Politico Suspends Reporter Joe Williams for 'Controversial Comments' About Mitt Romney
Politico announced Friday that it has suspended White House correspondent Joe Williams for "controversial comments" he's made about Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney in recent days.
Dylan Byers reported hours ago:
"Regrettably, an unacceptable number of Joe Williams's public statements on cable and Twitter have called into question his commitment to this responsibility," POLITICO's founding editors John Harris and Jim VandeHei wrote in a memo to the staff. "His comment about Governor Romney earlier today on MSNBC fell short of our standards for fairness and judgment in an especially unfortunate way."
"Joe has acknowledged that his appearance reflected a poor choice of words," the continued. "This appearance came in the context of other remarks on Twitter that, cumulatively, require us to make clear that our standards are serious, and so are the consequences for disregarding them. This is true for all POLITICO journalists, including an experienced and well-respected voice like Joe Williams."
"Following discussion of this matter with editors, Joe has been suspended while we review the matter," they wrote.
The MSNBC incident, reported by Washington Free Beacon, involved Williams saying on the Martin Bashir Show Thursday that Romney appeared most comfortable around "white folks." This was quickly linked by the Drudge Report receiving a huge amount of attention.
Hours later, Breitbart's John Nolte caught Williams tweeting, "Either Ann Romney meant Mitt is flaccid or that when we 'unzip him' we'll find he's a dick." This included a link to an ABCNews.com blog.
Certainly, Politico is to be commended for its action, but this raises some other issues.
First, will there be any disciplinary action taken by MSNBC against Bashir for tacitly agreeing with Williams's comments Thursday by not challenging them?
Let's understand that since Romney has become the presumptive Republican presidential nominee, virtually every hour of MSNBC broadcasting includes someone making deplorable comments about the former Massachusetts governor and his family.
Maybe it's high time the head honchos at NBC, Comcast, and General Electric recognize as Politico has that its anchors and commentators regularly fall "short" of "standards for fairness and judgment."
On the other hand, MSNBC has practically become Politico's news network. You almost can't turn on this cable station without seeing a Politico reporter or editor either speaking Democrat talking points or trashing Republicans, in particular Romney.
If Politico has any intention of being perceived as an impartial news source and not as Rush Limbaugh would say "an annex of the Democrat National Committee," it seriously needs to rethink its ties to MSNBC.
To be sure, the exposure the publication gets as a result of its employees constantly being on this so-called "news network" is considerable despite the low ratings.
But as no one on the planet takes seriously what emanates from this farce of a station, having your representatives regularly on television laughing and guffawing with the likes of Martin Bashir, Al Sharpton, Ed Schultz, and Lawrence O'Donnell as they exclusively trash Republicans can't possibly help your brand.
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— Noel Sheppard (@NoelSheppard) June 9, 2012
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Comments
Who would expect that out of Po-LIB-ico?
Submitted by frank14 on Fri, 06/22/2012 - 10:00am.
I'm shocked shocked!
Whites have to be held to a higher standard.
Submitted by James3 on Fri, 06/22/2012 - 1:27pm.
Blacks can say anything short of ''those honkey cracker whitey kkk loving inbred hillbillies of the Republican party'', and not be called on it by the MSM. All I have to do is be born white to automatically be a racist....WTF?
His comments were RACIST
Submitted by fivestring_assassin on Fri, 06/22/2012 - 10:01am.
it's good someone had the integrity to suspend Williams.....he's been guilty of being an overt racist for a good long time
Now if only MSNBC would get rid of the rest of their stable of racists,,,,,starting with Sharpton and Bashir
But why just suspend?
Submitted by KornKing on Fri, 06/22/2012 - 10:08am.
They're not going to let the guy go. If they want to keep him, and want to show they're serious, every story the guy's involved with should carry the disclaimer "Williams is a bigoted idiot"
Question
Submitted by Unsane on Fri, 06/22/2012 - 11:24am.
If MSNBC got rid of their "stable of racists", who the hell would be left, including the production crew?
"CONSUMED DEMOCRACY RETURNS A SOCIALIST REGIME" - Slayer, "Fictional Reality", from Divine Intervention (1994)
They only suspended him because his comments made Drudge
Submitted by Dave. on Fri, 06/22/2012 - 10:06am.
Nobody reads ABC's site.
And I am just sure the PTB at Politico actually disagreed with what Williams said.
