ESPN's Tony Kornheiser Works Plug for Democrat Candidate Mark Kelly into Show

February 23rd, 2019 7:04 PM

Pardon the interruption, Tony Kornheiser, but isn't your show of the same name supposed to be about sports, and not a platform for you to promote Democrat candidates?

Yet in the closing segment of Thursday's PTI, Kornheiser managed to work in a plug for Mark Kelly, a Democrat candidate for senator from Arizona. Kelly is the husband of former Dem Rep. Gabrielle Giffords. Kelly and Giffords became prominent gun-control advocates after she survived an assassination attempt in Tucson in 2011.

Kornheiser wished Happy 55th Birthday to Kelly and his twin brother Scott, then added:

"Mark Kelly is running for the Senate in Arizona."

Knowing that there would have to be some sort of fig leaf for his plug, Kornheiser offered this lamest of sports hooks:

"Sports connection: Aaron Rodgers [of the Green Bay Packers] and I took 47 bucks off Mark Kelly and, you know, another guy."


Turns out that "other guy" was none other than another Dem by the name of Barack Obama, who had played a round of golf with Kornheiser, Rodgers, and Kelly. 

Kornheiser has made no bones about his liberal bent, saying in a 2017 podcast: "I land on the liberal side of the fence almost all the time, certainly on social issues."

And back in 2015, NewsBusters contributor Bruce Bookter caught Kornheiser outrageously analogizing the Tea Party wing of the Republican congressional caucus to "ISIS trying to establish a Caliphate here."

That goes beyond landing "on the liberal side of the fence" and into the realm of defamation.

Tony, how about sticking to sports and leaving the liberal politics to other networks that push the lefty line 24/7? 

Here's the transcript:

ESPN's Pardon the Interruption
February 21, 2019
5:59 p.m. Eastern

TONY KORNHEISER: Happy time, people. Happy 55th birthdays to Mark and Scott Kelly, the American astronauts who have spent more time in space than any siblings ever are identical twins. Remember when Scott came back from space, and he was two inches taller than when he went up, and then he shrunk back down in hours? Kyler Murray should go to space right before the combine. Mark Kelly is running for the Senate in Arizona. Sports connection: Aaron Rodgers and I took 47 bucks off Mark Kelly, and, you know, another guy."