Carol Costello

The liberal host of the public radio show Interfaith Voices, Sister Maureen Fiedler has cheered for the Occupy protests, railed against the Ryan budget, advocated for single-payer healthcare, and pined for the Obama of 2008 – and it is now her taking umbrage at the Vatican that got her a nice soft interview on CNN, Tuesday morning.

Anchor Carol Costello actually made light of the Vatican's announcement last month to reform the U.S. Leadership Conference of Women's Religious (LCWR) – of which Sr. Fiedler is a part – by asking her, tongue-in-cheek, if she wasn't the "kind of radical, feminist nun the bishops are concerned about?" That prompted a chuckle from her guest, followed by her liberal lines. [Video below the break. Audio here.]

On Thursday, CNN anchor Carol Costello credited Dan Gainor, the head of the Culture and Media Institute, as a leader in the charge against a new MTV series, which was supposed to follow virgins seeking to lose their virginity. Costello read Gainor’s quote on air: “This is part of the media attempt to mock people who have morals and to treat virginity like a disease that must be cured. She observed that “conservative critics fought back” against the show, forcing its cancellation.

The MTV series, called “My First,” was going to follow virgins preparing to lose their virginity. The casting call for the series read: “We’re looking for adults who are ready to go all the way. Let MTV come along your journey… as you try to lose your virginity!”

Video after the jump.

CNN's Carol Costello wondered why the U.S. Catholic Bishops are investigating the Girl Scouts over possible ties to Planned Parenthood and the distribution of anti-Catholic material. "Not all of those Girl Scouts are Catholic," Costello mused on Tuesday. "So why impose Catholic beliefs on the Girl Scouts and threaten to pull out of the organization?"

Costello hosted the Catholic League's Bill Donohue, who argued that the Girl Scouts might be the one's "imposing" on others' beliefs. "I think it's going backwards. If, in fact, everything that the critics of the Girl Scouts are saying were true, then it's the Girl Scouts imposing on Catholics," he insisted. [Video coming soon.]

[UPDATE: CNN covered the story throughout the day, interviewing Fr. Reese from Georgetown University not twice, not three times, but a total of four times on Thursday. Aside from the liberal James Salt of Catholics United, no other guest appeared on CNN to discuss the issue.]

When liberal Catholics protested Rep. Paul Ryan (R-Wisc.) speaking at Georgetown University on Thursday, CNN jumped all over the story and gave it 11 full minutes of coverage during the 9-11 a.m. hours of Newsroom. In contrast, when the Obama administration issued its birth control mandate and Catholic bishops voiced their staunch opposition, CNN mentioned the story once in ten days.

Anchor Carol Costello brought on two guests protesting Ryan's budget, and hosted no supporter of Ryan although she did read his own statement in defense of his budget. She reported the "collision of politics and faith" and that the congressman was "about to get his knuckles rapped by dozens of Catholic priests." The CNN headline blared "Fellow Catholics Blast Ryan."

The media is beginning to investigate Mitt Romney's Mormon faith and its racial history, and CNN continued the race narrative on Wednesday morning when it wondered if Romney is simply writing off the African-American vote.

Apparently, CNN never got the memo that Herman Cain all but officially endorsed Romney on Tuesday. Citing a Daily Beast report that Romney has no high-profile African-American endorsements or staffers, CNN's Carol Costello went ahead and asked if the candidate was "kissing off African-American voters". [Video below the break. Audio here.]

In a Thursday morning interview on CNN, RNC chairman Reince Priebus called out host Carol Costello for reading Democratic talking points. Costello had just told her guest that she was trying to wean him away from his talking points, but one can only wonder if she would do the same to DNC chair Debbie Wasserman Schultz.

When Costello told him "I'm just trying to get you off your talking points," Priebus retorted "Well, you've been reading the Democratic talking points for the last seven minutes, Carol." [Video below the break.]

Discussing gun laws in the aftermath of the Trayvon Martin shooting, CNN's Carol Costello played Bill Maher's liberal grievance about the lack of "sensible" gun laws. Costello then asked why no one was "talking seriously about America's gun laws?" during Tuesday's 10 a.m. hour of Newsroom.

