Alex Witt

MSNBC’s Alex Witt Allows Dem. Senator To Blame GOP, NRA For Assault Weapons Ban Failure
By Jeffrey Meyer | March 20, 2013 | 1:10 PM EDT

Ever since the tragedy at Sandy Hook Elementary in December 2012, the hosts at MSNBC have been on a gun control crusade, boosting Democrats' push for fresh gun restrictions.  One of the focal points of MSNBC’s gun control advocacy has been pushing for a ban on what MSNBC calls “military-style assault weapons.”

Well, yesterday,  Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid told reporters he'd scrapped California Democrat Dianne Feinstein's assault weapons ban for lack of votes. The Nevada Democrat noted he only had at most 40 votes out of 53 Democrats and two Democrat-caucusing independents. In other words, Republican votes are a non-factor, since the Democratic caucus is hardly sold on the idea to begin with. Yet the very next day, MSNBC’s Alex Witt allowed Senator Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) to essentially blame the GOP and the NRA for the setback to the Left on gun control.  [See video after jump.  MP3 audio here.]

MSNBC’s Alex Witt Asks: ‘What’s It Going To Take To Get Abortion Rights Back On Track?’
By Jeffrey Meyer | January 3, 2013 | 4:32 PM EST

Well, there goes any chance that MSNBC might have resolved to drop the phony "war on women" meme in the new year. On the January 3 NewsNation fill-in host Alex Witt interviewed Kate Pickert to push for greater abortion access across the nation, discussing her cover story for the January 14 print edition of TIME magazine, which is pegged to the forthcoming 40th anniversary of Roe v. Wade. "40 years ago, abortion-rights activists won an epic victory with Roe v. Wade," blares the cover headline, adding, "They've been losing ever since."

The segment itself was more of an advocacy spot than an actual interview with Witt acting as cheerleader for the abortion rights movement.  Witt introduced the segment calling the article a “fascinating, comprehensive great article”, that “really gets right to the heart of the issue.”  Ms. Witt followed her fawning over the article by asking Pickert, “What do you think it’s going to take to get abortion rights back on track and not deny it from those who need it?”  [See video after jump.  MP3 audio here.]

MSNBC's Witt Whiffs Twice In One Morning
By Mark Finkelstein | October 20, 2012 | 9:08 AM EDT

Drifting around the dial this morning, I happened on MSNBC's Weekends With Alex Witt.  Within minutes, I was stunned by two Witt whiffs, to wit:

1. Criticizing the Tea Party's lack of "diverse thinking," she asked Joe Scarborough "how much has the Tea Party damaged the Republican party?" Joe gently explained that far from damaging the GOP, the Tea Party propelled it to historic landslide victories in 2010. 2. Witt later cast the Salt Lake Tribune's recent endorsement of Barack Obama as a "surprise," ignoring the fact that in 2008, the Salt Lake Tribune endorsed . . . Barack Obama.  View the video after the jump.

Goldie Taylor: 'Bachmann Might Be a Lunatic, But She’s Not the Lunatic Gingrich Thinks She Is'
By Noel Sheppard | December 17, 2011 | 1:45 PM EST

Just how much do the media want to prevent Newt Gingrich from becoming the Republican presidential nominee?

So much that despite their total disdain for Congresswoman Michele Bachmann (R-Minn.), they'll even defend her from supposed sexist attacks by the former Speaker of the House (video follows with transcript and commentary):

MSNBC: Americans Just Don’t Pay Enough Taxes – Period!
By Noel Sheppard | November 26, 2011 | 1:23 PM EST

If you had the misfortune of watching Weekends with Alex Witt on MSNBC Saturday morning, you sadly were treated to four minutes of propaganda about how we Americans just don’t pay enough taxes – period!

CQ Roll Call’s David Hawkings was invited on to misinform the gullible about Americans’ tax rates being too low, corporations shirking their tax responsibilities, the poor paying more than conservatives contend, and, of course, the rich not paying their “fair share” (video follows with transcribed highlights and commentary):

Chris Matthews Slams Obama: He's Got 'The Worst Kind of a Notion of the Presidency'
By Noel Sheppard | November 19, 2011 | 6:34 PM EST

Chris Matthews on Saturday slammed Barack Obama in his worst criticism to date of the man that used to give him a thrill up his leg.

Speaking to the host of MSNBC's Weekends with Alex Witt, Matthews excoriated the President saying, "The day he got inaugurated, he sent us all home and said, 'Thank you, now watch how smart I am.' That's the worst kind of a notion of the presidency" (video follows with transcript and commentary):

MSNBC's Witt: I Got 'Chills' Listening To Obama Immigration Speech
By Mark Finkelstein | July 1, 2010 | 12:11 PM EDT
When it comes to Barack Obama, MSNBC is the network of thrills and chills . . .

Chris Matthews famously felt a thrill going up his leg listening to an Obama speech. Now, MSNBC anchor Alex Witt has been similarly moved by Obamian oratory, declaring this morning "I got a few chills" listening to PBO's "very powerful" speech on immigration.

