Congress
On Monday's The 11th Hour on MSNBC, host Brian Williams devoted a couple of minutes to hyping the cases of two Republican publican figures who have recently been publicly excoriated by liberal family members. After noting reports of families being "torn apart" by political disputes in recent years, Williams brought up Virginia Congressman Bob Goodlatte coming under criticism by his son on Twitter.
After already committing $110 million to his midterm efforts, California billionaire Tom Steyer said he would spend even more to turn out liberal voters in November.
At a Lansing, Mich., town hall on Aug. 13, Steyer announced he would spent another $10 million on a “Need to Vote” campaign through his Need to Impeach organization. He told the crowd they are in a “fight to save the soul of America.”
On Thursday afternoon, the Daily Caller reported that a former Ohio State University wrestler recanted his statement regarding Rep. Jim Jordan. The wrestler, Mark Coleman, originally claimed that Jordan had knowledge of sexual abuse by deceased OSU physician Dr. Richard Strauss. Coleman now says, “at no time did I ever say or have any direct knowledge that Jim Jordan knew of Dr. Richard Strauss’s inappropriate behavior.”
If you’re a politician with “D” at the end of your name, it grants you certain privileges from an all too friendly press. They go easy on you in interviews, give you the benefit of the doubt, and if you’re ever charged or convicted of a serious crime, they’ll mostly ignore it. This double standard was on full display Wednesday when New York GOP Congressman Chris Collins was arrested for alleged insider trading.
New York Times reporters Michael Shear and Adam Liptak’s review of Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh and his involvement in Ken Starr’s independent counsel investigation of President Bill Clinton, made the front page of Sunday’s edition. It conveniently served as a defense of the Clintons against the “puritanical” “hatred” of Republicans: “Court Pick, Soldier in the Battle to Impeach Clinton, Has Regrets.” The reporters's opening and closing quotes are from former Clinton adviser current Chicago mayor Rahm Emanuel, surely a nonpartisan source of objective wisdom on the matter at hand.
On Thursday's New Day, CNN co-host Alisyn Camerota understated former Minnesota Democratic Senator Al Franken's history of sexual harassment as she asked Democratic Senator Amy Klobuchar if she thinks he should run for Congress again.
Obituary writer Robert McFadden went past respect for the dead to mark the passing of hard-left former liberal congressman Ron Dellums in reverential fashion on Tuesday: “Ron Dellums, 82, Dies; Vocal and Unrelenting, He Upheld Left’s Ideals.” The text box: “A mantra over three decades in Congress: Stop war. Help people.” A photo caption in the print version called Dellums “a lifelong champion for social justice.” It’s a standard the paper doesn’t apply to conservative figures.
On Monday's MSNBC Live with Stephanie Ruhle, viewers got to see another case which demonstrates that the purpose of a Republican or right-leaning MSNBC contributor is to avoid disagreeing too aggressively with the more stridently liberal commentators as contributor and former Ted Cruz aide Rick Tyler failed to counter claims that Judge Brett Kavanaugh has "radical" views on abortion and gun rights.
The liberal media has decided that any opposition to Special Counsel Robert Mueller's Russia investigation is “unpatriotic.” Appearing on Stephen Colbert’s The Late Show Thursday night, CNN anchor Jake Tapper claimed anyone who criticizes the investigation might as well have criticized an investigation into the attack on Pearl Harbor.
Occasionally, MSNBC’s Hardball host Chris Matthews has provided us with moments of humor and levity (though most of the time at his own expense) and Wednesday was no exception as he took time to mock anti-Trump Republicans and faux Republicans pleading with voters to back Democrats in November.
Rep. Louie Gohmert, R-Texas, came out swinging at the House Judiciary hearing about censoring conservatives. He criticized Facebook’s eagerness to address Democrat questions about Russian use of the platform, but less so about GOP inquiries.
The labeling bias came straight from the very top of the New York Times lead National section story Monday. Richard Fausset reported from Georgia under the headlines, “A Race Pivots on Guns, Saws and Trucks – In Georgia’s heated G.O.P. runoff, two candidates for governor court voters on the far right.” Fausset played up the controversies and heated rivalry in Georgia, while a story on the emerging Democratic 2020 presidential choices was sedate and politely headlined: “Warren Is Warming Up for 2020. So Are Many Other Democrats.”