Joe Scarborough

Scarborough, Heilemann to GOP: Ignore Rush, Do Deals With Obama
By Mark Finkelstein | November 7, 2014 | 8:11 AM EST

Rush Limbaugh likes to say that when the liberal media says "talk radio," they mean him.  Rush's point was perfectly illustrated on today's Morning Joe.  John Heilemann first spoke of "talk radio  . . . howling" at Boehner and McConnell not to capitulate to President Obama.  Just a moment later, Heilemann made explicitly clear whom he had in mind: "you got to listen to Rush Limbaugh for just one day right now."

Then it was Joe Scarborough's turn to fulminate: "I keep hearing Rush Limbaugh, Rush Limbaugh, Rush Limbaugh." The message that Heilemann and Scarborough had for Republicans was clear: ignore Rush and do deals with President Obama.  Specifically on immigration, Scarborough suggested that Republicans not "capitulate" but "work with the president and meet in the middle." 

Todd Apologizes for Calling Staten Island Race 'Fight Between Mob Families'
By Mark Finkelstein | November 3, 2014 | 9:26 AM EST

During a Morning Joe appearance late last month, Chuck Todd, as we reported, described the congressional race on Staten Island as a "fight between mob families." Not a great idea for a guy who not long before saw his comment that Alison Lundergan Grimes had "disqualified herself" made into a Mitch McConnell ad.

Back on the show this morning, Todd offered an unqualified apology for his "mob families" hit, calling it "bad, wrong" and  a "cheap slur."  But that didn't stop Joe Scarborough from trying to turn it into a joke and make things about himself.

Scarborough: Obama's Self-Righteous Quarantine Hypocrisy 'A Jim and Tammy Faye Bakker Moment'
By Mark Finkelstein | October 30, 2014 | 9:12 AM EDT

You really have to watch the clip of President Obama strutting his self-righteous anger at states that are imposing Ebola quarantines.  I, Barack thunders that such quarantines reflect a lack of leadership, and "that's not who I am."  Thank you, sir, for letting us know what a strong leader you are.  

On today's Morning Joe, Joe Scarborough scalded President Obama's self-righteous hypocrisy.  Mockingly quoting the President, Scarborough said "'This is America. And we do things differently'—unless it's in Barack Obama's own government, the military." Where of course a quarantine is being imposed on soldiers returning from Ebola hot zones. In the unkindest cut, Scarborough cast Obama's hypocrisy as "a Jim and Tammy Faye Bakker moment."  Ouch.

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."  

Mika 'Disturbed' by Video of Purse Snatcher Getting Bus-ted
By Mark Finkelstein | October 24, 2014 | 7:54 AM EDT

You've probably seen the video.  In Chile, a man boards a bus and twice tries to rip a purse away from a woman.  When he fails, he tries to flee, only to get his arm stuck in the door. Whereupon the driver subdues him with a few swings from his handy bat.  When the bus finally stops, the police are there to greet the miscreant and lead him away.

When Jimmy Kimmel played the clip on his show, the audience reacted with cheers.  But when Morning Joe aired it today, Mika declared herself "disturbed." When Mika asked why the clip was enjoyable, Joe Scarborough explained the obvious: "because justice won out."

Thomas Roberts, Sam Stein Defend Hillary's War on Bill's Women: Just a 'Spouse' Dealing with a 'Personal Family Matter'
By Mark Finkelstein | October 23, 2014 | 8:16 AM EDT

Today's Morning Joe offered a sinister sneak preview of how the MSM will defend presidential candidate Hillary Clinton, whatever the cost to integrity or decency.   The topic was the way that Hillary orchestrated the trashing of Bill's many women. Joe Scarborough argued forcefully that this should be remembered when as a presidential candidate she rails against the "war on women."

But there was HuffPo's Sam Stein, dismissing Hillary's calculated campaign against Monica Lewinsky as merely a "personal family matter."  Then it was the turn of MSNBC's own Thomas Roberts to cover for Hillary.  Roberts argued that despite her powerful position as First Lady of Arkansas and later of the United States, Hillary was simply a "spouse" who wasn't on a government "payroll."