The fact that CNN was giving such attention to a liberal comedian before adding on to his commentary and questioning America's gun laws is telling. And given the network's past bias, it's safe to say that Costello was toeing the liberal line and pushing for stricter gun laws for law-abiding citizens. [Video below the break.]

According to CNN host Carol Costello, the White House failed to sell a health care bill that could have been embraced by the American people, many of whom "simply don't understand" the bill.

So during Monday morning's coverage of the Supreme Court hearings on ObamaCare's constitutionality, CNN explained some benefits the bill provides and gave the reason for the individual insurance mandate. Costello did her best impersonation of a White House advisor, explaining the bill's mandate to a public who doesn't understand it yet. [Video below the break. Audio here.]

In the wake of Rush Limbaugh calling a Georgetown law student a "slut," CNN hosted the president of the liberal National Organization for Women who called for Limbaugh to be fired, on Monday morning's 10 a.m. hour of Newsroom. They did not give such a voice to supporters of conservative women last year when those women were under attack from liberals.

When liberal radio host Ed Schultz called Laura Ingraham a slut last May, CNN did not host the president of NOW to call for his termination at MSNBC. In fact, the network covered the outrage over Limbaugh's smear of Sandra Fluke far more than Ed Schultz's rant last May. A Nexis search revealed 35 hits for CNN's coverage of Limbaugh's "slut" remark since March 1, versus just four reports on Schultz in the week following his comment. [Video below the break.]

Their past antics might not lend them credibility as presidential critics, but CNN's Suzanne Malvaux and Carol Costello threw water on the GOP veneration of President Reagan on Friday. Echoing the liberal media of the Reagan years, the duo cast his conservative legacy as "revisionist history."

"And it's almost like revisionist history here. Back in the day, there were a lot of people who were suffering under the Reagan era," Malveaux insisted about GOP candidates invoking Reagan's name on the campaign trail. [Video below the break. Click here for audio.]

CNN anchor Carol Costello mocked the annual "War on Christmas" theme on Wednesday morning's Newsroom. Liberal Rhode Island Gov. Lincoln Chafee (I) said he would light the state's "holiday tree" and "Fox News, as it does every year, went crazy." Apparently, the calmer CNN mocks this at the same time it lines it up to be its "Talk Back" feature for audience reaction.

Costello underlined the liberal nature of CNN by then reading from Jason Linkins of The Huffington Post about how this whole "war on Christmas" just "never was" and is insulting to Christians, such as himself. But Costello drained out the HuffPo writer's talk of Christians issuing "fatwas" and carrying around an "insane persecution complex."

CNN's Carol Costello asked Rep. Michele Bachmann (R-Minn.) on Tuesday if she "regretted" following God's "edict" to run for President. In an interview around the top of the 8 a.m. hour of American Morning, Costello had mentioned that Bachmann, in her new memoir "Core of Conviction," wrote that she had prayed to discern God's will before choosing to run for President.

"So I just wanted to ask you if you regretted following that edict," Costello pressed the candidate. [Video below the break. Click here for audio.]

When CNN's Carol Costello admitted to Sen. Jon Kyl (R-Ariz.) her inability to convince him that Republicans on the super committee didn't raise enough tax revenue, he simply responded that "your job is not to convince me."

In an interview during the bottom of the 8 a.m. hour, the senator had finished explaining how Republicans had proposed to get rid of tax loopholes.  The proposal had come to the dismay of some conservatives, but Costello lectured him that such measures were still not enough to raise the necessary amount of tax revenue. [Video below the break. Click here for audio.]

CNN's Carol Costello borrowed from the Democrats on Monday's American Morning and demanded that conservative Grover Norquist explain why he wasn't "exactly what a lot of voters hate" about America's political system.

From the start of her interview with Norquist, the president of Americans for Tax Reform, Costello bludgeoned him with Democratic talking points. Democrats had attacked Norquist and his "taxpayer protection pledge," in which political signers promise not to vote to raise taxes, for holding up the negotiations on the super committee and causing its failure. [Video below the break. Click here for audio.]

