Tingles Links Murder & Violence In Afghanistan To GOP 'Zealots At Home'

Tracking Liberal Media Bias Since 1996
Tuesday April 05, 2011 @ 09:27 AM EDT

1. Chris Matthews Links Murder and Violence in Afghanistan to GOP 'Zealots at Home'

Chris Matthews on Monday linked the "zealots" in Afghanistan who encouraged and participated in the murders of United Nations workers to Republican "fanatics" and "zealots at home" who "attack the President's basic beliefs, accusing him of thinking like a Muslim from Kenya." Making his connection clear, the Hardball host opined, "Is this what's come to the wars in the Islamic world? We've begun to talk like the zealots from the Middle East." MSNBCCCP graphics also made the point. First, a picture of a militaristic Muslims appeared with the words "zealots abroad."

2. NPR Highlights 'McCarthyism' Charge Against Wisconsin GOP

On Monday's Morning Edition, NPR's David Schaper slanted towards a professor and his allies in academia who object to a recent open records request into his e-mails from the Wisconsin GOP, playing five soundbites from them versus only two from a non-Republican source who thought their concerns were overblown. One of the professor's allies labeled the request a "contemporary version of McCarthyism." Host Renee Montagne introduced Schaper's report by putting the issue in the context of the continuing debate over state employees' collective bargaining rights in Wisconsin.

3. Bianna Golodryga Spins for Clinton, Worries Obama Is 'Giving in Too Much' to GOP on Budget

Good Morning America's Bianna Golodryga conducted a fawning interview with Bill Clinton on Monday and fretted that Barack Obama is "giving in too much to Republican demands" on the 2011 budget. The ABC journalist offered the former President, the ex-boss of GMA co-host George Stephanopoulos, no tough questions. Instead, she chose broad, softball queries about the Clinton Global Initiative. At one point, Golodryga, who is married to Barack Obama’s former budget director, fawned, "We also saw your daughter moderate a panel yesterday. What was she talking about?"

4. George Stephanopoulos Hosts 9/11 Truther Jesse Ventura to Rant About 'Nazi' U.S. Government

For the second time in less than six months, Good Morning America offered 9/11 truther Jesse Ventura a platform to hype his conspiracy theories and smear the U.S. government as "Nazi." This occurred on the same day that GMA reporter Bianna Golodryga hit Republicans for having connections to birthers and wondered when the President will "fight back" against such charges. In contrast, although co-host George Stephanopoulos did press Ventura on his conspiratorial beliefs, he also joked around with the former Minnesota governor. At one point, he fawned, "You've had such a varied career. You were even once on a soap opera. Young and the Restless." Stephanopoulos then played a clip of the former politician on that show.

5. NBCCCP Uses Obama Re-Election Bid to Pressure GOP Candidates to Announce; No Mention of President's Weak Poll Numbers

At the top of Monday's Today on NBCCCP, co-host Matt Lauer touted "breaking news" of President Obama announcing his re-election bid: "...the expected announcement comes with a prediction, he could become the first candidate ever to raise a billion dollars." Lauer then added: "Will Republican hopefuls sitting on the sidelines be compelled to dive in as well?" Like Lauer, White House correspondent Savannah Guthrie highlighted Obama's fundraising efforts while noting the lack of formal announcements from Republican candidates: "The President is already planning fundraising trips this month to Chicago, Los Angeles, San Francisco and New York, while the Republican race is still off to a slower start."

6. Video with Cheney Fighting for Breath Leaves Mika Brzezinski Laughing

After MSNBCCCP's Morning Joe played a clip from the Late Show with David Letterman that mocked Dick Cheney's heart condition, co-host Mika Brzezinski couldn't control her own laughter as other panel members wondered what was so funny. The Letterman clip was a faux-promo for an imaginary TV show called "The Dick Cheney Story." As the title song from the Mary Tyler Moore Show plays merrily in the background, images appear of Cheney wielding a gun, sitting in a wheelchair, and undergoing open-heart surgery. The clip closes with footage of Cheney fighting to get a breath of air over an "MTM Enterprises" logo, clearly mocking the lion roar that graces the MGM Studios logo. When the cameras switched back to the Morning Joe panel, Brzezinski was doubled over in laughter. It took her almost a minute to recover.