2014 Governors

CBS Wonders If a Scott Walker Loss Will ‘Send a Message’ Nationwide About His 'Policies and Politics’?
By Curtis Houck | October 28, 2014 | 10:03 PM EDT

With the midterm elections one week away from Tuesday, the CBS Evening News with Scott Pelley profiled the race in Wisconsin for governor as incumbent Governor and Republican Scott Walker faces off against Democratic candidate Mary Burke. 

While it’s certainly worth covering governor’s races across the country, CBS News correspondent Dean Reynolds chose to use the occasion to go after Walker and his policies by asking Burke if a victory over Walker would “send a message to the rest of the country about the kind of policies and politics that he practices.”

Ann Romney Blasts Dems, Media Over Handling of Sheheen's Nikki Haley 'Whore' Comment
By Tom Blumer | October 28, 2014 | 5:31 PM EDT

Apparently Ann Romney believed that no one was going to call Democrats and the press onto the carpet over their disgraceful conduct and non-reaction, respectively, after South Carolina Democratic gubernatorial candidate Vincent Sheheen called incumbent Palmetto State Governor Nikki Haley a "whore" — and failed to "apologize" for it for four days.

Mrs. Romney, sadly, is presumptively correct. Searches indicate that the Associated Press still has no national or regional story on what Sheheen said ("we're gonna escort whore out the door"). She correctly asserts that "if a Republican had said this, it would be blowing up in their face like nobody's business." For those who haven't seen it, the Sheheen video, along with excerpts from coverage at Charleston's Post and Courier, follow the jump.

Norah O’Donnell Admits To Throwing ‘A Softball Of A Question’ At Elizabeth Warren
By Jeffrey Meyer | October 28, 2014 | 10:41 AM EDT

Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) appeared on Tuesday’s CBS This Morning to discuss next week’s midterm elections and the three CBS hosts eagerly threw softball questions at the Massachusetts Democrat. During the interview, Norah O’Donnell asked Senator Warren “what's going to happen if Republicans take control?” before admitting “I guess that was a softball of a question, wasn’t it?”  

Nicolle Wallace Lumps Rick Scott with Charlie Crist: Untethered to 'Moral Compass'
By Mark Finkelstein | October 28, 2014 | 8:12 AM EDT

If on national TV you pass along from a "friend" an extremely damning charge about someone's morality, do you have an obligation to identify that "friend" or provide some sort of substantiation for the charge?  Nicolle Wallace apparently doesn't think so.

On today's Morning Joe, speaking of Rick Scott and Charlie Crist, Wallace blithely passed along the charge from an unnamed "friend" from Tallahassee that "these are two guys who are the least tethered to any sort of moral compass that have ever run against each other."  

Press Was All Over GOP Gov. Candidate's 'Sweetheart' Comment in Sept., Ignores Dem's Nikki Haley 'Whore' Comment
By Tom Blumer | October 27, 2014 | 8:45 PM EDT

In late September, Charlie Baker, the Republican who is the party's gubernatorial candidate in Massachusetts, told female reporter Sharman Sacchetti, who had already asked him a series of questions: "OK, this is going to be the last one, sweetheart."

That was enough to send the press into a tizzy. Jack Coleman at NewsBusters noted how Rachel Maddow at MSNBC turned Baker's statement into proof that the GOP is engaged in a "war on women," even though Baker quickly apologized directly to the reporter and indicated that, as paraphrased by the Associated Press, "the comment was a mistake and doesn't represent his work attitudes." This would be the same Associated Press which has, based on searches, not had a single national or local story on South Carolina Democratic gubernatorial candidate Vincent Sheheen calling incumbent Republicn Nikki Haley a "whore" — even though Sheheen waited four days to (insincerely, in my view) apologize.

S.C. Reporter Calls Sheheen's Nikki Haley 'Whore' Remark 'Slip of the Tongue'
By Tom Blumer | October 27, 2014 | 4:36 PM EDT

Earlier today, South Carolina Democratic gubernatorial candidate Vincent Sheheen "apologized" for telling supporters last Thursday that if he defeats incumbent Republican Nikki Haley, "we’re gonna escort whore out the door."