Yeah, sure they did.
-Dave
Vote for the American in November
Another Twit-diot
Submitted by Galvanic on Fri, 06/22/2012 - 11:13am.
Why do pols, celebrities, and MSMers use Twitter? Look how often it gets them in trouble.
They're twit-diots.
Yawn. Meh. Big whoop. So he gets a week or 2 of extra vacation.
Submitted by SickofLibs on Fri, 06/22/2012 - 10:20am.
And it's not like Politco's "journalists" actually go into the office every day anyway like the most of us.
And as Fivestring pointed out above, the crap coming out of Sharpton and Bashir's racist pieholes EVERY DAY is way worse than what Williams said, IMO.
I need to get new glasses.
Submitted by Kubrickfilmfan73 on Fri, 06/22/2012 - 10:30am.
I must've skipped the part where Williams said, "Mitt Romeny is a fine gentleman and would make a great president."
Andrea Mitchell got away with
Submitted by cristo on Fri, 06/22/2012 - 10:31am.
Andrea Mitchell got away with cutting a Romney video in such a way that it twisted the intent of his speech. She never apologized for it, but came up with a lame excuse that she did not have time to show the entire clip. Damage done. She goes on her merry way. Got another one over on The Man. Someone ought to do a good long piece on her "financial guru" husband, Alan Greenspan, and track his involvement with the recent Wall Street crash and expose this flapjackin' ditch living slime ball for what she is.
The long Liberals talk, the
Submitted by clancie on Fri, 06/22/2012 - 10:41am.
The long Liberals talk, the more they reveal who they are: hate filled bigots.
I am sure he is confused
Submitted by John21 on Fri, 06/22/2012 - 10:48am.
I am sure he is confused today, he repeated the "Politico" talking point verbatium, and now he is suspended. Maybe, Politico is beginning to see the writing on the wall that the "Chicago Jesus" will not be around next year and is actually trying to become a credible sourse, Nah!!!!!
If it looks and acts like a racist....
Submitted by jerzeepeg on Fri, 06/22/2012 - 10:50am.
I am constantly amazed how the MSM allows racists remarks like this to go unchecked. I think liberals are stunned at how they are being called out. They have always been able to get away with this race baiting. Times are a changing people.
If it looks and acts like a racist....
Submitted by jerzeepeg on Fri, 06/22/2012 - 10:50am.
I am constantly amazed how the MSM allows racists remarks like this to go unchecked. I think liberals are stunned at how they are being called out. They have always been able to get away with this race baiting. Times are a changing people.
Politico=MSNBC=Obama White House
Submitted by CivilWarGuy on Fri, 06/22/2012 - 10:50am.
Politico's boss Jim VandeHei, who "suspended" Williams, is himself a former Dem party staffer, now magically transformed into a "journalist."
"Journalist"?
Submitted by Andante on Fri, 06/22/2012 - 11:15am.
Democratic Rep. Gary Ackerman, a retiring Congressman that has represented Queens, New York since 1983, told Bloomberg in an interview that he believes “the people have gotten dumber....”
"...But I think that’s true. I mean everything has changed. The media has changed. We now give broadcast licenses to philosophies instead of people. People get confused and think there is no difference between news and entertainment. People who project themselves as journalists on television don’t know the first thing about journalism. They are just there stirring up a hockey game.”
The rest of the story:
http://www.mediaite.com/online/retiring-democratic-congressman-the-peopl...
-------------------------------------
"Nothing in the world is more dangerous than sincere ignorance and conscientious stupidity." --Martin Luther King, Jr.
What Ackerman doesnt acknowledge
Submitted by misterbee241 on Fri, 06/22/2012 - 11:45am.
is the people have gotten dumber because of policies he and his Kleptocratic Party have put in place for the last forty years. He is looking through a glass darkly.
This turd is a disgusting racist.
Submitted by hbnolikeee on Fri, 06/22/2012 - 10:54am.
But of course, since he's black, that can't be. Only a white man can be racist, we all know that, right?
Romney comments
Submitted by MadCharles on Fri, 06/22/2012 - 10:55am.
Going on MSNBC is a failure of commitment to Politico's responsibility. Politico might as well just host the station no one watches to match their blog.
"standards for fairness and judgment"
Submitted by Newsbubba on Fri, 06/22/2012 - 10:56am.
