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16 Aug 2011 21:39

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U.S.: Out-of-context Perry quote leads to race controversy

  • controversy On Tuesday, Rick Perry gave a speech in which he referred to a “big black cloud” hanging over America. The propagation of this quote by Ed Schultz and ABC News led to charges of racism against Perry.
  • explanation Both the Ed Schultz edit and the ABC quotation excluded Perry’s full comments, wherein he makes it explicitly clear that the “big black cloud” to which he refers is the nation’s debt. Not, as Schultz claimed, the President. source
  • » There are several different elements to this. First and foremost, two respected media outlets provided a half-quote when they should have provided a full quote. The intent (if any) behind the ABC article is debatable—they later updated it to make Perry’s comments clearer—but Ed Schultz was being flatly disingenuous when he said that “[the] black cloud Perry is talking about is President Barack Obama.” It wasn’t, and that was clear in the original quote. However, it is legitimate to ask whether or not the phrase “big black cloud” was consciously chosen to evoke—however subconsciously—racial imagery. The whole strategy behind race-baiting is to suggest race with a veil of plausible deniability, and while it’s not at all clear that Perry was doing this, it’s at least a fair question to ask. What do you think?

25 May 2011 23:25

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Politics: Yes, MSNBC was right to suspend Ed Schultz

  • Un-ED-cceptable: MSNBC is giving Ed Schultz a one-week, unpaid timeout for calling Fox News anchor Laura Ingraham a “right-wing slut.” And good for them. Obviously, Laura Ingraham’s sex life is completely irrelevant to her political views, but more importantly, the use of the word “slut” as an insult implies that having many sexual partners is something bad, something to be ashamed of. This is exactly the kind of antiquated, 1950’s-era thinking that progressives have been trying to move past for the last fifty years, and for Schultz to resort to that kind of base rhetoric is not only offensive and inappropriate, it’s counterproductive to the cause he claims to champion. If anything, we say he got off easy. source

21 Jan 2011 21:33

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Politics: So, what happens to Keith Olbermann’s old MSNBC slot now?

  • departure Keith Olbermann shockingly announced his departure from MSNBC tonight, making the left half of the Interwebs explode. (Here’s the video.)
  • replacement Lawrence O’Donnell will be replacing Keith in the 8 p.m. slot, and Ed Schultz will replace O’Donnell at 10 p.m. Why not give our boy Cenk his own show? source

14 Nov 2010 21:44

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Politics: Max Headroom: James Clyburn not THAT annoyed by his role

  • Not too bothered James Clyburn made a passionate defense for himself – and Democratic leadership in general – on CNN’s “State of the Union” today. He claims that the same team being criticized now led Democrats “out of the wilderness” four years ago, and could do it again.
  • The Ed Show annoys us Ed Schultz took on Rush Limbaugh’s comments about Clyburn, and for balance, had Ron Christie, a former Cheney staffer, on to defend Rush. Rachel Maddow is not like Fox News a lot of the time. Ed Schultz, however … man, why the loud yelling, dude?
  • Rand Paul: Cut everywhere In one of the Kentucky senator-elect’s first interviews since being elected two weeks ago, he seems much stronger than he did six months ago. But he still is fervent about Washington not changing his anti-big-government ways. Ah, idealism. Will it hold up?

17 Jan 2010 21:30

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Politics: Max Headroom: MLK reminds us how far our discourse has fallen


  • One way to think of it … Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, a.k.a. the guy who ticks us off with his useless quips, claims the Massachusetts senate race is a “referendum” on health care. It might just be, but what we’d like to see is a referendum on stalling tactics like Mr. McConnell’s.

  • … and another way On the other side of the aisle, MSNBC’s Ed Schultz, who we’ve seen thus far as kind of a left-leaning screen chewer in the vein of a Fox News host, said that he’d “try to vote ten times” to keep Scott Brown from winning. Sorry, friends, but this isn’t cool, either. (Hat tip @jessehines)

  • Blast from the past For a little perspective on the state of talk show chatter, here’s a clip from Martin Luther King Jr.’s last interview with Meet the Press back in 1967. We’ve devolved far from this sort of televised debate. We’ve gone from this to crap like Ed Schultz’s blabbering. We’ve fallen far.