The Ed Show

Chris Matthews doesn't think much of southerners. The Hardball anchor appeared on MSNBC's primary night coverage, Tuesday, and mocked the supposed thought process of the Republican voters: "They've got three RCs, or two RCs- two Roman Catholics- running and a Mormon, so three cultists running, and they gotta pick one of the three cultists, as they see them."

The host sneered, "...But it is ridiculous to pick a guy they think is really the other, the heretic, the Muslim. What a strange stew of religious prejudice is at work here." Trying to explain the mind set of conservative primary voters, he added, "They are willing to outsource [defeating the President] to a Mormon...It's almost like calling up India or somewhere in the third world to get your computer fixed. You don't care who's fixing it, just fix the damn computer." [See video below. MP3 audio here.]

On Tuesday's The Ed Show on MSNBC, when host Ed Schultz opined that it would be "the strangest thing" if poor voters in Mississippi were to vote for the wealthiest candidate - Mitt Romney - MSNBC's Al Sharpton asserted that such voters would have to be motivated by "hate and bias" to make such a choice which he suggested "defies all reason." Sharpton:

Ed Schultz responded angrily to a March 9 NewsBusters post detailing how unions paid him nearly $200,000 in 2011, telling viewers of "The Ed Show" that night of receiving the money for speaking engagements and advertisements on his radio show website. All union speaking fees were donated to charity, Schultz claimed, as required by MSNBC policy.

That Schultz has received $337,490 from unions since 2005, according to Labor Department records, hardly comes as a shock since he is one of the most vociferous shills for organized labor in the media.  More problematic has been Schultz's lack of transparency about this. (video after page break)

UPDATE AT END OF POST: Hillary Clinton campaign circulated Obama photo in Muslim attire.

Polls released Monday showed a large percentage of Republicans in Alabama and Mississippi think President Obama is a Muslim.

In a shocking display of unhinged rhetoric hours later, MSNBC's Ed Schultz blamed it all on former Alaska Governor Sarah Palin (video follows with transcribed highlights and commentary):

What a shock -- labor unions paying one of their biggest cheerleaders in the media.

Perhaps Ed Schultz could explain what he does for unions to warrant such largesse. I don't recall hearing anything along these lines on his radio program or MSNBC show. (graphic after page break)

As NewsBusters reported Monday, the ladies of ABC's The View were tremendously sympathetic to Georgetown University law student Sandra Fluke's tale of woe and misery having been called a "slut" by conservative talk radio host Rush Limbaugh.

Yet as Laura Ingraham pointed out on Tuesday's Fox & Friends, her being called a "slut" by MSNBC's Ed Schultz last year was a source of great amusement on The View with Barbara Walters acknowledging to great laughter, "Joy Behar on this program has called me a slut" (videos follow with transcribed highlights and commentary):

On Monday's The Ed Show on MSNBC, host Ed Schultz and guests Terry O'Neil of the National Organization for Women and former Democratic congressional candidate Kristal Ball were unaccepting of Rush Limbaugh's apology for disparaging Georgetown Law School student Sandra Fluke, with Schultz suggesting that now is the best time to push Limbaugh off the air.

O'Neill claimed that there were "overtones of violence" to the conservative talk radio host's comments about Fluke. O'Neill:

Appearing as a guest on MSNBC's The Ed Show, MSNBC political analyst Richard Wolffe - formerly of Newsweek - complained that the economic policies of GOP presidential candidates Mitt Romney and Rick Santorum "are a repeat of the Bush years," and asserted that President Bush had the "worst jobs record of any President in modern times."

After host Ed Schultz asked "how does Romney and Santorum win over" middle class voters in Ohio, an amused Wolffe recommended that the GOP candidates "change their policies." Wolffe:

NewsBusters readers likely know Kirsten Powers as one of the many intelligent, reasonable, liberal contributors to Fox News.

On Sunday, Powers published a piece at the Daily Beast entitled "Rush Limbaugh Isn’t the Only Media Misogynist" that is guaranteed to be applauded by the Right and heavily ridiculed by her colleagues on the left:

It’s terrible that an author got death threats, even if he’s a sleazy hack who invaded the privacy of a prominent conservative politician. It’s equally terrible that prominent conservative donors received death threats for how they choose to use their money. But according to NBC, only one of those two stories is worth telling.

In the first case, the network was warning in 2010 of death threats against Sarah Palin-sliming author Joe McGinniss. As for the second, NBC ignored reports of death threats against the libertarian Koch brothers and members of their foundation. 

As NewsBusters reported Monday, media outlets across America are cherry-picking a lengthy speech by Republican presidential candidate Rick Santorum to accuse him of impugning Barack Obama's religious beliefs.

Not surprisingly, MSNBC's Ed Schultz joined the hit parade (video follows with transcribed highlights and commentary):

As if there were not liberal billionaires able to spend money trashing Republicans and promoting  President Obama's reelection, MSNBC analyst Jonathan Alter -- formerly of Newsweek -- fretted on Tuesday that billionaires would run what he referred to as "hate ads" against President obama right before the election.

After The Ed Show host Ed Schultz complained that the GOP emphasis on "voter ID [laws] is all about voter suppression," Alter made his prediction about billionaires running ads against Obama. Alter:

With the number of numbskulls on the airwaves today, I'm not sure I'd called MSNBC's Lawrence O'Donnell the dumbest man on television.

