Cable News Ratings for Wednesday, February 27, 2013

Categories: '

(162) Comments - Add Yours!

1. d.d.

   Posted February 28, 2013 at 4:05 PM

   Okey Dokey

   A Pattern of Abuse Emerges, From Top Down

   Carol Platt Liebau

   This morning, I noted that — taken in context — what Gene Sperling wrote to Bob Woodward didn’t qualify as an outright “threat,” at least to me. (True)

   What does ?

   Ron Fournier, late of the AP and now of the National Journal, tells of hectoring and abuse from “a senior White House official” so severe that he finally told that person to buzz off — a first for him in his career.

   Lanny Davis — a former Clinton aide — likewise revealed this morning on WMAL that he, too, was threatened.

   And don’t forget the administration bullying of CBS reporter Sheryl Attkisson, when she was reporting on Fast and Furious; Attkisson says “they literally screamed at me and cussed at me.”

   The administration paid no price for its systematic attempt to discredit Fox News back in 2009 (but they left MSNBC alone.)

   And remember this gem from the San Francisco Chronicle back in 2011, when The White House threatened to remove one of its reporters (and possibly other Hearst reporters) from the press pool and then lied about it? Chronicle editor Ward Bushee released a statement at the time.

   The White House has been acting this way for quite some time. Note the observations of White House Dossier’s Keith Koffler, back on March 14 of 2011:

   The White House bullies reporters to try to ensure favorable coverage. When White House officials, particularly members of the press office, see a story they don’t like, they often call and verbally abuse the reporter who wrote the piece.

   In diatribes often peppered with obscenities, they complain of profound injustice, bias, lack of relevance – anything they can think of to get reporters to back off their story.

   It’s not just a series of uncontrolled outbursts. It is a planned, methodical, and highly artificial effort to either squash a story or get inside a reporter’s head so they think twice about doing a piece next time that negatively impacts Obama.

   Even the Left leaning Salon writes :

   National political reporters are furious over various White House practices involving transparency and information control, but are unwilling to say so for attribution due to fear of “retaliation.”

   The article notes that aside from punishing reporters who say things it dislikes, the White House rewards those reporters (with special “scoops” and other privileges) who subserviently promote its agenda, and specifically identifies White House “favorites” David Sanger of The New York Times (the Judy Miller of The Iran Threat) and Richard Wolffe (the single most sycophantic White House stenographer after Jonathan Alter).

   Then you have the other punishment , lack of access.

   White House Threatens Boston Herald’s Press Access for Not Being Favorable Enough to Obama

   On & on they go. I respect the office , just not who is occupying it.

2. Ralph Hahn

   Posted February 28, 2013 at 4:38 PM

   @usa8888: >>> 3mm people for O’reilley and 53 million people (voters) for Obama…….. <<<

   Another buttmunch comparison of one thing compared to another with absolutely nothing in common. Like comparing a 50,000 watt AM radio station with six marriages.

   You MSNBCNUMBNUTS say "Rachel is on fire." But, looking at the BIG distinction of Hannity vs. Madcow 25-54 numbers, I'd say the NEW slogan is "Rachel's Going Down In Flames." BTW, the Hannity-Madcow comparison is an Apples-to-Apples comparison. Not like some bonehead comparing a half-hour of broadcast TV news to one program on a cable channel that does news & commentary, 24/7.

   Oh, Day 127 and STILL no proof to back up your claim that half of FNC's viewers are over 65.

   Still waiting….waiting….waiting.

3. Stan T.

   Posted February 28, 2013 at 4:44 PM

   I got this in an email and i laughed so hard I thought I’d give all my friends here a chance to laugh too:

   Obama is the shepherd I did not want.
   He leadeth me beside the still factories.
   He restoreth my faith in the Republican party.
   He guideth me in the path of unemployment,
   For his party’s sake.
   Yea, though I walk through the valley of the bread line,
   I shall fear no hunger, for his bailouts are with me.
   He has anointed my income with taxes,
   My expenses runneth over.
   Surely, poverty and hard living will follow me all the days
   Of my life, And I will live in a mortgaged home forever.

4. Ralph Hahn

   Posted February 28, 2013 at 4:46 PM

   @Stan T. That’s hilarious and whoever had written it is obviously well-read, very intelligent and very clever. LMAO!

