Paul Ryan

CBSNews.com's Montopoli Says GOP Held Hostage by Tax Interests; Ignores 'Norquists of the Left'
By Matt Vespa | November 28, 2012 | 1:51 PM EST

It’s the Republicans who are in a bind.  They’re beholden to the will of the evil genius Grover Norquist.  They’re scared to death of The Club for Growth. That's the trite liberal media narrative that CBSNews.com's  Brian Montopoli furthered earlier this morning in a piece in which he forecast that the Republicans, and only Republicans, are in for a bruising in the coming weeks should a "fiscal cliff" deal not be finalized. But in doing so, Montopoli conveniently forgets that Democrats have their pressure groups that hold their feet to the fire against any significant spending cuts and/or entitlement reform.

Perhaps Montopoli doesn't watch his own network's evening newscasts. On the Tuesday Evening News, correspondent Nancy Cordes noted that Democrats and President Obama are digging in their heels against any proposed deal which addresses entitlement spending.  In fact, forty-two Democratic members of the House have signed on to a bill that explicitly prohibits cuts to the welfare state.

Once Again, MSNBC’s Martin Bashir Compares Republicans to Mass Murderers
By Jeffrey Meyer | November 16, 2012 | 3:27 PM EST

Just when we thought Martin Bashir couldn’t reach a new low, he proved us wrong on Thursday on his self-titled MSNBC program.  Bashir is known for making hyperbolic and incendiary comments towards Republicans, but his latest comments are a new low for him.

Speaking to a panel of fellow liberals, Mr. Bashir started his program off by calling Governor Mitt Romney racist and having “contempt for his fellow Americans” in response to post-election comments made by Mr. Romney and Congressman Paul Ryan.   [See video below page break.  MP3 audio here.]

Now Chris Matthews Thinks The Word 'Urban' Is Racist
By Noel Sheppard | November 14, 2012 | 6:57 PM EST

The list of words MSNBC's Chris Matthews believes are racist if uttered by a conservative got longer on Wednesday.

You can now add "urban" which offended Matthews when Congressman Paul Ryan (R-Wisc.) said it during an interview Monday, but didn't bother the Hardball host in the slightest when Salon's Joan Walsh said it on his own program two days later (video follows with transcribed highlights and commentary):

Anderson Cooper Suggests Paul Ryan May Have Used Racial Dog Whistle
By Matt Hadro | November 14, 2012 | 3:59 PM EST

After Paul Ryan held that a voter turnout increase in "urban areas" hurt the Romney ticket, CNN's Anderson Cooper questioned if he was using racial overtones and hammered him with a "Keeping Them Honest" report claiming Ryan missed other reasons why Team Romney lost.

"Well, some critics jumped on those remarks, since 'historically urban' has often been used as a code word for African-American voters," said Cooper, who proceeded to "keep Ryan honest" by noting that urban areas weren't the only reason why Ryan and Romney lost. GOP strategist Alex Castellanos laughed at that assumption and called it "ridiculous."

CNN Promotes Liberal Catholics’ Attack on Bishops
By Paul Wilson | November 14, 2012 | 3:38 PM EST

A November 13 piece by Dan Merica on CNN’s Belief Blog, titled Liberal Catholics Use Election Results to Battle Bishops,” promoted the same tired attacks from the left about the Catholic hierarchy daring to defend religious liberty and Catholic teachings on life and marriage issues.

Merica cited President Obama’s re-election as a spur to liberal groups to step up their attacks on the Roman Catholic hierarchy: “Emboldened by the re-election of President Barack Obama, a cadre of liberal Catholic activists and groups is waging a campaign alleging that America's Catholic bishops are out of touch with Catholic laypeople.”

ABC's Jon Karl Lectures Paul Ryan on Obama's 'Mandate' and Raising Taxes
By Scott Whitlock | November 14, 2012 | 12:29 PM EST

 

ABC journalist Jonathan Karl on Wednesday lectured Paul Ryan about Barack Obama's reelection "mandate" and grilled the Republican about raising taxes. On Good Morning America, he declared, "If there was one issue that the President campaigned on, it was raising taxes on the wealthy." He added, "Doesn't he have a mandate there?" [See video below. MP3 audio here.]

When Ryan declined to support tax increases, the reporter hectored, "But could you see yourself supporting a plan that raises tax rates on the top two percent?...So you don't support a plan?" The Congressman retorted, "I don't want to get into negotiating with the media." In another version of the interview that aired on Tuesday's World News, Karl played a clip of Saturday Night Live "poking fun" at the former vice presidential candidate.