Wasserman Schultz Runs Away From Obama
By Mark Finkelstein | October 22, 2014 | 8:31 AM EDT

Add Debbie Wasserman Schultz to the list of Dem politicians running away from Barack Obama.  Kind of ironic, no, given that DWS is Chair of the Dem party and President Obama is its standard bearer? On today's Morning Joe, repeatedly pressed by Joe Scarborough as to whether voting for Dem candidates means a continuation of President Obama's policies, Wasserman Schultz refused to answer.  Instead, the DNC Chair trotted out shop-worn lines about Obama not being on the ballot, Dems "having your back,"  etc.   

After she departed, Scarborough got in a goodbye shot: "It's ridiculous. People that voted with the president 95, 96, 97, 98% of the time can't say his name."

'I Think You Made Another Ad': Chuck Todd Says Staten Island Race 'Fight Between Mob Families'
By Mark Finkelstein | October 21, 2014 | 8:29 AM EDT

Did Chuck Todd just do it again?  His comment a couple of weeks ago that Dem Alison Lundergan Grimes "disqualified herself" for refusing to say whether she voted for Barack Obama was quickly made into an ad by the McConnell campaign.  On today's Morning Joe, Todd made a highly quotable claim about another race.

Todd described the campaign for a congressional seat in a district located in Staten Island and parts of Brooklyn as  "a fight between mob families."  That sent Mika Brzezinski and Joe Scarborough scrambling to disassociate themselves from the Meet the Press moderator.  And at the end of the segment, Mika told Todd: "I think you might have made another ad!"  Retorted Todd: "I'll never come on the show again."

Tina Brown Treats Republicans Like Dogs: 'They Had Their Rabies Shots'
By Mark Finkelstein | October 20, 2014 | 9:48 AM EDT

Tart-tongued Tina Brown is at it again. On today's Morning Joe, seeking to explain why Republicans are doing surprisingly well with women voters this year, Brown said: "they had their rabies shots."

Vegas, Baby! MSNBC's Dorian Warren Bets 'History Will Be Very, Very Good' to Obama
By Mark Finkelstein | October 20, 2014 | 8:28 AM EDT

Don't know what Dorian Warren's been smoking, but we can guess what he's been reading: Rolling Stone, and in particular a recent column in which Paul Krugman claims that Barack Obama is one of the most "successful presidents in American history" [ed.: not a typo].

On today's Morning Joe, MSNBC contributor Warren said he'd be happy to call his Vegas buddies to bet that "history will be very, very good to Barack Obama."   Warren was responding to Joe Scarborough's suggestion that history will lump Obama and George W. Bush together for their lack of effective leadership.

Dem Deutsch Makes Case for Romney: 'We Kind of Made a Mistake Four Years Ago'
By Mark Finkelstein | October 15, 2014 | 8:19 AM EDT

It was one thing for Joe Scarborough to make the case for Mitt Romney, arguing that these frightening times demand the kind of competence Romney offers.  

But on today's Morning Joe, it was stunning to hear a New York Dem like Donny Deutsch say something very similar. According to the ad man: "There is a psychological reason to go to Mitt Romney, and that is: wow!  We kind of made a mistake four years ago. We get to do a do-over. He was right about Syria, he was right about a lot of things."

Wow! Chuck Todd Says Grimes 'Disqualified Herself' By Refusing to Say If She Voted for Obama
By Mark Finkelstein | October 10, 2014 | 9:00 AM EDT

Whatever liberal leanings he might have, sometimes the political animal in Chuck Todd just can't contain itself.  Take today's Morning Joe, where Todd absolutely annihilated Alison Lundergan Grimes, Dem candidate for senator from Kentucky, for her refusal to say whether she voted for Barack Obama for president.  

Todd ripped Grimes as "ridiculous," then twice declared that she had "disqualified herself."  Ouch!  Even Mika Brzezinski was embarrassed by Grimes' cringe-worthy performance, as you'll see in the screengrab.