 |
| AP file photo from MSNBC |
(Update below)
MSNBC has suspended host Keith Olbermann indefinitely because he apparently made political donations to three Democratic candidates.
Perhaps, we shouldn’t be surprisd — Olbermann has been pushing a highly partisan brand of commentary for some time. This wouldn’t be a problem except it is more than just a philosophical or ideological bent. It literally has been pro-Democrat/ant-GOP, which oversteps the boundaries.
Some on the left — or the partisan left, meaning Democrats — will point to Fox’s partisan faux news and say Olbermann offered a counterweight. And I can understand the argument. But my question is this: Since when do we lower our ethical expectations to the level of Rupert Murdoch and the GOP chain gang?
I listen to both Olbermann and Rachel Maddow on podcast most days, and often to The Young Turks and I’d been growing dissolutioned with Keith and Rachel’s creeping partisanship, especially when compared with Cenk Uygar’s unapologetically progressive, but nonpartisan commentary.
The contributions were the final straw in a growing push not to the left but toward the Democrats.
I assume Olbermann will return, but it is unclear when. For now, expect substitutes to babysit the chair (Chris Hayes from The Nation will sub tonight).
***
Hayes apparently is not hosting the show tonight, but more significantly The Nation reports that Olbermann was just one of many political hosts on cable who have made contributions. This doesn’t change my criticism of Keith — he had grown too partisan (and apparently had one of the candidates he gave money to on just before his donation was made, as per The Nation).
It only expands my criticism of a news industry that is built on personalities and not journalists. The fact that Sean Hannity gave money to Republicans does not excuse Olbermann’s political contributions. Neither should be giving money if they want to pretend to host news and commentary shows.
Hank Kalet 
And where do the traditional broadcast anchors contribute? You don't think that ANY of them give money to conservatives or R's, do you?The \”liberal\” media bias is just dishonest. The slants are one thing; the out-and-out hostility to viewpoints not approved by the vast left-wing conspiracy are unacceptable. The folks are voting with their eyeballs. At one time, \”liberal\” was a label one could be proud of. A champion of the people. \”Classical liberals\” opposed the King and force. Modern day little L libertarians trace their roots to these great thinkers. Now, both \”conservatives\” and \”liberal\” joust to be the one in control of the \”guns of Gooferment\” to tell people how to run their lives. I, no more, want orders from conservatives than I do the liberals.Let's cut Gooferment spending 10% across the board. Let's sell 50 or 100 year bonds to retire the Gooferment debt. Let's demand that the crooks in DC only spend what is taken in in taxes. Let's end the Warfare / Welfare state. And, return to peace. Isn't that something that \”liberals\” and \”conservative\” can agree on?
Oh ballsaloney. These phoney baloney libertarians always end up being right wing troglodytes who side with the GOP, the billionaires, the corporatists, the Koch brothers, all the billionaire libertarians who only give a damn about their gelt and everyone else be damned. Don't hand me this sheet. Notice that the libertarian kooky Pauls (Rand and Ron) are under the aegis of the GOP party and the wacked out tea baggers side with the GOP. I despise, I loathe, I hate libertarianism with a small or capital L. Funny how all those libertarians always end up running as Gopers. Libertarianism is a disease, an impediment, a ruse of the billionaire class to perpetuate their greed, avarice and hate for the poor, disabled and the elderly. Libertarianism is a fig leaf for social Darwinism, for you are on your own and let's just allow the corporations to do whatever they want, which is almost the case right now. Notice how all those right wing libertarian think tanks end up being platforms for the GOP, for corporate honchos who don't want to pay taxes and who want to destroy Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid, unemployment insurance, and the few unions that are left in America. The libertarians, the Ayn Rand crowd always end up allying themselves with the GOP and always end up running as Goppers. Libertarianism is a curse, a bad joke, God's punishment for our sins. And I'm not religious.
As for Keith O., good for him, go for it, and he has every right to be partisan, combative and vomit back all the bile that the right wing gets to spew all over the media. Right wing crazies own talk radio in this country. We have the vile right wing NJ101.5 in this state, so loud, so vulgar, so anti-union and pro corporate. The liberal media is a myth. MSNBC has Joe Scarborough in the mornings, Pat Buchanan is all over the media. Chris Matthews ends up being a toady to our corporate overlords. Fox News is a propaganda arm of the GOP. Do you think Fox News will give Juan Williams his own show or will he just play his role as phoney token liberal to be a guest on the big macher right wing shows. Fox News, wall to wall right wing shows with their token phoney liberal guests. You can drive coast to coast in this country and all you hear on your car radio is right wing screamers. NPR is not the liberal equivalent of right wing talk radio. NPR actually is fair and balanced and it is mostly an educational and informative network. NPR does not spout lies, half truths and misinformation. It does not engage in shouting matches, ideological food fights. NPR presents both sides, people get a chance to talk, they are not screamed down, cut short or hung up on. Keith O. is an opinion/entertainer guy, he's not a journalist. He should be put back on the air and he should restore the worst person in the world feature. All 3 C-SPAN channels have either Heritage Foundation, American Enterprise Institute or Cato representatives on one of their 3 channels almost EVERY farking day. These are right wing libertarian corporate controlled think sewers which get to spout their biased ideology almost every day on one or more of the 3 C-SPAN channels. Oh gee, they want to kill SS, Medicare, Medicaid, unions, Obama's health care just as their corporate overlords have ordered them to do.
Comments from Bernie Sanders :Senator Bernie Sanders (I-VT) “today issued the following statement on MSNBC suspending Keith Olbermann for exercising his First Amendment rights,” according to a press release.“It is outrageous that General Electric/MSNBC would suspend Keith Olbermann for exercising his constitutional rights to contribute to a candidate of his choice. This is a real threat to political discourse in America and will have a chilling impact on every commentator for MSNBC. “We live in a time when 90 percent of talk radio is dominated by right-wing extremists, when the Republican Party has its own cable network (Fox) and when progressive voices are few and far between. “At a time when the ownership of Fox news contributed millions of dollars to the Republican Party, when a number of Fox commentators are using the network as a launching pad for their presidential campaigns and are raising money right off the air, it is absolutely unacceptable that MSNBC suspended one of the most popular progressive commentators in the country. “Is Rachel Maddow or Ed Schultz next? Is this simply a ‘personality conflict’ within MSNBC or is one of America’s major corporations cracking down on a viewpoint they may not like? Whatever the answer may be, Keith Olbermann should be reinstated immediately and allowed to present his point of view.”