Kirsten Powers And Touré In Twitter Battle Over Supposed Racism Of Susan Rice's Republican Opponents

» 15 comments

The Daily Beast columnist Kirsten Powers appears to have had it with MSNBC host Touré. On Friday, Powers took to her Twitter account to insist that Touré clarify his often repeated accusation that Congressional Republicans opposed to U.N. Ambassador Susan Rice replacing Sec. Hillary Clinton as the next Secretary of State are motivated by antipathy towards her race and/or gender.

On Tuesday, Powers caught wind of comments made by Touré on MSNBC's The Cycle, where he savagely attacked Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) for his vocal opposition to Rice's potential nomination to replace Sec. Clinton. Touré called McCain 'bitter' over his 2008 loss to President Obama and said that the optics of white, Republican men attacking a black woman were terrible for his party.

[McCain] also gave us the horrible optics of he and Lindsey Graham as old, white, establishment folks wrongly and repeatedly attacking a much younger black woman moments after an election in which blacks and women went strongly blue. Looks like the GOP is already laying the foundation for losing in 2016.

Powers read the article and asked Touré where Sen. McCain's misogyny and racial prejudice were when he confirmed the black, female former Secretary of State Dr. Condoleezza Rice.

On Friday, Touré replied by citing language used by Sen. McCain, among others, which he apparently found to be exposing his true motives:

Powers seemed to be unswayed by Touré's reply:

Had this been a live exchange, it would have been transcribed as 'crosstalk ensued.' Fortunately, Touré and Powers continued their battle in easily dissectible 140 character tweets:

At this point, Touré dropped out of the exchange. Powers cited a column made by the left-of-center editor of The Nation magazine, Katrina vanden Heuvel, who attacked Condoleezza Rice for what she contended were misleading statements to the nation prior to the invasion of Iraq in 2003. Powers asked if vanden Heuvel was as motivated by racial hatred as Touré believes Sen. McCain is.

She has not yet received a reply.

> >Follow Noah Rothman (@Noah_C_Rothman) on Twitter

• No one really cares what Kirsten Powers thinks as she is the lame mouthpiece for the Demogratic party on Fox News. Tour'e stop wasting your time with her. She will never understand what you mean so it's useless.
  Vote in 2012

• Toure (aka Rev. Sharpton Jr.) has nothing, just his stupid race-baiting

• There is a much larger issue here than the misinformation, intentional or not. It is the blatent attack on out First Amendment right to free speech. By illogically and incorrectly condemning this video for what was in fact a coordinated terrorist attack by al-Qaeda on 9/11, the administration was essentially condoning terrorists' twisted interpretation of the Kuran. Democrats consitently, and often rightly, declare themselves the party of equal rights, yet they seem have a blatent disregard for what I believe is our most important right, the freedom of speech. There are many forms of intolerance.

• There is a difference between Susan Rice and Condoleeza Rice. Condi Rice was the head of NSA on her way to becoming Sec. of State. Susan Rice was a dadgum Ambassador to the UN. Big difference in position. And you want facts? how about the fact that DNI ADMITTED TO CHANGING THE TALKING POINTS. What does that have to do with Susan Rice's intelligence? Condi Rice in her position, would be the one forming the talking points about WMD. By the way, I find it hilarious that republicans are now throwing Condi under the bus in order to keep this nonscandal going.

• Powers has yet to support ONE democratic policy or any democratic office holders EVER, she should stop claiming to be a democrat AND a liberal if she wanted to be seen as HONEST but then again she is on Fox the home of dis-honest everything'she is what she actually is and she is a conservative republican.

• 1. It was not an attack by Al Qaeda. 2. It was not a coordinated attack. 3. The 'filmmaker' is a con artist currently serving time for breaking parole. 4. The video is still up on youtube.

• No offense, Mediaite, but have you ever used the verb/noun 'savages' for a Fox anchor/reporter? I find your use of that term to describe Toure very telling. There are plenty of other terms (attack, went after, bitterly, justifiably, ruthlessly, whatever) that are less of a code word for 'black'.

• You're an idiot. Don't know what color you are ' but you're still an idiot.

• Are you saying people should care about what Toure Kardashian says during his Minstrel Show?

• I propose a trade with the Dems.

  We send over David Brooks, Steve Schmidt and Jose' Scarborough.

  They give us Kirsten Powers and Pat Caddell and a player to be named later.
  And a bag of bats.

• Dr. Gloves always brings a smile'thanks

• Gracias.

• She's supported them all. Just because she thinks before she speaks, you find that questionable.

  Grow up and quit throwing people under the bus who are thoughtful and don't just scream racist whenever they have nothing.

• Who's throwing Condi under the bus? We like her ' we think she did an awesome job. Just because you want to compare ' there is no comparison.

  Drop the stupid WMD nonsense. You guys do nothing but lie about that. Nobody in admin lied. Everyone agreed ' democrat and republican. Nobody knows what happened to them ' and there are countless scenarios that would have been used had it been a democrat pres. As it was ' the republicans just said intelligence was incorrect and didn't bother spinning it. We save that for you guys who so enjoy spinning.

• Thomas Jefferson used that very phrase 'not very bright' to describe blacks as part of his reasoning for why we were 'inferior'. Whether McGrumpy knows this or not, and I doubt he does since he graduated 5th from the bottom of his class at the Air Force Academy, it's really insulting coming from a man who picked the dumbest community college attendee on the planet as his VP Nominee. And yes, he still hasn't gotten over the ass whuppin Obama gave him in 2008 and his party 3 weeks ago. Susan Rice is smarter than every member of the GOP. I agree with Toure about the optics since McCain's party of ass hats also went after Van Jones, Lisa Jackson, and Eric Holder. Powers should just STFU because if there's anyone here who appears 'not very bright' it's here. Of course that's exactly why she's a regular on fox!

President Obama Says Congress Beware: 'I've Been Keeping My Own Naughty And Nice List'

» comments

President Barack Obama addressed the nation Friday about the impending fiscal cliff at a press event held at the K'NEX toy factory in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. He took the opportunity to lightheartedly warn Congress to be careful: 'I've been keeping my own naughty and nice list for Washington.'

The President went on to compliment the K'NEX company, saying, 'They manufacture almost 3,000 K'NEX pieces every minute, and every box that ends up on store shelves, that ends up in 30 countries is stamped 'Made in America', and that's something to be proud of of.'

He continued, joking that 'Santa delivers everywhere', but unlike Santa, he would only be giving gifts to a select few members of Congress. He told viewers, 'you should keep your eye on who gets some K'NEX this year. There are going to be some members of Congress who get them and some who don't.'

The major message of the President's speech was for constituents to make their voices heard with their Congressmen by using email, Facebook and Twitter to express their wishes. The President reminded the audience and viewers that his administration has created a hastag, '#MY2K', which Tweeters should use to communicate with each other, and with their politicians, about the looming cliff. He expressed his optimism that a compromise could be reached and again expressed his intention to sign a deal as soon as possible.

Watch the clip, below, via MSNBC:

'
>>Follow Anjali Sareen (@AnjaliSareen) On Twitter

This Is How Mike Tyson Reacts To Piers Asking 'Wrong Question In An Interview'

» 1 comment

Piers Morgan interviewed the one and only Mike Tyson last night ' and looks like things went pretty well. The pair talked about everything ranging from Tyson's own life to' Lindsay Lohan.

Somewhere along the way, this happened:

Morgan and Tyson both tweeted out the photo, with the former remarking, 'This is what happens when you ask Mike Tyson the wrong question in an interview.' Tyson called him a 'great sport.'

#Aw.

• Iron Mike.
  the baddest man on Earth.

Glenn Beck Battles With Artist Over Painting Of Obama In Crucifix Pose: 'This Is So Dishonest'

» comments

Continuing his run as a newfound political art critic, Glenn Beck debated Michael D'Antuono, the artist behind a controversial painting of what appears to be a crucified President Barack Obama, on his BlazeTV show last night.

Beck made headlines earlier this week when he dropped a figurine of President Obama into a jar of 'urine' (yellow food coloring and water) as his reaction to offensive political art like the infamous 'Piss Christ' from many years ago. Following up that conversation, Beck brought on liberal artist D'Antuono to discuss his painting that shows Obama wearing a crown of thorns with implied crucifixion.

When challenged by Beck, D'Antuono explained that he did not intend to portray Obama as Jesus Christ, despite the similarities. 'I do not think he is Christ. I was not trying to convey that,' the painter told Beck. 'Actually, this painting does not convey my own personal opinions. It is more a mirror reflecting the personal opinions and prejudices, preconceived ideas of the viewer. It's kind of a sociological experiment.'

'I don't buy that bullcr' come on,' Beck pushed back. 'How do you not say this is an image of Christ? He is splitting the veil, you know that right?'

D'Antuono explained, in response, that some interpretations could see the curtains as standing for Obama's desire for 'creating transparency.'

As for the implied crucifixion, given Obama's arms extended outward, D'Antuono argued that Jesus was not the only person crucified.

'Crown of Thorns?' an incredulous Beck asked.

'It could be. But I'm not comparing him to Jesus,' D'Antuono replied.

'This is so dishonest,' Beck shot back.

D'Antuono conceded the 'religious reference' but added that perhaps the painting shows how Obama is 'metaphorically crucified by the Right.'

He explained how the political right views the president: 'If he says the sky is blue, they are going to say it's red. And blue is a communist color anyway. If he says he likes puppies they are going to say, well, he hates kittens. So he was being crucified no matter what he did.'

