Flashback: New MSNBC Host Martin Bashir Once Spun FL Community as 'Catholic Jonestown'
MSNBC host Martin Bashir, whose new 3pm show premiered on Monday, has quickly adapted to his new home. Over three programs, he's lauded the "outstanding" coverage of left-wing anchor Ed Schultz and also featured the liberal Rachel Maddow and Dylan Ratigan.
Perhaps this shouldn't be too surprising. On August 7, 2007, as co-host of ABC's Nightline, Bashir derided Ave Maria, a planned Catholic community in Florida. He parroted criticism that the town has "been described as a Catholic Jonestown, a kind of Catholic Iran, where individual rights and liberties are curtailed."
Profiling Maricopa County Joe Arpaio on December 14, 2009, the journalist assailed the "brutal regime" of the anti-illegal immigrant sheriff. Speaking of critics, Bashir complained, "They don't like it because stopping people on the streets because they look Hispanic is racial profiling."
On Monday, Bashir lashed out at the "disingenuous" spending plans of a Tea Party Republican. On Tuesday, he hailed the "measured" response of Barack Obama to the ongoing crisis in Libya, slamming the response from "neocons" and "right-wing" pundits.
Introducing Schultz on Monday, he fawned, "Ed Shultz, the host of The Ed Show, week nights at 10pm eastern time hear on MSNBC, has been doing an outstanding job of covering events here in Wisconsin and joins us now with his perspective."
The examples of liberal bias from Bashir's work on Nightline were actually much less common than some of his former network colleagues. However, now that he's on MSNBC, the reporter's first three days do indicate more of a willingness to tout the network's liberal line.
— Scott Whitlock is a news analyst for the Media Research Center. Click here to follow him on Twitter.
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Comments
MSNBC still doesn't have a
Submitted by rbosque on Thu, 03/03/2011 - 12:57pm.
MSNBC still doesn't have a clue why their ratings are in the gutter. They keep hiring the same mutants.
Yay! MSNBC moving towards diversity...like a slug in February.
Submitted by SickofLibs on Thu, 03/03/2011 - 1:00pm.
Funny, he's not yet up on their webpage group photo. Maybe he's on probation to see if he's crazy enough?
Which is suprising...
Submitted by OldJarhead77 on Thu, 03/03/2011 - 1:06pm.
One would think that they would want him there! He certainly has more "Color" in him then the rest of the lineup. That group of whiny pasty faced white liberal crybabies that scream that everyone is RACCISSST but them!
HAHAHAHAHA
Submitted by motherbelt on Thu, 03/03/2011 - 1:07pm.
"Measured" response to the Lybian crisis.
Translation: He's not saying anything definitive until he sees who's going to win.
Then, his statement will begin with We've always said.....
A Business?
Submitted by iveseenitall on Thu, 03/03/2011 - 1:14pm.
Is MSNBC really a business? Or is it just a lost liter for the big boys who want to push the "liberal" line? With their ratings, they certainly can't be looking for profit as they continue to showcase ignorant, radical left-wing fools like Bashir and his pals.
NEVER,NEVER trust a "liberal" (progressive)
You're Punching Down...
Submitted by TC Lynch on Thu, 03/03/2011 - 1:34pm.
Bashir should be ignored until--not unless--he goes full bore and commits libel.
OH MY, OH MY.......
Submitted by Herbster on Thu, 03/03/2011 - 1:39pm.
The more things change, the more they remain the same. Bashirmaddowratiganschultzodonnellmatthews......as interchangeable as parts on a 1944 jeep. Next we'll see msnbc hire a Lenin look-alike to read the news-ski. O Comcast...where art thou?
Stunned at this moron, nah.
Submitted by Tomorama on Thu, 03/03/2011 - 2:12pm.
From the left, for the left now what is left?
This is no stunner to me, what would have been a surprise would have been if they hired a middle of the road host or even gasp, an actual Conservative leaner.
On morning schmoe this morning they had the head nitwit of time magazine on showing the latest cover of whether america is up or down and he actually pointed out a story bt Mike Murphy that details the unions are all IN BED with the flee baggers from Wisconsin BIG TIME..
That STUNNED ME, he was actually schooling Rendell on why that is not a good thing.
Don't See How A "Catholic Jonestown" Leads This Story...
Submitted by TheReal7Sticks on Thu, 03/03/2011 - 10:46pm.
As for the other instances, such as the pro-illegal immigration bias and his praise for Ed Schultz and Rachel Maddow, those would be the best lead-ins to this story. Of course, if one of the major indicators of liberalism means criticizing the Catholic Church, well, I guess that would make Penn Jillete a liberal, even though I believe he doesn't like liberals anyway (he's a libertarian.)
Send this bum back to his
Submitted by sngnsgt on Fri, 03/04/2011 - 1:12am.
Send this bum back to his native country. I don't care what he says. I don't care to watch his twisted commentary.