Andrew Sullivan

Atlantic’s Sullivan: GOP ‘Trying to Keep This Economy Bad,’ Are ‘Most Irresponsible Political Party’
By Brad Wilmouth | December 5, 2010 | 11:59 PM EST

 Appearing as a panel member Sunday on the syndicated Chris Matthews Show, Andrew Sullivan of the Atlantic charged that Republicans are "trying to keep this economy bad" to hurt President Obama as the group discussed extension of the Bush tax cuts. He then tagged the GOP as "the most irresponsible political party I’ve seen."

Sullivan began his rant against Republicans as he jumped into the conversation: "Can I just point out the fantastic irony that we’ve just gone through an election in which the Republicans campaigned day in and day out about the debt, and now we find after the election that they’re the least willing to tackle it?"

When host Chris Matthews asked him to "explain," Sullivan continued: "Pure, utter cynicism. All they’re doing is trying to keep this economy bad and keep nailing that in Obama - by the way, who’s not responsible for most of it - and so that they can get back in power. They have no interest in solving this country’s debt problems and fiscal problems. They’re the most irresponsible political party I’ve seen in (INAUDIBLE)."

Moments earlier, John Heilemann of New York magazine had also argued against the extension of the Bush tax cuts. Heilemann:

NY Mag's Heilemann: Obama's the Only Serious Adult in Deficit Reduction Conversation
By Noel Sheppard | December 5, 2010 | 12:58 PM EST

New York magazine's John Heilemann said this weekend that President Obama is the only serious adult in the deficit reduction conversation now going on in Washington.

This deliciously came seconds before Heilemann told other guests on the syndicated "Chris Matthews Show," "I have been dispirited by the lack of strategy on the part of the White House since the midterm elections...specifically on this [issue]" (video follows with transcript and commentary):

Andrew Sullivan on BBC Radio 4: Palin Represents 'An America That Is Definitionally White'
By Ken Shepherd | November 9, 2010 | 11:55 AM EST

"Sarah Palin represents an America this is absolutely, definitionally white, that's very much rural America."

That's how The Atlantic's Andrew Sullivan summed up the former Alaska governor in his appearance on the November 7 BBC Radio 4 "Americana" program.

Echoing  Peter Jennings' infamous description of the 1994 midterms, the liberal British-born blogger added of 2010 voters that they had "had a panic, a tantrum."

For his part,  Washington-based "Americana" host Matt Frei  reinforced Sullivan's analysis, labeling Palin the "Evita of the North" and generally failed to question Sullivan's analysis.

Andrew Sullivan: At Fox News You Get Rewarded and Promoted If You Say Something Bigoted
By Noel Sheppard | October 24, 2010 | 12:03 PM EDT

Andrew Sullivan on Friday said that if you say something bigoted on Fox News, you get rewarded, promoted, and celebrated.

As the topic of NPR's firing of Juan Williams was raised on the syndicated program "The Chris Matthews Show," Sullivan was far more critical of the cable news station than the radio network (video follows with transcript and commentary):

Viguerie: CNN Needs More Conservatives; Parker-Spitzer Brings on Libs
By Matthew Balan | October 15, 2010 | 4:17 PM EDT

Richard Viguerie, Conservative Activst; Eliot Spitzer, CNN Host; & Kathleen Parker, CNN Host | NewsBusters.orgConservative Richard Viguerie brought his criticism of CNN's "left-of-center" bent on Thursday's Parker-Spitzer, and recommended that the network bring on more "articulate conservatives." The two CNN hosts, whom Viguerie recently criticized in a recent column, did their best to support his allegation by bringing on four liberals as guests during the program.

The conservative wrote an August 17, 2010 column in the Washington Examiner criticizing CNN for claiming that they're "playing it right down the middle," when in reality, they lean towards the liberal side. Parker launched right into addressing her guest's criticism: "So, we're going to go ahead and get the elephant out of the room, and I'm not talking about you. But you did write about me....that I am a 'pleasantly wishy-washy, mostly plain vanilla Republican.' It's hard to see your words applied when the person is actually present, isn't it?"

Viguerie replied by half-jokingly taking back his label, but immediately gave her another:

Noted Palin-Trig Conspiracy Loon Andrew Sullivan Piles on Anti-Levin Bandwagon
By Jeff Poor | September 15, 2010 | 4:34 PM EDT

Want to make friends in "elite" political blogosphere? Don't dare be outspoken on behalf of Delaware Republican U.S. Senate nominee Christine O'Donnell.

In a Sept. 15 post on his The Atlantic blog, "The Daily Dish," Sullivan takes a break from gossiping about political figures' genitalia to take on conservative talker Mark Levin's response to those who were seemingly hell-bent on O'Donnell not being the Delaware GOP nominee within the conservative media intelligentsia.

After going through a litany of Levin's alleged indiscretions against O'Donnell detractors, Sullivan argues that his so-called "conservative" counterparts had it coming since Levin had been so critical of the pseudo-intellectuals that have masqueraded as conservatives over the years.

CNN Pits Eliot Spitzer Against 'Conservative' Kathleen Parker In New 'Crossfire'?
By Noel Sheppard | June 19, 2010 | 3:54 PM EDT

With all the conservative columnists out there, if you were looking for an author to represent the right-wing view in a new Crossfire-like program, would you choose Kathleen Parker who lately has largely presented herself as a Republican In Name Only? 