Beck responded: 'Would you think that you would ever paint something of me, that I am crucified by the Left?'

'Well, I haven't given that any consideration,' the artist answered.

Beck also singled out other D'Antuono paintings, including one that depicts a police officer in a Klu Klux Klan white hood, pointing a gun at a black child, who is wearing a hoodie and holding a bag of skittles. The artist said the painting was inspired by the Trayvon Martin tragedy from earlier this year. Beck said he found the painting 'extraordinarily offensive.'

Despite their deep disagreements, however, the interview ended on a positive note with D'Antuono telling Beck that he did not expect him to be so 'reasonable.' He joked: 'I don't know how I'm going to go home and tell my family. I expected you to try to tear me apart' I think that's the reputation you have from the left, but it's not true.'

Watch the interview below, in two parts, via BlazeTV:

Part two:

[h/t TheBlaze]
' '
>> Follow Andrew Kirell (@AndrewKirell) on Twitter

Newt Gingrich Slams House Republicans For Negotiating With President Obama: 'Get A Grip!'

» 7 comments

Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich has a message for his fellow Republicans about the looming fiscal cliff: 'Get a grip' and simply stop negotiating with President Barack Obama.

Speaking at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library in Simi Valley, California, Gingrich said about House Republicans, 'They are the majority. They're not the minority.' His words got stronger as he went on, telling Republicans he didn't believe they needed to 'form a 'Surrender Caucus.''

As The Daily Caller reported, Gingrich apparently believes there isn't a 'cliff' looming, let alone any kind of crisis at all. 'There is no fiscal cliff. It's absolute, total, nonsense,' he said. Blaming the entire situation on the President, Gingrich went on,

'It is an excuse to panic. It's a device to get all of us running down the road so we accept whatever Obama wants because otherwise we have failed the fiscal cliff, and how can you be a patriot if you don't do what the fiscal cliff requires, and the fiscal cliff will appear to us one afternoon, much like the land of Oz, where there will be this person hiding behind the machine who will say, 'Raise taxes now,' and if you don't raise taxes you'll have violated the fiscal cliff.'

Gingrich sarcastically began asking his audience whether they wanted to be held personally responsible for the demise of the country. He questioned,

'Now, do any of you want to be the person who stands up and destroys America by violating the fiscal cliff? Do you want to go on one of the national networks and explain that you are so reactionary, so out of touch with life, that you don't care that America is going to die late on Thursday?'

Assuming, of course, that no citizens, let alone House Republican wants to be singlehandedly responsible for the downfall of our nation, Gingrich offered up one last bit of wisdom,

'So my number one bit of advice to the congressional Republicans is simple: Back out of of all of this negotiating with Obama. The president is overwhelmingly dominant in the news media. You start setting up the definition of success finding an agreement with Obama, you just gave Obama the ability to say to you, 'Not good enough.''

h/t The Daily Caller

• 'Ahhhh, its GOOD to be the King'
  -Two-Term President Obama-

• There it is. Don't negotiate with the president. That worked out real well for the GOP over the last two years, didn't it. Please, continue to be the obstructionist party. Americans are pretty stupid, but it seems like even they have figured out just who it is that is holding them and the country hostage. I'm looking at you and your debt ceiling antics, Boehner.

  If you're ever wondering who is causing the problem of gridlock at the national level, it's really simple. Look at the people saying, 'Do not negotiate or compromise.' They are the problem.

• No wonder this douchebag never got anywhere with his absurd campaign for the Republican nomination.

• He is still upset they did not make Speaker for the incoming Congress?

  Now how did that OUR WAY OR THE HIGHWAY work during his time of controlling the republican agenda as a corrupt thief caught stealing funds to build his own private TV studio with tax payer money? How about the morals of being in an affair while denouncing the President for getting a 'BJ' from a known GOLD DIGGER? Then there is the fact he tried to steal a $750.000 T-REX skull from the United States after leaving the Congress not to mention not paying his Congressional fines until just before democrats took over the House in 2007'this LIZARD is demanding his party nose dive the economy and trigger a recession to punish America for siding with democrats and Obama on the issues involved'how conservative of him to want to hurt this nation.

• Yes Gingrich clearly states the teabagger logic that is sending the GOP into oblivion. Keep on talking dough man!

• Womderful! Let the tax rates go back to thee pre-Bush levels. On the new Senates first day of business, the Senate can pass filibuster reform. On the second day, they can pass a tax cut for the 98%. sit back and watch the fireworks.

• I'm happy to see he is in the HOV lane to irrelevancy' what an absolute dinosaur.

Secret Service Runs Interference For Fat Cats At White House

» 5 comments

As part of his outreach on the fiscal cliff negotiations, President Obama met with a murder of CEOs from top companies, including Goldman Sachs CEO Lloyd Blankfein. After the meeting, some of the attendees spoke to reporters, but according to Buzzfeed, the uniformed Secret Service took the unusual step of running interference for Blankfein and his entourage, restricting access to the Northwest Drive outside the West Wing until they could make their exit.

From Buzzfeed's Zeke Miller:

WASHINGTON ' As CEOs concluded their meeting with President Barack Obama Wednesday evening, the White House deployed three uniformed Secret Service officers to keep the awaiting reporters from speaking with the group, among them Goldman Sachs CEO Lloyd Blankfein.

As Blankfein and his entourage exited the West Wing, reporters shouted questions at him and tried to approach him to ask about his meeting with the president on the fiscal cliff. But even camera crews trying to get to their stand-up locations for evening news live-shots were prevented from crossing the driveway until Blankfein passed.

The White House pool report, from The Daily Caller's William Rahn, made no mention of this:

The business executives who met with President Obama today began leaving the West Wing at about 6:15 p.m. Most left without comment, but a handful who took questions from reporters, including Comcast CEO Brian Roberts, described a positive and amicable meeting with the president.

The Northwest Drive is reporter turf, along with the White House briefing room and surrounding area, and the press office. It's very unusual for the Secret Service to restrict access to any of these areas, mainly because it's not usually necessary. If someone wants to exit the West Wing without being set upon by reporters, they can easily go out the Northeast entrance, or even be picked up at the West Wing doors, which reporters keep about a 20-foot distance from.

If not, the result is sometimes a scene like this:

Why, then, was it necessary for the Secret Service to run interference for Blankfein and Co.? At first blush, it seems almost like an object lesson in entitled dickery, but as it turns out, it was entitled dickery and then some. Blankfein couldn't avoid the Northwest Drive because he was doing a TV hit for CNN, so he needed those Secret Service guys to keep the rest of the reporting rabble off of him. Otherwise, those wretches might have asked Blankfein if the 'entitlements' he wants to help gut include the $12.9 billion in bailout funds his company received:

The White House press corps isn't a bunch of giggling groupies that Lloyd Blankfein can just select from to pleasure him, which is why it makes sense that he would avoid them at all costs, but the Secret Service has no business acting as his PR Sherpa. That's our driveway, and if Lloyd Blankfein wants to use it, he has to at least ignore us.

Follow Tommy Christopher (@TommyXtopher) on Twitter.

• Wow, a whining liberal blogger, I'm shocked

• The 'most transparent administration in history' has been the least, is anyone surprised?

• CEOs = Crows? Was it a gaggle of reporters?

• A MURDER OF CEOs'O'kay that describes this kind of group based on 'destroying the labor of people trying to grow a future for this country' while they sit back and enjoy their 8-9 figure pensions as 'they' demand that the POOR pay for 'their' transgressions as being best for 'them' while ignoring the COMMON GOOD for the rest of the people.

• Still waiting for Bush to give that testimony on the record to the 9/11 Commission, you?

FoxNews.com 'War On Men' Author Clears The Whole Thing Up: 'I Didn't Think That Much About It'

» comments

Suzanne Venker, the author of a Fox News column entitled 'The War On Men,' now says that the outrage over her editorial is all a misunderstanding. The roundly-panned essay, based on Venker's forthcoming book, asked the 'intriguing' question 'What if the dearth of good men, and ongoing battle of the sexes, is ' hold on to your seats ' women's fault?'

In the face of withering backlash, Venker told The Daily Beast's David Freedlander that she didn't mean to write about women and men, and that 'Husband and wife would have been better than men and women.'

Let's try out that theory. Here's what Venker wrote on FoxNews.com:

Contrary to what feminists like Hanna Rosin, author of The End of Men, say, the so-called rise of women has not threatened men. It has pissed them off. It has also undermined their ability to become self-sufficient in the hopes of someday supporting a family. Men want to love women, not compete with them. They want to provide for and protect their families ' it's in their DNA. But modern women won't let them.

It's all so unfortunate ' for women, not men. Feminism serves men very well: they can have sex at hello and even live with their girlfriends with no responsibilities whatsoever.

Now, here's the same passage, using the 'husbands and wives' formulation:

Contrary to what feminists like Hanna Rosin, author of The End of Men, say, the so-called rise of wives has not threatened husbands. It has pissed them off. It has also undermined their ability to become self-sufficient in the hopes of someday supporting a family. Husbands want to love wives, not compete with them. They want to provide for and protect their families ' it's in their DNA. But modern wives won't let them.

It's all so unfortunate ' for wives, not husbands. Feminism serves husbands very well: they can have sex at hello and even live with their girlfriends with no responsibilities whatsoever.

The good news for 'wives,' the New Coke version explains, is that if they 'surrender to their nature,' then 'marriageable men will come out of the woodwork.' That ought to make for a solid weekend pest-control project.

