With a program entitled Hardball, MSNBC audiences should expect, well, "hardball" questions of politicians no matter what their ideological leanings, NewsBusters publisher Brent Bozell noted on the June 14 edition of Fox News Channel's Hannity. Instead, host Chris Matthews recently and quite openly confessed his eagerness to aid Democrat Elizabeth Warren's campaign to defeat Sen. Scott Walker (R-Mass.) this November.
"Let me help you on this, to the extent I, as a journalist, can help you," Matthews offered Warren on his June 13 program. [see the full video below the page break]
Also discussed on the June 14 Media Mash was MSNBCer and liberal talk show host Ed Schultz's newfound disdain for boycotting advertisers of radio talk show programs.
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"This is something that came back and bit Ed Schultz in the butt, is what happened," Bozell argued, noting that "people like you and people like me" highlighted Schultz's history of angry, violent and misogynistic rhetoric.
"The guy's out there suing for peace now because he's being ripped apart because the advertisers are leaving him, not Rush Limbaugh. That's what's going on," the Media Research Center founder concluded.
Here's the transcript of the segment, courtesy MRC intern Kelly McGarey. You can watch the segment by clicking the play button on the video above. (Thanks to Bob Parks of MRCTV for the video).
Hannity
June 14, 2012
9:26 a.m. EDT
SEAN HANNITY: And welcome back to Hannity, time for Media Mash, our weekly round-up of all the ways that the so-called mainstream media tries to put their liberal spin on the news, and back with me this week to go through all the material we have, none other than the president of the Media Research Center, the one and only Brent Bozell. Brother Bozell, we start at NBC again, thrill up his leg, Chris Matthews. He's there, he's helping, he’s trying. Poor Elizabeth Warren is struggling in her Senate race in Massachusetts, but he’s got advice. Here's NBC News.
CHRIS MATTHEWS: Let me help you on this --
ELIZABETH WARREN: Okay.
MATTHEWS: - to the extent I, as a journalist, can help you. We have a new figure that just came out, and it shows the American people - people in Massachusetts as well as everywhere else - tell us how they got screwed under the "W" administration.
HANNITY: Don't talk about - this is what you should talk about - let me give you the answers to the questions. I kind of enjoyed that.
BRENT BOZELL: Now, now, now -- Sean Hannity, well look, here's a woman who is embroiled in a controversy because she says she's a Native American. She's an Indian. Here's a show called Hardball. Chris Matthews on Hardball. You’d think that Chris Matthews on Hardball would ask her a hardball question. Instead, hardball Chris Matthews says, “how can I help you win?”
HANNITY: He had a thrill up his leg, he can't help himself. Alright, I gave the keynote speech the Talkers Convention New Media Seminar, great group. I try to go every year. I gave the keynote speech and I talked about three issues, problems that confront the radio industry, and the last one was that the Media Matters of the world that write the scripts for NBC News every night, that when they go after conservatives that there is a big red button, that they are going to be vulnerable. Anyway, after I spoke, big Eddy Schultz spoke. He spoke, and he seemed to agree with me. Listen to this.
ED SCHULTZ: We start attacking advertisers because of what somebody said, it's the wrong thing to do. I made a phone call that was not off the record. I called David Brock at Media Matters and said, “David, this is Ed Schultz. I need you to know what's happening. This is what's happening. There’s a lot of people getting hurt. This is going too far. That's my opinion. You can take it for what it's worth. Don't attack advertisers. It's too hard a living in the spoken word.
HANNITY: Alright, seems to agree with me, right? But I’ve got some other tape here. In the middle of the Sandra Fluke controversy, you were out in front on that issue. At the time, let's see how Ed was covering the boycott, the advertiser boycott of Rush Limbaugh.
SCHULTZ: Terry, isn't it going to take more than a website, isn't it going to take the social media being organized at the local level to go after these stations that carry Rush? I mean if women in this country really want to change and move this kind of broadcasting off to the side, what do you think? If there is a time to get him off the air, this is the push. I mean, if women in this country are serious about what they hear on the free airwaves of America, there is no better time. This is a wake-up call to every radio talker in America about what’s ahead in the landscape and what's acceptable. Racism and sexism are not acceptable. All these advertisers leaving Rush Limbaugh are making a very big statement.
HANNITY: Now, between that point, all of a sudden conservatives, as you know because you were covering this, they just happened to find these little tapes on him before he made the call to Media Matters and this is Ed.
SCHULTZ: You’re damn right Dick Cheney's heart's a political football. We ought to rip it out, kick it around and stuff it back in him. I am glad he didn't tip over, he is the new poster child for health care in this country. He's an enemy of the country, in my opinion, Dick Cheney is. Lord, take him to the Promise Land, will you? See, I don't even wish the guy goes to Hell, I want him to get the hell out of here. Do you know what they are talking about? Like this right-wing slut, what’s her name? Laura Ingraham? Ya, she's a talk slut.
HANNITY: What do you make of the timeline? Because I have myown thoughts.
BOZELL: Yeah, look. This is something that came back and bit Ed Schultz in the butt, is what happened. Here's a guy who joined in the frenzy to go after Rush Limbaugh and then people like you and people like me, started talking about, well let’s look at Ed Schultz's record, which is 100 times worse than anything Rush Limbaugh has ever said, and the guy's out there suing for peace now because he's being ripped apart because the advertisers are leaving him, not Rush Limbaugh. That's what is going on.
HANNITY: And then you’ve got Al Sharpton and all these other liberals who’ve said all these outrageous things, maybe they should follow my lead because I’ve always defended free speech.
BOZELL: Sean, any advertiser who’s looking at this is clearly seeing that the hate-filled messages are coming out of MSNBC. They are not coming out of your show, they’re not coming out of Rush Limbaugh's show, they are coming from these people, and that’s where the advertisers are going to leave. You want to pick a fight? Unfortunately, you are going to lose that fight.
HANNITY: It seems this is just the equivalent of an election-year conversion. This is “uh-oh, my livelihood's in jeopardy, we better stop this.” Pretty interesting.
BOZELL: Well, I mean if he loses 20, 25 audience members, he's gone.
HANNITY: You are unmerciful. Good to see you, Brent Bozell. You are a great American. Appreciate you being with us.
