like the old generation, not much torch passing there.
not much torch passing
July 10, 2008 - 10:19 ET by Jack BauerPlenty of "damp squibb passing" though.
Andrea might like Teddy the
July 10, 2008 - 09:59 ET by buddycAndrea might like Teddy the murderer. She may hate Storm even though he was less of a bigot than Byrd. She may have been on the proven wrong side of almost every major issues of the past 20 years. However only Andrea and her husband, assuming he can see that far, has to look at that body and face which is a picture monument to the argument that you can't stop the ravages of extreme old age.
There are some that would
July 10, 2008 - 10:05 ET by ConservativeRexThere are some that would question Mitchell if her husband was alive while he was in the federal reserve. Not all of his decisions appear to have come from a sentient man.
Good point ConRex
July 10, 2008 - 10:28 ET by Dee BunkI liked Greenspan, but it's a valid comparison that she of all people should be congizant of
"Constantly attacking (peaceful) religions rather than politely sharing your own shows lack of faith " DB
She is such a B#*ch
July 10, 2008 - 10:27 ET by 555-5555AM is such a bi$#h!! I can't stand her snide reporting and her obvious, blatant liberal msm views!
Classy dame!
July 10, 2008 - 10:35 ET by SickofLibsStrom was DOA?
And Greenspan was a virile, robust human dynamo.
I'm just waiting for her face to peel off onto the desk.
(Herr Buchananauer was really karate-chopping up a storm in that clip!)
Kennedy would be DEAD under socialized medicine
July 10, 2008 - 10:37 ET by Jack BauerAnd let's be perfectly clear -- had Senator Kennedy chosen to act as if he was already living under a government run socialized National Health Service, he'd probably be DEAD right now, or at least before he even had an MRI..
Countries like Great Britain's National Health Service ration by many criterion. AGE being a big factor in determing your fate.
As a 76 year old man he would have been at the BOTTOM of a very long list to even get an MRI to diagnose what he had.
He was operated on within 2 days in the US. NO chance under the NHS. He would be left to die. That's the facts ma'am.
You forget that some people
July 10, 2008 - 10:48 ET by MassConservYou forget that some people are more equal than others Jack. If he couldn't pay to get preferential health care here in the US, he'd just fly somewhere else and pay for it there. The man has enough money he can afford to give (read: legislate for) the rest of us all that we 'deserve', and just pay the way for his own 'needs'.
Edit: Meaning, he'll be exempt from the consequences you point out, one way or another.
MassC .. that's was part of
July 10, 2008 - 10:58 ET by Jack BauerMassC .. yeah, that's part of my point. The system he wants to force on you wouldn't affect him as he has the money top avoid it.
It's like the Carbon Offsets scam. Rich people can bypass what they insist everyone else does.
Gore gets to use the energy needed to power a small city, but you have to drive at 55mph and turn off your AC.
Jack,
July 10, 2008 - 12:17 ET by MassConservSo very true.
But I think they might let us use the AC now. Studies have shown that running the AC uses less gas when compared to the wind drag of an open window. Or do you think we'll all be required to sweat it out with the windows closed. Wait... that might be a good weight loss regimen! ;-)
Right MassConserv
July 10, 2008 - 10:52 ET by Dee BunkEven with socialized health care, the Celebrities and the Rich and powerful would still get special treatment. Some would bribe and pay for it (Like in the Movie the Barbarian Invasions) and some would get it because people in charge of the lists would be afraid of what could be done to them by someone politically connected, and some would just get special treatment because someone idolized their celebrity.
It's the upper,middle and lower middle class that would be the most screwed by National health care.
The poor and the super rich would pretty much get the same treatment they do now.
"Constantly attacking (peaceful) religions rather than politely sharing your own shows lack of faith " DB
Teddy Kennedy the HERO................
July 10, 2008 - 11:11 ET by connmanlike the night he sat on his a$$ blubbering like the fat POS that he is over the future of his political career while Mary Jo was gasping for air! Getting back to the good Reverend, as pointed out on Boortz, wasn't it Jesse that began the whole hyphenated African-American stuff years ago? He calls them Black people and crickets chirp. Hey Barnacle JJ has, is, and always will be the "Shakedown Artist"!
This town needs an enema! - The Joker
MITCHELL: Teddy, Vicky and
July 10, 2008 - 12:06 ET by misterbee241MITCHELL: Teddy, Vicky and Patrick. Mike—what a hero.
Maybe this is what Andrea was thinking:
Hero - a large sandwich, usually consisting of a small loaf of bread or long
roll cut in half lengthwise and containing a variety of ingredients, as
meat, cheese, lettuce, and tomatoes.
Here's the definition of a real hero and Teddy aint it:
a man of distinguished courage or ability, admired for his brave deeds and noble qualities.
hero. (n.d.). Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1). Retrieved July 10, 2008, from Dictionary.com website: http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/hero
"There is none so blind as they that won’t see."
Jonathan Swift 1667-1745
Even though I think that
July 10, 2008 - 12:15 ET by marpelEven though I think that Andrea Mitchell is a very smug, patronizing individual, I don't think she's stupid. I've enjoyed her co-hosting Morning Joe this week. She's head and shoulders above that idiot, Mika B. I don't agree with her, but at least she's added a little more intelligence that that other "thing".
marple... Maby be 1/32nd
July 10, 2008 - 18:45 ET by bigtimermarple...
Maby be 1/32nd of a brain cell, and that still is saying maybe too much...
"America isn't the problem...America is the solution." ~ Rush Limbaugh
DITTO
July 10, 2008 - 12:15 ET by marpelDITTO
Ted Kennedy's heroism??!!
July 10, 2008 - 13:31 ET by c5thenHe drives his car off a bridge in Chappaquiddick, MA and only manages to save himself and not his date Mary Jo sitting in the passenger seat next to him. Hero's like this should never ever be elected to hold any public office. It is to the eternal shame of Massachusettes that this coward has been their representative in the Senate for any length of time at all.
The day that "politician" became a career choice is the day we started losing the Republic. Let's get it back! Alan Keyes '08.
It really does boggle the
July 10, 2008 - 13:41 ET by MassConservIt really does boggle the mind, C5.
I've never, would never and could never vote for the man but, given where I live, that hardly matters. I've even got relatives that revere the man... All I can do is shake my head.
Ted Kennedy is a valiant
July 10, 2008 - 17:37 ET by fitzfongTed Kennedy is a valiant hero. After all, he managed to save his own life when he drove that car off the bridge. Not to mention the organizational skills it took for him to set up the press conference and subsequent police investigation...and he pulled it all off while under the influence of alcohol. A true American Hero!
Andrea Mitchell should be an authority on the living dead. What with all that botox, collagen, plastic surgery, embalming fluid and her speech pattern, the only difference between her and a corpse are the threads designed to keep her mouth closed.
"Government's view of the economy could be summed up in a few short phrases: If it moves, tax it. If it keeps moving, regulate it. And if it stops moving, subsidize it." -Ronald Reagan
fitzfong.blogspot.com
Pretty cold, fitz...
July 10, 2008 - 17:52 ET by ThalpyPretty cold, fitz; I like it! I just wish you could find a way to make your feelings on this a bit clearer.
the hero of the Chappaquiddick Incident
July 10, 2008 - 17:05 ET by wizardjrRemember how bravely he swam away to get help. And a few drinks. And a lawyer. I'm sure Mary Jo considers him her hero. Right?
What is Andrea Mitchell
July 10, 2008 - 18:19 ET by VinceP1974Can someone tell me what Andrea Mitchell is morphing into?
I dunno, but she bears
July 10, 2008 - 18:39 ET by Chris NormanI dunno, but she bears little resemblence to the Andrea Mitchell of even ten years ago. In the picture, she looks like she's wearing a kabuki mask. I guess this is what results when they've stretched one's knee caps up to one's cheeks.
McNotObama '08