Conservatives & Republicans

Once you become Chicago's mayor — or one of its alderman, for that matter — getting reelected is ordinarily a fairly easy proposition. The scheduling of Election Day, the fourth Tuesday in February in an off year, is deliberately designed to generate a low-turnout result. Incumbents' well-oiled political machines turn out their old reliable voters, while to have any kind of chance, challengers…

Appearing on the Fox News Channel’s (FNC) Your World with Neil Cavuto on Wednesday, Media Reserach Center President Brent Bozell reacted to dual news stories surrounding ObamaCare and the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) as “business as usual” for an “out of control” administration ruling “government by fiat.” The first story came on February 20 that 800,000 ObamaCare enrollees had received…

Apropos of President Obama’s refusal to use the terms “Islamic extremism” or “radical Islam,” Saletan opines, “If we’re going to start calling out religious and political groups for extremism, we could start at home with Republicans. Too many of them spew animus. Too many foment sectarianism. Too many sit by, or make excuses, as others appeal to tribalism. If Obama were to treat them the way they…

While all three of the major broadcast networks on Tuesday night covered President Barack Obama's veto of the bill passed by Congress approving construction of the Keystone XL oil pipeline, ABC, CBS and NBC failed to mention Obama's veto came despite a majority of Americans supporting the pipeline. Total coverage amounted to one minute and six seconds.

Jonathan Chait, Paul Waldman, and Amanda Marcotte each discuss how the Wisconsin governor and probable presidential candidate has responded to recent questions about issues including evolution, Obama’s religious beliefs, and Obama’s patriotism, as well as how his answers might play with the “paranoid” Republican base that thinks, in Waldman’s words, that “Obama is The Other, an alien presence…

Entertainment Weekly's Anthony Breznican blasted conservatives on Monday's CNN Tonight for criticizing actress Patricia Arquette for her politicized acceptance speech at the Oscars. Breznican actually went after Don Lemon for stating that "winners and presenters bring their often-liberal-leaning political and social issues to the ceremony." Breznican asserted: "I can't really think of anything…

Continuing to hype a possible "shutdown" of the Homeland Security Department if Congress did not approve funding by Friday, Tuesday's network morning shows all seized on White House talking points that any delay in funding would threaten national security and placed blame for the budget impasse squarely on Republicans.

NBC Nightly News offered up a segment on the continued debate in Congress over funding for the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) that is set to expire on February 27 in what was the only network coverage of the topic on the three Monday night newscasts. Anchor Lester Holt and senior White House correspondent Chris Jansing left out the underlying issue of the entire debate, which is whether or…

How unhinged has Howard Dean become? So bad that an MSNBC host had to gently walk him back off the ledge. On Chris Hayes' MSNBC show tonight, Dean claimed that Scott Walker says Barack Obama was "born in Kenya."  It took Hayes two attempts to break through Dean's blather, but eventually he was able to politely point out: "I should note, you mention the Kenya thing, he has not been asked that."

In a classic example of phony political jujitsu, an MSNBC contributor has tried to turn the patriotism issue back against Republicans. Appearing on today's Ed Show, Steve Clemons attacked the "patriotism" of GOP congressional leaders, accusing them of "undermining the security of the nation."   This because Republicans have attached amendments to the DHS funding bill denying funds for President…

Jonathan Martin of the New York Times targeted Scott Walker on CNN's New Day on Monday over his "gotcha game" attack on the media." Martin contended that Governor Walker "doesn't want to answer these kinds of questions – which is problematic, but it also gives him an opportunity on the right." He added that "it's all kind of a depressing, cynical exercise, frankly, because...Walker doesn't want…

On Monday, both NBC's Today and CBS This Morning used a terrorist threat against the Mall of America in Minneapolis to hit the Republican Congress over the Department of Homeland Security funding fight. On Today, White House correspondent Kristen Welker concluded her report on the security concerns by declaring: "Meanwhile, the clock is ticking with Congress locked in a bitter battle over how to…

On Friday, Jim Kuhnhenn at the Associated Press, aka the Administration's Press, seemed to enjoy President Barack Obama's rant against Republicans and others grossly dissatisfied with the economy's performance on his watch. He described Obama as "taunting Republicans" in his speech at the Democratic Party's winter meeting in Washington. The wire service itself seems less enamored of Kuhnhenn's…

During an interview with House of Cards actor Kevin Spacey for NBC's Meet the Press on Sunday, correspondent Cynthia McFadden noted: "A life-long Democrat, Spacey says he, like many Americans, is frustrated with Washington." Spacey proclaimed: "I think that what is truly unfortunate is when an entire party makes a decision that they're going to block every single thing that a president wants to…