In an adoring softball interview with San Antonio Mayor Julian Castro on her Monday MSNBC show, host Andrea Mitchell eagerly wondered if the Democrat was leading the way in turning the solidly red state blue: "Take a look at Texas Monthly, both you and your brother [Congressman Joaquin Castro] and Wendy Davis are on the cover of Texas Monthly. Is there a Democratic revival coming up in Texas?" [Listen to the audio or watch the video after the jump]
Castro seized the opportunity to proclaim: "It is an exciting time to be in Texas right now, as a Democrat....And the question is not if Texas is going to become a competitive state, and eventually a blue state, the question really is just when, how long is it going to take?...but it's going to happen. And you can feel that excitement right now in the air."
Texas
With Matt Philbin
Remember the media blackout of the Gosnell trial? Earlier this year, Philadelphia late-term abortionist Kermit Gosnell was convicted of three counts of murder – two of them delivering babies and then killing them in his filthy “house of horrors” clinic. He was also found guilty of more than 230 other felony and misdemeanor charges.
Pundits and journalists excused the media neglect, saying late term abortion was just too uncomfortable, the descriptions of the clinic too lurid, or dismissing it as a “local” issue. That’s not how the broadcast networks have treated the pro-abortion crusade of Texas Democrat Wendy Davis.
Mainstream media outlets have offered effusive praise for Texas State Sen. Wendy Davis (D) since her 11-hour filibuster against a bill that would limit abortion access in the Lone Star State. Despite the bill’s recent and overwhelming passage through both chambers of the Texas state legislature, the national media continue to cheer on their latest liberal darling – and hype her upcoming fundraising trip to our nation’s capital.
ABC News’s The Note – the network’s online political blog – fawned over Davis’s forthcoming visit to Washington, D.C. in a Wednesday post, with “Wendy Davis Goes to Washington” displayed prominently on the front page.
Guest-hosting for Ed Schultz Saturday, MSNBC contributor Joy Reid and liberal author James Moore fawned over pro-choice Texas legislator Wendy Davis (D) – while blasting Texas Gov. Rick Perry (R) and former President George W. Bush over their governorships. The Ed Show segment came in response to Perry’s announcement last week that he would not seek a fourth full term as governor of the Lone Star State.
Reid first brought up “big star” Davis late in the segment, asking Moore about the now-famous state senator’s chances at the Texas governorship in 2014. Moore seemed quite enthusiastic, insisting Davis “could raise $50 million in a month” if she decided to run.
During a news brief on Wednesday's NBC Today, anchor Natalie Morales noted that following "tough new abortion laws" being approved by the Texas house of delegates, "Demonstrators on both sides of the issue descended on the state capitol building and erupted in screams and cheers immediately following last night's vote." [Listen to the audio or watch the video after the jump]
However, the footage that rolled on screen as Morales talked was only that of abortion activists chanting "Shame on you!" throughout the Texas state house. Such footage belies the fact that sixty-two percent of Texans agree with the ban on abortions after twenty weeks, not to mention a plurality of Americans.
On Monday, Governor Rick Perry (R-Texas) announced he would not seek a fourth term as chief executive of the Lone Star State, saying the time had come “to pass on the mantle of leadership.”
It took the liberal media roughly 30 minutes to begin what will no doubt be an onslaught against the former presidential candidate, with the Washington Post’s Chris Cillizza offering all the reasons why Perry “shouldn’t run for president again.”
Appearing as a guest on Monday's The Last Word with Lawrence O'Donnell, Guardian columnist Ana Marie Cox -- formerly of Time.com -- asserted that "a lot of Republican women out there" are upset over the abortion issue because the GOP "is really taking a step backwards when it comes to women's rights."
Below is a transcript of the relevant portion of the Monday, July 1, The Last Word with Lawrence O'Donnell on MSNBC:
Misanthropic feminists are at it again. HuffPo’s Vivian Norris just suggested a sex strike in Texas to pressure male voters into giving in to the feminist agenda (aka abortion on demand – er, “women’s healthcare.”)
Deeply disgruntled that Texas might pass a bill banning abortions after 20 weeks, Norris urged Texas women to force men to vote for pro-choice agendas in the future by refusing to have intercourse with them this summer. “Don't give in if your man, boyfriend, husband, toyboy is not voting for your best interests, your reproductive health -- do not sleep with that man!” ranted Norris. “I don't care how cute or charming he is! I don't care if he is your husband of many years. Resist! Go swimming! Meditate!”
On Sunday's Disrupt show on MSNBC, host Karen Finney wondered by Texas Republicans are "trying to harm the health of women in the state" by passing laws against abortion instead of dealing with other issues, as she hosted Texas Democratic State Senator Leticia van de Putte to discuss fellow State Senator Wendy Davis's filibuster in support of abortion.
Later in the show, as she hosted Dr. Rani Whitfield of the Association of Free and Charitable Clinics for a discussion of Republican governors resisting the ObamaCare expansion of Medicaid in their states, the MSNBC host charged that the Republican party's "ideology is basically endangering the health of their citizens."
After what Hot Air's AllahPundit correctly predicted would be a Sunday talk show "master class on pro-abortion media bias" (a related NewsBusters post is here), it's good to recall a question for Texas's Wendy Davis Laura Ingraham tweeted a few days ago. I can guarantee you none of the hosts at the Big 3 networks asked the question on-air.
Also after the jump, the ultraliberal Austin American-Statesman, in what appears to have been a classic moment in ideology-driven unawareness, published a front-page photo today of Smith and fellow Democrats "celebrating" her legislative filibuster of a Texas law which would prohibit abortion after 20 weeks and headlining how they are "energized."
In the wake of her filibuster in the Texas state senate on Tuesday, NBC, ABC, and CBS all expressed their outrage at Texas Governor Rick Perry daring to criticize their anointed abortion "folk hero" Wendy Davis. On Friday, Today co-host Matt Lauer announced: "The battle over abortion gets very personal as Governor Rick Perry takes on a female senator whose filibuster helped block a controversial bill." [Listen to the audio or watch the video after the jump]
On Thursday's ABC World News, anchor Diane Sawyer attached the "folk hero" label to Davis as she fretted over "Perry creating a kind of high noon between the two of them." In the report that followed, correspondent David Kerley hyped Perry's mild critique of Davis as setting up "a true Texas showdown" and exclaimed: "Today, Perry made it personal."
The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) announced Wednesday it would not provide additional funds to help the town of West, Texas rebuild after a fertilizer plant explosion killed 15 and injured 160. MSNBC’s Alex Wagner seemed positively gleeful over the news.
The daytime host treated the development as a political defeat for Texas Governor Rick Perry (R), implying on Thursday’s Now that the tragedy – and FEMA’s denial of funding – were “the seeds” the governor sowed for his opposition to excessive federal spending and regulation. Wagner introduced Perry’s plea for federal funds by pairing it with a sound bite of the conservative governor’s opposition to excessive spending: