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)
In what passes for Schultz digging deep, the MSNBC host was criticizing Doocy for citing new research that describes Fox News as most balanced network in its coverage of the 2012 presidential campaign --
SCHULTZ: And in "Psycho Talk" tonight, Steve Doocy insists Fox News is the most unbiased network around. As proof, Doocy proudly pointed to a study from the Center for Media and Public Affairs at George Mason University on press coverage of the 2012 presidential race.
DOOCY (from "Fox & Friends"): Interestingly enough, the most negative press comes from NBC. They have 73 percent negative to 27 percent positive stories about the race. Meanwhile, the most balanced coverage? Fox, 52 percent positive, 48 percent negative. So, fair and balanced not only a slogan, we actually live by it.
SCHULTZ (guffawing): I've shown you over and over again how fair and unbalanced Fox is.
SCHULTZ: Like when Eric Bolling accused "The Muppets" movie of trying to brainwash kids with an anti-capitalistic, liberal agenda.
The same Eric Bolling who bought Schultz a drink last summer at a Manhattan steakhouse, followed by Schultz thanking him and talking with Bolling for 15 minutes, followed months later by Schultz vehemently denying he had ever spoken to Bolling.
Continuing his ridicule of Doocy and Fox, Schultz then cited an "expert" who "weighed in on Bolling's accusation" -- Miss Piggy. Fox News cites George Mason University, Schultz cites the Muppets, each keenly aware of their respective audience --
MISS PIGGY (at mock press conference): It's almost as laughable as accusing Fox News of, you know, being news.
SCHULTZ: I mean, even Miss Piggy is talking about how biased Fox News is, so obviously there's something fishy going on with this study that Doocy's talking about.
Or as Schultz actually said it, "something fishy going on with this study that Douchy's talking about."
Imagine, if you will, Schultz's openly gay MSNBC colleague Rachel Maddow marrying a woman who shares Doocy's last name and Maddow deciding to take Doocy as her last name. And imagine the uproar among liberals and feminists if a prominent media conservative denigrated Rachel "Douchy" for promoting her "fishy" agenda. The fire from those effigies would truly light the world.
MSNBC booted Schultz for a week last spring after he maligned Laura Ingraham as a "right-wing slut" and "talk slut." It's worth remembering that MSNBC did this after Schultz make his hateful remarks on his radio show -- not on MSNBC.
Having paid for his misogyny in the past, Schultz now tries to fly under the radar with it.