Venker explained to Freedlander why her explanation bore no resemblance to what she actually wrote, which was specifically about men and women who aren't, and never will be (if evil feminists have their way), married:

'All I can say in my defense is that it can be so hard when you write as much as I've written'three books, articles, blogs'you think you have said something but you haven't. It's like I am thinking something and I am so clear about it and I think what I have said is that. I don't know. I don't know. I didn't think that much about it.'

Now it makes sense.

(h/t Wonkette)

John Heilemann Calling Lindsey Graham A 'Woman' Edited Out Of Morning Joe Re-Air

» 24 comments

On Wednesday, the Morning Joe crew discussed the GOP senators who have been critical of UN Ambassador Susan Rice. Specifically, the three senators who met with Rice on Tuesday ' John McCain, Lindsey Graham, and Kelly Ayotte. Amid the discussion, New York Magazine's John Heilemann made a joke at the expense of Graham. During the re-airing at 8 a.m., that remark was edited out.

Since Sen. Joe Lieberman is on his way out, Graham and McCain seem to have brought in a third 'amigo,' Joe Scarborough said, referring to Ayotte. Heilemann chimed in:

'They need a third amigo at all times. So now they have ' now two of the three are women ' now at least one of the three are women.'

That prompted Scarborough to turn around his chair in a fit of laughter, as Heilemann, too, could not keep a straight face. When the segment re-aired, the remark was nowhere to be found. (Video of both segments included below.)

Here's the video of the unedited segment including the joke (via MSNBC):

And here's the edited version that aired later (via MSNBC):

(H/T TVNewser)

• Heillman's slander of women was disgusting.

• WHY ARE LIBERALS SO MEAN?

• What's wrong with being a woman?.Graham should be proud. Wear it Lindsey, just like you do your pathetic con positions

• speak up, bro

  Lindsay is super, thanks for asking

• Yes ma'am honey. Miss Graham is one of the gurls!

• We learned that from republican cult conservatives'how could you not know that? Besides that we are actually funny when we are mean and that is something that we wish conservatives would learn from us, that and math we really want them to learn math.

  See?

• I'M BETTING HE WOULDN'T SAY THAT TO MIKE TYSON

• While down at the BIG BIRD CAGE they are still on the floor laughing till they squirt and then they laugh even more.

• u go girl

• Seeing JOE turned around trying to hide his mirth was well worth the time of the first clip, he is really going to pay for that after the rest of the conservatives stop laughing.

• I thought that joke was really funny and MonringJoe is never funny. Truth be told though Graham is a 12 year old girl trapped in the body of a 50 year old man.

• And to think, this is the same network that gets all pissy when you call Maddow a man. More double standards for the network known for its anger and hatred.

• The editing out part is really strange. Heilmann sounded like he tripped over his words, instead of it being intentional, and then Scarborough started laughing and Heilmann couldn't contain his own laughter.

• Maddow isn't in the closet like Lindsey.
  Lindsey is one of those closeted Queens that slanders gays and then runs for that restroom republiKan stall for some action.
  The only double standard comes from the restroom republiKans like Lindsey.

• i dunno, i don't approve.

  I don't watch Morning Joe for slurs and innuendos, actually I watch it to get away from crap like that.

  I'm glad it was yanked, which means someone there agrees with me.

• A lot of people say 'what's that'? It's Pat.

• It did seem to be a simple slip of the tongue. It may have been one of those slips of the tongue that occur because of some on-going circumstance or joke, however. I understand Graham is jokingly or derisively spoke of as 'Lady Lindsey' by certain people and groups in Washington.

• REALLY so since it has been around as an issue for Graham for DECADES and he continually makes references to it about how disappointed gay men will be and are that he denies it it does not equate in the way that you think it does'. It even happens at town halls he used to have when his constituents would say things like LISTEN LADY and call him MAAM to his face AND one of his best social friends around Washington was for a fact MARK FOLEY and he was in Larry Craigs company ALL THE TIME around the Senate and the list of outed republicans has always had references to Lindsey calling them GREAT PERSONAL FRIENDS' now why is he always the very best friend on an outed republican again? Hmmmmm?

  Oh and let me be the one to tell you the standard response to you comments this time and every time' STFU.

• You are one sick puppy.

• Just like a couple of middle-school stooges. Graham is a douche, but not because he doesn't talk like these two locker-room cutups. I find it mind-blowing that anyone watches that show for information. All you get is Joe kissing Reagan's ass from beyond the grave, and Mika doing her concerned head tilt.

• I agree with you, too. Very childish.

• Don't buy it. I agree it looks like it might have been unintentional, but I think Heilemann was just being very sly. It's kinda his style. He is a little arrogant, quite biased, and I think he says a lot of things to be a hero on the Liberal cocktail circuit. He kinda went Hollywood after he won an Emmy.

  That being said, I do like him.

• No, the bigots are sick puppies. Just happens to be a HUGE bigot cesspool in your party'.and you haven't noticed?

  I don't care what anyone's sexual preference is. but the hypocrites like Lindsey and soooooo many of your fellow right wingers that vote against gay marriage, gay rights and harp about Christian values while spending a miserable life in the closet.
  You stepped in it when you brought up what your fellow right wingers call Maddow, I point out the giant hypocrisy and then you call me sick?
  Listen up Tina, loads of you right wingnuts are still pretty clueless as to why this sort of hypocrisy and bigotry is why you lost on Nov.6 and will continue to lose unless you clean up you silly act.

• What bias?

GOP Senator Backs John Kerry For Secretary Of State: 'I Believe He Would Sail Through The Nominating Process'

» 8 comments

With the resistance to a potential nomination of United Nations Ambassador Susan Rice to replace Sec. Hillary Clinton as the next Secretary of State hardening among Congressional Republicans, a possible face-saving way out of President Barack Obama's political dilemma has come from an odd source ' Sen. John Barrasso (R-WY). Appearing on MSNBC's Jansing & Co. on Wednesday, Barrasso said that Obama should nominate Sen. John Kerry (D-MA), chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, to replace Sec. Clinton. Barrasso said that Kerry would be easily confirmed by the Senate should Obama nominate him over Rice.

MSNBC anchor Chris Jansing asked Sen. Barrasso to explain his opposition to Rice's nomination after she listed a series of reasons why some believe that the erroneous explanations Rice gave for the deadly September 11 attack on an American consulate in Benghazi could be forgiven.

Barrasso replied that Rice 'disqualified herself' to be Secretary of State when she appeared on five Sunday news programs after the September 11 attack to disseminate a false explanation for that attack.

'If the president wants an easy confirmation hearing and an easy confirmation process, what he would do is nominate John Kerry ' who is eminently qualified to be Secretary of State ' and I believe he would sail thorough in the nominating process,' Barrasso said.

After repeating his objections to Rice's nomination, Barrasso reiterated that a 'smooth confirmation process' to replace Sec. Clinton would be achieved by nominating Sen. Kerry.

Watch the clip below via MSNBC:

> >Follow Noah Rothman (@Noah_C_Rothman) on Twitter

• Of course Kerry would sail through the nominating process, based on collegiality alone.

  The trick is to convince Hillary Clinton to run for Kerry's Senate seat.

• The gop sore losers want Kerry's senate seat, it ain't gonna happen.
  Rice will be nominated and confirmed.

• So, this Benghazi brouhaha isn't about the 4 dead Americans? It's about getting Scott Brown elected? Who is politicizing dead Americans to try and elected again?

• Republicans must think we are as stupid as they are. They are yet again playing games and running this three stooges circus against Susan Rice hoping that Kerry will be nominated so Scott Brown can get back in the Senate. Democrats must stand firm against these underhand tricks.

• You beat me to it.

  You'd think Republican stupidity would have subsided a little after the election, but their crap is so transparent.

• That would seem to be what this whole Susan Rice thing is all about. Republicans as usual over played their hand though, almost forcing Obama to choose Rice.

• The GOP elitist mammoths on the Hill really are completely out of touch with the party Base, aren't they? Sure, go ahead and approve Senator John Kerry to be Secretary of State in the name of 'collegiality''and you will never, ever, get another Vietnam veteran's vote for your reelection. Go ahead, make our day'

• Delusional.

Women's Group Demands Regulation Of Sexism In The Media

Media

Women's Group Demands Regulation Of Sexism In The Media

10:45 am, November 27th | by Carmen Shardae Jobson

 

Salacious coverage of sexual crimes in the media is nothing new ' most daily newspapers are all too eager to report on the latest sexual assault statistics or particularly horrific crimes, giving rise to nightmares about who's really out there roaming the streets. This eagerness frequently leads papers to ignore the implications of including suggestive images and headlines as well as grisly details when reporting on these stories.

A growing concern about public safety and coverage of sexually based offenses has caused a bit of an uproar in the U.K., and four women's organizations have begun insisting on regulations for sexist coverage in the media. The coalition took it upon themselves first to execute an experiment, led by Lord Justice Leveson and reported on by the Guardian, of monitoring 11 national newspapers beginning in September 2012. They collected 1,300+ features and images that featured sexism towards women, especially detailed and nearly eroticized descriptions of violent crime. The coalition since has written a letter to Prime Minister David Cameron to ask for his his support of a 'new era' of newspaper rules, rules which will combat the 'rape culture' they believe permeates their media. It's interesting that this debate has emerged overseas first rather than here in the United States, as the U.K. and Europe are typically more permissive about depictions of sex in the media than the U.S., but their tolerance for sexualized violence appears to be much lower than ours.

