The NYTimes Visits 'Polarized' Wisconsin, Equates 'Civility' to Suppor

The latest Times Sunday Magazine featured a 5,000-word story keyed to the Wisconsin recall election pitting Republican Gov. Scott Walker against Milwaukee mayor Tom Barrett, who Walker beat in the actual election in 2010. Contributor Dan Kaufman proposed to explain how Wisconsin politics got so rancorous: "Land of Cheese and Rancor – How did Wisconsin get to be the most politically divisive…
Clay Waters
May 30th, 2012 3:27 PM

Jay-Z, Kanye West Music Video Celebrates Anti-Police Riots

Rappers Jay-Z and Kanye West have once again expressed their love of gratuitous violence. The pair has released a new music video, “No Church in the Wild,” depicting a violent riot, with police and rioters engaging in full-scale mayhem.   “No Church in the Wild” opens with a protestor throwing a Molotov cocktail at police. The violence only escalates from there; the video is a patchwork…
Paul Wilson
May 30th, 2012 1:54 PM

MSNBC’s Roberts Attacks GOP Strategist for Comparing Trump to 'Great

According to Thomas Roberts, Vice President Biden is a political god who deserves no criticism.  That’s the message the host sent to former Rick Santorum spokesman Hogan Gidley on MSNBC Live Tuesday.  The two men were discussing the political implications for Mitt Romney attending a fundraiser with Donald Trump when Gidley compared the bombastic Trump to gaffe-prone Vice President Biden. "…
Jeffrey Meyer
May 30th, 2012 1:47 PM

Panicky Ed Schultz Predicts: If Romney Wins, There'll 'Never Be a Demo

In a related development, the Republican National Committee is extending heartfelt thanks to Ed Schultz for his help with their get-out-the-vote efforts. Further confirmation that the June 5 recall election in Wisconsin has liberals more spooked than usual was provided yesterday courtesy of radio host and MSNBC flamethrower Ed Schultz. (audio clip after page break)
Jack Coleman
May 30th, 2012 1:46 PM

WashPost Dutifully Helps First Lady Hawk New Gardening Book

Michelle Obama is out with a new book about the White House vegetable garden and Krissah Thompson of the Washington Post is doing her level best playing book publicist. "One of Michelle Obama's early worries about life in the White House had to do with a plot of land," Thompson gushed in the lead paragraph of today's page A4 story. "[T]he first lady found herself fretting over whether her…
Ken Shepherd
May 30th, 2012 1:30 PM

Jake Tapper Mocks Trump's 'Bizarre' Birther Nonsense; GMA Skipped Mahe

Birtherism really makes Jake Tapper mad. The Good Morning America journalist on Wednesday angrily attacked the untrue conspiracy theory as "bizarre," "fact-free" "nonsense." Tapper highlighted Donald Trump's support of Mitt Romney and warned that Republicans think the real estate mogul "undercuts his seriousness and suggests [Romney is] not willing to stand up to even the most offensive and…
Scott Whitlock
May 30th, 2012 1:15 PM

NBC Decides Trump Has 'Overshadowed' Romney Clinching GOP Nomination

At the top of Wednesday's NBC Today, co-host Matt Lauer worked to tarnish Mitt Romney officially becoming the GOP Nominee: "Mitt Romney secures the Republican presidential nomination....But will his ongoing relationship with Donald Trump overshadow his big moment? As Trump plays the birther card once again." Moments later, Lauer continued to rain on Romney's achievement: "...even as he basks…
Kyle Drennen
May 30th, 2012 12:59 PM

Romney Adviser Flays CNN for 'Fixation' With Trump: 'You Should Be Emb

CNN was on the "birther" beat Tuesday night after Romney surrogate Donald Trump kept espousing the conspiracy, and the former GOP governor of New Hampshire excoriated the network on Wednesday morning's Starting Point for its "fixation" with a non-story. "Aren't you embarrassed to be speaking directly from the Obama speaking points that they distributed yesterday?" John Sununu challenged…
Matt Hadro
May 30th, 2012 11:36 AM

WashPost's Strauss, Who Sends Her Kids to Private Schools, Rails Again

The Washington Post's Valerie Strauss -- who sends her daughters to private schools -- lashed out recently in her The Answer Sheet blog against Mitt Romney's ideas for education reform, in which school vouchers are a central piece. Romney's ideas are predicated on "an ideology that demonizes unions." Strauss complained in her May 24 post -- which was also printed in the May 28 Washington Post…
Ken Shepherd
May 30th, 2012 11:11 AM

Generally Fair AP Report on Consumer Confidence Drop Tries to Make Exc

In a generally even-handed report on yesterday's drop in consumer confidence as reported by the Conference Board (from a revised 68.7 to 64.9, vs. expectations of a rise to 69.6, according to Bloomberg), the Associated Press's Mae Anderson, with assistance from Christopher Rugaber, engaged in a bit of excuse-making in and downplaying in their later paragraphs. The AP pegged its water-down to…
Tom Blumer
May 30th, 2012 10:29 AM

Open Thread: Voting With Their Feet

Liberals like to believe that tax and regulation policies have no effect on the economy despite mountains of evidence to the contrary. The latest proof of this comes via the Tax Foundation which calculated that millions of Americans are leaving high-tax areas like New York or California in favor of lower-tax jurisdictions like Texas or Florida. As a result, the tax-happy states are missing out…
Matthew Sheffield
May 30th, 2012 9:51 AM

Former NYT Editor Cheers Gay Marriage at Supreme Court, Praises 'Enlig

In his Monday column, former New York Times executive editor Bill Keller hoped gay marriage would be vindicated by the Supreme Court: "A Brief for Justice Kennedy." Keller has previously argued for gay marriage while hinting that those who disagree are motivated sheerly by bigotry. On Monday he gushed that two lawyers fighting for gay marriage can "make history" at the Supreme Court and…
Clay Waters
May 30th, 2012 9:43 AM

Current TV Host Gavin Newsom Bored by His Other Job

Cue up the violin strings. A sad tragedy is being played out in California. The Sacramento Bee has a story about how the Lieutenant Governor of that state, Gavin Newsom, must endure the unendurable as described in the article's headline: "Gavin Newsom breaks boredom in Sacramento with his own TV show." Yes, even though the Current TV ratings are in the toilet and might not even be carried on…
P.J. Gladnick
May 30th, 2012 9:39 AM

Martin Bashir: Michelle Obama's Anti-Obesity Campaign Based on Warning

NewsBusters readers know that one of my guilty pleasures is pointing out the stupidity of America's television personalities. The award for the most intellectually challenged comment I saw on TV Tuesday goes to MSNBC's Martin Bashir who on the show remarkably bearing his own name said that first lady Michelle Obama based her anti-obesity campaign on warnings from - wait for it! - "…
Noel Sheppard
May 30th, 2012 8:56 AM