Michelle Bernard

MSNBC Contributor Michelle Bernard: Hobby Lobby Ruling Will Drive Women Voters Into Arms of Dems in 2016
By Ken Shepherd | June 30, 2014 | 9:35 PM EDT

The Hobby Lobby ruling will be a blessing in disguise for Democrats, possibly this November but most certainly for 2016. That's the argument put forward by two MSNBC contributors on Hardball this evening, Washington Post columnist Melinda Henneberger and Michelle Bernard of the Bernard Center for Women, Politics, & Public Policy.

"I see this ruling as, definitely on the political front, being a good thing for the Democrats, because people are furious and thinking, I think it goes further than it does," Henneberger argued to guest host Steve Kornacki. Minutes later, Bernard saw a big problem for Republicans with women in 2016, if not 2014, insisting that Mitt Romney's "binders full of women" line and "corporate personhood" would be instrumental in locking down droves of female voters for Democrats in 2016:

Chris Matthews: Hillary Clinton Should Be Above GOP 'Spit-balling'
By Jackie Seal | May 28, 2014 | 3:28 PM EDT

Now playing on MSNBC: “Hillary vs. the Haters!”

Opening his Tuesday evening episode of Hardball, host Chris Matthews kicked off by essentially whining about new comments from Karl Rove about potential 2016 candidate, Hillary Clinton. In the process he decried those ol' meanies in the GOP, seemingly forgetful that he himself has spewed all kinds of bile against conservative and Republicans from his perch at MSNBC.

Chris Matthews, Guest Mangle Boko Haram Issue Into Racial Jab at GOP
By Matthew Balan | May 10, 2014 | 4:45 PM EDT

Chris Matthews mocked Republicans on Friday's Hardball over their hawkish stance towards Boko Haram, the Nigerian Islamist group that recently kidnapped hundreds of girls. Matthews made a thinly-veiled racial attack on the GOP during a panel discussion on the terrorist organization: "By the way, when did the Republican Party take this keen interest in Africa? I may have missed that one."

Guest Michelle Bernard, who is of Jamaican decent, quickly followed the MSNBC host with a more overt racially-based jab at Republicans: [MP3 audio available here; video below the jump]

MSNBC's Chris Hayes Welcomes Ex-Reaganite to Say 'There Are No Moderate Republicans,' No Denouncing Right's 'Crazy People'
By Tim Graham | October 22, 2013 | 7:06 AM EDT

MSNBC’s “All In With Chris Hayes” hosted two Republican refugees on Thursday night, starting with former Reaganite Bruce Bartlett, whose favorite word for conservatives on Twitter is “wankers.” Then came his "dittohead" Michelle Bernard.

Bartlett pleased Hayes oh so much by insisting “There are no moderate Republicans” because no one will stand up and denounce the Tea Partiers because “they're so afraid to speak out and say that their party has been hijacked by crazy people, stupid people.”

MSNBC's Bernard: ‘Country Has Become More Race Conscious’ Since Obama Elected
By Noel Sheppard | August 24, 2013 | 5:26 PM EDT

You can’t swing a dead cat these days without hitting some prominent African-American claiming race relations have worsened since Barack Obama became president.

Count MSNBC political and legal analyst Michelle Bernard among them, for on PBS’s McLaughlin Group Friday, she said, “The country has become more race conscious in terms of color and in terms of ethnicity since he was elected” (video follows with transcript and commentary):

Pat Buchanan: 'Whites Are the Only Group That You Can Discriminate Against Legally in America Now'
By Noel Sheppard | August 24, 2013 | 12:59 PM EDT

Syndicated columnist Pat Buchanan made a statement Friday guaranteed to make liberal media members' heads spin.

During a discussion about Affirmative Action on PBS's McLaughlin Group, Buchanan said, "Whites are the only group that you can discriminate against legally in America now" (video follows with transcript and commentary):

MSNBC Panel: Fast & Furious Scandal Bad for GOP, Good for Obama
By Kyle Drennen | June 20, 2012 | 12:18 PM EDT

Update [12:52 ET]: Former RNC Chairman Michael Steele followed Bernard's lead in MSNBC's noon hour by claiming the Fast & Furious investigation was "not good" for the House GOP. Video below and audio here.

In an attempt to twist the Obama administration's Fast & Furious gun running scandal into bad news for Republicans, on Wednesday's The Daily Rundown on MSNBC supposed Republican pundit Michelle Bernard proclaimed: "...when you think about just the damage that has been done over the last year to the GOP's brand, this is just another – adds more fuel to the fire." [Listen to the audio or watch the video after the jump]

Bernard was referring to the possibility of Attorney General Eric Holder being held in contempt of Congress for not providing documents about the failed policy to lawmakers. Instead of questioning the White House, Bernard continued to rant: "...this is just another thing that I think gives the Obama administration and the Obama campaign a little bit more fuel to go to the American public and say, 'Why won't they just do their job? We don't elect members of the Congress to come in and beat up on the Attorney General and be obstructionists. Ask them to do their job and back off of Eric Holder.' It makes no sense."

McLaughlin Group Pays Tribute to Tony Blankley
By Noel Sheppard | January 14, 2012 | 3:21 PM EST

Like a lot of Americans who live outside the D.C. metro area, I was first introduced to Tony Blankley by PBS's McLaughlin Group.