Bob Woodward Shocker: There Is a Way to Raise Revenue AND Lower Tax Rates
By Noel Sheppard | November 11, 2012 | 11:43 AM EST

Stop the presses! Stop the presses!

The Washington Post's Bob Woodward on The Chris Matthews Show Sunday not only called Democrat visions of balancing the budget by raising taxes on the rich a "fantasy," but he also said "there is a way to...raise more revenue and perhaps lower the rates" (video follows with transcript and commentary):

Hypocritical Bashir Rejoices GOP Message to Religious Voters Failed to Win Election
By Ken Shepherd | November 9, 2012 | 6:10 PM EST

"We can all be thankful" that "after 30 years of taking Christianity hostage and claiming that the church was really the Republican Party at prayer, this election actually revealed that the church is owned by neither Democrats nor Republicans," MSNBC's Martin Bashir pontificated at the open of is "Clear the Air" commentary which closed his eponymous November 9 program. 

Fortunately for Mr. Bashir, making straw-man arguments and spouting overheated political rhetoric is not a sin. What is, however, is hypocrisy. You see, Bashir has been fond of using the Bible as a cudgel to attack conservative Republicans for having allegedly unbiblical, even anti-Christian politics. Take his hostile interview with Rep. Joe Barton (R-Texas) back in May, in which Bashir slandered Barton by saying he was for slashing funding to Meals on Wheels and that cutting back funding to the program was unbiblical:

CNN Belief Blog: ‘Catholic Bishops’ Election Behavior Threatens Their Authority’
By Paul Wilson | November 8, 2012 | 3:43 PM EST

How dare Catholic bishops use their teaching authority to speak out in favor of religious liberty! That was the thrust of University of Dayton theology professor Vincent Miller’s November 8 post on CNN’s Belief Blog (which has a tendency to attack conservative ideas) titled “Catholic Bishops’ Election Behavior Threatens Their Authority.”

Miller complained that: “The Catholic Church was well within its rights to conduct its campaign on religious liberty, but its “Preserve Religious Freedom” yard signs were clearly designed to be placed alongside partisan candidate signs.” He continued by bewailing the supposed partisan nature of the campaign: “The technically nonpartisan nature of the Church’s religious liberty campaign was further drowned out by a small chorus of strident bishops who left no doubt about how Catholics ought to vote for president.”

NYTimes Suggests GOP Ignored 'More Moderate, and Diverse, Direction of the Country' With Ryan Pick
By Clay Waters | November 8, 2012 | 1:44 PM EST

New York Times campaign reporter Trip Gabriel in the paper's Election 2012 section Thursday suggested Paul Ryan's brand of fiscal restraint was a dead end for the GOP in the "demographically diverse" United States: "Ryan in Republican Forefront, But Loss May Bring Blame – Questions on Whether Ticket Needed More Moderation."

For Representative Paul D. Ryan, defeat is not the political career-ender that it is for Mitt Romney. For one thing, he still has his day job -- he won an eighth term from his Wisconsin district on Tuesday. For another, Mr. Ryan is now a household name who is situated, at age 42, at the forefront of the next generation of Republicans.

NYT's Keller Distressed By Paul Ryan’s 'Mostly White, Upper-Middle-Class' Alma Mater With 'Robust Frat Culture'
By Clay Waters | November 5, 2012 | 4:18 PM EST

Former New York Times executive editor Bill Keller visited Rep. Paul Ryan's alma mater, Miami University in Ohio, to examine Republicans in their natural element for his Monday column "The Republican ID," and seemed very concerned about the mindset of a college that actually favored the Republican candidate.

This patch of southern Ohio between Cincinnati and Dayton is not the up-for-grabs Ohio you’ve read so much about. This is decided country, where House Speaker John Boehner is running for re-election unopposed, where “Defeat Obama” and “Romney/Ryan” lawn signs glisten in the chilly drizzle.

Glee’s Jane Lynch Dresses as Mitt Romney for Halloween, Wife Goes as Paul Ryan
By Noel Sheppard | November 2, 2012 | 12:54 AM EDT

Glee star Jane Lynch dressed as Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney for Halloween.

In a pre-recorded Chelsea Lately aired Thursday, Lynch also said her wife was going as Paul Ryan (video follows with transcribed highlights and commentary, file photo):