While this past election year showed that women in the United States wouldn't take kindly to subtly sexist comments ('binders full of women,' anyone?) and that certain GOP members' stances on rape would prove widely unpopular, women's groups haven't been as direct in demanding accountability for sexism in the media as in the U.K., given that there has been no subsequent push for legislation accompanying much of the anger this election season. What will happen to the U.K. proposal is uncertain, but we'll be paying close attention. Though it seems obvious that voyeurism and eroticization of sex-based crimes is irresponsible at best and harmful at worst, it will be interesting to see if the British government agrees that the problem ought to be solved with legislation.

TAGS: Sexism in media | united kingdom

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Naked Protesters Storm Speaker John Boehner's Office

» 1 comment

On Tuesday, seven nude protesters stormed House Majority Leader Rep. John Boehner's (R-OH) office on Capitol Hill to protest cuts in the federal budget.

According to the writing on one nude protester's back, they hecklers were also lobbying for an increase in attention paid by the federal government to the problem of AIDS.

UPDATE: The protesters were quickly arrested and escorted from the Majority Leader's office.

Photos via Chris Geidner, Nick Harper

> >Follow Noah Rothman (@Noah_C_Rothman) on Twitter

• 'Naked Protesters Storm Speaker John Boehner's Office'
  To which Boehner replied, 'Ugh, get a tan.'

Laura Ingraham's Radio Show Going Off The Air ' Temporarily

» 3 comments

Conservative talk radio host Laura Ingraham will be going off the air soon. At least for a while she negotiates a new contract for her radio show, The Laura Ingraham Show.

Ingraham's contract with her distributor, Talk Radio Network, ended after nine years. According to the Associated Press, 'she is in discussions with other distributors about her show, which currently airs on 325 stations nationally.'

Per the AP:

Talkers magazine says the conservative Ingraham is the most-listened to woman on radio, with an estimated 5.75 million listeners a week. Talkers said that ranks her among the top eight radio hosts overall.

Ingraham said she'll maintain her online presence in the absence of her radio show, as well as her appearance on Fox News.

• Didn't the same thing happen recently to rightwing nutjob Michael Savage?

• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nmoIuAcbIb4

• Right after the Obama landslide, all the conservative radio-heads get new contracts.
  Hmmmmmmmmmmmmmm.

Chuck Todd On Fiscal Cliff 'Sideshow': 'Senate Is 100 Elected Pundits Right Now'

» 1 comment

The Daily Rundown's Chuck Todd hosted a discussion about the fiscal cliff negotiations on Monday, taking a look at the Senate 'sideshow' on the matter. The issue is mainly between the White House and the House, he said, essentially making the Senate a group of '100 elected pundits.'

Those in the media get caught up, Todd said, thinking that when senators speak, 'Oh, it must mean something.'

Turning to his panel, he asked, 'Is it too harsh to say the Senate is 100 elected pundits, right now? That basically they're a sideshow while the real action is between the House and the White House?'

Susan Page agreed, citing a change in tone in the discussion about reaching a deal. More politicians seem

'Grover Norquist is like reporter heroin in this city,' YG Action Fund's Brad Dayspring said, also pointing to a shift in tone, referring to House Majority Leader's Eric Cantor's sidestepping answer when asked about the pledge on Morning Joe this morning. 'The real question is, is the White House willing to do something significant to get these costs under control.'

The panel went on to discuss where members of each party may be willing to budge ' and the type of deal that could come out of those compromises.

'You are not going to have a deal that only has taxes and doesn't do anything about entitlements,' Page said. 'That's not acceptable even to the Republicans who have indicated they would defy the mythical Grover Norquist.'

Watch below, via MSNBC:

• Did Chuck Todd just say that he's irrelevant?

Fox Interview Ends After Guest Accuses Network Of Operating As 'Wing Of The Republican Party'

» 139 comments

A Fox News interview about the Benghazi attacks ended Monday morning after the guest openly accused the network of 'hyping' the story ' doing so with political motivations by acting as 'a wing of the Republican Party.'

Author Tom Ricks was brought on Happening Now to discuss how several GOP lawmakers are backing off their criticism of U.N. Ambassador Susan Rice's handling of the September terror attacks that left four Americans dead in Libya.

Asked why lawmakers like Sen. John McCain seem to be backing off Rice a bit lately, Ricks replied: 'I think Benghazi was generally hyped by this network especially. And now that the campaign is over, I think he is backing off a little bit. They aren't going to stop Susan Rice from being Secretary of State.'

Co-anchor Jon Scott pushed back, asking 'When you have four people dead for the first time in more than 30 years, how do you call that hype?'

'How many security contractors died in Iraq? Do you know?' Ricks shot back.

'I don't,' replied Scott.

'Nobody does because nobody cared,' Ricks said. 'We know several hundred died but there was never official count of security contractors in Iraq. When I say this focus was essentially on a small fire-fight, I think, number one, I've covered a lot of fire-fights and it is impossible to figure out what happens in them sometimes.'

Ricks then took another open shot at Fox News: 'I think the emphasis on Benghazi has been extremely political, partly because Fox is operating as the wing of Republican Party.'

At that point, Scott cut the interview short: 'Tom Ricks, thanks for joining us today.'

Ricks smirked and replied: 'You're welcome.'

Watch below, via Fox News:

' '
>> Follow Andrew Kirell (@AndrewKirell) on Twitter

• OH GOD YES! This is golden! Finally someone tells it like it is on Fox News and this time, it wasn't Shepard Smith doing it.

• ouch! The truth hurts!

• What were Fox News thinking when they booked Thomas Ricks? The guy just take any BS at all, so from a network whose specialty is pure BS this was awfully strange.

• The Murdoch propaganda channel sucks, always has since day one in 1996.
  GOP TV'..nothing more or less and everyone, even the filthy baggers in denial, know it.

• 4 people dead for the first time in 30 years? What does that mean?

• Snap!!!

• Santa hates Fox

• 'Hey! You can't tell the truth on Fox!!'

• That was awesome. Ricks perfectly summed up the hypocrisy and phony outrage that BSM and the right has been spouting since the tragic attack on your embassy in Libya.

• Gee, I can't think anyone would think that Ricks probably voted for the Oreo, can you? Many people die in foreign wars, but not while they are being watched in a battle, and no one, NO ONE, appears to have done ANYTHING to help the embattled. On top of that, lying in the faces of the American people for over two weeks, the Oreo on down, without batting an eye. Oreo had to realize he would be found out, but he didn't or doesn't care that anyone knows he's a proven liar. YOU people still voted for him. He's got you hook, line and sinker.

• Cut his mic!

• More and more: People are gonna start calling Fixed Noise on being an arm of the GOP propaganda machine.
  Want proof?

  Here's John Stewart eviscerating the head propagandist: Chris Wallace.
  It shows the ENTIRE interview with the parts that Faux cut from the interview before airing it for it's victims/followers.
  It's in 2 parts.

  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FrcQJ1FVHx4&feature=share&list=ULFrcQJ1FVHx4

• 4 people died'nothing to see here'Obama is our lord and savior

• Sore delusional loser much?

• That. Was. Hilarious.
  Great job Mr. Ricks.

• calling out Obama's race ?? I bet you're white.

• Maybe you should look into some help for what it is that has 'got you'? Is the Stormfront website down today, or what?

• 'when you have four people dead for the first time in more than 30 years'.

  And here was me thinking I was dreaming all that stuff about Beirut, the Gulf War, USS Cole, 9/11, Iraq and Afghanistan. And I'm presuming he's talking about AMERICANS.

  See what happens when you refuse to take a trip outside Bulls@*! mountain '

• 'They aren't going to stop Susan Rice from being Secretary of State.'

  You see, you sore losers have nothing left but lies and innuendo. When Rice is confirmed Sec. of State are you gonna keep crying and lying?
  Yes you are.

• Oops! Somebody didn't screen this guest. LOL
  That was so awesome.

• Flagged, obviously.

• we had an election alMOst 2 months after bengahzhi.MITT HAS AN ENTIRE 3RD DEBATE TO ATTACK OBAMA on it,'fox covered it ..Obama was re elected

• Before Michael Steel was head of the GOP when ever he gave a speech some people would roll Oreo cookies toward the podium he was speaking from'..Is that who you are talking about????

• stupidbs slurs: '' voted for the Oreo' the Oreo on down ' Oreo had to realize''

  OK, now can I play the racist card?

• that was awesome!

• Susan rice is a liar, she fits in perfect with the Obama administration

• Good for Ricks. As a respected author and military authority, hopefully other experts will follow suit and speak the truth on Fox. Fox will just be left with paid shills.

• Like I said, all you've got are lies''..

  You're a Benghazi bagger full of sore loser hate and lies, nothing more or less.
  You'd fit in perfect''as a citizen of North Korea'''bagger boy.

• FoxNews is a wing of the extreme Right-Wing of the degenerate Republican Party' DUH!

  Everybody know that now, the game is up. They are loosing the profitable demographic and soon will be stuck with stupid people who have no money. The free market place of ideas can only be rigged for a minute then the action moves on.

• Right, because other than for your Monday morning quarterbacking, it's a cinch to drop a small army into a sovereign nation, risk an international incident, set a horrible precedent, endanger even more lives, and further destabilize an explosive region (and do this all without any real meaningful planning, in order to rescue 4 people that by then really had no chance' All so that wingnuts like you could pin an even BIGGER mess on a President you're never going to support anyway.

  No thanks, I'll let the adults make the calls instead.

• Co-anchor Jon Scott pushed back, asking 'When you have four people dead for the first time in more than 30 years, how do you call that hype?'

  'How many security contractors died in Iraq? Do you know?' Ricks shot back.

  'I don't,' replied Scott.

  Moral: Don't fck with Tom Ricks.

• When you can't argue your point''just leave. Typical leftists.

• More than 3K died on 9/11' But you've let that administration off the hook'

  Where were the hundreds of of questions for THAT Rice? hmm? You know, the one that got briefed after they took office that some guys named Bin Laden wanted to attack in the US again, most likely using airplanes?

  And YOU instead wanna make an international incident over a consulate attack in probably THE MOST DANGEROUS region in the world, like that's news?

• tissue? your lord and savior denied the Ambassador more security, now we will have another Sec of State the lies, Maybe Susan Rice was dodging sniper fire on the tarmac also

• Scott brought a knife to a gun fight. So he bailed.

• you liberals dont care if people die, as long as you keep getting your handouts from the government

• WTF are you drivelling about?
  Ricks schooled that Fox//Murdoch propaganda actor, you need to watch the video before commenting.

• freesppech didnt say anything when bush let 3,000 die

• your lord and savior??

  Obama is OUR president, get over it and be patriotic for at least one day in your miserable life. I didn't even vote for him but at least I can be patriotic and call him our president.

  No one denied more security, quite repeating the regressive media lies until your blue in the face bagger boy.

• LOL @FOX 'News' Everything!

• Buck,

  And from a network that's cornered the BS Market, Rupert's and Roger's Kids really fouled up on this one. Figure that a producer will be canned ' if not caned ' and that Handoggity will run some sort of 'special retort' on the Hidden Mysteries of Tom Ricks and the Rev. Jeremiah Wright.

• Well, pizz, according to Rupert's and Roger's Network, no Americans died in Iraq ' under Barack Obama became president.

  And in the World of Rupert and Roger, Americans don't die in war.

• Your posts are a great example of why the regressive party lost this last election and many more in the future'.you sore loser bagger boy.

• That's funny on alot of levels'

  For starters, the fact that 4 people died is unrelated to alleged cover-up by the administration. Even if there WAS a cover-up the right-wing claim of it is that the administration wouldn't call it a 'terrorist' attack. So you're purposely conflating to very unrelated issues to prove a partisan point you're failing to prove.

  People died because' err' Obama AFTER THE FACT didn't call it a terrorist attack? okie dokie sparky.

  Second, most government handouts are concentrated in right-leaning states. So the party of the handouts is the GOP.

• This seems to be occurring an awful lot lately for Fox News. They are gonna run out of people to interview soon'

• Hey!!! Enough with the Oreo! That's Lord and Savior to you buddy!
  Racist much?

• The President doesn't make security decisions on Consulates, nor does he make the calls on whether or not to FUND the outcomes of those decisions'

  Wonder who DOES have power of the purse'. hmm'.

• ''Tom Ricks, thanks for joining us today!' Jon Scott

  Mr Ricks smirked and replied: 'You're welcome!'

  Well done Mr Rick and keep smirking. You've earned it, by blowing a hole right through their pathetically obvious, but now, post election wilting Bengazhi premise'

• Huh? He didn't leave. The host ended the interview because he just got owned.

• Umm, that's not true at all. It actually borders on stupid.

  3000 people died under Bush on 9/11. In NYC.

• I hope this is one of the first dominoes

• Hopey is that you again? Your name may change but the personna is the same.

• 'It smarts and stings for a while when you been slapped hard unexpectedly!

• Big props to whoever the EP is who was smart enough to cut this short before Scott got COMPLETELY embarassed.

• your President'or President of the United States'not mine, I didnt vote for him'the funny thing is to be patrotic, you swear to the Constitution, not the Presdient

• Cartoon:
  http://assets.amuniversal.com/fddc9b7015590130feb5001dd8b71c47

• Leave OUR black, female Rice out of your condemnation, racist/misogynist.

• Maybe you should replay the tape, you may actually see through that Fox fog you're in.

• State Dept'which is part of the Obama administration, they make the security decisions

• Fox Isn't a wing of the Republican Party, they ARE the Republican Party. They raise money for them, donate to them, employ them, and directly are involved in the party platform.

  Republican politicians are simply employees of FOX.

• hehe. You right-wingnuts can make yourself believe anything. Too funny.

• 'your President'or President of the United States'not mine, I didnt vote for him.'

  Just gutter level deep ignorance from another sore loser bagger.
  Move to North Korea, you'd be right at home. Obviously you don't have an ounce of patriotism but tons of hate for this country. You prove that fact with every post.

• It has been introduced by the Dems already..old news..it's in play, feel free.

• That story has been debunked numerous times.

• Pathetic post, Absolutely pathetic.

• I'm buying his book.

• Right' So not Obama. There's a chain of command' Now that we've confirmed that' HOW/WHEN did Obama lie again?

  And who makes funding decisions on Consulate security?

• Did that stop the Bin Laden killing? You have no one in military service abroad, do you? That gives the response you didn't see from Obama a truly scarey dimension. You think Bush was bad'wait.

• I watched it three times. Maybe the best FOX clip ever posted on here!

• How many of them did the WH have eyes on at the time?

• you would not know patriotism if it slapped you in the face you dumb*ss liberal'..go pray to your lord and savior

• Oops'..the We report, You decide went out of the window?

  What was it again: Fair and Balance? Oops''the Fox audience most be shielded from the facts? Yes''by any means'..necessary?

• I totally agree with your second paragraph. Obama is doing a great job with that part. The part that makes me smile is that YOU and YOURS get to live thru this, too. Have you noticed ANYTHING going on around you'''..at all?

• How long was the planning for the Bin Laden killing?

  While we don't have the exact number of months or years, I'm certain it was more than 6-8 hours'

  You feel the two equivalent? You REALLY do?

  You think planning for the end-result that was supposed to be brought on by Bush's Afghanistan war (killing Bin Laden) is on the same tactical plane as not penetrating into Libya with a force small enough to crush a coordinated attack on a Consulate, housing an Ambassador that shouldn't have been there in the first place?

  Honestly? Those are the same to you?

• so the State Dept is not part of the Obama administration? they have free reign? wow''funding? why do you have to fund something the Obama administration denied?

• This is exactly how you deal with these liars.

• The only ones getting handouts are red states and billionaire hedge funders ' moochers!

• The most brilliantly succinct takedown of Faux News in the history of take downs. It was messaging that every PR person needs to remember when discussing this 'cabal' called Fox News.

• 50 or 100 yrs from now there probably will be another American Revolution, when people get tired of supporting sponges like you

• people died because Obama's State Dept denied the Ambassador's request for more security

• State Dept is most certainly part of any administration. I'm asking you to justify the point that Obama lied? When? Where? How?

  For that matter, how/when/where did the State Dept lie?

  That is, after all, the right-wing claim right? Obama lied, people died?

  Secondly, Congress denied security funding.

• liberals live in red states, did you know that? they are the drain

• It's like Scott was prepared for it because'he knows its the truth

• When an ambassador is murdered, it has been comsidred an act of war since the beginning of recorded history. When a presidential administration lies about it to cover up its inaction, it has always been newsworthy. No longer in this Orwellian world we live in.

• You're smarter than that.

• Better stick with morons like Kirsten Powers. She's just the kind of FAD 'fake ass democrat' that fits in so nicely with the rest of the brain dead zombies fox likes to feature.

• When you can't argue your point' just cut the interview short. Typical wingnuts.

• No, he's very obviously not.

• Rice lied, she is part of the administration'.no protest, it was a pre-planned attack

• That's what I saw, too! Scott schooled Ricks ' then Ricks got scared, ripped his mic off, and ran out of the studio.

  But the crazy leftists will probably portray this as Fox cutting the interview short! Just watch!

• The Bin Laden killing was almost perfectly executed. Our folks in the consulate would have settled for sloppy rescue, I'm sure. Obama wasn't timid about getting into Libya in the first place with help to remove MK.
  Come to that, he wasn't timid about broadcasting 'his' part in the raid to take out Bin Laden to the point of hanging some of our folks out to dry. Why so shy about letting us in on 'what he did' when our consulate was under attack, and you know as well as I that 7 hours in this day and time is plenty of time to send help'unless you don't intend to.

• And conservatives wonder why liberals always think they're racists.

• Rice didn't lie.
  But you lie every single time you post that tripe'..sore loser bagger.

• Think they're racists?

• LOve it!!!!!!!!!

• when you stand up to Roafer and his bullsh*t, then you have room to criticize, until then'..

• What you wrote is not very clear. I'm not certain what you are referring to.

  As to looking around. i live in Europe. Life is better here with or without money.

• Talk is cheap bagger boy, and yours is extra cheap.
  If you had a sack you'd start your revolution right now. What are you waiting for you huge coward?

• and you have said nothing about the 1400 troops Obama has gotten killed in Afghanistan

• tissue? now get on your knees and pray to your savior'lol

• Ricks was always a self-promoting little dweeb who never met a war he didn't like, if he could pocket a few bucks from it.

• Please pay attention to the news. Charlene Lamb who is a State Dept Official said before Congress, under oath, that funding was NOT THE ISSUE. That's the problem with letting MSM tell you part of the truth, nothing sells so well as a lie with a little truth mixed in. Damn.

• Cool.. Which country do we declare war on?

