Bob Dole

Daily Kos Contrasts Old-School GOP With New ‘Bats**t Crazy’ Version
By Tom Johnson | July 26, 2014 | 7:45 AM EDT

Liberals like to opine that righty Republicans of the fairly recent past, such as Barry Goldwater, William F. Buckley Jr., or even Ronald Reagan, were nowhere near as wild-eyed as the Tea Party crowd. In a Tuesday Daily Kos post by the mononymous Hunter, it was Bob Dole (granted, no one’s idea of a movement conservative) who represented the party’s rational “old guard” against the “clearly batshit insane” congressional GOPers.

Hunter’s peg was the possibility of a second Senate vote on the U.N. Convention on the Rights of Persons With Disabilities. Dole visited the Senate chamber earlier this week to rally support for the treaty, which fell short of ratification in 2012 because most Republicans voted against it.

NBC Pays Tribute to Bob Dole, Totally Skips His Tough New Words on VA Scandal
By Tim Graham | May 24, 2014 | 10:04 PM EDT

At the end of Friday’s NBC Nightly News, they aired a sugary Harry Smith profile of Bob Dole: “The body may be frail but the voice is unmistakable...Yeah, that's Bob Dole, once known as an attack dog, at 90 he purrs.”

NBC completely skipped what Dole had to say on the front page of Friday morning’s USA Today, that the current handling of veterans in the VA health system is a “disaster.” Susan Page had the story in an exclusive interview (NBC video below):

PBS Anchor Mourns the Good Old Days of Penny Candy and 'Moderate' Republicans Who Raised Taxes
By Tim Graham | April 26, 2014 | 7:07 AM EDT

There are few things more predictable than liberal TV news anchors pining for the good old days when moderate Republicans voted for tax increases (like the 1990 budget deal) or expanded Medicare coverage (George W. Bush, 2002).

Notice they don’t warmly recall when Democrats voted for the Reagan tax cuts or B-1 bombers and aid to the Nicaraguan rebels. Those Democratic “sellouts” are never honored. But PBS NewsHour anchor and Washington Week host Gwen Ifill just adores Bob Dole as he trashes the Tea Party as "far right" and Jeb Bush as he embraces “comprehensive immigration reform.”

NBC Hypes Spat Between McCain and 'One of the Tea Party's Most Provocative Figures'
By Matthew Balan | March 7, 2014 | 10:04 PM EST

Friday's NBC Nightly News played up the latest dust-up between Senators John McCain and Ted Cruz over the latter's criticism of three of the Republican Party's presidential candidates, including Bob Dole. Brian Williams underlined the apparent "genuine and palpable tension today in Washington," after Senator Cruz criticized Dole, McCain, and Mitt Romney's campaigns during a speech at CPAC: "When you don't stand for principle, Democrats celebrate."

Kelly O'Donnell zeroed in McCain's shot back at Cruz on Andrea Mitchell's MSNBC program, and hyped how "[Cruz], one of the Tea Party's most provocative figures...triggered a new Republican rift" with his remark. O'Donnell also hyped the Texas senator's Friday statement reacting to his colleague from Arizona: [MP3 audio available here; video below the jump]

Rob Reiner aka Meathead: 'Obama Is Right Around Where Reagan Was' Politically
By Noel Sheppard | November 2, 2013 | 4:00 PM EDT

It really is hysterical listening to liberal Hollywoodans talk about politics.

Take for example actor/director Rob Reiner - made famous by his role as Meathead in the legendary sitcom All in the Family - claiming on HBO's Real Time Friday ("Overtime" web segment) that Barack Obama politically "is right around where Reagan was" (video follows with transcript and commentary):

Norquist Demolishes Maher: ‘He Doesn’t Understand the Difference Between Reagan and Dole’
By Noel Sheppard | July 20, 2013 | 11:38 AM EDT

With Grover Norquist’s help, Bill Maher once again made a fool of himself Friday evening.

