Sherrilyn Ifill

On Eve of Clinton Speech on Early Voting, MSNBC's Chris Matthews Charges GOP with 'Voter Suppression' Charge
By Ken Shepherd | June 3, 2015 | 9:13 PM EDT

On the night before Hillary Clinton's scheduled speech in Houston wherein she will call for a nationwide standard of 20 days of early voting, MSNBC host Chris Matthews subjected viewers to not one but two biased segments on the issue of "voter suppression." Additionally, he capped off his June 3 program with a "Let Me Finish" commentary slamming the GOP as the architect of "voter suppression" laws. 

At no point, of course, did Matthews find time to mention that a new poll shows that a majority of Democrats are fine with requiring a government-issued ID for voting.

Hyperbolic Sharpton 'Dialed Back' by Liberal Guests on 'Devastating' Affirmative Action Ruling
By Brad Wilmouth | April 23, 2014 | 10:28 AM EDT

After an incensed Al Sharpton led his PoliticsNation show on Tuesday portraying the day's Supreme Court ruling on affirmative action as a "devastating blow" and a "dangerous precedent," both of his liberal guests made a point of disagreeing with his over the top language.

The MSNBC host began the show:

MSNBC Guest: Voter ID Reforms Are ‘Anti-American’
By Jeffrey Meyer | January 6, 2014 | 3:55 PM EST

For over a year, the folks at MSNBC have been pushing a tired narrative that Republicans are engaged in a “war on voting.” Sadly, the rhetoric on MSNBC over “voter suppression” seemed to have taken an ugly turn on one of its flagship programs, Andrea Mitchell Reports.

On January 6, anchor Andrea Mitchell began her segment on voting rights lamenting how in 2013 “[t]he Supreme Court effectively gutted the 1965 Voting Rights Act in June last year when the court struck down a key provision opening the door for states and localities to undo nearly a half century of voting rights gains.” Appearing alongside Ms. Mitchell was Sherrilyn Ifill of the NAACP who charged that new voting laws across the nation were “anti-American.”

MSNBC Panel Invokes Anita Hill, Injects Sexism in Kagan Hearing
By Alex Fitzsimmons | June 29, 2010 | 2:25 PM EDT

A liberal panel led by MSNBC anchor Chris Matthews injected sexism into the Kagan confirmation hearings on Tuesday morning, suggesting that Republican senators should curtail the tenacity of their questioning because the Supreme Court nominee happens to be a woman.

Invoking the Clarence Thomas hearings, which focused on the testimony of Anita Hill, who accused Thomas of making inappropriate sexual comments, Matthews asked, "Am I wrong in hearing flashes here of the Anita Hill testimony way back when in the Clarence Thomas confirmation hearings?"

Despite the absence of a sexual scandal, Matthews persisted with the bizarre analogy: "Are we past the sensitivity about a male member of the Senate grilling a female?"

The "Hardball" host failed to clarify exactly who in 2010 is sensitive about male senators posing tough but legitimate questions to a woman nominated to the nation's highest court.

'Brilliant' Ifill Cousin Scours Palin As 'Offensive to Black Women'
By Tim Graham | October 2, 2008 | 6:48 AM EDT

Here are more signs Sarah Palin could face an uphill battle with PBS host Gwen Ifill. Professor Sherrilyn Ifill of the University of Maryland Law School, whom Gwen Ifill has lauded as "my brilliant baby cousin," has written that black women are not buying Sarah Palin’s "false claims to feminism" and is portrayed as too perfect: "when women who are privileged present as though they have it all together, it’s offensive to black women." (Photo from Soros.com)

The Community Times, a suburban Maryland newspaper, found Professor Ifill was ardently opposed to the Alaska governor when they did an e-mail interview:

"From the first day, Palin presented herself as shooting a bear in the morning, field dressing it, cooking up the breakfast, diapering the babies, passing legislation in the afternoon, cleaning the house, satisfying her husband, etc., etc., etc. And it's just not true," she wrote in an e-mail interview. "It's hard to be an average working mom, really hard. And when women who are privileged present as though they have it all together, it's offensive to black women."