  Secondly, turn off Fox, and tell us what the lie was.

• I loved it..l'.How can we sneak this guy back on Fox news with that Fox and Friends team? would love to see them try to handle him'..LOL'

• tee hee

• June 14, 2002, U.S. consulate in Karachi, Pakistan
  Suicide bomber kills 12 and injures 51.

  February 20, 2003, international diplomatic compound in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
  Truck bomb kills 17.

  February 28, 2003, U.S. consulate in Karachi, Pakistan
  Gunmen on motorcycles killed two consulate guards.

  July 30, 2004, U.S. embassy in Taskkent, Uzbekistan
  Suicide bomber kills two.

  December 6, 2004, U.S. consulate in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia
  Militants stormed and occupied perimeter wall. Five killed, 10 wounded.

  March 2, 2006, U.S. consulate in Karachi, Pakistan
  Suicide car bomber killed four, including a U.S. diplomate directly targeted by the assailants.

  September 12, 2006, U.S. embassy in Damascus, Syria
  Gunmen
  attacked embassy with grenades, automatic weapons, and a car bomb
  (though second truck bomb failed to detonate). One killed and 13
  wounded.

  January 12, 2007, U.S. embassy in Athens, Greece
  A rocket-propelled grenade was fired at the embassy building. No one was injured.

  July 9, 2008, U.S. consulate in Istanbul, Turkey
  Armed men attacked consulate with pistols and shotguns. Three policemen killed.

  March 18, 2008, U.S. embassy in Sana'a, Yemen
  Mortar attack misses embassy, hits nearby girls' school instead.

  September 17, 2008, U.S. embassy in Sana'a, Yemen
  Militants
  dressed as policemen attacked the embassy with RPGs, rifles, grenades
  and car bombs. Six Yemeni soldiers and seven civilians were killed.
  Sixteen more were injured.

• Still haven't articulated the lie that allegedly led to the death of 4 people'

  Kinda odd to claim MSM bias when you recite Fox talking points'

  Lastly, requests for security dealt with Tripoli.

  Your serve.

• It's like a boxer throwing in the towel 10 seconds into the fight, after one jab. The boxer's not knocked out yet, but he knows he's in over his head, and he know shat's coming, so hey, let's just stop this now'

• SOMEONE IS TELLING THE TRUTH ON FOX, QUICK..CUT TO A COMMERCIAL!!!!

• Stand up?
  You're swimming in the sewer bagger boy.

• Plus they died because not only did they deny the Ambassador more security, but they took what security he had down to two people. This is a year he's been asking for more. I want to know why. The fact that POTUS didn't call it a terrorist attack and dodged around and side-stepped and ducked and bobbed and weaved, doesn't encourage me to think he intends to be honest. I don't think you have to worry if you are telling the truth about an issue. Unfortunately, where's the truth of this (and don't regurgitate MSM on it, use YOUR brain)?

• Yes, all the people in red states who get assistance are liberals.

  No conservative has ever taken public money. Not a single penny, ever!

• Hey Andrew how about a little background on Tom Ricks who works for CNAS Center for a New American Security that has strong ties to the Obama administration:

  The Obama administration has hired several CNAS employees for key jobs.[4] Founders Michèle Flournoy and Kurt Campbell currently serve as the Undersecretary of Defense for Policy and the Assistant Secretary of State for East Asian and Pacific Affairs, respectively. In June 2009 The Washington Post suggested, 'In the era of Obama'the Center for a New American Security may emerge as Washington's go-to think tank on military affairs.'[4] CNAS scholars include John Nagl,[5] David Kilcullen, Andrew Exum, Thomas E. Ricks, Robert D. Kaplan,[6] and Marc Lynch.

  Makes sense why he would attack Fox, he's another Obama admin crony.

• Fox *did* cut the interview short. Can have some of whatever you are smoking?

• FNC shows when someone formidable is ready to take them on even on their turf, they cut and run.

  How typical of today's Republican party.

• LOVE IT and thank you.

• This happened on 9-11 with prior warning, and was used by the administration as propaganda to limit freedom of speech directed towards islam. If the administration had not ran with a lie to start with it would not have made so much news, it is worthy and will continue to be worthy until all truths are told.

• According to conservatives if Americans die under a republican it is a gloriously patriotic sacrifice if they die under a democrat then the democrat murdered them'do you see that as being the way it is according to conservatives?

• Fox heats the building for the winter with the amount of coal Santa brings them.

• NBC, CBS and ABC are left wing organizations and the conservatives should do the same. The truth is the failure to hold the current President accountable.

• Faux News can't handle the truth.

• Oh so swearing is moral, only to a lefty.

• Hail to Tom Ricks!! That awkward moment when you get called out in front of millions of people.

• I found a site just as bad as StormFront called PatriotUpdate and he can go there to recharge his hate batteries.

• WHERE because Steele has never denied it.

• Rather be right than so wrong as the typical public educated lefty.

• Fox was created to lie.

• Really? That's what you took away from that video?

• Powerful.

• Sarcasm, dude.

• He didn't even watch the video.

• I guess they lost the page with all their talking points on it.

• You might be taken more seriously if you adressed the Potus AT LEAST as plain old Obama as opposed to 'oreo''' might be, I doubt it though since your such a tool.

• I'm not smoking anything, hippie! All you need to see what I see is this pair of Fox Goggles I bought at the Bullsh!t Mountain Store!

• Quit whining and win an election. Start with having a candidate is not an utter anathema.

• Sure he did. He said 'I hope they was all librals because I wants all librals to die!'

• Adds nothing to the discussion. Move on.

• No, he isn't.

• The guy works for the think tank that the Obama Admin has hired from and use as their policy wonks. Come on Andrew if you are going to try and put out a hit piece on Fox, at least try to give all the facts.

No War On Christmas Here! On Fox & Friends, Gun Club Defends Toddlers Posing With Santa' And Guns

» 10 comments

'Everybody wants a Red Ryder BB Gun for Christmas, so why not get a real gun when you're an adult?'

If there was one place in America where you could expect to see photos of people posing with Santa Claus and their AK-47's, it would be Scottsdale, Arizona, home of the country's largest indoor gun range.

This morning, Fox & Friends invited Scottsdale Gun Club general manager Ron Kennedy to defend the organization's controversial practice of having members pose with Santa and their guns.

Gretchen Carlson questioned the appropriateness of these types of images in Arizona in light of last year's Gabrielle Giffords shooting, which caused Kennedy to launch into his standard speech on safety without addressing the larger implications.

Brian Kilmeade took particular interest in the rules the gun club has put in place for the photos. These include no fingers on the triggers and no guns pointed at Santa. Kilmeade also wanted to know why Santa himself is never photographed holding a gun and didn't appear to get a satisfying answer from the spokesman.

One fact left unmentioned was the three self-inflicted shootings that have occurred at the Scottsdale Gun Club since 2007, including one this past August. Perhaps those gun-related stories are just a little too dark for Christmas time.

Watch below, via Fox News:

• What is there to 'defend'?

• It's what Christmas Holidays are all about'

  'Santa, Peace, Love and a warm fuzzy fully locked and loaded AK47!

• In the Heartland & Sunny South, boys always got an air-rifle for Christmas at age 6, and a .22 rifle or .410 shotgun on their 12th birthday. Has that changed in today's wimpy world? Kids need to learn early.

• When will these begin to appear ridiculous, when everyone is wearing full tactical gear with body armor, helmets and goggles?

• 'no guns pointed at Santa'?

  Puss.

• 'murika

• yes let's increase accidents with guns. it'll be great.

• The purpose. That is what I don't understand. I am not anti-gun. I have a gun that was handed down to me. Almost all of the men in my family have guns. But you never see them. The guns are not apart of our family. We don't pose with them and talk about them all the time. We are not obsessed with them. It's the obsession that needs defending.

• WELL GRETCHEN, SANTA IS MAKE BELIEVE JUST LIKE YOU AND YOUR CREW.

• Christmas.. There's no better way for Christians to celebrate the birth of their God than to give their children objects that kill.

  It's what Jesus would have wanted.

Barney Frank Spars With GOP Senator: Stop Using 'Weasel Words'

» 7 comments

While appearing together on CNN's State of the Union this morning, Rep. Barney Frank (D-MA) and Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison sparred over her implication that the FBI intentionally sat on the revelations about Gen. David Petraeus' extramarital affair until after the election, with Frank accusing the senator of using a 'weasel word' to make her point.

'I'm very worried,' Hutchison told host Candy Crowley. 'I want to know a whole lot more about what these first emails really were and did it really trigger an FBI investigation of the CIA director and a low level and it wasn't raised to a higher level? If anybody is investigating the director of the CIA, the President of the United States should know immediately, and I feel like, a, we don't know enough, and, b, I have great concerns about a lot of this.'

Frank then shot back: 'Are you suggesting there was some cover-up, that the FBI are playing games? I think we ought to be explicit about this. I'm troubled by the implication of your statement and are you suggesting that something wasn't legitimate here? Because that would trouble me.'

A little later on, the exchange got a bit tense:

HUTCHISON: I'm suggesting that I have great concerns about the legitimacy of '

FRANK: Excuse me, 'great concerns' is kind of a weasel word '

HUTCHISON: It appears the President didn't know until two months later?

FRANK: It seems to me frankly you're kind of hinting at something bad, and I don't see what that could be.

HUTCHISON: I'm hinting at something out of control and not with the proper authority.

