MSNBC’s O’Donnell: Romney ‘Dishonorable,’ But Anti-War Protesters ‘Honorable’
On Wednesday's The Last Word on MSNBC, host Lawrence O'Donnell used a recent commencement speech delivered by Mitt Romney to slam the former GOP presidential candidate as taking the "most dishonorable posture that was possible for an able-bodied man of Mitt Romney's age" for refusing to serve in the Vietnam War while supporting the existence of the draft.
But the MSNBC host also called it "honorable service" for young people to protest against the Vietnam War while refusing to serve. O'Donnell:
Liberal Religion Blogger Carps That New Congress, Especially Congressional GOP, Looks Like ‘Old-Fashioned America’
Democrats picked up seven new House seats and expanded their caucus in the Senate by two seats, electing along the way the House's first Hindu member and the Senate's first Buddhist. But for liberal religion scholar Stephen Prothero, that's not good enough, because both chambers are still disproportionately too Protestant, with Republicans in particular looking too much like an "old-fashioned America" of yesteryear.
From Prothero's November 16 CNN Belief blog post (emphasis mine):
Democratic Strategist James Carville Scolds Andrew Sullivan For Always Blaming Republicans
Stop the presses! Stop the presses!
On HBO's Real Time Friday, Democratic strategist James Carville - yes, I said Democratic strategist James Carville - scolded the Daily Beast's Andrew Sullivan for always blaming Republicans (video follows with transcript and commentary):
Mormon-Basher O’Donnell Blames ‘Bible-Thumping’ GOPers for Discussion of Romney’s Religion
Shortly after 1:00 a.m. during MSNBC's election night coverage, MSNBC's Lawrence O'Donnell ridiculously claimed that Democrats are more tolerant of Mormonism than Republicans and blamed the "Bible-thumping side of the Republican party," which he asserted is "where anti-Mormon feeling resides," for political analysts discussing Mitt Romney's Mormon religious beliefs, in spite of polls showing Republicans more inclined to accept a Mormon President than Democrats. O'Donnell:
Mormon-Basher O’Donnell Blames ‘Bible-Thumping’ GOPers for Discussion of Romney’s Religion
Shortly after 1:00 a.m. during MSNBC's election night coverage, MSNBC's Lawrence O'Donnell ridiculously claimed that Democrats are more tolerant of Mormonism than Republicans and blamed the "Bible-thumping side of the Republican party," which he asserted is "where anti-Mormon feeling resides," for political analysts discussing Mitt Romney's Mormon religious beliefs, in spite of polls showing Republicans more inclined to accept a Mormon President than Democrats. O'Donnell:
Toledo Blade Asks: ‘Could Mr. Romney Take Our Coffee?’
In the quadrennially important swing state of Ohio, one of the Toledo Blade's featured front page stories on Sunday wondered if Mormonism would shape Romney's policy. Following an endorsement of Obama last week in which there was no mention of the president's beliefs, religion editor Timothy Knox Barger's penned a 2,500 word piece that resorted to scare tactics and conjecture.
Among them was a seemingly legitimate concern that Romney might try to impose a ban on certain things that he's known to abstain from himself -- like coffee for instance.
CNN Religion Blogger Attacks Christian Conservatives for Supporting Mormon Romney
Remember the good ol' days when folks in the media were fond of telling us that conservative evangelical Christians would exhibit anti-Mormon bigotry and fail to vote for Mitt Romney simply because of his religion?
Well now that conservative evangelical Christians seem by-and-large on board with the Romney/Ryan ticket liberal CNN Belief Blog contributor Stephen Prothero has turned the tables and criticized conservative evangelical leaders with, essentially, denying their faith by being pro-Romney. From his November 1 post, "My Take: Billy Graham and Ralph Reed are putting politics before God" (emphases mine):
Ann Romney Corrects Whoopi Goldberg’s False Claim About Mormonism Forbidding Military Service
Tim Graham pointed out earlier on Thursday how Whoopi Goldberg forwarded a misunderstanding on ABC's The View during an interview of Ann Romney - that Mormonism "doesn't allow you to go fight" in the military. Mrs. Romney corrected this false statement: "No, that's not correct....We have many, many members of our faith that are serving in the armed services."
