MSNBC’s Keith Olbermann suspended for campaign donations

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I became aware of Keith’s political contributions late last night. Mindful of NBC News policy and standards, I have suspended him indefinitely without pay.
MSNBC President Phil Griffin • Announcing that Keith Olbermann has been suspended for donating to three political campaigns, one of which happened immediately after he interviewed the candidate (Raul Grijalva of Arizona) on the show. While Olbermann noted that he “did not privately or publicly encourage anyone else to donate to these campaigns, nor to any others in this election or any previous ones, nor have I previously donated to any political campaign at any level,” clearly that wasn’t enough for MSNBC. On Tumblr, me and Mark Coatney (formerly of Newsweek, now of Tumblr) had a little bit of a debate on all this, and while I didn’t come on Keith’s side here for ethical reasons, I honestly thought he was untouchable (and that it wasn’t bad enough to force MSNBC’s hand). Guess not. The mighty fall, too. source

Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

19 Oct 2010 10:56

Jack Conway’s attack adWith the election coming up quickly, the Democratic candidate for Kentucky Senate released this ad designed to make Rand Paul look ungodly based on some stupid things he did back in college. To us, it just looks desperate and could hurt Conway’s campaign.
Rand Paul’s response ad While we haven’t been particular fans of Paul’s campaign, we have to admit that his ad is not only better, it takes a (slightly) higher road than Conway’s ad does. Bad move, Jack. This election is about the economy, not morals. Now Rand looks like the respectable one. source

Posted by Ernie Smith • 1 Comment • Permalink

I’m not saying Dr. Paul is crazy. I think some of his ideas are outside the mainstream … He doesn’t understand Kentucky.
Democratic Kentucky Senate candidate Jack Conway • Sizing up opponent Rand Paul in a debate aired on “Fox News Sunday” this morning. While Conway was emphasizing Kentucky in the debate, Paul was trying to make it a broader debate on the Obama administration’s success and failure rate. “This is really about the president’s agenda,” he said. “Do you support it or oppose it?” Perhaps Paul should start focusing on those local issues – he lost a huge lead and is only up on Conway by a couple of points right now. source

Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

I just said I wasn’t comfortable with it. … I think it’s important to understand that Rand Paul has clarified his statement and reiterated his support for…pushing civil rights forward, as opposed to going backwards.
Republican National Committee chairman Michael Steele • Talking on “This Week” about Rand Paul, who has successfully made Steele into the second most likely person in the party to commit a major gaffe. Steele didn’t seem like he was very comfortable with broaching the subject. For his part, he did note that Paul’s view was a “philosophical position” due to his libertarian leanings, even as he questioned Paul’s approach. “Any attempt to look backwards is not in the best interest of our country certainly, and certainly not in the best interest of the party,” Steele said. Oh, and DNC counterpart Tim Kaine thinks it’ll make it easier for Paul’s competitor, Jack Conway, to win the seat. We’re disappointed it’s not Tim Conway. His golf videos are funny! source

Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink