Chris Matthews Calls Michele Bachmann a 'Zombie

Echoing his Election Night accusation that Michele Bachman was "hypnotized" Chris Matthews, on Tuesday's Hardball, called the Minnesota Republican congresswoman a "zombie" as he insultingly asked GOP strategist Todd Harris to identify who Bachmann is getting her "orders from?" Matthews made the comment during a discussion about raising the debt ceiling and the Hardball host, who is fond of…
Geoffrey Dickens
January 4th, 2011 6:38 PM

Joy Behar Annoyed at 'Constitution-loving' House Republicans

Joined by a balanced panel of liberal Bloomberg news columnist Margaret Carlson and leftist radio host Bill Press, HLN's Joy Behar took to her eponymous program last night to dismiss the plan Republican congressmen have to read the entire U.S. Constitution from the House floor later this week. "Do you think this Constitution-loving is getting out of hand? I mean, is it a nod to the Tea Party…
Ken Shepherd
January 4th, 2011 6:37 PM

'Morning Joe' Panel Plays Class Warfare Card, Warns Wealthy To Listen

Tuesday's "Morning Joe" panel on MSNBC played the class warfare card, highlighting tension between the American middle class and the richest Americans who profit from the global economy. Impassioned co-hosts Joe Scarborough and Mika Brzezinski gave credence to middle class frustration at the widening gap between them and the ultra-rich. The Atlantic magazine's editor-in-chief James…
Matt Hadro
January 4th, 2011 5:31 PM

AP Lingo: Republicans 'Hack Away Derisively' at Obama's 'Landmark' Hea

The media’s coverage of the incoming GOP-controlled House of Representatives could be called the March of the Mean Words. When Democrats ascend to power, they pass “historic” and “landmark reforms.” When Republicans do the same, the media argot is colorful and violent, sending unsubtle meat-axe messages of conservative “assaults” and “attacks.” See an Associated Press dispatch on plans for an…
Tim Graham
January 4th, 2011 5:00 PM

MSNBC's Brewer: 'GOP's Big, Fat Budget Ax Could Mean Real Pain For Man

During the 12PM ET hour on MSNBC on Tuesday, anchor Contessa Brewer condemned Republican plans to reign in government spending: "Republicans poised to take over the U.S. House tomorrow and they arrive with a big, fat budget ax. They're planning make good on a promise to curb spending and cut the federal deficit and their plan could mean real pain for many Americans." Brewer claimed the…
Kyle Drennen
January 4th, 2011 4:59 PM

Obama May Issue 'Signing Statement' On Bill Forbidding Gitmo Detainees

The "White House is constantly grabbing for more power, seeking to drive the people's branch of government to the sidelines," Sen. Robert Byrd (D-W.V.) thundered in June 2007 following a report on President Bush's use of "signing statements." "The administration is thumbing its nose at the law," Rep. John Conyers agreed, as noted at the time by the Washington Post's Jonathan Weisman.…
Ken Shepherd
January 4th, 2011 4:12 PM

John McLaughlin's New Year's Resolution? Kick It At Burning Man

It's perhaps the last place you'd expect to find the longtime host of the syndicated McLaughlin Group but on the year end episode of that show, aired over the weekend, John McLaughlin announced his New Year's resolution was to attend the Burning Man Festival. At the end of the show, when all the panelists were asked to reveal their individual New Year's resolutions, McLaughlin drew gasps and…
Geoffrey Dickens
January 4th, 2011 3:54 PM

Kathy Griffin Vows to Attack Willow Palin

The Hollywood Reporter was putty in the hands of left-wing "comedian" Kathy Griffin as she vowed to spend the new year attacking Sarah Palin's daughter in high school: The comic set a resolution for 2011 -- taking on a new Palin in the new year. "I've already gone for Sarah, Todd and Bristol obviously," Griffin tells The Hollywood Reporter. "But I think it's Willow's year to go down." "In…
Tim Graham
January 4th, 2011 1:53 PM

Newsweek's Adler: Journalists Don't Like Assange Because They 'Refuse

In his January 4 article, "Why Journalists Aren't Standing Up for WikiLeaks," Newsweek's Ben Adler offers three reasons, the first of which is quite risible given the media's persistent advocacy for ObamaCare in the year past: So why are American journalists hesitant to speak up for Assange? There are essentially three reasons.   1. Refusal to engage in advocacy: American…
Ken Shepherd
January 4th, 2011 11:55 AM

CBS's Plante: GOP 'Ready to Pounce' On Obama, 'Slammed' Him With Obama

On Tuesday's CBS Early Show, senior White House correspondent Bill Plante warned that as President Obama returns from vacation, " the new Republican majority in the House is ready to pounce." Plante went on to declare that the House GOP "slammed" Obama by scheduling a vote to repeal "his signature health care bill" on January 12. Plante parroted Democratic talking points denouncing the…
Kyle Drennen
January 4th, 2011 11:37 AM

ABC Knocks 'Weeping' Boehner as 'Harshly Partisan,' Gushed Over Pelosi

Good Morning America's Jon Karl on Tuesday derided the incoming Republican Speaker of the House as "harshly partisan." The ABC correspondent joked that John Boehner can look "like the weeper of the House." In contrast, then-GMA co-host Diane Sawyer in 2007 lauded Speaker Nancy Pelosi's ascension, praising, "But her fellow politicians say she's galvanized steel with a smile." While Karl…
Scott Whitlock
January 4th, 2011 11:35 AM

Open Thread: Accountability for Public Employee Unions

Today's starter topic: Is the gravy train for public employee unions finally grinding to a halt? On Wednesday, for example, New York’s new Democratic governor, Andrew M. Cuomo, is expected to call for a one-year salary freeze for state workers, a move that would save $200 million to $400 million and challenge labor’s traditional clout in Albany.  
NB Staff
January 4th, 2011 10:28 AM

New York Times Buries Admission of Self Interest in Chevron Story

The New York Times reported on Jan. 2 that Chevron has been using outtakes from the film "Crude," an anti-Chevron film in its legal battles. The Times called it "a cautionary tale for lawyers who invite in documentary filmmakers to tell the story of their legal fights." The footage was allowed in court after a New York federal judge ruled in May 2010 that Joe Berlinger, the filmmaker,…
Julia A. Seymour
January 4th, 2011 10:04 AM

NY Times Bids Fond Farewell to Inflammatory Alan Grayson, 'Liberal Fol

Democrat Rep. Alan Grayson of Florida, the fiery leftist and Republican hater whose offensive comments about Republicans may well have cost him his seat last November, gets a fairly fond send-off in Monday's New York Times. Reporter Michael Barbaro, previously known for his hostile coverage of Wal-Mart, called Grayson the “pugnaciously partisan, verbal-bomb-tossing, liberal folk hero of the…
Clay Waters
January 4th, 2011 9:59 AM