Special NB Bonus: Notable Quotables that Couldn't Fit Into the Regular August 9 Edition

Too much bias, not enough space. Collecting quotes for the latest edition of MRC’s bi-weekly Notable Quotables, I found more outrageous liberal eruptions than could fit into the normal newsletter. So, just for NewsBusters readers, here are a dozen worthy quotes that just couldn’t squeeze into the regular issue:

■ Confusing Tired Liberal Cliches with Economic Strategy

“Let’s let the entire slew of Bush tax cuts retire. That would take us back to Clinton-era rates, when the American economy had its strongest growth years in three decades and the budget was balanced for the first time in four decades. If the economy still needs a bit more stimulus, fine, extend unemployment benefits for another year. Give some aid to the states. Those are temporary measures, and the money will get spent. Unemployment benefits work because they go to people who are living from paycheck to paycheck. They spend the money....This massive change actually requires that Congress do nothing. Let the tax cuts expire. A do-nothing Congress will have done something truly important for the country’s future.”
— Newsweek international editor Fareed Zakaria hosting CNN’s Fareed Zakaria GPS, August 1.


■ Fox News: “Whipping Up White Hysteria”

“Also for weeks Fox News and its friends have been whipping up white hysteria over allegations that members of the New Black Panther Party, two of them, intimidated voters in Philadelphia two years ago. The Justice Department found insufficient evidence to investigate the case and now all seven Senate Republicans on the U.S. Judiciary committee of the Senate want the Justice Department investigated itself. Is this yet another example of a rightist strategy to stir up racial resentment among whites by portraying whites as victims of black rule in this country?”
— MSNBC host Chris Matthews on Hardball, July 27.


■ Ann Hits Joe from the Left: “How Long Can We Pay for This War?”

“The House on Tuesday night agreed to fund a surge in Afghanistan — $33 billion for 30,000 additional troops. But, boy, was there some reluctance. We’ve got Democratic Congressman Jim McGovern saying, quote, ‘We’re told we can’t extend unemployment or pay to keep cops on the beat or teachers in the classroom but we’re asked to borrow another $33 billion for nation building in Afghanistan. I think we need to do more nation building here at home.’ How long can we keep paying for this war?”
— NBC’s Ann Curry to Vice President Joe Biden on Today, July 29.


■ Don’t Confuse Us MSNBCers With “Journalists With an Agenda”

“I am offended the right is using this as a sledgehammer against those of us who don’t practice activist journalism. Journolist was pretty offensive. Those of us who are mainstream journalists got mixed in with journalists with an agenda. Those folks who thought they were improving journalism are destroying the credibility of journalism. This has kept me up nights. I try to be fair. It’s very depressing.”
— NBC White House correspondent and MSNBC daytime host Chuck Todd, as quoted by The Politico’s Roger Simon in a July 28 article.


■ Andrew Breitbart: Just a “Smash-Mouth” “Smear Artist”

“Andrew Breitbart was not an unknown. He is a notorious smear artist and practitioner of what’s sometimes called smash-mouth politics. And they [the Obama White House] should’ve realized that any kind of allegation that he made needed to be checked out very carefully before anybody acted upon it.”
— Newsweek’s Jonathan Alter on NPR’s All Things Considered, July 21.


■ Democratic Corruption or Ethics Committee Racism?

“Are the ethics police on the Hill color-blind? If so, just how do you explain what’s happening to the Congressional Black Caucus? The latest on the [Charles] Rangel and Maxine Waters investigations....”
“Coming up here, are black lawmakers being singled out by the ethics watchdogs on Capitol Hill? New charges of racial bias....”
— NBC correspondent Andrea Mitchell teasing an upcoming segment on her 1pm ET MSNBC Andrea Mitchell Reports, August 2.

“Some are openly questioning why two high profile African-American House members are coming under such tough scrutiny.....[to Al Sharpton] Do you think that black members are being targeted unfairly by the ethics committee?”
— CNN anchor Don Lemon on the 6pm ET Newsroom, August 1.


■ “One Brave Soldier” vs. Obama’s Nazi-esque “War Machine”

Host Larry King: “What’s your reaction to the WikiLeaks, the Afghan War documents?”
Left-wing filmmaker Michael Moore: “I think that we have this war machine that was built on a lie a number of years ago — incredible lies — that have cost thousands of lives, billions of dollars. And one brave soldier by the name of Bradley Manning decided that the truth had to be told. And he said that he was willing to do it regardless of the consequences — and he essentially followed the Nuremberg principles which is when you see something going on like this, when you see war crimes being committed, when you see lies being told in order to bring a country to war, you have to speak out against it. You can’t just line up and be a good German and do what you’re told to do.”
— Exchange on CNN’s Larry King Live, July 27.


■ CNN Host Slams Fox as “Not a News Organization”

Host Rick Sanchez: “Well, I understand the Associated Press. I even understand Bloomberg, but don’t have you to be a news organization to get that seat?”
White House correspondent Ed Henry: “Oh! Are you saying Fox is not a news organization?”
Sanchez: “Yeah. I’m just wondering.”
— CNN’s Rick’s List, August 2, discussing the White House Correspondents Association decision to move the Fox News correspondent to the front row of the White House briefing room.

■ Crazy Beck vs. Limbaugh the Faker
 
“I sort of dig on Glenn Beck. He reminds me of certain people you encounter in big cities. You know, the ones wearing robes, sandals, and signs proclaiming that the world is going to end because American men are eating too much red meat and American women are wearing their pants too tight. He’s crazy but — like those urban nutcakes — he actually seems to believe what he’s saying I can get behind that. Rush Limbaugh, on the other hand, gives me the creeps. He sounds saner than Beck (well, marginally), but there’s absolutely no conviction in that sonorous, slightly flabby voice....He says what his listeners want to hear, but when it comes to actual convictions, I’m always reminded of what Gertrude Stein said about her hometown of Oakland: ‘There isn’t any there there.’”
— Novelist Stephen King in his “The Pop of King” column in the August 6 issue of Entertainment Weekly.


■ Expecting “Tough” and “Real” Questions from The View

“I would be willing to bet you that he [President Obama] might get tougher questions asked of him on The View than he would at a White House press conference....More real. More where we live....They ask pertinent questions. But I think the questions that will be asked of him on The View might resonate more with the way people live in this country.”
— MSNBC contributor Mike Barnicle on Morning Joe, July 27.

“Do you know that Lindsey Lohan is in jail?...Does Mel Gibson need anger management?...Should Snooki run as mayor of Wasilla?”
Co-host Sherri Shepherd: “Mr. President, do you Tweet?”...
Co-host Whoopi Goldberg: “What’s the first couple of songs on your iPod?”...
Co-host Barbara Walters: “Were you invited to Chelsea Clinton’s wedding?”
— Actual questions posed to Obama on The View, July 29.

To see which quotes made the August 9 edition, click here.