Chris Matthews Admits 'National Media Leans a Little to the Left'
The next time you get into an argument with a liberal about whether or not the media is biased, show him or her the following video of MSNBC's Chris Matthews admitting on Friday's Hardball that it is (video follows with transcript and commentary):
JOHN HEILEMANN, NEW YORK MAGAZINE: You have sat out on the Iowa sidelines the entire year, and have kind of tried to convey to people that you’re not going to compete there. Now at the last minute you decide because the field is split among the social conservatives that you have a chance to win that state, win New Hampshire, and put this away quickly. If you go out there as the frontrunner, and now you’re playing in Iowa, I think the national media narrative is going to quickly become, “Is Mitt Romney making the same mistake as he made in 2008 when he tried to do the same strategy – win Iowa, win New Hampshire, put the race away?”
CHRIS MATTHEWS, HOST: I agree with you.
HEILEMANN: I think if he’s raised the bar, he’s going to raise the bar very high for himself. It’s going to be very hard to lower expectations the way they think they can.
MATTHEWS: And that’s what we call a dynamic. He goes in there and says, “I’m running, I can win,” and because we know he doesn’t take chances, the national media, which leans a little to the left I could argue, could smash him.
That warrants repeating: "The national media, which leans a little to the left I could argue."
What we need is for Matthews and every other member of the news media to admit this in every report they're involved with.
Then maybe all the nation's editors and producers will be forced to do something about it, for what all Americans deserve is a completely fair and balanced media.
Until that point, it's largely propaganda.
- Noel Sheppard's blog
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Comments
Thank you, Chris.
Submitted by PeskyDane on Fri, 11/25/2011 - 7:35pm.
Thank you, Chris.
"A little"?
Submitted by rbosque on Fri, 11/25/2011 - 7:35pm.
"A little"?
A little????
Submitted by ferv888 on Fri, 11/25/2011 - 7:37pm.
Find the material when Dan Rather cornered Bernie Goldberg about writing an op ed for the WSJ. Rather laid into Goldberg for writing for a right wing newspaper. Goldberg responds, "Dan, you just wrote for the NYT's."
Rather's response? Well the NYT's is right down the middle, unlike the WSJ. OH MY
FERV888
A little to the Left...?
Submitted by zenman1661 on Fri, 11/25/2011 - 8:06pm.
You mean like Michael Moore is a little over weight or Nancy Pelosi is a little dishonest. I just wonder if Matthews has enough credibility left for anyone to take that seriously.
a little
Submitted by needle on Fri, 11/25/2011 - 10:04pm.
In fact. very little.
- Looking forward to the self-annihilation of the Manipulated Stories Machine.
Yeah, and the Packers are
Submitted by gopsteve on Fri, 11/25/2011 - 8:08pm.
Yeah, and the Packers are "kind of" a good football team!
How much distance is there in
Submitted by brerol on Fri, 11/25/2011 - 8:10pm.
How much distance is there in "a little?"
Good evening brerol
Submitted by cocodrie on Fri, 11/25/2011 - 8:36pm.
A little is the distance between two points stretching from here to there.
Jesus Loves You so much He died for you
Leans?
Submitted by ThisnThat on Fri, 11/25/2011 - 8:34pm.
How about "bends at the waist", or "touches your toes" left? And --- it's no longer "left". It's full-tilt progressive, better known as radical communism or anarchism.
__________
“Didn't win the Medal of Honor? Didn't even serve? Then lie about it. We'll support you." — 9th Circuit Court
Saying that the media leans a
Submitted by HelloDare on Fri, 11/25/2011 - 8:30pm.
Saying that the media leans a little to the left (arguably) is not the same as saying that the media it biased to the left. Matthews would not say that. But he admits it when he says that the media "could smash him."
Matthews uses a lot of weasel words but it's obvious that he knows the media is biased and will do just about anything to get Obama reelected.
Fear of Rejection
Submitted by Jerry Mack on Fri, 11/25/2011 - 8:31pm.
Tingles the Racer is giving his all to prove that he is worthy of having his book purchased and read.( He'll say anything to get attention.)
If the MSM was to move any further to the left...
Submitted by Dave. on Fri, 11/25/2011 - 8:41pm.
...they would fall off the friggin' planet.
-Dave
Vote for the American in November
Dave
Submitted by Jerry Mack on Fri, 11/25/2011 - 8:51pm.
Many,many of them just move to California where they fit right in.
A little left.....
Submitted by pvoce on Fri, 11/25/2011 - 8:42pm.
Why do Bob Uecker's words "Just a bit outside" come to mind?
That's like saying that a woman is a 'little' pregnant
Submitted by Dave. on Fri, 11/25/2011 - 8:42pm.
-Dave
Vote for the American in November
I was thinking more
Submitted by killa37 on Sat, 11/26/2011 - 12:38am.