But that's how real estate tycoon Donald Trump referred to the "Last Word" host on Twitter Thursday also calling him the "poor man's Ed Schultz...and Al Sharpton":

Despite Clint Eastwood's pronouncement Monday that he is "certainly not politically affiliated with Mr. Obama," the President's fans in the media are doing a victory lap over Super Bowl Sunday's Chrysler commercial featuring the Oscar-winning actor and filmmaker.

So excited by this ad was MSNBC's Ed Schultz Monday that he disgustingly asked his audience, "Will voters hold Republicans accountable for trying to kill the American auto industry?" (video follows with commentary):

Sad thing is, Ed Schultz thinks he's being clever.

Schultz repeatedly mispronounced the last name of Fox News' Steve Doocy on "The Ed Show" last night, saying it as "douch-y" instead of "DO-see" through indifference to accuracy or a sense of humor stuck in his high school locker room. (video after page break)

Yet more evidence of pathologies that roil the liberal, uh, mind.

MSNBC, America's closest approximation yet to Pravda (though not for lacking of trying, New York Times), did something curious but characteristic Wednesday night during the hour-long hyperventilation known as "The Ed Show." (video after page break)

Far from being a "hardcore news junkie," you sometimes wonder if Chris Matthews even watches his own network. Following the president’s State of the Union Address on Tuesday, Matthews, while appearing as a guest on MSNBC's  ‘The Ed Show,’ claimed that he had never heard of congressional insider trading prior to that night. [See video below. MP 3 audio here.]

However, as Noel Sheppard pointed out, MSNBC’s Dylan Ratigan had in fact covered the very same story Matthews had never heard of in a recent broadcast.

Ed Schultz has forgotten he works at MSNBC. His viewers have not.

Schultz, irritated that his praise for Rick Santorum set off a barrage of tweets and email, lashed out in a video posted at his MSNBC blog. (video after page break)

Is Ed Schultz's expression of respect for Rick Santorum a Machiavellian maneuver designed to sow chaos in the Republican field?  I actually don't think so.  

Watching the MSNBC host in action this evening, I got the sense that Schultz, out on the Iowa campaign trail with Santorum, came away with a sincere respect for the former Pennsylvania senator, calling him "impressive" among other things.  Watch the video after the jump and be the judge.

On Monday's The Ed Show, MSNBC host Ed Schultz accused Republican presidential candidates of "fearmongering" on the issue of the danger posed by a nuclear Iran, but, ironically, on the same day the CBS Evening News led its show with an interview with Obama administration Defense Secretary Leon Panetta who hinted at the possibility of a nuclear strike on Iran within the next year because the radical Islamic state is believed capable of assembling a nuclear bomb within that time.

As he interviewed Joe Cirincione of the Ploughshare Fund about the latest on North Korea, Schultz switched over to talking about Iran:

NewsBusters readers should be quite familiar with Ron Christie, the Republican strategist who loves to tangle with the liberal commentators on MSNBC.

Following his terrific encounter with Chris Matthews last week, NewsBusters spoke by phone with Christie about his experiences on the nation's most left-leaning cable news outlet as well as what it's like to be a black conservative in the year 2011 (video follows with transcript):

As NewsBusters previously reported, MSNBC's Ed Schultz last week actually suggested that CNN's Anderson Cooper might have had something to do with him being named to GQ's "The 25 Least Influential People Alive" list.

On Friday's Anderson Cooper 360, the host nicely put the pathetic Schultz in his proper place - The RidicuList (video follows with transcript and absolutely no additional commentary necessary):

Sad to see Ed Schultz suffer such sudden memory loss on live national TV.  On his MSNBC show this evening, discussing Herman Cain's handling of the various allegations against him, Schultz: found it odd that Cain's wife had come to his defense; said he'd never "seen anything like this in American politics;" and claimed that by criticizing his accusers, Cain had hit "a new low in American politics."

Do any of the following sound an echo with Ed?:

With penetrating political analysis like this, no wonder Ed Schultz has been named one of the least influential people alive . . .

On his MSNBC show this evening, discussing the recall effort in Wisconsin, Schultz said that Republican Governor Scott Walker "sucks." Video after the jump.

Whatever delusions it takes to get you through your day, Ed.

Nearly six months after he smeared Laura Ingraham as a "talk slut" and "right-wing slut," liberal loose-cannon Ed Schultz still harbors a grudge about it. (audio clips after page break)

How vile is Mike Papantonio?  For the second time in three days the trial lawyer-cum-radio host has actually made Ed Schultz look relatively reasonable.

Interviewed by Schultz on his MSNBC show this evening, Papantonio claimed that the Koch brothers had "purchased" Herman Cain in order to be able to "kill more people" with toxins.  Video after the jump.

It has now been nine weeks since stimulus-funded solar company Solyndra declared bankruptcy.

Yet despite Thursday's vote by the House Energy and Commerce Committee panel to subpoena internal White House communications concerning the company, MSNBC's prime time hosts Chris Matthews, Lawrence O'Donnell, Ed Schultz, and Al Sharpton still haven't said one word about this scandal: