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This morning on Morning Joe, the first three hours of "liberal" MSNBC’s cablefest day, host and former Florida GOP Congressman Joe Scarborough allowed Michael Steele a "victory lap" despite the Republican blowout in NY23 and CA10, the only places choosing candidates who will actually vote on Barack Obama’s health care reform.
Stay for the full-on mockery of fact-based questioner Lawrence O’Donnell, who wants to know what went wrong in the far North ClusterFOX election in NY23. The jewel in the Conservatives’ crown turned to paste last night as Democrat Bill Owens, a Public Option supporter, claimed victory. Democrats won a seat that’s been held by the GOP since shortly after the Civil War due to a civil war over purity among Republicans.
Out West, the Republicans lost in a much more bellwether district, last held by a GOP in 1996 and since held by a corporate-friendly New Democrat who pulled our caucus to the right. Unabashed liberal, public-option and single-payer supporter John Garamendi, California’s former Insurance Commissioner who promised in his victory speech not to go to Capitol Hill "to be a backbencher," succeeded in his campaign by promising to be a reliable vote for Nancy Pelosi’s policies.
If the GOP is to be resurgent, it must win in suburban districts like CA10 and hold its redoubts like NY23. But to listen to Joe, Mika, and MC Steele tell it this morning on their wee programme, last night’s unqualified blowout — which made the GOP smaller, not larger, as well as less appealing to moderates — while Nancy Pelosi’s caucus expanded by two votes was reason to cheer. Failure is victory!
Don’t believe the media "critics" who call MSNBC the liberal network. For three hours every morning, it’s the cheerleading squad for whatever fantasies the GOP wants to peddle. And when reality intrudes, and gets presented for their consideration like Lawrence O’Donnell did, the hosts giggle with their unhinged guests. Poking fun at reality-based commentary might make you feel good, but it makes for stupid television, and more lost elections in 2010.
11 Comments
Wow, Steele’s done a 180 again! Earlier he was saying that this election wasn’t a reflection on Obama:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A7Uz5dMViLo&feature=player_embedded
Well, it wasn’t a reflection on Obama until the GOP blew the Democrats out of the water in every single election yesterday (except the ones they won’t take questions about).
I really admire Lawrence O’Donnell here. It must be hard to be the fact-based guy when the host is, literally, laughing in your face. I couldn’t have resisted throwing off my microphone and stalking out of the studio, cussing all the way.
Ugh. I had enough of Steele on the radio this a.m. Of course he was going to say this today no matter what happened. They are only lying to themselves as usual.
Oh alright, I’ll watch.
Steele’s foolishness is really hard to take, but I haven’t seen a better refutation of the “MSNBC is just like FOX” argument until this clip. Can you imagine Howard Dean being treated this way by any FOX host?
Me neither.
Lawrence did do a great job. He was totally focused through all that noise.
Steele, talk about projecting. The talking points are all about GOP “coming back”. TWO out of 10 is coming back!!! who hoo, things must really be bad if TWO is good.
Virginia ALWAYS elects a governor of the opposite party to the president elected the previous year. ALWAYS. The news would have been if a Democrat could have bucked that trend, but I’m sure the media — with lotsa help from the GOP — would have spun that as a “fluke” due to Obama’s success in turning the state blue last year.
Virginia is the swingiest of states now, but its habit of reacting to the previous years’ election resultes is unchanged in modern political history. Their reactionary habit is unbroken.
One other thing about Virginia: the GOP vote was exactly the same size this year as last. The Democratic base simply stayed home, motivated in large part by Deeds’ abandonment of Obama’s principles. The size of the under-30 vote went from 22% in 2008 to 11% in 2009. The size of the African-American vote went from 20% to 16%.
Democrats can’t win in that environment, especially Democrats who run AWAY from the base.
Yep, you know that, I know that, but will we hear it on the “Great Validator of Truth” called TV?
It was the Joe show. Joe is still a Republican, even though He’s tries to be in the middle. MSNBC is trying to be like fox having a Republican with a show, trying to be fair and unbalanced.
Joe doesn’t try to “be in the middle” and Mika says Pat Buchanan “says what we are all thinking.” There’s no moderates on that program, except when O’Donnell comes on and gets ridiculed, talked over, and mocked.
If you think He doesn’t try to be in the middle, you must not remember the asshole when He was in Congress. He made Tom Delay look like a lefty. He does what keeps that job, and that is try to temper His real views.