According to the New York Post, that's exactly what CNN is considering.

Not only that, but her liberal opponent is rumored to be -- wait for it! -- disgraced former New York governor Eliot Spitzer.

Here's what the Post published Friday concerning this matter:

Media Find Recruiting Pool in Liberal Blogosphere
By Lachlan Markay | June 6, 2010 | 12:46 PM EDT
The amateur liberal blogosphere is dead, according to a prominent lefty blogger. Chris Bowers made his proclamation Thursday, on the heels of the New York Times's acquisition of FiveThirtyEight, a prominent liberal polling site run by Nate Silver.

Silver, pictured right, was the latest in a string of moves from the liberal blogosphere to traditional media outlets. The Washington Post has, with much fanfare, beefed up its blogging staff of late, most recently by hiring Dave Weigel to cover the political right.

The trend of professionalization should not be surprising. Traditional media are overwhelming liberal, and new media comprise some of the sharpest journalistic minds the nation has to offer. Traditional media need ways to remain relevant. Why wouldn't they draw talent from the vast pool of bloggers?
Limbaugh Wedding Vicodin, Reagan Only ‘Acted’ Like a President, Maher Defends Palin But Yearns for More Gore
By Brent Baker | June 5, 2010 | 11:23 PM EDT
I watch HBO’s Real Time with Bill Maher so you don’t have to. The most-noteworthy vitriol from Friday night’s show that I tweeted last night -- seven quotes, in sequence, you can read in less than a minute:
♦ Bill Maher opening monologue joke about Rush Limbaugh’s wedding: “They say, instead of throwing rice, throw Vicodin.”

♦ Maher, interviewing Paul Begala, channeling Obama’s reaction to those who say he hasn’t shown enough anger over the oil spill: “You retards...people who are not that bright...you have been used to people like Bush and Reagan who act like the President.”

♦ During the panel, Maher actually came to Sarah Palin’s defense, though he found it distasteful, as he scolded author Joe McGinniss: “He’s stalking her....That someone can get me to defend Sarah Palin bothers me to no end,” but “I think it’s just creepy to move next door.”

♦ Panelist Andrew Sullivan of The Atlantic applauded McGinniss: He’s just trying “to find out who this farce and phony actually is.” That earned loud applause from the Los Angeles audience.
The Atlantic's Andrew Sullivan Boasts about the Size of Al Gore's Genitalia
By Jeff Poor | June 5, 2010 | 11:34 AM EDT

We all know former Vice President Al Gore has a sycophantic media supporting him on his pet cause of global warming. But this might be a little over the top, or it could very well explain a lot.

In December 2007, when Gore won the Nobel Peace Prize, The Washington Post's Mary Jordan and Kevin Sullivan argued the former vice president had won the Nobel Prize for "sexy." Well, apparently this is an inside-the-beltway notion that has existed for years.

On HBO's June 4 broadcast of "Real Time with Bill Maher," film producer, director, and screenwriter Judd Apatow harkened back to a 2000 cover of Rolling Stone magazine that revealed something about the former vice president during the Bush/Gore election cycle.

Andrew Sullivan Agrees With Klein's Sedition Comments; Says Beck, Limbaugh and Fox Control GOP
By Noel Sheppard | April 25, 2010 | 3:54 PM EDT

The Atlantic's Andrew Sullivan said this weekend he agrees with Time's Joe Klein about Glenn Beck and Sarah Palin being almost seditious in their opinions of the Obama administration while also claiming that the Republican Party IS Fox News. 

"I'm more with Joe than I am with the Fox News Republican National Committee coalition machine, sort of this great machine spewing out an alternative reality to reality every, every minute of the day," said Sullivan on the most recent installment of the syndicated "Chris Matthews Show."

"[T]his essentially is accusing the President -- duly-elected president -- of being illegitimate and even treasonous to what the United States is."

When NBC's Kelly O'Donnell pointed out that most people "think there is a different standard between the politics of entertainment and the politics of policy," Sullivan replied, "I'm tired, I have to say, of this notion that someone like Beck and [Rush] Limbaugh can be excused because they are entertainers, as if that is an excuse for saying substantively what they're saying and for controlling the Republican Party" (video follows with transcript and commentary):  

Surprise: Three Out of Four 'Chris Matthews Show' Panelists Say Tea Party a Negative for GOP
By Jeff Poor | March 28, 2010 | 9:29 PM EDT

Perhaps tuning in to NBC's "The Chris Matthews Show" isn't high on your list of priorities, outside of wanting the chance to catch Dan Rather suggest something bizarre like President Barack Obama couldn't sell watermelons. However, if you had watched the March 28 broadcast of the program, you would have found the show's roster of panelists think the Tea Party movement is a black mark on the Republican Party, as far as it pertains to unseating the Democratic majority in Congress.

Matthews' show featured NBC Capitol Hill correspondent Kelly O'Donnell, Newsweek's senior Washington correspondent Howard Fineman, CNN senior political analyst Gloria Borger and Atlantic senior editor Andrew Sullivan. In the aftermath of the passage of ObamaCare into law, some have suggested this was a defeat for the Tea Party movement. Matthews asked if the mere existence of this movement was a plus or minus for the Republican Party.

"OK, all things considered, if there were no Tea Party crowd, we never saw them demonstrate - would that be better for the Republican Party, or is the Tea Party a plus for them in November, winning elections?" Matthews asked.