NYRB's Smart Take: Republicans Are Scary, Purist, Nativist, and Racist

February 11th, 2015 9:56 AM
To understand the literary elite's simplistic grasp of politics, look to whom they get their opinions from: Veteran political contributor Elizabeth Drew, a frequent contributor to the New York Review of Books, explained the Republican takeover of the U.S. Senate for the Review's February issue under the headline: "The Republicans: Divided and Scary." And purist. And nativist. And racist....

Michael Moore Defends Brian Williams by Bashing Bush and 'Real Liars'

February 10th, 2015 6:02 PM
Michael Moore took to his Facebook account on Sunday night to unleash a lengthy post lamenting how “a man with integrity” in Brian Williams was being punished for “committing the crime of Faux Macho due to his claim of being on the wrong chopper,” while members of the Bush administration “roam free” and get away with being “the real liars who were responsible for the Iraq War.” 

Axelrod Book: Obama Really Favored Same-Sex 'Marriage' in 2008

February 10th, 2015 3:28 PM
In a new book, Obama 2008 campaign manager and longtime Obama adviser David Axelrod reveals that, in the words of Zeke J. Miller at Time.com, "Barack Obama misled Americans for his own political benefit when he claimed in the 2008 election to oppose same sex marriage for religious reasons." The subheadline at Miller's coverage calls it "A striking admission of political dishonesty from the…

Nets Continue to Stoke 'Major Battle Over Same-Sex Marriage'

February 10th, 2015 12:08 PM
Following all three network evening newscasts on Monday devoting full reports to "a full blown civil rights battle" in Alabama after the state's supreme court chief justice refused to carry out a federal ruling allowing gay marriage in the state, the Tuesday morning shows on CBS, ABC, and NBC all continued to push the story. 

Vox: At Prayer Breakfast, Obama Rebuked Those Who ‘Hate Muslims’

February 10th, 2015 11:35 AM
Max Fisher writes that Obama’s comment was “so banal it could be an after-school special. That it has provoked national controversy goes to show that there is still a mainstream thread of thought in America that Islam is an inherently violent religion, that the world's 1.6 billion Muslims are somehow different, and that non-Muslims are superior human beings.”
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ABC, CBS Compare Ala. Judge Against Gay Marriage to George Wallace

February 9th, 2015 10:09 PM
On Monday night, the “big three” of ABC, CBS, and NBC each devoted a segment of their Monday evening newscasts to the news that Alabama State Supreme Court Chief Justice Roy Moore and some local government officials chose not to carry out a federal ruling that calls for gay marriages to be permitted despite a voter-approved ban. Naturally, the networks provided favorable coverage to those in…
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Andrea Mitchell Applauds Obama Insulting Netanyahu: 'Take That, Bibi'

February 9th, 2015 4:52 PM
Minutes after President Obama took a jab at Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu during a Monday press conference, MSNBC's Andrea Mitchell cheered the put-down: "...he was asked about this very controversial visit by Benjamin Netanyahu two weeks before an Israeli election....And the President very pointedly said, 'We have this protocol. We don't invite leaders. If Angela Merkel had an…
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CNN to Huckabee: Are You On the 'Wrong Side of History' on Marriage?

February 9th, 2015 12:24 PM
CNN's Alisyn Camerota forwarded a liberal talking point about same-sex "marriage" on Monday's New Day as she interview former Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee. Camerota spotlighted polls trending towards support of the left-wing cause over recent years, and wondered, "So, in terms of your stance on gay marriage, do you feel as though you're on the wrong side of history?"
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NBC's Guthrie to Axelrod: You Think 'Racism Animated' Obama Critics?

February 9th, 2015 12:21 PM
In an interview with former Obama White House aide David Axelrod on Monday's NBC Today, co-host Savannah Guthrie tossed a softball on "whether racism animated some of the President's critics." She read an inflammatory quote from Axelrod's new book: "Some folks simply refused to accept the legitimacy of the first black president and are seriously discomforted by the growing diversity of our…

Lefty Blogger Calls Scott Walker a ‘Republican Porn Star’

February 8th, 2015 9:40 PM
Jon Perr of Daily Kos writes that Walker, like the Republican base, “believes his Democratic foes aren't just wrong, but unambiguously evil...He talks and fights tough, which for the right wing is not a means but an end in itself.”

Blogger: Obama Should Host His Own ‘Inter-Faith’ Prayer Breakfast

February 7th, 2015 10:59 AM
The American Prospect’s Paul Waldman advocates that Obama skip next year’s National Prayer Breakfast and instead “hold his own inter-faith breakfast at the White House, one geared more toward understanding and less toward proclamations of the one true faith. Of course, conservatives would be apoplectic if he did that, saying that it just shows how he hates Jesus and hates America. Which is…

Blogger: Obama ‘Laughing His Ass Off’ at Anti-Immigrant Republicans

February 5th, 2015 9:24 PM
Kevin Drum of Mother Jones claims that Obama’s executive action was meant to “gain Latino support for Democrats and provoke an insane counterreaction from Republicans” and concludes that Obama “succeeded brilliantly on both counts.” Meanwhile, Ed Kilgore of the Washington Monthly notes that “the Republican Party was actually competitive among Latino voters a decade ago,” but adds, “Now that it’s…
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After CBS Touted Anti-Romney Smear, Aide Decries 'Absurd' 'Lie'

February 5th, 2015 2:42 PM
After promoting Obama advisor David Axelrod's nasty attack on Mitt Romney on Wednesday, Thursday's CBS This Morning noticed Romney aide Garrett Jackson denouncing the claim as a complete fabrication, with co-host Norah O'Donnell informing viewers: "Jackson told CBS News, 'I just hope this lie is the work of David Axelrod and not the President. It's ridiculous. I was very disappointed they would…
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10th Anniversary NBC Williams Promos Lauded 'Integrity,' 'Humility'

February 5th, 2015 11:03 AM
As Curtis Houck at NewsBusters reported last night, NBC Nightly News anchor Brian Williams is in serious trouble after he, in Houck's words, "admitted to not being aboard a helicopter that was shot and had to be rescued following RPG fire during the U.S. invasion of Iraq in March 2003." Williams's apology, also carried at Houck's post, only refers to the "mistake" he made "on this broadcast last…