Jonathan Alter
The Media’s Ferocious Reaction to Netanyahu’s Election Victory
March 21st, 2015 9:08 AM
This week, the media’s reaction to the Israeli election seemed indistinguishable from the reaction of the Obama White House. Not only were journalists surprised by Benjamin Netanyahu’s victory on Tuesday (they apparently believed pre-election surveys showing his party trailing by 2 to 4 seats; they ended up winning by 6 seats), but they seemed distressed by the result.

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'Enormously Gifted' Hillary Excuses a Clinton Dynasty, Alter Suggests
March 18th, 2015 8:52 PM
While conceding that Hillary Clinton and Jeb Bush are political-dynasty candidates, liberal journalist Jonathan Alter explained on Wednesday's Hardball why he didn't see a one-for-one equivalency between the two. It boils down to this: Hillary Clinton is a woman and Jeb Bush is, God bless him, a decent man but one of mediocre intellect.

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Barbara Boxer: GOP After Hillary Because 'She's Exciting the Public'
March 11th, 2015 6:41 PM
Could you use some "Hill-arity" after a long day? On the Ed Show, Barbara Boxer claimed Republicans are going after Hillary "because they know she's exciting the public." Right. For good measure, Boxer said that she "unequivocally" trusts Hillary.
David Corn of way-left Mother Jones was surprisingly skeptical, saying that "whether Barbara Boxer trusts her or not," Hillary critics have a…

Alter Tweets 'Many Homes' Will Hang Portrait of President Obama
November 20th, 2014 9:04 PM
On Wednesday's Hardball, Daily Beast columnist Jonathan Alter insisted that President Obama's executive amnesty would lead to Latinos being squarely in the Democratic column for decades and even revering the president with portraits in the living rooms, much like white Appalachians in years gone by had hung portraits of FDR in theirs.Tonight on Twitter, Alter rehashed that lame and frankly…

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Alter: Latinos Will Revere Obama Like Appalachians Did FDR
November 19th, 2014 8:39 PM
According to Daily Beast columnist Jonathan Alter, President Obama's executive amnesty could so well place Latinos into the Democratic column that Latino homes will grace their living rooms with portraits of the 44th president.

Rush Limbaugh Slams Liberal, Media Misquotes of His Remarks on Robin W
August 14th, 2014 7:08 AM
It's always interesting when liberals and members of the mainstream media think they've caught conservative icon Rush Limbaugh making an inappropriate comment during his three-hour weekday radio program. Even though almost none of them bother to actually listen to his remarks, the outrage flies from online posters and news outlets across the country.
This was the case on Tuesday, when…
MSNBC's Alter Dismisses 'Phony Debate' Over Bergdahl Prisoner Swap
June 2nd, 2014 5:00 PM
Ever a good soldier for President Obama, MSNBC political analyst Jonathan Alter defended the president’s actions in securing the release of Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl by exchanging him for five high-level detainees at Guantanamo.
Appearing on the June 2 edition of Jansing and Co., Alter said the move was rather, well, routine because, “at the end of the war, prisoner exchanges are common.” Directing…

MRC's Notable Quotables: CNN Won't Be 'Shamed' Into Doing Its Job
May 26th, 2014 10:12 AM
Now online: the May 26 edition of Notable Quotables, MRC's bi-weekly compilation of the latest outrageous quotes in the liberal media. This week, CNN’s top executive boasts that his network will not be “shamed” into covering congressional hearings about the September 11, 2012 attack in Benghazi, as if engaging in actual journalism is something to be avoided.
Also, the media leap to defend…

Jonathan Alter: It's Simple 'Reality' That Obama's 'Willing to Comprom
May 19th, 2014 4:04 PM
Liberal pundit and Obama-chronicler Jonathan Alter received a "Sacred Cat" award last Friday from the Milwaukee Press Club, and while in Brew City, Alter complained that "one of...the limitations of journalism is that straightforward descriptions of reality are seen as being biased." To Alter, one somehow-disputed reality is that Obama's a flexible dealmaker and Republicans are rigid…

MSNBC's Alter Predicts Obama to 'Rule Against the Pipeline After the E
April 20th, 2014 11:37 PM
Appearing as a panel member on the Sunday, April 20, Disrupt with Karen Finney, MSNBC political analyst Jonathan Alter -- formerly of Newsweek -- asserted that President Obama's move to delay a final decision on the Keystone Pipeline "strongly increases the likelihood that he will rule against the pipeline after the election."
He recounted a history of Democratic presidents appeasing liberal…
Other Top Journalists Tell Jake Tapper That Hillary's 2008 Campaign Pl
April 4th, 2014 9:37 AM
On Friday morning, CNN host Jake Tapper tweeted “On Hillary Clinton's assertion of media double standard, strongest complaints by her campaign in 2008 were against pro-Obama male journos”.
MRC's Dan Gainor alerted me that the responses from other national journalists about Hillary Clinton’s treatment of the press in the ‘08 cycle were surprising. Perhaps this should be a segment on Tapper's…

Bozell Column: Obama, The Media's Favorite Autocrat
January 29th, 2014 12:33 PM
Everyone proposes drinking games for the State of the Union speech. But it’s not just the president that can drive you to drink. It’s the opportunistic media elites deciding which branches of government have too much power, depending on which branches the Democrats presently control.
After a lot of stalemate in 2013, the partisan media think it’s high time for the executive branch to go…
MSNBC's Alter-nate Reality: Network Contributor Dishonestly Claims The
January 14th, 2014 4:48 PM
We at NewsBusters have demonstrated over the years that the liberal media are all too eager to flog Republican scandals to death while ignoring or downplaying Democratic scandals. MSNBC contributor Jonathan Alter provided a case study of that bias during an appearance on Sunday’s episode of Disrupt with Karen Finney.
While discussing Chris Christie’s bridge controversy, Alter brought up the…
Year-End Awards: The Tea Party Terrorists Award
December 26th, 2013 9:12 AM
Today’s installment of the Media Research Center’s “Best Notable Quotables of 2013,” as selected by our 42 expert judges: “The Tea Party Terrorists Award.” The establishment media have been hostile to the Tea Party from the moment it appeared on the scene in 2009, impugning participants as racists, “tea baggers” and terrorists ready to blow up the political system.
“Winning” this category in…