The same networks that ignored sexual allegations against Democrats for months all leaped on Tuesday to interview Sharon Bialek and her liberal advocate Gloria Allred on the morning after she came forward. Between them, ABC, CBS, CNN, and NBC devoted over 21 minutes to Bialek, who accused GOP presidential candidate Herman Cain of groping her over a decade ago. CNN had Bialek on for eight and a half minutes, and played up how Rush Limbaugh apparently said "not so nice things" about her [audio clips available here; video below the jump].

CBS's The Early Show gave the softest interview, failing to mention the accuser's past bankruptcies or Allred's liberal political leanings, something the other three at least mentioned. Anchor Jeff Glor asked Bialek if she would still vote for Cain if he became the GOP presidential nominee, only after her attorney, Gloria Allred, mentioned that her client was a registered Republican. None of the interviewers raised why Bialek had been fired by the National Restaurant Association before her meeting with Cain (correspondent Jan Crawford noted the firing in a setup piece on CBS).

CNN's Carol Costello, on Thursday's American Morning, scolded the editor of conservative publication Human Events for not providing the same critical coverage of both Republicans and Democrats. Costello – who has her own history of liberal bias – interviewed Jason Mattera of Human Events over his confrontation with Vice President Joe Biden, and asked him why he wasn't tougher on Republican candidates.

"So you're tough with Joe Biden. So why not be a bit tougher with Republican candidates, even though you work for a conservative web site?" Costello posed, apparently unaware that since Human Events is a conservative publication it markets itself to a more conservative Republican audience. [Video below the break. Click here for audio.]

CNN tried to tie Jesus to a liberal movement on Wednesday as correspondent Carol Costello labeled various religious authorities as supporters of the "Occupy Wall Street" protests – even as she reported that protests became violent at "Occupy Oakland."

"'Occupy Oakland' protesters hurled paint at riot police, and riot police hurled tear gas. Jesus, here?" Costello asked during the 11 a.m. hour. "Yes. And the Vatican seems to be backing them up," she added. [Video below the break.]

On Thursday's American Morning, CNN regarded Republican presidential candidate Rick Perry's newest web-ad as using "patriotism as a political tool." Co-host Carol Costello lumped his ad in with the 2004 Swift Boat campaign, as an unfair accusation to make of his opponent's patriotism.

Perry's newest web-ad attacks Obama's jobs record and his "apology tour" for America, and trumpets Perry's own patriotism. Costello then lumped that in with the Swift Boat campaign of 2004 which questioned the war heroism of candidate John Kerry. Although it was a legitimate story, it has been regarded by the liberal media as a smear.

There's a very serious dispute going on between longshoremen and officials at the Port of Longview, Washington.

CNN's Carol Costello clearly doesn't grasp the gravity of the situation, for in an "American Morning: Wake Up Call" report Monday, she couldn't control her laughter (video follows with transcript and commentary):

After quoting an op-ed which criticized President Obama for his partisanship, CNN's Carol Costello then asked her audience to chime in on how the President could "end the partisan bickering."

She appeared exasperated later in the hour when she read the responses to the question – all of them negative – and whined that there just had to be something Obama could do about America's partisan problem. "I mean, we're Americans, for god's sakes!" she exclaimed.

[Video below the break.]

Costello related how Freeman "ran into him [Obama] on the golf course and he said, he said he wanted to tell the President to quote, 'Get pissed off, get fighting mad.'" After reporting that New York Times columnist Charles Blow has written about how Obama needs to be tougher, she asked Blow what he thought about Freeman's comment.

Then Costello followed that up with another gem, as she clumsily described the vicious words of Rep. Maxine Waters (D-Calif.) toward the Tea Party as straight talk about a political enemy. "Somebody who is trying to give it to people straight, perhaps, is Congresswoman Maxine Waters," reported Costello.

[Video below the break.]

Newsweek's embarrassing cover photo of Rep. Michele Bachmann (R-Minn.) garnered attention not only from conservative blogs, but also from the major networks and cable news. CNN ran Bachmann's wide-eyed picture on the latest Newsweek cover multiple times Tuesday morning, asking if the picture and harsh headline were examples of media maltreatment of conservative women presidential candidates.  

"Politics is rough for both women and men. Just how rough, though, may depend on your gender," remarked American Morning co-host Carol Costello. "So the 'Talk Back' question today, are Republican women unfairly criticized because they're women?"