It was therefore quite fitting that host John McLaughlin as well as panelists Michelle Bernard, Pat Buchanan, Eleanor Clift, and Clarence Page on Friday paid tribute to Blankley who sadly passed away last Saturday (video follows with commentary):

Barney Frank Counters Claim Gays Are Girlie: 'I Left My Purse At Home'
By Mark Finkelstein | December 20, 2010 | 6:12 PM EST

Chris Matthews called it "the quote of the night," so let's see how our NewsBusters readers respond.  Here was Barney Frank, reacting to the assertion by a young Marine that they are a macho bunch whereas gays are "girlie":

"I will confess that I left my purse at home."

Later, MSNBC political analyst Michelle Bernard, in a stunning non sequitur, was incapable of understanding how John McCain could oppose DADT repeal while having some years ago apologized for initially opposing the creation of Martin Luther King Day. Huh?  For good measure, Bernard called McCain "the male Palin" and accused the entire state of Arizona of being "anti-immigrant."

View video after the jump.

 

ABC Debunked Matthew Shepard Murder as No Hate Crime, MSNBC Savages Republican for Repeating
By Brad Wilmouth | April 30, 2009 | 4:56 AM EDT

On Wednesday’s Countdown show, which aired at 9:00 p.m. after President Obama's news conference, MSNBC’s Keith Olbermann viciously slammed Republican Congresswoman Virginia Foxx for claiming that murder victim Matthew Shepard – whom the current hate crimes bill is named after – was targeted out of a desire to commit robbery rather than because of anti-gay sentiment by his attacker, contradicting the conventional wisdom that the grisly murder was a hate crime. The MSNBC host was so outraged at the North Carolina congresswoman that he named her as the night’s "Worst Person in the World" and showed particular venom toward her, even suggesting she should resign. Olbermann: "She is at best callous, insensitive, criminally misinformed. At worst she is a bald-faced liar. And if there is a spark of a human being in there somewhere, she should either immediately retract and apologize for her stupid and hurtful words or she should resign her seat in the House."

On the 11:00 p.m. special edition of Hardball, Chris Matthews and guests Joan Walsh of Salon and MSNBC political analyst Michelle Bernard also lambasted Foxx for her claim, with Walsh contending that she was either "lying" or "ignorant," and Matthews calling Foxx’s words "rough stuff." Walsh: "She's a hoax, Chris. She disgraced herself today. That was inaccurate. And what I really don't know is whether she’s lying – she knows the facts and she’s lying – or whether she’s so ignorant and arrogant that she didn’t need to delve into the facts."

But, on the November 26, 2004, 20/20, ABC host Elizabeth Vargas ran a report in which a number of figures tied to the case, including the prosecutor, were interviewed, and made a credible case that Shepard was targeted by Aaron McKinney and Russell Henderson not because of anti-gay sentiment, but because McKinney was high on methamphetamines, giving him unusual violent tendencies as well as a desire for cash to buy more drugs. Vargas not only found that a meth high can lead to the kind of extreme violence perpetrated against Shepard, but that McKinney had gone on to similarly attack another man, causing a skull fracture, very soon after his attack on Shepard. Additionally, McKinney’s girlfriend and another friend of McKinney’s even claimed that McKinney himself has bisexual tendencies, although McKinney himself denied it.

Vargas appeared on the November 19, 2004, The O’Reilly Factor on FNC and summarized her findings:

Matthews Chirps Groovy Cool Obamas Gave Him Another 'Thrill!'
By Geoffrey Dickens | April 1, 2009 | 6:19 PM EDT

Chris Matthews, on Wednesday's "Hardball," admitted Barack Obama, along with his wife Michelle this time, gave him yet another "thrill." The MSNBC host gleefully described his feelings at seeing the Obamas arrive in England for the G20 summit this way [audio available here]:

Well there is something cool when they were both - there's a nice ‘60s term. When they were both walking to the helicopter the other day, Marine One, there was something like, when he looked at her, you could just tell he said, "Isn't this something?" You know you could tell like they were experiencing the-, the, I'm getting old here. The grooviness, the excitement of being this First American Couple heading towards Marine One, which is cool in itself, heading from there to Air Force One, to a quick flight across the Atlantic, on your own plane. And to meet with the world leaders as like the centerpiece of the world. What? I get-, I'm saying it again, I'm getting a thrill.

Matthews, who invited the Washington Post's Lois Romano and the Independent Women's Forum Michelle Bernard to join in on the Obama-watching fun, also giddily admitted: "We girls agree. I don't mind saying that. I'm excited. I'm thrilled. Any way I like it all! I like the picture, I like the substance. "

The following is the full exchange Matthews had with his panelists on the April 1, edition of "Hardball":

Matthews Calls Bachmann the 'Mata Hari of Minnesota'; Rolling Stone's Taibbi Says 'Guy Huffing Glue' More Sensible
By Jeff Poor | March 27, 2009 | 8:51 PM EDT

There seems to be a new "derangement syndrome" that has infected the crew at MSNBC - Michele Bachmann Derangement Syndrome.

On the MSNBC March 27 "Hardball with Chris Matthews," host Chris Matthews questioned Rep. Michele Bachman's effort to protect the United States dollar.

"It's not clear why she did it since nobody on the planet, least of here in America is talking about switching to some new multinational currency here," Matthews said.

Matthews also got worked up about an interview Bachmann did on conservative talk show host Sean Hannity's radio show earlier this week when she referred to her job as being a "foreign correspondent behind enemy lines" and called Obama's policies "economic Marxism."