Shuster: 'Republican Establishment Fox News' Going After Huckabee

December 20th, 2007 8:05 AM

Biting the hand that used to feed him, David Shuster has accused Fox News of being part of the "Republican establishment" and as such, going after Mike Huckabee. Shuster appeared on MSNBC's Morning Joe during the 6:30 AM ET half-hour today.

DAVID SHUSTER: What's been so interesting about Huckabee, you're starting to see the Republican establishment, despite him being the "Baby Jesus" candidate [adopting Joe Scarborough's formulation], the Republican establishment is going after him pretty hard now. And you even saw it last night when the, I suppose you could call them the Republican establishment Fox News correspondent was asking some pretty asinine questions --
View video here.

JOE SCARBOROUGH: Wait a second! You used to work at Fox. I can call you out on that sort of left-wing --

SHUSTER: I had put that out of my memory.

SCARBOROUGH: So let me ask you this: were you the Republican establishment correspondent when you worked for Fox News but then came to MSNBC and became the Democratic correspondent?

SHUSTER: I was holding the powerful accountable. It was during the Clinton administration, and I felt like the job of journalists is to hold those in power accountable. I did it pretty aggressively. I was just, uh --

SCARBOROUGH: Just like Karl Marx in 1848. I'm with you David.

For the record, Shuster claimed that the Fox correspondent, who he said "shall remain nameless," asked a "pretty asinine question" as to whether Huckabee was accusing Mitt Romney of being a liar.

SHUSTER: Huckabee's comeback was so effective and so funny, he not only put down the correspondent, he made it hilarious at the same point, saying "well, you're network may say that and of course I'll watch faithfully." And everybody was doubled over with laughter, and there was the Fox News correspondent embarrassed because he had just been put down in front of the entire press corps.

I didn't see the exchange, but would observe that "asinine" is in the eyes of the beholder, David.

H/t FReeper Ken5050.