[Video below the break.]

With such esteemed liberal intellectual heavyweights like comedian Bill Maher and Al Gore calling for the liberal grassroots to stand up and make their voices heard, CNN's Carol Costello floated the idea of a liberal version of the Tea Party on Monday.

"Does America need a liberal Tea Party?" Costello asked during the 11 a.m. EDT hour of CNN's Newsroom. Costello was not completely enthusiastic over the idea – she worried that it could "lead to more hyper-partisanship," as if the Tea Party was already doing enough of that.

[Video below the break.]

CNN's John King on Thursday recycled the now debunked claim that, in a similar situation to the current debt ceiling debate,  Ronald Reagan lobbied for a tax increase compromise to avoid an economic default. This was the fifth time in less than a week that the cable network peddled the distorted quote provided by congressional Democrats.

Discussing the national debt, King spun, "Believe it or not, the country's been here before. Even though the President back then was a staunch conservative and a Tea Party hero today, listen to how he handled it."

It didn't take long for CNN to buy into the hype of New York's legalization of same-sex marriage and pose this question: Is it time for marriage equality in America? CNN asked the question on both the 11 a.m. 12 p.m. EDT hours of Newsroom.

The network referred to the words of New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo, who stated that he believes "it is time for marriage equality all across the country." Cuomo signed New York's same-sex marriage bill into law over the weekend.
 

Chris Wallace of Fox News had a new fan in CNN's Carol Costello on Monday's American Morning, at least on his question asking presidential candidate and Minnesota Congresswoman Michele Bachmann if she was a flake. "It was a good question, because many in America think she's a flake," announced Costello.

Rude questions are apparently only par for the course when it comes to Republican candidates. Beyond this, Costello moved on to parroting the standard media tropes regarding Bachmann."During the 2008 campaign she said that she wanted the press to investigate members of congress for being un-American. She says a lot of extreme things, and that brings up questions exactly how Chris Wallace posed them."

[Video below the break.]

Tuesday’s CNN Newsroom acknowledged Minnesota Congresswoman Michele Bachmann as a “rising star” in the GOP, but moved quickly to write her off as a far-right extremist. “As far as the general election goes, [CNN analyst John] Avlon says Bachmann doesn’t stand a chance. She needs independents to win and despite her charm last night, Bachmann’s views are too conservative to many Americans.” said CNN’s Carol Costello.

Among these views that make Bachmann an unelectable radical is her belief in the Constitution. “She has said God encouraged her to run for higher office, and that government should be limited only to what is in the Constitution.” said Costello.. Who but the media, after all, would construe the Constitution as being optional. To reporters, it appears, the rule of law is now a quaint and outmoded notion entertained only by those who believe in accountable government.

(video after the break)

While President Obama has been hit by black leftists for failing to help unemployed African-Americans, CNN anchor Carol Costello offered an impassioned defense of the president Friday morning, framing most every question to cast Obama in the best light possible. The reason Costello was defending Obama? Princeton's Dr. Cornel West recently slammed Obama for his failure to reach out to the African-American community, calling him a "white man with black skin" and "a black mascot of Wall Street oligarchs and black puppet of corporate plutocrats." 

Hosting the liberal Columbia University professor Mark Lamont Hill, a self-proclaimed "leading hip-hop generation intellectual," Costello repeatedly sought to generate pity for the president. "Aren't we expecting a little too much of him?" Costello pouted during the 10 a.m. EDT hour.

(Video below the break.)

On Thursday morning, CNN largely dismissed the controversy over the White House invite of rapper Common, using talking points from the White House and Comedy Central's Daily Show to marginalize conservative critics.

Anchor Carol Costello deflected attention away from the rapper's violent lyrics by quoting a rap of his that has a pro-life message. She quoted none of his violent lyrics, however. Common has composed work in the past praising cop-killer Assata Shakur in "A Song for Assata," and has also ranted "burn a Bush" in rapping about the former president.

Conservatives were outraged over the artist's invite to the White House for an evening of poetry and song. The White House did condemn his violent lyrics "that has been written about" press secretary Jay Carney clarified, but did not renege on Common's invitation.

(Video after the break.)