It was bound to happen.
Although some in the liberal media were all too eager to point out instances where some are celebrating President Barack Obama's "epic fail" in the media, it was just a matter of time before conservatives and Republicans got the blame for the President's inability to secure the 2016 Olympics for Chicago.
Enter MSNBC's Ed Schultz. During his Oct. 2 MSNBC show, the liberal host launched into a rant blaming the Republican Party and went as far as comparing the party to the anti-American antics put on by Jane Fonda during the Vietnam War. (audio available here)
"Now, the same crowd that says they support the troops didn't support the United States getting the Olympics," Schultz said. "They only support the troops when it's good for them. They only support America when it's good for them. They only support America when it's good for their political agenda. What the Republicans did, I think, rivals Jane Fonda sitting on a gun in North Vietnam."
Schultz insisted this would have been a good opportunity for the American economy. Had Chicago won in Copenhagen, this would have likely resulted in a Keynesian boondoggle for the city, which Schultz fails to differentiate from free market and capitalist economics in his rant.
"This was a great chance to revitalize an economy that definitely is dragging," Schultz ranted. "The irony is that the party that claims to be for the free market, capitalism, and competition, the party that just loves to get out there and go one-on-one did, absolutely nothing to compete for this. Their negativity in the 11th hour cost this country billions of dollars in economic development and hundreds of thousands in jobs. I might add union jobs that are greatly needed. The Olympics have always been good for the economy."
The culprit: Right-wing talkers according to Schultz. The MSNBC host insisted this was a failure not only for Obama, but society as a whole.
"This is not a failure of President Obama," Schultz continued. "This is a failure of the Republican Party. The right-wing talkers in this country that openly, openly campaigned against the Olympics by denigrating our president again. It's their stated goal to see Barack Obama fail. Well, congratulations boys, you did a heck of a job. Just remember, when Obama fails, America fails. And one thing that really bothers me about all of this is the youth of this country. What message does it send to young people when you have one political party rooting against America getting something like the Olympics? What message does it send to young people? Think about the young people in the region around Chicago that would have been able to go to the Olympics and inspired to compete. Well, that won't help at all now, of course, they got to get some cheap airfare to Rio de Janeiro."
And Schultz wasn't alone. Rep. Janet Schakowsky, D-Ill., went after conservative talkers as well - specifically Rush Limbaugh. She appeared on his show and even levied some of the blame on former President George W. Bush, without mentioning him by name.
"You're right, the Republicans are just naysayers," Schakowsky said. "How dare Rush Limbaugh. How dare he say that this president goes around talking about how bad our country is. He has finally been able to establish us as real participants in the world community and if anything would have stopped us from getting it is the last eight years where we have turned off the rest of the world.
