Conservatives & Republicans

It would be funny if it weren't so transparently sad. We've seen "name that party" games for a long time in the press. Today, the Associated Press played "name that company." In an unbylined report Friday evening which oddly has Dina Cappiello's Twitter address at the bottom , the identity of failed solar manufacturer Solyndra isn't revealed until the third paragraph. The item's headline…

In an interview with Michele Bachmann on Friday's NBC Today, co-host Matt Lauer's first four questions pushed Bachmann to comment on the Herman Cain controversy: "As the only woman in this race, I just would like your perspective on all this....Do you think you are hearing the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth from Herman Cain?" Bachmann repeatedly told Lauer: "I don't have…

HLN's Joy Behar condemned Clarence Thomas as "demonic" on her Monday night show, saying that he was "in trouble with his wife" and in danger of impeachment. "Talk about demonic, Clarence Thomas is demonic," she insisted to conservative guest Ann Coulter. The two were in the middle of a lengthy and heated spat. [Video below the break. Click here for audio.]

Updated : More analysis and full transcript added. At the top of Thursday's NBC Today, co-host Ann Curry reported on Herman Cain's campaign blaming Rick Perry for dredging up sexual harassment allegations against the Republican front-runner and then wondered: "Will this intra-party fight hurt the Republican Party's chance of taking back the White House?" [Audio available here] Later, in an…

Appearing as a guest on Wednesday's The Last Word with Lawrence O'Donnell on MSNBC, Time contributor and MSNBC analyst Toure asserted that Republican presidential candidate Herman Cain "serves a massive psychological purpose" for the GOP as he offers a "Herman Cain card" that can be used by Republicans when they are accused of racism. He went on to charge that Cain is "giving comfort to…

When Republican presidential candidate Herman Cain briefly raised his voice at reporters on Wednesday and his staff moved them aside, CNN reported the incident hour after hour in the afternoon as another addition to the candidate's negative coverage. CNN condemned the ordeal as "nasty," and a "melee," that Cain got "very testy" and "lashed out at reporters." Readers can view the video below…

While being grilled by co-host Ann Curry on Wednesday's NBC Today on Arizona's illegal immigration law causing racial discrimination, Governor Jan Brewer hit back and declared: "I believe truly that the media and others have tried to throw out that race card to shut down the debate. It's not about that. It's about illegal immigration." [Audio available here] Earlier, Curry fretted: "Now what…

On Wednesday's Early Show, CBS's Betty Nguyen incorrectly reported that Republican presidential candidate Herman Cain had been accused of "sexual assault" by two women. Nguyen later accurately reported that the women actually leveled sexual harassment allegations against Cain [video below the jump; audio clip available here]. The fill-in news anchor used the erroneous term during a 14-second…

Appearing on Wednesday's NBC Today, MSNBC Hardball host Chris Matthews urged Herman Cain to admit to sexually harassing women and even predicted what the Republican front-runner might say: "I think even if it's really bad he has to put the context to it. He has to say, 'It was an extraordinary night, I had too many drinks, I normally don't act like that, this is not me.'" [Audio available here…

Could this be a watershed week in the Republican presidential primary?  Joe Scarborough seems to think so.   On today's Morning Joe, he said something remarkable: that in the last week, stalwart conservatives and "conservative leaders" have begun telling him that they would "rather lose" than elect Mitt Romney. Video after the jump.

Consider this post the print and online follow-up to the report early Tuesday evening by Matthew Balan at NewsBusters on the failure of the Big Three TV networks to note the Democratic Party/Obama fundraising affiliation of former New Jersey Governor Jon Corzine, whose now-bankrupt MF Global financial firm has apparently admitted to diverting client money in a futile attempt to battle its…

Call yourself a Christian?  Then you can't oppose whatever welfare programs the Democrats devise.  So in effect argued Al Sharpton on his MSNBC show this evening.   In the course of criticizing House Republicans for having passed a bill reaffirming "In God We Trust" as the national motto, Sharpton somehow equated Christianity with support for the liberal agenda.  And although I'm the…

All three network morning shows on Tuesday led with Herman Cain's response to allegations of sexual harassment in the 1990s and even speculated the scandal could end his candidacy, with NBC Today co-host Ann Curry proclaiming: "Damage control. Herman Cain changes his story....Will the controversy and his reaction to it derail his presidential campaign?" On ABC's Good Morning America, co-host…

For those who don't know, ProPublica (bold is mine) "is an independent, non-profit newsroom that produces investigative journalism in the public interest. Our work focuses exclusively on truly important stories, stories with 'moral force.' We do this by producing journalism that shines a light on exploitation of the weak by the strong and on the failures of those with power to vindicate the…