I needed a laugh like that this morning!!!! Thanks Politico-bureau.
I saw that on Drudge and ho-hummed it. What's new? Besides only about thirteen hundred people saw it on MESSNBC, maybe less.
Besides, these clowns have it all wrong. Romney ain't spending his time on Fox "because he feels comfortable with white folks." He's there because they actually have viewers; white ones, black ones, white-Hispanic ones, pink ones (my grand daughters get to watch while I feed them), maybe even some green ones! Who knows.
Another reason could be that Fox wasn't a random name picked for that channel. Have you checked the smoking hot, lovely, sexy, smart, and did I say smoking hot, yet? women on that Foxy channel?
I mean, get real guys. Who wouldn't want to be interviewed by ANY of them, especially Jamie Colby? Hell, even the weather ladies are all hotties.
Yeah, Romney ain't , or is no dummy. The best looking thing on the Liberal channels may be Andrea Mitchell. What a wretched wench, or is it wrench?
"standards for fairness and judgment"
Submitted by Newsbubba on Fri, 06/22/2012 - 11:06am.
Hanging fire, this morning for some reason.
As sick as I am of the constant "racist" meme-
Submitted by bkeyser on Fri, 06/22/2012 - 11:15am.
I'm not for suspensions in these kind of incidents. There is a 1st Amendment right to speak his mind and he has every right to his own opinion. A suspension will only force the guy to watch what he says, but will have no effect on his overall opinion. The suspension isn't about "Joe Williams" (whom I've never heard of before this episode), it's about protecting the false reputation of Politico. Surely they knew this was the prevailing opinion of Joe Williams since surely he didn't choose to infer that Romney is a racist for the very first time on an MSNBC camera; Politico is reacting because they're public embarrassed.
I say, let the guy spew his hate. That's what it is. It's hate. And fear. Let him say it all he wants. He and his ilk -including the vast majority of Politico reporters- are finally being exposed for what they are: left-wing hacks without objectivity, working on behalf of the Obama campaign. Independents will see right through this, and will be rightfully turned off by it.
Romney by 10.
One problem with this argument
Submitted by Unsane on Fri, 06/22/2012 - 11:27am.
Yes, there IS a 1st Amendment...
But Mr. Williams was not suspended by a government agency. Sure, he was suspended by a government mouthpiece, but they are still a private agency. Hence, they could suspend him for any reason, even "looking at the camera wrong".
"CONSUMED DEMOCRACY RETURNS A SOCIALIST REGIME" - Slayer, "Fictional Reality", from Divine Intervention (1994)
You make an excellent point
Submitted by misterbee241 on Fri, 06/22/2012 - 11:48am.
However, I do agree that Williams should be put front and center. Too many people think this trash is real news instead of opinion.
Unsane
Submitted by bkeyser on Fri, 06/22/2012 - 11:54am.
Oh, I agree that Politico can suspend him. And I understand why they did; as I said above, it was to protect the organization, not to punish Williams. But is has the effect of stifling free speech which I think is wrong.
No, it doesn't
Submitted by CobraMan on Fri, 06/22/2012 - 1:04pm.
No, the only "effect" it could possibly have is on the man's employment at Politico. He can still twitter his thoughts to anyone who cares to read them. He may lose his position at Politico, but that won't prevent him from speaking.
The Citizens of each State shall be entitled to all Privileges and Immunities of Citizens in the several States. The US Constitution
Unless you're a fetus. The US Supreme Court
Or Anwar al-Awlaki.
I agree but not as a 1st Amendment issue
Submitted by misterbee241 on Fri, 06/22/2012 - 11:50am.
I'd call it more like the Revelation of Truth. This would force these so called "neutral" and "objective" news networks to show the public who and what they really are. Let him speak. Let HIM be the face of the Kleptocrat Party.
It's about time
Submitted by jetcat on Fri, 06/22/2012 - 11:24am.
This is all about race and it's getting old. It's time to send a message that the black guilt BS doesn't work any more. He needs to get a non-affirmative action education.
This is what Obama wants and there's going to be a backlash.
Double standards
Submitted by Mattheus on Fri, 06/22/2012 - 11:26am.
It seems that when a white person makes a comment or other that merely can be interpreted as "racist", that person gets fired.
When a black person makes "racist" comments or other, that person is allowed to apologize, and they get to keep their job.