Goldberg could have just consulted Wikipedia, as the website lists four Mormon recipients of the Medal of Honor, the nation's highest military award for valor - one from World War I, two from World War II, and one from the Vietnam War.
HuffPo News Flash: Mormons Don’t Think Jesus was Black
Finding racism in ridiculous places: It isn’t just for MSNBC anymore. The Huffington Post has performed a neat trick, exercising its own religious bigotry by accusing someone else of racism. The result is a breathtakingly inane article. (The crusade to re-elect Obama has spurred his media acolytes to heroic exertions, hasn’t it?)
Writing in HuffPo on Sept. 9, Paul Harvey and Edward J. Blum broke incredible news: Mormon iconography commonly includes a statue of a white Jesus! And that white statue first appeared in Salt Lake City in 1966, “the middle of the Civil Rights movement.”
Anti-Catholic Media Claim Paul Ryan is Not Catholic Enough
Republican vice presidential nominee Paul Ryan is a Catholic – but not a good enough Catholic in the eyes of the media. Writers, bloggers, and talking heads have hammered Ryan for his supposed “dissent” from Catholic teaching.
Journalists have falsely claimed that the bishops “rebuked” Ryan and called his budget “un-Christian.” Writers who usually scorn the Church and its hierarchy fretted that the bishops found Ryan’s budget “uncompassionate.”
NBC’s Mormon Hit Piece: ‘A Church Still Dealing With the Issue of Polygamy…Inequality’
Opening an hour-long special on the Mormon Church for Thursday's NBC Rock Center, anchor Brian Williams proclaimed to viewers: "Most Americans say they know next to nothing about the Mormon Church. Tonight, a rare look inside the lives of modern Mormon families....A church still dealing with the issue of polygamy....And other issues of inequality."
Teasing a report on the history of the Church, Williams promised to answer the question of "why so many Americans still today are suspicious of the religion." Introducing that portion of the broadcast, Williams touted pop culture mocking the faith, starting with a clip of Fox's Family Guy in which lead character Peter Griffin declares: "I'm going to be a Mormon....Come on, nailing a different wife every night. That's a no-brainer."
NBC’s Williams Interrogates Romney: ‘Are You A Hidden Man?’
In an interview with Mitt Romney in London on Wednesday, NBC Nightly News anchor Brian Williams grilled the Republican candidate about releasing more tax returns: "People hear he's not going to release the rest of his returns and they wonder why. They wonder, is there a year there where he paid no taxes? They wonder about expensive horses and houses....what is it that is preventing you from releasing the rest of your returns?" [Listen to the audio or watch the video after the jump]
In another question designed to portray Romney as secretive, Williams quoted New York Times columnist David Brooks exclaiming: "[Romney] has an amazing personal story....He can't talk about it because it involves Mormonism. He is personally a decent guy. For some reason he's not willing to talk about it. He's a hidden man." Williams fretted: "Are you a hidden man?"
Businessweek Cover Mocks Mormons
The title of a post at Business Insider crows, “Here's The Ballsy Businessweek Cover That's Going To Piss Off The Mormon Church.” In truth, it should anger anyone who finds it low and, frankly, un-American, to attack a candidate – directly or indirectly – through his religion.
But with Mitt Romney running neck and neck with Barack Obama, Bloomberg Businessweek saw the opportunity to further the Obama campaign’s jihad against Romney the super-wealthy tax-avoiding capitalist, while reminding readers that Romney belongs to this sort of strange, secretive cult that’s also a business empire of questionable legitimacy.
So Caroline Winter’s cover story, investigates the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints’ darkest sin – successful capitalism. “How the Mormons Make Money,” describes a “sprawling church-owned corporate empire that the Mormon leadership says is helping spread its message, increasing economic self-reliance, and building the Kingdom of God on earth.” It points out the Mormons are real one-percenters: “Mormons make up only 1.4 percent of the U.S. population, but the church’s holdings are vast.”
But the real affront to Mormons is the cover illustration. Business Insider’s Eric Platt enthused over “an image of John the Baptist bestowing the priesthood on [Mormonism founders] Joseph Smith, Jr., and Oliver Cowdery. Josh Tyrangiel and Richard Turley, Businessweek's editor and creative director, had some fun with John the Baptist's instructions, which read, ‘...And thou shalt build a shopping mall, own stock in Burger King, and open a Polynesian themepark in Hawaii that shall be largely exempt from the frustrations of tax...’
