Mark Halperin Sucks Up To The Conservative Media

Mark Halperin, ABC Political Director, once again shows that he is not an unbiased source. As I’ve previously discussed, Halperin often uses The Note to spread right wing talking points while pretending they are a nonbiased interpretation of the day’s political news. Halperin has appreared on The O’Reilly Factor showing where he actually stands:

If I were a conservative, I understand why I would feel suspicious that I was not going to get a fair break at the end of an election. We’ve got to make sure we do better, so conservatives don’t have to be concerned about that. It’s just – it’s not fair.

As Think Progress points out, this came just after he wrote claiming that the media is being too liberal in its coverage of this year’s elections. Several souces, such as Media Matters, regularly refute the claims of liberal bias and that is far beyond the scope of a single blog post. (Media Matters also has more quotes from Halperin, including in an interview with Sean Hannity.) What is worth repeating is that when Mark Halperin speaks, do not take it as the word of an objective journalist.

Cheney Gives A Sherman Pledge–But Can He Be Trusted?

The good news is that Dick Cheney has promised not to run for higher office (although I’m not sure there is a higher office than his current position in terms of power) in an interview with Sean Hannity:

“I’m not coy about it,” he said. “I made my decision a long time ago, and it’s firm, final, fixed, irrevocable. I don’t know how else I can say it: If nominated, I will not run. If elected, I will not serve.”

The bad news is that we haven’t been given much reason to believe anything Dick Cheney says.

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John Kerry’s Support for Fellow Democrats

The New York Times quotes David Wade responding to criticism of John Kerry for not giving more of the money he raised to other candidates:

Senator John Kerry of Massachusetts, the Democratic presidential nominee in 2004, came under fire last week when it was pointed out that he had contributed only $15,000 this year to the party’s senatorial committee. Heyjohn.org, whose creator has remained anonymous, highlights the fact that Mr. Kerry has $14 million in his campaign accounts.

Dismissing the criticism, his spokesman, David Wade, said Mr. Kerry had contributed $2.8 million to campaign committees, state parties and individual candidates in this election cycle. And in appearances across the country and in Internet appeals, Mr. Wade said, the senator has helped raise about $7 million for candidates.

“Cowards can hide behind anonymous Web sites,” Mr. Wade said, “but Democrats out in the country, party leaders and real net-roots activists know how hard John Kerry has fought to win these elections.”

I planned to write a post on this controversy surrounding contributions, including the dishonest spin on it from Kos, but in researching the topic I found that Mark Barrett has done such a fine job covering this story that there is little need for me to start a post from scratch. Mark has the background information, including a lengthy list of what Kerry has done for fellow Democrats here. I’ll reprint the list of what Kerry has done below the fold. There’s more information at JohnKerry.com. Mark’s response to the attacks from Kos is here.

I contributed money to John Kerry in 2004. While I do not object to Kerry sharing some of this at his discretion, the contributions were made because I believed John Kerry was the best of the choices offered to be President. The same reasons I supported and contributed to Kerry in 2004 apply to 2008, when his wisdom and experience will be needed to fix all the problems created by George Bush. Fighting for the nomination against Hillary Clinton, with all her advantages in the race, will take a considerable amount of money. That is what I would like to see the money I contributed specifically to John Kerry be used for.
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Keith Olbermann on Advertising Terrorism

Keith Olbermann takes on George Bush for attempting to terrorize the country:

Eleven presidents ago, the chief executive reassured us that ‘we have nothing to fear, but fear itself.’ His distant successor has wasted his administration, insisting there is nothing we can have but fear itself.

The Vice President, as recently as this month, was caught campaigning again with the phrase “mass death in the United States”. Four years ago, it was the now Secretary of State, Dr. Rice, rationalizing Iraq with quote, “we don’t want to be…the smoking gun to be the mushroom cloud.” Days later, Mr. Bush himself told an audience that quote “we cannot wait the final proof, the smoking gun, that could come in the form of a mushroom cloud.”

And now we have this cheesy commercial, complete with images of a faked mushroom cloud and implications of mass death in America.

This administration has derived benefit and power from terrorizing the very people it claims to be protecting from terror. It may be the oldest trick in the political book: scare people into believing they are in danger and only you can save them. Lyndon Johnson used it to bury Barry Goldwater. Joe McCarthy leaped from obscurity on its back. And now the legacy has come to President George W. Bush.

Full transcript below the fold, with video here. (more…)

Republican Threatens to Slap Opponent with MS

What is it about Republicans and the handicapped and disabled this week. I’ve already mentioned Rush Limbaugh’s attack on Michael J. Fox, claiming “he is exaggerating the effects of the disease.” There’s also this AP report that a Republican candidate threatened to physically attack an opponent who has multiple sclerosis and uses an electric wheelchair:

Thomas Rankin, the Libertarian running for Wyoming’s lone U.S. House seat, said Rep. Barbara Cubin, R-Wyo., threatened to slap him after a televised debate.

During a debate Sunday that also included Democrat Gary Trauner, Cubin and Rankin had a testy exchange over campaign contributions Cubin received from former House Majority Leader Tom DeLay, R-Texas.

Rankin, who has multiple sclerosis and uses an electric wheelchair, said Monday night in a telephone interview with The Associated Press that the confrontation occurred immediately after the debate.

“My aide and I were packing up to leave the debate, and Barbara walked over to me and said, ‘If you weren’t sitting in that chair, I’d slap you across the face.’ That’s quote-unquote,” Rankin said.

Update: I heard a good response to Limbaugh’s attacks on Michael J. Fox while driving and listening to NPR this afternoon. When Michael J. Fox is on Boston Legal or other shows and they make him appear as if he doesn’t have Parkinson’s Disease, that is acting. When Fox is having tremors and showing the effects of Parkinson’s Disease, that is real life. It took a long time to film Fox’s scenes on Boston Legal to obtain periods in which he was free of tremors and they could obtain film which could be used.

Maureen Dowd on Bush Running Away from Bush

Some weeks George Bush just makes things too easy for columnists like Maureen Dowd:

Things have become so dire for the Republicans that now even Bush is distancing himself from Bush.

The president is cutting and running from the president.

In a momentous event at the White House on Monday, Tony Snow made a major announcement about an important new strategy for Iraq. The president will no longer stay the course on the rallying cry “stay the course.”

Dowd has plenty more to say about Iraq before she moves on to other topics, and to Republicans beyond Bush: (more…)

Rush Limbaugh’s Attack on Michael J. Fox Receives Greater Coverage

The Washington Post picks up on Rush Limbaugh’s attack on Michael J. Fox which I posted on yesterday. The Washington Post reports:

Possibly worse than making fun of someone’s disability is saying that it’s imaginary. That is not to mock someone’s body, but to challenge a person’s guts, integrity, sanity.

To Rush Limbaugh on Monday, Michael J. Fox looked like a faker. The actor, who suffers from Parkinson’s disease, has done a series of political ads supporting candidates who favor stem cell research, including Maryland Democrat Ben Cardin, who is running against Republican Michael Steele for the Senate seat being vacated by Paul Sarbanes.

“He is exaggerating the effects of the disease,” Limbaugh told listeners. “He’s moving all around and shaking and it’s purely an act. . . . This is really shameless of Michael J. Fox. Either he didn’t take his medication or he’s acting.”

As I said previously, I don’t know if Limbaugh has ever seen anyone with Parkinson’s, but I have many times. There’s no need for them to act or exaggerate symptoms. Parkinson’s Disease is a nasty disorder. We should be doing everything possible to cure it, not playing politics as the Republicans are.

Attacking Michael J. Fox does not provide any justification for the Republican opposition to embryonic stem cell research. Considering Fox’s popularity, this may also backfire against them.