Witt described her sensations to MSNBC DC bureau chief Mark Whitaker.
Politico's Mike Allen on MSNBC: GOP 'Steamroller' Stopped, Dems 'Off the Mat'
By Kyle Drennen | May 19, 2010 | 6:10 PM EDT
Alex Witt and Mike Allen, MSNBC During Wednesday's 10AM EST hour on MSNBC, Politico's Mike Allen shared his thoughts on Tuesday's electoral results: "Stop the steamroller. The idea the Republicans were automatically going to be in control going into November, now not true....a Democrat winning the only Democrat-Republican showdown of yesterday in a congressional seat in Pennsylvania. The Republicans should have won."

That despite the fact that the seat has been by Democrats for decades and that Democrats outnumbered Republicans 2-to-1 in the district. Allen touted how "the White House is saying this shows that if you fight district by district that you can win. Democrats can win in a tough district if they have a local message."

Anchor Alex Witt then asked Allen about the victory of Rand Paul in the Kentucky senate Republican primary. Allen continued to spin the news as bad for the GOP: "if he makes it to Washington...He's not going to do what the Republican leaders tell him to do, they fought against him."

Allen even claimed the Paul campaign was modeled after that of Barack Obama: "this is a continuation of the trend that we saw with Barack Obama in 2008. He wasn't the establishment candidate....That's what we're seeing in both parties now."
MSNBC Seeks Analysis From WaPo Journalist Who Slammed Sarah Palin as Larry the Cable Guy
By Scott Whitlock | May 14, 2010 | 5:26 PM EDT

MSNBC's Alex Witt on Friday featured a rabidly anti-Sarah Palin journalist to explain why the former governor spoke at a National Rifle Association conference. Asked to comment, Cathy Areu, a Washington Post magazine editor, derided, "Oh, my God! She is such a fear-monger and really just appeals to this group of people who likes to hear all of these crazy comments."

Areu first drew fawning attention from fellow reporters when she appeared on CNN Headline News on April 14 and smeared, "Sarah Palin could do no wrong for so many people. I mean, she is a female Larry the Cable Guy minus the class and intelligence."

Witt made no mention of Areu's venomous attitude towards the former Republican vice presidential candidate. Instead she tossed softballs that allowed the Post editor to sully the motives of Palin: "I don't think she'll ever run for anything. She will just say she is going to run for something and will keep putting out books, which is what she's doing. She left the office in Alaska to sell books."

MSNBC Anchor Spins for Obama after NBC Reporter Slams Him for NASA Cuts
By Geoffrey Dickens | April 15, 2010 | 3:51 PM EDT

A visibly perturbed Jay Barbree, during MSNBC live coverage on Thursday, called out Barack Obama for making cuts in NASA that could result, as he claimed, in 9,000 employees losing their jobs even though during the campaign, as the long time NBC correspondent reported, the President "told 15,000 workers here at the Space Center that if they would vote for him, that he would protect their jobs." This sent MSNBC live anchor Alex Witt immediately into administration defense mode as she asserted: "I will say on behalf of the Obama administration, they contend that 2500 new jobs will be created."

The following exchange was aired during MSNBC's live April 15 coverage at around 12pm Eastern:

ALEX WITT: Right now on MSNBC, President Obama gets ready to head to NASA to try to build support for his efforts to revamp the nation's space program. Although the international space station will remain active, plans to send astronauts back to the moon are being scrubbed for now and that is dividing, not only Congress, but also some of the few people who have actually stepped foot on the lunar surface. Let's bring in NBC's Jay Barbree who's live for us at the Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Florida. Jay, good day to you.

You Lie! MSNBC Lets Dem's False 45,000 Annual 'Uninsurance Deaths' Go Unchallenged
By Anthony Kang | March 19, 2010 | 4:13 PM EDT
Rep. Jerrold Nadler, D-NY, for one, does not want blood on his hands from 45,000 Americans who allegedly die every year due to lack of health insurance. And MSNBC's Alex Witt, for one, doesn't think it worth questioning the veracity of that number.

"There are a lot of problems I have with the bill, primarily it doesn't go far enough. I really wish we had the public option in this bill," Nadler said in a March 18 interview on MSNBC.

"There are some other problems with it but bottom line - bottom line - the Harvard Medical School study tells us that 45,000 American per year die for lack of access to health insurance," Nadler said. "A ‘No' vote on this bill is a vote to kill 45,000 American a year. A ‘Yes' vote is a vote to save their lives - everything else is secondary."

MSNBC's Ed Schultz Asked to Run for Byron Dorgan's Senate Seat
By Noel Sheppard | January 6, 2010 | 11:30 AM EST

MSNBC's Ed Schultz has been officially asked to run for the Senate seat North Dakota's Byron Dorgan (D) will be vacating at the end of this year.

Dorgan surprisingly announced at his website Tuesday that having served in Congress for 30 years, he would not be seeking re-election in November.

Speaking with MSNBC's Alex Witt Wednesday, Schultz divulged that he had been officially asked to run by North Dakota state's House Minority Leader Merle Boucher (D) (video embedded below the fold with partial transcript, h/t Story Balloon):