In the middle of an HBO Real Time discussion about ObamaCare, the host seemed shocked to hear that Bob Dole isn’t a real conservative leading Norquist to derisively comment to former Congressman Connie Mack (R-Fl.), “He doesn’t understand the difference between Reagan and Dole” (video follows with transcribed highlights and commentary):

Mark Shields Howler: Bob Dole 'Was a Certifiable Conservative'
By Noel Sheppard | June 1, 2013 | 2:24 PM EDT

PBS's Mark Shields said something on Friday's Inside Washington that is guaranteed to make right-thinking Americans across the fruited plain double over in laughter.

Bob Dole "was a certifiable conservative" (video follows with transcript and commentary):

NBC’s Brian Williams Trumpets Bob Dole’s Criticism of GOP as Too Conservative
By Brent Baker | May 28, 2013 | 8:51 PM EDT

Once again demonstrating the NBC Nightly News is the broadcast arm of MSNBC, anchor Brian Williams – matching what has animated MSNBC hosts – devoted a segment to former Senator Bob Dole railing against the modern Republican Party; ie: conservatives.

With “Fighting Words” on screen, Williams on Tuesday night highlighted comments neither the ABC nor CBS evening newscasts found newsworthy, how the 89-year-old “made it clear in a rare interview this weekend the GOP of his day is unrecognizable. He thinks they should pause, rebuild and start over.”

Bob Dole: Obama’s a ‘Great Golfer,’ ‘Lacks Communication Skills,’ ‘On the Road Too Much’
By Noel Sheppard | May 26, 2013 | 4:38 PM EDT

Former United States Senator and Republican presidential nominee Bob Dole had some harsh words for the current White House resident Sunday.

During an interview on Fox News Sunday, when host Chris Wallace asked him what he thought of Barack Obama, Dole replied, “Great golfer.”

ABCNews.com Helps Obama Push Himself as a 'Moderate Republican,' Eighties Edition
By Tim Graham | December 14, 2012 | 7:40 PM EST

ABCNews.com doesn’t know how to use quote marks for this headline: “Obama: More Moderate Republican Than Socialist.” Obama told a Miami interviewer that "The truth of the matter is that my policies are so mainstream that if I had set the same policies that I had back in the 1980s, I would be considered a moderate Republican."

Lloyd Bentsen impressions are mandatory: I knew moderate Republicans in the Eighties. Moderate Republicans in the Eighties were friends of mine. Obama is no moderate Republican from the Eighties. But Jordan Fabian of ABCNews.com aggressively pushed links that Obama has agreement on the left:

NB Publisher Bozell: Media's Attack on Conservatism Attempt to Divide GOP, Help Liberals Win Election
By Brent Bozell | November 14, 2012 | 11:43 AM EST

We hear this from the liberal media every single time the Republicans don’t win something. They have only one solution for the Republican Party: don’t be conservative. It’s never about the failures of the candidates or a poor voter turnout effort. It’s that Republicans are too conservative – a false conclusion that ignores the successful campaigns of conservatives Ronald Reagan, George H.W. Bush, and George W. Bush.

The liberal media discourage candidates from being conservative because it helps their preferred liberal candidates. Mitt Romney didn’t embrace the conservative base and he lost, just like Bob Dole and liberal media sweetheart John McCain. The liberal media’s rush to scare the GOP away from conservatism is a deliberate attempt to divide the party. They don’t want Republicans to embrace conservative principals because conservative Republicans win.

Dole Calls McClellan a 'Miserable Creature,' Media Mostly Mum
By Noel Sheppard | June 2, 2008 | 10:33 AM EDT

Former senator and presidential candidate Bob Dole sent an angry e-mail message to Scott McClellan Thursday calling the former White House press secretary a "miserable creature" for publishing his recent tell-all book about the Bush administration.

In his message, Dole claimed McClellan was typical of folks "in every administration who don't have the guts to speak up or quit if there are disagreements with the boss or colleagues. No, your type soaks up the benefits of power, revels in the limelight for years, then quits, and spurred on by greed, cashes in with a scathing critique."

Despite the focus given this book last week, many major news organizations completely ignored Dole's comments which were first revealed by Politico Friday, and widely disseminated hours later by UPI. Yet, from what I can tell, ABC, CBS, NBC, the New York Times, and USA Today have all ignored the matter.

What follows is the entire e-mail message published by Fox News.com Friday (h/t NBer motherbelt, picture courtesy Politico):