FRANK: Do you distrust the FBI? Is [FBI Director Robert] Mueller lying? Who are you accusing of not having done the right thing?

HUTCHISON: I've always had great respect for him and great respect for General Petraeus.

Watch below, via CNN:

[h/t ThinkProgress]
' '
>> Follow Andrew Kirell (@AndrewKirell) on Twitter

• I do not know or care whether the FBI withheld the findings of their investigation. I want to know who made up the lie that a stand down order was issued.

• Barney Frank Spars With GOP Senator: Stop Using 'Weasel Words'

  Well it is their native tongue.

• That woman has never been concerned about anything that did not fit her twisted narrative that ALWAYS supports what ever the Cult of Conservatism is pushing and she is a scummy witch for saying that America would be a better place if the 19th Amendment had not been enacted.

• LOL.

• The conservative media entertainment complex with the help of Judge Napalitano who blatantly lied about having access to secret and classified information on Benghazi when he was on Fox & Fiends where he goes to plant his lies and watch them grow.

• Grayson seems to have the balls to take over for Barney as the discomfortingly anti-BS congressman.

• More post-election whining. The country needs to get down to business.

Winners Of The Week: Rice 2.0, Walmart, MSNBC, Christie, And The Docile Apostle

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This is one of the best weeks of the year, if not THE best. A guaranteed 4½ day weekend, crisp but not necessarily cold weather (at least here in Jersey), along with family, food, friends, and what's becoming a Thanksgiving night tradition two years running, watching the Jets season implode in new and exciting ways.

It's also invariably a slow news week. But fear not, there are still plenty of winners for this week's awards to talk about, including (in no particular order):

Susan Rice: Unlike your average consulate in Benghazi, the embattled UN Ambassador and potentially future Secretary of State appears to have plenty of protection from some important people.

First, President Barack Obama warned Senators John McCain and Lindsey Graham to cease all criticism of Rice and go after him instead if they wanted a fight regarding her qualifications for Secretary of State. Mr. Obama also declared Rice 'had nothing to do' with Benghazi in his chivalrous defense.

Of course, Rice was sent out by the White House to five Sunday morning talk shows right after the attacks to explain to the American public what happened, so the whole 'leave the girl out of this' defense by the President is a curious one.

If recent history is any indication, what came next wasn't a surprise. Rice, like former Secretary of State Condi Rice, is African-American. A double-minority means double the air cover (at least when one side of the aisle is involved) from exemplary elected officials like Marcia Fudge (D-OH), who said in defense of Susan Rice, 'It is a shame that anytime anything goes wrong, they pick on women and minorities.' And Jim Clyburn (D-SC) brought back fond memories of this year's Presidential campaign by telling CNN he hears 'code words' in GOP objections to Rice.

Never one to miss a chance to exploit racism where it doesn't exist, MSNBC contributor Richard Wolffe went so far to portray John McCain ' highly respected on both sides of aisle and someone who had no problem with Condi Rice's nomination despite her color ' as a racist.

This even prompted Chris Matthews, a man who hears racism dog whistles in controversial words like 'Chicago', 'golf' and 'angry', to ask Wolffe, 'You're saying that McCain is being driven by racial prejudice here?'

Wolffe's response?

'There is no other way to look at this.'

The President has Susan Rice's back. Major Democrats have voiced their support. And the media outside of Fox News will either be apathetic about her nomination or outright advocates. Despite what you may be hearing out of some outlets, Rice is a winner right now.

Walmart: Nationwide walkouts and protests of its union employees and supporters on the biggest shopping day of the year is a big deal'especially when considering Walmart makes up nearly 1 percent of the nation's workforce (1.4 million employees total).

But for all the sound and fury on the picket lines outside of stores, it all signified nothing (in fact, it may have served as unintentional advertising). The numbers are astounding, as Walmart reported record sales for Black Friday.

How good was business?

Try 5000 items sold PER SECOND.

How many shoppers visited stores?

Over 22 million, which is two million more than the population of New York or Florida, and equal to the number of people currently living in Australia'

According to the company, full-time employees make $12.72 per hour. Not bad considering about 15% of the country is either not working, stopped looking for work, or is working part-time. Unions dispute the wage number, saying it's less and should be more anyway'

Regardless of how labor negotiations turn out, shoppers looking for good deals don't seem to care either way.

Tim Tebow: Just when you thought it was safe to read any column that doesn't mention the world's most popular backup'he infiltrates the former safe haven known as Mediaite. So in an effort to save you from having to read the name again, we'll go with nicknames found throughout the Internet for God's Quarterback from here on in.

So how can the Docile Apostle make the list despite not seeing the field during the Jets 30-point loss at home to the Pats Thanksgiving night?

For exactly that reason, of course!

Like Mitt Romney's Project ORCA team, even being even associated with Rex Ryan's crew is a loser at this point. If you're the Messiah of the Meadowlands, somehow going home to the one-win Jacksonville Jaguars is looking like a good idea, where Nate Silver gives in the Incomplete Pastor a 104 percent chance of starting there if traded.

Chris Christie: Politicians in this 24/7 media age are like news anchors: They need to be esthetically pleasing, physically fit, well spoken, charismatic, and largely politically correct.

Christie (you may have heard) is a bit supple.

Is about as PC as Bill Maher'

And is more John Madden than Ronald Reagan on the stump.

And yet despite his former BFF Mitt Romney losing an election many on the Republican side believed he would win, Christie's approval rating has jumped 15 points in a new statewide poll, primarily due to his almost-flawless handling of Hurricane Sandy.

Jersey is one of the bluer states in the republic (17-point victory for the President), so for a Republican governor to have a 67 percent approval rating is nothing short of astounding. In the same poll, 92 percent of respondents said Christie handled Sandy 'very well'. And when pitted against New York Governor Andrew Cuomo, New York Mayor Mike Bloomberg and President Obama, Christie 'won' (quotes applied because this was a tragedy some in the area will never recovery from) with 36 percent stating he did the best job, followed by 22 percent for the President, 15 percent for Cuomo and 12 percent for Marathon Mike.

Christie and Marco Rubio are your frontrunners for the GOP nomination in 2016. A combined ticket is an interesting conversation to have at Christmas parties next month.

Either way, the Garden State Governor is well positioned for any position right now.

MSNBC: According to the Pew Research Center's Project for Excellence in Journalism, MSNBC ran a grand total of 0.0 negative stories about President Obama in the final week of the 2012 campaign. Of course, this meant that Mitt Romney received no positive stories during that same stretch.

If Pew had found that Fox had done the same to the President as MSNBC to Romney, not only would there be wall-to-wall coverage by the Maddows and O'Donnells of the world, but media critic Howie Kurtz at CNN would make it an hour-long primetime special. But surprisingly (or not), very little of this study/story is being reported in the mainstream media.

MSNBC President Phil Griffin, who has guided the network to easily the highest ratings in its history this year (and particularly after the Democratic National Convention), is oddly defensive around the obvious reason for the channel's success: When presented with the Pew findings, Griffin insisted to the Washington Post that MSNBC's coverage of the campaign was an 'honest analysis', while FOX was 'cheerleading' and 'creating a bubble of misinformation.'

Of course, the cable news highlight of the campaign came from Chris Matthews going all Howard Beale with an epic meltdown after the President's no-show in the first debate (the same debate Rachel Maddow somehow declared immediately afterward of having 'no clear winner'). Griffin dismisses Matthews' 'analysis' as honest and not cheerleading.

Face it, Phil. You went hard left.

Got rid of pesky conservatives like Pat Buchanan and Tucker Carlson'

Have allocated 300 minutes of air time per week to Al Sharpton'

Decided against mounting criticism to go with an all-liberal-opinion-hosts format for important convention, debate and election-night coverage'

And guess what?

From a ratings perspective, it's all working!

As a GOP Presidential candidate once said, 'In America, we celebrate success. We don't apologize for success.'

For years, 'MSNBC' and 'winner' could rarely be mentioned in the same sentence.

Well, they can be now when talking about the growing ratings gap between MSNBC and CNN. So instead of denying the obvious (which is backed up by actual numbers), its leader should simply say that a choice to appeal to the 50.8 percent of the country who voted for the President, and not the (ironic) 47.45 percent Romney received, has been made.

It may not be fair and balanced, but it's a winning strategy.

' '
>> Follow Joe Concha (@ConchSports) on Twitter

Bill Kristol Continues Attack On GOP: They Are 'Going Into Contortions' To Avoid Increasing Taxes For Wealthy

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Appearing on Fox News Sunday this morning, neoconservative commentator Bill Kristol took another shot at the Republican Party, accusing them of wildly contorting themselves so as to not raise the top income tax rate while somehow raising tax revenues.

Host Chris Wallace mentioned the idea that has been bandied about among Republicans on Capitol Hill that instead of increasing the top marginal tax rate, the highest income earners could simply pay 35% tax on all of their income across the board.

Kristol blasted the idea, saying that 'the Republicans are going into contortions to try and not to raise the top rate while, in fact, trying to produce more revenues [...] and produce them from the wealthy since they're scared of being accused of attacking the middle class.'

He continued on to reiterate his belief that the Republicans should cave in a bit on taxing the top income bracket a bit more, while criticizing the party for its dogmatic resistance to such an idea: 'If they want to find some complicated way to get more revenues, I think it's probably easier just to give in a little bit on the top rate. But they've made that a matter of dogma. And I'm not going to break my own sword on telling them not to break their sword on it.'