I was thinking more like..............if you're on a sailboat, and it's laid way over to the portside.........and then some guy is leaning over the rail - puking - that might qualify as 'leaning a litte bit to the left.........in relation to the whole situation.
Noel,
Submitted by compman on Fri, 11/25/2011 - 9:23pm.
Noel, What does your buddy Joe Scarborough think about this?
Did you ever answer anyone's question about why you called Scarborough a "Conservative"?
compman
Submitted by Noel Sheppard on Sat, 11/26/2011 - 11:08am.
compman,
What would you have me say? You folks so despise Joe that you missed all the interesting points made by the two of us in a 70-minute interview that we both thoroughly enjoyed. That's why it went so long.
Do I think Scarborough is a conservative? Yes, I do. But I also think, as he explained, he is playing a role on America's most liberal cable news network that as I expressed I don't agree with. I thought I made that tremendously clear, but, again, in everyone's haste to tear me apart for referring to him as a conservative, that section was totally ignored.
Too bad, because despite the "offensive" use of the word "conservative," there were a lot of good points made by both of us. I'm saddened that so few people here noticed.
What else that went ignored is that Joe walked into the lion's den to a certain extent willing to face his detractors. You might be disappointed that I didn't slay him, but that wasn't my goal with the interview. Despite my criticism of him, he still represents MSNBC's only right-leaning host, and is therefore in my view an ally rather than an enemy. Do I wish he would stick up more for conservatism on the show? You bet I do, and I made that point quite strongly despite few here noticing.
Maybe my input expressed in a constructive rather than a destructive manner will have an impact. The manager in me wants to think so.
ns
Noel, while I agree with you
Submitted by amyshulk on Sat, 11/26/2011 - 5:46pm.
Noel, while I agree with you that you did a great interview with Joe, I think the blowback is more a function of us seeing what allying ourselves with people who get pulled ever leftward results in. I've stated I grew up in Callie, did 11 years in the USN, never took to religion, and even *I* can see the damage done by the policies only 18-20% fully support!
Seeing D's run their leftest of the left without apology, who get elected/reelected, while the R's pulled left were removed in 2010 {and 2012 will be better - or worse, if you are one of the pols.} I wonder at our lack of critical thinking skills as a society.
I think patting the Joe's of the world on the back is the wrong approach - how can we get the facts and decide who to vote for if the gatekeepers have their thumbs on the scale? I've also admitted to being 50 and voting for the 1st time in 2010, because I was too lazy to dig for "The REST of the story" so I never felt confident enough.
Personally, I'd rather the focus to vote was on educating ourselves, but even though it's easier now with NB and FOX, etc., it's still a lot of work!
Ronald Reagan
This is a minor victory.
Submitted by dydx on Fri, 11/25/2011 - 9:55pm.
Chris Matthews admitting that the national media arguably leans to the left is a good thing. What kills me is a lot of the comments here are still snarky.
Why can't people here just embrace something good and just be happy about for 5 min? This is a small concession on CW's part which will hopefully lead to at least an admittance by others to a leftward bias in the supposedly objective media. And hopefully that will lead to a shift toward the center. Eventually. Maybe.
Seems like many here just want an instant victory....and those rarely happen. Minor battles won a little or no cost are always a good thing.
Nah, it ain't a minor victory, ---
Submitted by matthewdean on Fri, 11/25/2011 - 10:30pm.
it is merely a case of a liberal liar once again shading the truth.
Snark is good; it provides a way to vent without shedding someone else's bodily fluids.
Except, maybe, their tears.
MD
Because for the SMALL
Submitted by killa37 on Sat, 11/26/2011 - 12:42am.
Because for the SMALL perctentage of times that the Leghumper, or others, actually swerve into the truth - as compared to the overwhelmingly LARGE percentage of times that they toe the state-run line.............it's folly, as well as delusional, to think that they are going to finally 'get it'. We can point out their little 'gaffes'...........but come tomorrow, they will be back on board with the agenda - it's proven every time.
Maybe...
Submitted by dydx on Sat, 11/26/2011 - 9:45am.
...but he just recently had more than a lilttle bashfest on Obama, which does give one "hope" that their bias is slowly sinking in.
And even though that SMALL percentage is still SMALL, it's about TRIPLE what it used to be. The plummeting readerships and viewerships, the polls that show the majority of America being aware of the bias, their praise of OWS that just blew up in their faces, hypocritical Obamacare waivers issued by Pelosi et al. to thousands of companies, etc... all seem like it's dawning on them, albeit slowly.
I used to listen to Tammy Bruce off and on for years back in the 90's and maybe even the 80's on the radio. I'd get so mad listening to her arrogant liberal rantings. Now it seems she's done a complete 180. Used to watch Juan Williams on occasion back then too. And he's come around slightly.