It was the same thing with Jeremy Lin. A white ESPN reporter uses "chink in the armor" to describe a situation where the Knicks suddenly had a losing game after a winning streak. It is assumed that "chink in the armor" has to be a racial slur referring to Lin and he is let go. The assumption is that white people are always trying to sneak in racism whenever they can.
Meanwhile, Jason Whitlock of Fox Sports can tweet some very disparaging Asian slurs regarding Lin, and he gets to apologize and keep his job.
That is the real racism. We hold non-whites to a lesser standard than whites. It's like saying that we can't expect non-whites to be able to hold the same standard. Equal rights, equal responsibilities, equal standards.
BK~
Submitted by GG_NB on Fri, 06/22/2012 - 11:33am.
You make good points. I'm much more on the "shine a light on it" side...as long as it's covered by a real news organization. Let people see all that ugliness and unfairness.
I've never heard of this guy either.
"If not us, who? If not now, when?"
~Ronald Reagan
Racist reporter
Submitted by slickzip on Fri, 06/22/2012 - 11:35am.
This scumbag needs to move to Kenya and take ODUMBA with him ,
The stupidity of the American liberal continues in perpetuity.
Submitted by misterbee241 on Fri, 06/22/2012 - 11:41am.
Of course Romney is most comfortable around white folks, stupid, because he IS white folks.
I am convinced, stupid cannot be fixed or repaired. It can only be passed on to the next unfortunate generation.
And Romney's not the dick, Williams, YOU are. But I'd rephrase it a little bit differently.
Politico knows that now they
Submitted by Pinetree3 on Fri, 06/22/2012 - 11:47am.
Politico knows that now they will be accused of racism by progressives,,,don't they?
This just proves
Submitted by Okieflyover on Fri, 06/22/2012 - 12:56pm.
Noone watches that show. No attention until it hit drudge.
Proof positive....
Submitted by JLin on Fri, 06/22/2012 - 1:37pm.
Not only is this guy a typical Democrat rote irrational ideologue but he is stupid as well. He Tweets this stuff and does not consider the repercussions?
"Who Cares"
Submitted by James Youngblood on Fri, 06/22/2012 - 3:16pm.
Who care's what MSNBC or Politico says or does. They are both irrelevant.
J. Youngblood
HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA
Submitted by liberalsarefunny on Fri, 06/22/2012 - 3:27pm.
Joe Williams: Common Racist and Affirmative Action Grad.
***FIRE JOE WILLIAMS EMAILS***
Submitted by rickinnyc on Fri, 06/22/2012 - 3:31pm.
*** FIRE JOE WILLIAMS ****
It'll take two minutes to fill out the email box at POLITICO, send it as Editorial Inquiry & it will go to his managers. Demand Joe Williams be canned!
http://www.politico.com/aboutus/feedback.html
I'm just enjoying the show.
Submitted by Slyrr on Sat, 06/23/2012 - 1:05am.
I'm just enjoying the show. The entire liberal/Obama house of cards is collapsing around them. No matter how they try to spin things, it is obvious to one and all that Obama and his entire presidency is a disaster, a failed experiment.
And as has been mentioned before, the liberal media is sinking along with the Obama Titanic. The liberal media were the ones who whored themselves for Obama, telling all of America that if they would only elect their pet black president, then he would blast rainbows out of his candy @$$ and everyone would live forever in paradise on Earth. They were the ones who said that Obama would 'lower the levels of the sea', that he was a 'sort of god standing above us all', and that 'the crease in his pants makes him qualified to rule the world'.
The liberal media boldly declared that it was 'their job to make him look good'.
And now we see what a crap job they've done. There's no amount of polish in the galaxy that they can slather onto Obama enough to beautify the pile of manure that is his regime. Obama was, is, and always will be a failure as a leader.
Even Obama's media slaves can't fool the American people into believing that 16 Trillion dollars of debt, and 3 million people out of business is a 'success'. They can't look at the world spiralling out of control under his 'leadership' and say that he's the super-genius they sold him as.
The media gambled all of their credibility on Obama. Now they are exposed. But before they, and their failed president go down, they're going to work harder than ever to spit in our faces and tell us it's rain water.
Don't let them fool you again.
Thumbs up, Slyrr, ---
Submitted by matthewdean on Sat, 06/23/2012 - 4:54am.
great post.
MD