Kristol then bemoaned the fact that both parties seem willing to allow the payroll tax to go up in January, adding that by not opposing that increase, Republicans have missed 'a huge opportunity here to be champions of the working class and the middle class instead of screaming and yelling about millionaires.'

Watch below, via Fox News:

' '
>> Follow Andrew Kirell (@AndrewKirell) on Twitter

• The fair thing to do is let all the so-called Bush tax cuts expire'.all accross the board then

• Republicans are never going to be 'the champions of the working class'. What they can be is a voice for fiscal sanity, but that would entail giving a bit on the top income bracket, as Kristol suggests, and also rein in defense spending, which has more than doubled since the Clinton years. Neither option seems in the cards for the stupid party though.

Chris Hayes: Ending Slavery Was A 'Much, Much, Much Bigger Deal' Than Obamacare

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The political news outrage-o-sphere has become an invisible character in the drama that unfolds on our cable news shows, as evidenced by a segment from Saturday morning's Up With Chris Hayes. During a panel discussion that included Lincoln screenwriter Tony Kushner, host Chris Hayes drew parallels between the film's depiction of the passage of the 13th Amendment, and the sausage-making that resulted in the Affordable Care Act, or Obamacare. Along the way, though, Hayes felt compelled to note, for the potentially outraged, that 'for the record, the 13th Amendment is a much, much, much bigger deal than the Affordable Care Act, lest anyone think I'm equating the two.'

Hayes began by observing that Kushner's film Lincoln, which focuses on the pragmatic machinations of the Great Emancipator, changed his own progressive purist view of the deal-making that went into passage of the Affordable Care Act. 'I'm a supporter of the Affordable Care Act, 'he said, 'and I think the outcome is really going to increase the net life joy of human beings in the country.'

On the other hand, Hayes added, 'there was something about the way in which that process unfolded that ultimately tainted my judgment of the final product,' but that 'watching the story of how the 13th Amendment was passed, in which there are essentially just a bunch of hacks bribing congressmen, made me think, 'Well, I guess you can sort of separate means from ends.'

Hayes' attitude about the Affordable Care Act was shared by many liberals, myself included, but in hindsight, the front-loading of negotiations with health insurers and pharmaceutical companies may have been what allowed health care reform to get the wind in its sails necessary to push it, by inches, to passage. Leaving things like the Public Option and drug price negotiations on the table might well have acted like chocks on the act's landing gear, preventing it from ever getting rolling.

The allegorical link to Lincoln's portrayal of abolition is solid and crystal clear, but toward the end, Hayes amusingly felt the need to disclaim his segment by saying 'Let me just also say, for the record, that the 13th amendment is a much, much, much bigger deal than the Affordable Care Act. Lest anyone think i'm equating the two.'

It was amusing, first, because Hayes is probably right, there are probably people waiting to jump on any little thing he says in order to twist it into something sensational (where such creatures exist, I cannot begin to say), but also because the incessant ref-working of the internet seems to have made Hayes step a little too far back from what is a rich illustration of health care reform's importance.

Hayes is essentially correct that there is no apples-to-apples comparison to be made between the Affordable Care Act and the end of slavery (although the ACA does address disparities that persist from our racially divided past), especially in terms of not only the fundamental barbarism and injustice involved, but the ways in which they respectively changed, and can be expected to change, the course of history. However, there are ways in which the comparison illustrates the rightness of heath car reform, and the ways in which history will judge its opponents.

Much of the way mainstream America views slavery and racial injustice is filtered through a lens of mainstream (read: white) cultural self-forgiveness that mitigates things like racist cartoons and discriminatory policies, which takes the form of phrases like 'Well, it was the times.'

The truth is that the barbarism and injustice of slavery was obvious to a great many people for a very long time before it was ended, and when we look back on that time, we wonder how any human being could justify enslaving other human beings, even as we pat ourselves on the back for eventually ending the practice. We look back now and wonder how it could not have been obvious to our founders that 'all men are created equal,' not to mention the women. Presumably, we're a more enlightened people.

But it's the 21st century now, and the Affordable Care Act is just the first step (albeit a monumental one) in recognizing the barbarism of letting our fellow citizens die for no better reason than fealty to an unjust status quo that weighs their lives against corporate profits. It goes beyond merely letting people die because they're poor, although that's a big part of it. Even people with reasonable means, under certain circumstances, can find themselves out of luck, and out of life, under the pre-Obamacare system.

To whatever degree we should have advanced in the 150 years since slavery, shouldn't this injustice be more obvious to a presumably less primitive people? To the extent that slavery-era Americans knew better, or should have, aren't present-day Americans more guilty of knowing better, and not acting? Yes, we managed to pass the Affordable Care Act by the skin of our teeth, but in this allegory, it's only a first step, an Affordable Emancipation Proclamation, that will still leave some to fall through the cracks. The 13th Amendment was a much, much biger deal than the Affordable Care Act, but maybe not a much, much, much bigger deal. We should have learned more, since then, than we have.

Here's the clip, from Up With Chris Hayes:

Follow Tommy Christopher (@TommyXtopher) on Twitter.

• i would have to agree that ending slavery is a bigger effing deal

• Yes, because TC would never jump on any little thing and try to sensationalize it'too funny'and true nothing like the government forcing people to do something'great isn't libbies

• Now the doctors will be the slaves.

• This illustrates what I've commented here many, many times, being that the certainly the best, and maybe the ONLY, truly qualified journalist among the Mediaite post provocateurs (a term justified by what we all now know about Mediaite management's expectations of it's employed posters) is Tommy Christopher.

  TC here crystallizes some of the same reactions I had to this, well, truly fabulous edition of UP! this morning (from which, if there's justice and sense in this country, Don Berwick should become some of a pop hero on the level of Nate Silver), and tries to resolve others. The fact is that slavery was a huge controversy right from the start of the country, but got parked, and thereafter tolerated, for decades given the prime directive in establishing the republic was simply ensuring it didn't die prematurely. Thus, the 13th Amendment can't be viewed as the product of something that just burbled up in the national consciousness coincident with the rise of Abe Lincoln as a national political figure; instead, it had gone between periods of simmering and periods of furious boiling for the entire 'four score' that preceded that rise ' and indeed that very rise was because without such a truly odd, quirky, impenetrable personality as Lincoln had, it just wasn't going to get done; that is, the TIMES created the opening for 'a Lincoln'.

  And TC's implication is that Chris Hayes backed off from carrying on with this analogy, even while carrying on is really inviting. Lincoln was identified with abolition from the start, but his PLATFORM, what got him elected president, was preservation of the union, and the record strongly suggests that was HIS prime directive all along (that is, he saw the Emancipation Proclamation and the 13th Amendment as fundamentally justified by them being necessary to preserving the union). As for the comparison, Obama didn't start out in 2006 aiming towards national health care reform ' he started out on a PLATFORM of opposition to the continued prosecution of the Iraq War, and only found himself embroiled in committing to the idea of national health care reform simply because he was running for the Democratic party nomination and standing in his path was Hillary Clinton, a candidate whose brand was then SYNONYMOUS with national health care reform.

  The second parallel is that it was just as necessary for Lincoln to be re-elected to a second term, short as it was, or else emancipation would die prematurely, as it this year has been necessary for Obama to be re-elected to a second term, else the ACA ' what appears likely to be known to history as Obamacare ' else IT TOO faced an unacceptably high risk of dying prematurely.

  And one could keep on going with these parallels quite a lot further, in the same vein as TC has suggested: that a national health care system such as Obamacare will become is a necessary feature of full citizenship and part of the American social contract, along with the 13th Amendment and the Civil Rights Act of 1964.

• Nonsense: doctors, in and out of hospitals, are going to end up in the short and medium runs at least, as being the main drivers of where Obamacare will end up.

• Who are you agreeing with? Not Tommy, and not the panel on UP!

  You appear to be agreeing with a preconceived notion and a pre-fixed set of memes from the Rubepublican side. I actually doubt you bothered to watch the clip, and even more strongly doubt you bothered to watch the full UP! show today. Do your brain a favor: go watch it.

• You got a funny idea of 'force compulsion': the people vote in a president and Congress, that Congress passes a law, the Senate votes in favor of it, that president signs it into law, and the Supreme Court, of which only 2 of the 9 judges were appointed by that president and confirmed by the Senate, upholds all but one piece of it as consistent with the Constitution.

  That's the American democratic republic at work, bub.

• You think?

• Chris Hayes has a tendency to say things that are just fatuously crude and infuriating he really needs to stop and have some common sense.

• Obviously the passage of the 13th amendment was more important than the Affordable Care Act. Obama would have never become President if the 13th amendment had not been passed, and given all the trouble previous presidents have had in tackling history over the years, we more than likely would not have health care had it not been for President Obama.

• Obviously the passage of the 13th amendment was more important than the Affordable Care Act. Obama would have never become President if the 13th amendment had not been passed, and given all the trouble previous presidents have had in tackling health care over the years, we more than likely would not have health care had it not been for President Obama.

• Chris Hedges, the Hayes program was less than two hours ago. I am quite impressed, sir.

  http://www.tomdegan.blogspot.com

  Tom Degan

• What did he say here that was wrong?

• It's interesting, because the movie takes the position that the ends justify the means. It depicts Lincoln and his lackeys lying, bribing and blackmailing to get the votes necessary to end slavery. Since we now all know that slavery is wrong, it's an easy call to make. The problem is, everyone thinks their particular cause is morally just and can look to this movie as a justification for doing anything in service of their goal.