Clever, eh?
As MRC’s Culture and Media Institute has documented, the Obama campaign can’t make an issue of Mitt Romney’s Mormonism (it’s had to content itself with calling Romney “weird” and letting its base take the hint) its media surrogates have done so, and with an enthusiasm distinctly missing from their minimal coverage of candidate Obama’s Rev. Wright trouble in 2008. In the period between January 2011 and April 2012, the three broadcast networks mentioned Romney’s religion nearly 175 times.
There have been direct attacks on Romney for his Mormon beliefs – from MSNBC, The New York Times and its columnists, and many others.
But Romney’s Mormonism simply presents a particularly rich target in an increasingly anti-religious media environment. As CMI reported, in the first 10 months of 2011, the broadcast networks mentioned the GOP primary contenders’ religion seven times more than they did the Democratic candidates during the same period in 2007 (143 – 19). They were also 13 times more likely to critical or negative about those faiths.
Wanda Sykes Takes Cheap Shot at Romney, Mormonism and Polygamy
Polygamy was officially banned by the Mormon Church in 1890. Mitt Romney has been married to only one woman for 43 years.
But that didn’t stop perilously liberal comedienne Wanda Sykes from taking a polygamist swipe at Romney on ABC’s Jimmy Kimmel Live Wednesday (video follows with transcribed highlights and commentary):
Sykes and her host were talking about elements of her lesbian marriage. She mentioned that because they both work, it’s hard to manage the kids.
“Right now, I’m really trying to talk her into getting another wife,” Sykes joked. “We have a great nanny, but we need another wife. Nannies, they want days off, you know, they work certain hours. Wives, nobody cares. They just work.”
“You just say ‘thank you,’” Sykes continued, “send them some flowers, take them to dinner every now and then. You know, I told my wife you don’t have to worry about it because, you know, we’ll be married so you know there’s no sex involved.”
“That’s why I’m kind of leaning towards Romney right now,” added Sykes.
[Add rimshot here.]
Not surprisingly, Kimmel and his audience thought this was hysterical.
You see, irrespective of the facts about Mormonism and Romney’s marriage, cheap shots at his religion and polygamy are held in great esteem by liberal media members much like penis and flatulence jokes on the playground.
To receive my articles hot off the presses follow me on Twitter ow.ly/btalc and Facebook ow.ly/btald.
— Noel Sheppard (@NoelSheppard) June 9, 2012
NBC Profiles Mia Love’s ‘Historic’ Run for Congress in Utah
Wednesday's Today show on NBC ran a four and a half minute piece profiling Saratoga Springs, Utah, Mayor, and congressional candidate Mia Love, who has a very good chance of being the first black female Republican elected to Congress.
MSNBC's Daily Rundown show on Tuesday ran a similar report on the Utah Republican.
On the July 4 Today, guest co-anchor Willie Geist introduced the report:
Back now at 7:41 with a name you may not know yet, a woman creating quite a buzz inside the Republican party. NBC's Craig Melvin has her story.
Correspondent Craig Melvin then began:
Her name is Mia Love, and the native New Yorker has adopted Utah as her home town. Now, as a small town mayor, she's making a historic run, trying to become the first African-American Republican woman in Congress.
After recounting that Love was elected mayor in a town that is 90 percent white, Melvin continued:
The mother of three would rather be known for her politics, a brand of conservatism rooted, she claims, in her faith. She became a Mormon when she met her husband ... and her upbringing. Her parents are Hatian immigrants.
After noting some of her conservative positions, the NBC correspondent devoted about a half-minute portion of the piece to critics from the left, including her opponent, incumbent Democratic Congressman Jim Matheson. First came a short clip of the Utah Democrat: "I think my opponent represents views that are way out there."
After informing viewers that Matheson has served 12 years in Congress and is from a popular political family, Melvin forwarded the Utah Democrat's complaints about Love's desire to reform Social Security without elaborating on what Love's plan actually is, as Matheson was simply shown asserting that she wants to "phase out" the program.