Sheheen's "apology" is far from satisfactory, especially given the point NewsBusters commenter "Rio5" made at last night's post, namely that "As my father always said, 'If it isn't in your head it won't come out of your mouth.'" As will be seen after the jump, Vincent Sheheen wants us to believe that he is a miraculously rare exception to that wise saying. Readers will also see that State.com reporter Cassie Cope is being incredibly indulgent in covering the "apology":

MRC's Bozell Discusses MRC Midterm Study with FBN's Stuart Varney
By NB Staff | October 27, 2014 | 1:26 PM EDT

"If it hurts the narrative of the Obama administration, it's just not covered." That's how Media Research Center president Brent Bozell summed up the stunning findings of the latest MRC study, which shows a tremendous disparity in how the liberal broadcast networks covered the 2006 midterms as opposed to this years. 

NBC Highlights Michelle Obama’s Campaign Efforts, Ignores Her Numerous Gaffes
By Jeffrey Meyer | October 27, 2014 | 9:22 AM EDT

On Sunday night, NBC Nightly News covered First Lady Michelle Obama’s busy campaign schedule with just over one week to go until Election Day. Unfortunately, in their rush to play up her midterm efforts, the network ignored the Democrat’s numerous gaffes on the campaign trail. Anchor Lester Holt introduced the report and noted how “First Lady Michelle Obama is taking on a key role that she's played before. She's going out on the campaign trail in hopes her high approval ratings can help Democrats maintain control of the Senate.”

Press Ignoring Nikki Haley's Opponent Wanting to 'Escort Whore Out the Door'
By Tom Blumer | October 26, 2014 | 6:09 PM EDT

Did you hear about Republican gubernatorial candidate Greg Abbott in Texas saying of opponent Wendy Davis, "We need to keep the whore away from the door"? Of course you didn't. We know that if Abbott had said anything like that, it would become national news story more important than even Ebola within minutes.

So why is it only news at about a dozen web-based center-right outlets that Democrat Vincent Sheheen, who is running against incumbent Republican Nikki Haley in the South Carolina Governor's race, told supporters on Thursday that "we’re gonna escort whore out the door"? Those who want to try to contend that Sheheen sincerely corrected himself when he immediately said “We’re gonna escort her out the door” are wrong, as evidenced by the crowd's reaction and Sheheen's self-satisfied behavior after his supposed blunder in the video following the jump:

Chuck Todd Pushes W.H. Talking Points On Ebola: They’re ‘Very Concerned About These Mandatory Quarantines’
By Jeffrey Meyer | October 26, 2014 | 10:25 AM EDT

On Sunday morning, Meet the Press moderator Chuck Todd appeared on NBC’s Today to discuss the politics of Ebola in the upcoming midterm elections. Speaking to co-host Lester Holt, Todd channeled the concerns of the Obama administration following decisions made by Governors Chris Christie, Pat Quinn and Andrew Cuomo to institute mandatory quarantines to anyone who came in contact with an Ebola patient. The Meet the Press moderator insisted that the White House isn't “supporting the decisions that they've made. They’re very concerned about these mandatory quarantines.”

Press Continues to Virtually Ignore Michelle Obama's Campaign Speech Gaffes
By Tom Blumer | October 25, 2014 | 9:20 AM EDT

One can only imagine how much grief the national press would have given Laura Bush had she gone on the midterm congressional campaign trail during her husband's presidency and mispronounced the name of a Republican senatorial candidate, or if she had presented part of the bio of a Democratic opponent as that of the incumbent Republican for whom she was stumping.

First Lady Michelle Obama has done both things — reversing parties, of course — in recent weeks. The national press is largely pretending that these things never happened, and, when they do notice the gaffes, making excuses for her.

Hypocritical Matthews Hits Christie Over 2016 Campaign Comments
By Ken Shepherd | October 23, 2014 | 9:52 PM EDT

On his Oct. 23 Hardball program, MSNBC's Chris Matthews excoriated New Jersey Republican Gov. Chris Christie for highlighting in a recent speech the importance of swing-state Republican governors getting reelected this November in order to pave a smoother road for the eventual Republican nominee in the 2016 presidential campaign. Matthews took the worst-possible interpretation of Christie's remarks -- that he endorses partisan voter suppression -- rather than the more logical and charitable interpretation -- every presidential candidate wants as many swing states as possible to have governors of his party running the show.