Do I think that hardcore media lefties like Krugman, Dowd, Totenberg, Rather, Couric, blah blah are ever going to turn around? I really doubt it. but it seems that some hear won't let go of their bitterness until that happens.
I get your point,
Submitted by killa37 on Sat, 11/26/2011 - 2:55pm.
I get your point, dydx...........I even KNOW people who have managed to crawl their way from the dark side, or are at least starting to see the light about where they are/were. I guess I'm still somewhat unfazed and non-optimistic about it - at least until I see that it actually 'transforms' into a reality and Boy Barry (as well as the other communist/socialist politicians) is rudely and soundly defeated - by people who have a totally opposite viewpoint of how this country should operate and be run...........and even IF we get that result, it's going to be a tough road to hoe.
Tammy Bruce was a flaming lib??? Well, I'm out here in the middle of the ocean - so I miss a lot of things, and I've only been computer savvy for about 3 years!! I read that Ed Shultz used to be a 'conservative' - but I"m having a hard time believing that.
From watching Juan Williams, I always thought the guy was kind of a 'softie' lib who had a partially semi-open mind - and I still feel that way............except that he found out where that got him from PBS, right??? As for the Leghumper - yeah, I've heard him do a little 'Barry-bashing'...............but it always seems to me that it is delivered through a prism of 'c'mon, Boy Barry, you're my idol......you're my savior...........I BELIEVE IN YOU!!!! Please don't let me down!!! Don't make me think like this!!!' It's almost like he's pleading Obama to prove him wrong about what he is thinking or saying..............and I really don't think that Obama gives a rat's rear end about Matthews, or just about anybody else either. And if Boy BlahBlah DID go on the Leghumper's show - KABOOM!!! It would be kneepad time all over again!!!
Let go of bitterness, dydx, against liberals, so as to---
Submitted by matthewdean on Sat, 11/26/2011 - 11:18pm.
what; be in better shape to bend over and grab the ankles?
MD
WOW, what next?
Submitted by needle on Fri, 11/25/2011 - 10:02pm.
Who knows? Any day now Chris Matthews may "admit" the Pope is a Catholic!
- Looking forward to the self-annihilation of the Manipulated Stories Machine.
Matthews admits to nothing really ...
Submitted by metaphorsbwithu on Fri, 11/25/2011 - 11:49pm.
When people like Chris Matthews says the media leans a little to the left, he does so from a much different reference point than yours.
To liberals, THEY are mainstream, representing, they believe, the majority of people in this country and already occupy a centrist position so there is a lot of wiggling room to the left and right of center.
Conservatives, they believe, people who believe in mainstream ideas like Constitutional federalism, rule of law, individualism, unalienable rights, American exceptionalism, and so forth are right wing extremists.
I once saw Markos Moulitsas tell Charlie Rose that the Daily Kos crowd represents mainstream Americam so you know how deluded these people can be.
Even the liberal Rose found it hard to suppress a bemused chuckle at that one.
Say whut?
Submitted by Jake6 on Sat, 11/26/2011 - 12:00am.
I think that Chris needs to be checked out. It would appear that the real Chris Matthews has been abducted and this one is an alien in a Chris Matthews suit (why, would be a very interesting question).
The media is on the twenty
Submitted by eaglewingz08 on Sat, 11/26/2011 - 2:18am.
The media is on the twenty yard line of dem socialism as their reportage (propaganda) for OWS made abundantly clear.
I would say
Submitted by Prisondog1776 on Sat, 11/26/2011 - 2:37am.
they are on the 10 yard line with Ryan Leaf trying to move the ball. ;)
Matthews
Submitted by Kleenex on Sat, 11/26/2011 - 5:32am.
Matthews looks like a bowling ball with a blond wig, and he's "almost" as smart. You could launch hundreds balloons with the hot air that's comes out of this guy. I often watch MSNBC just for laughs, it's better than the comedy channel.
Methinks Chrissy has been
Submitted by rockyracoon on Sat, 11/26/2011 - 6:14am.
Methinks Chrissy has been indulging on a few adult beverages, here.
Facts are like kryptonite to the liberal.
So Chris admits the msm not
Submitted by amyshulk on Sat, 11/26/2011 - 5:31pm.
So Chris admits the msm not only "leans" left, but they will destroy R's? How is the FCC not banning them from broadcasting prior to elections???
Ronald Reagan
Matthews Realizes
Submitted by PoolPlayer on Sat, 11/26/2011 - 7:35pm.
Matthews is beginning to realize that his only hope to be relevant is to pretend not to be so in the tank. I don't trust him - even a liitle bit. He is trying to change his colors for now - but he'll change back during the general election. Once an a$$h011 always an a$$h011.