CRAIG MELVIN: He admits Love's story is compelling, but not her politics.
REP. JIM MATHESON (D-UT): I don't think Utah families who are counting on Social Security to be there want to support someone who says we should phase out Social Security. I don't think Utah families who value college education want someone who says we should stop doing federal student loans.
MELVIN: Another criticism, a few of her constuents worry the smalll town mayor might not be ready for prime time.
KYLE BROTHERSEN, RESIDENT OF SARATOGA SPRINGS: My concerns about Mayor Love is that she may be a little bit green or new, and she doesn't have maybe as much of a track record as some of the other politicians.
But the NBC correspondent then dismissed concerns about the Utah Republican's experience:
MELVIN: But Utah political experts aren't sure how much things like this will matter with Utahans who want to send a message.
PROF. QUINN MONSON, BRIGHAM YOUNG UNIVERSITY: She is symbolically something of a stereotype buster. There's a sense by some of these Mormon Republican voters that electing a black Republican woman would demonstrate that whatever people say about Mormons and their history with race, maybe it's not so true.
Trump: If Conservative Mocked Someone’s Religion Like Maher Mocks Romney’s – ‘End of That Person’s Career’
Donald Trump on Monday had some harsh words for Bill Maher's incessant attacks on Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney's Mormonism.
Appearing on Fox News's On the Record, the real estate mogul said, "If a conservative Republican made a like statement about somebody else's religion, there’d be hell to pay. It’ll be all over the place. It would be the end of that person's career as you know it" (video follows with transcript and commentary):
GRETA VAN SUSTEREN, HOST: You talk about laughing, and more of the controversy about Bill Maher. And let me repeat he is a, you know, standup comic. He does satire. His whole thing is comedy. But one of the things he says, he refers to Mormonism, the religion of the Republican nominee, as being stupid. And that is just old fashioned bigotry. And, you know, your thoughts, I mean, you know, he is laughing at it and he’s got the crowd laughing with him. Your thoughts on that?
DONALD TRUMP: Well, it's tough stuff, I mean, when you say that. He’s a comic, but that is really not funny, and frankly, it's amazing, and if the other side referred to somebody else's religion, as an example, if some nice conservative Republican said something about another religion, I won't even say which one, but let’s say another religion, there would be hell to pay. It would be a front page of every newspaper tomorrow. And here’s something that is hardly being covered, although you're covering it, but it's hardly being covered.
VAN SUSTEREN: But it's interesting when the crowd laughs, it's so hard to, you know, people oftentimes don't realize they’re being bigots if they get people laughing with them, even other bigots I guess.
TRUMP: Well, I know Bill Maher, he’s doing his thing, and he’s having a good time doing it, and he’s doing well with it, I guess. But it’s a tough statement, and frankly, if somebody else made that statement, and certainly if a conservative Republican made a like statement about somebody else's religion, there’d be hell to pay. It’ll be all over the place. It would be the end of that person's career as you know it.
Indeed it would. But with the current media, you're allowed to say anything you want about a conservative with total impunity.
As Trump said, it really is amazing.
To receive my articles hot off the presses follow me on Twitter ow.ly/btalc and Facebook ow.ly/btald.
— Noel Sheppard (@NoelSheppard) June 9, 2012
Chris Rock Lambasts Mormons for History on Race, Defends Obama
Appearing as a guest on Thursday's Late Night with Jimmy Fallon on NBC, comedian Chris Rock alluded to the Mormon Church's controversial history on race from several decades ago as he asserted that "Mitt Romney's crew" had "believed black people were the devil until 1978." Rock:
What's going on? Okay, I just heard this the other day. The Mormons, Mitt Romney's crew, they believed black people were the devil until 1978. I'm not making this up. Right, right, right?
He soon downplayed the lingering recession as he defended President Obama's economic policies. Rock began his defense of Obama:
Obama's had it tough, but Obama is good, man. But to think about Obama, you got to realize, man, first of all, the economy has been getting better every month, for almost like two years. And everybody's going: It's not getting better fast enough. It's like complaining that your team keeps winning by one.
Blaming former President Bush, he went on to argue that Obama had a "clean-up job to do" as he came into office.