5. Mark

   Posted February 28, 2013 at 4:48 PM

   @betty
   ————————-
   Ohhhhhhh…..there goes that Jealousy again! Jealous of RUSH!
   Come on, now, admit it…..I swear I won’t tell a soul. Honestly, I won’t.
   I can see it’s eating you up because you’re obsessed. LOL.
   ————————-
   Rush is the perfect boogieman for the Democrat party to point to people, see this is how Republicans think. What is the General elections records in terms of popular vote since Rush got popular? (it’s 5 to 1 Democrat)

   Rush may make tons of cash and that’s great for him but I think in the bigger picture he does more to hurt the Republican party then help(sure he may have his preaching to the choir fanbase but to a moderate voter he is a huge turnoff)

6. Bobbyv

   Posted February 28, 2013 at 5:08 PM

   I don’t know about Woodward but I think Lanny Davis is a reasonable person. I am waiting for the Obama defender spin

7. Dreamer

   Posted February 28, 2013 at 5:22 PM

   I often read “First Read” among other things.
   In the comment section, one person somehow got into a group of some of the posters and printed some of their discussions.
   It was mostly about how to control the dialogue and how to discredit other posters.
   One or two even knew the writer.

8. Dreamer

   Posted February 28, 2013 at 5:31 PM

   Guess I should not have named them. haaha

9. Letmethink

   Posted February 28, 2013 at 5:43 PM

   @ Mike W–that seems to happen to many–hard not to buy into his silliness if you read his posts.

10. TZCA

    Posted February 28, 2013 at 5:53 PM

    Mike W
    Posted February 28, 2013 at 2:06 PM
    Just some thoughts after reviewing Tuesday’s posts.

    There is a certain poster on this site that claims to understand everything economics and that all right-leaning posters do not understand anything about economics. The rants by this poster actually prove that he is the one that is economically illiterate. His arguments concerning energy show that he does not understand the industry and how it works. I suggest that this poster do a little homework before making unintelligible arguments.

    It seems you have learned what most of us have learned: to give this poster’s comments nothing more than a very quick glance (if that), and even then only for a chuckle at the idiocy. It becomes more difficult though when there are ten to fifteen of those posts in a row.

11. Stan T.

    Posted February 28, 2013 at 6:02 PM

    @Ralph Hahn

    I wish I knew who it was, I bet he’s got a bunch like that somewhere…lol

    If I wasn’t busy writing the sequel to the fantasy novel I jsut finished writing, I’d try to come up with a few of those of my own..lol

12. Dreamer

    Posted February 28, 2013 at 6:03 PM

    But three pages of Rush are fine. Not.

13. lbsles

    Posted February 28, 2013 at 6:43 PM

    Senator Joe Manchin of West Virginia is now acting as the gun-grabbers’ anti-gun ringleader in the U.S. Senate.

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=Vo2MisfsSXk

14. Robbie

    Posted February 28, 2013 at 6:45 PM

    @Beached I read ALL of your posts……not ONE time did you provide any proof. If you are going to say someone is stupid prove it!!!! If you are going to say that the five members of The Five are hypocrites, prove it!!!!! Trust me, we are NOT going to take your word for it!!!

15. Bsotgnw

    Posted February 28, 2013 at 6:45 PM

    Ratboy

    Please stop insulting dung beatles

16. lbsles

    Posted February 28, 2013 at 6:49 PM

    “On whose side will the Drive-Bys come down — Obama or Woodward? I actually thought that more people would defend Woodward than are, but they’re coming out of the woodwork and ripping him to shreds. He’s the media’s guru, they’re god. But Obama’s the creator.” -Rush Limbaugh

17. lbsles

    Posted February 28, 2013 at 6:51 PM

    “The 26% reduction in the illegal alien detainee populations reportedly ordered by ICE was much greater than what the sequester required. So the question remains: Who gave this order, and why did they give this order, and why isn’t the news media trying to track all this down?” -Rush Limbaugh

18. Gabriel

    Posted February 28, 2013 at 6:52 PM

    cathy
    Posted February 28, 2013 at 2:02 PM

    What I posted was not my translation of “the story of the young rich man” but a translation by a Dartmouth’s Professor of Religion and Ancient Languages.

    Now you’re beginning to bore me. Why would you assume that this professor has better eyesight than me? The Bible has already been translated in English. I do not need a professor from Dartmouth to read this passage for me:

    Jesus said unto him, If thou wilt be perfect, go and sell that thou hast, and give to the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven: and come and follow me.
    22 But when the young man heard that saying, he went away sorrowful: for he had great possessions.
    23 Then said Jesus unto his disciples, Verily I say unto you, That a rich man shall hardly enter into the kingdom of heaven.
    24 And again I say unto you, It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle, than for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of God.
    25 When his disciples heard it, they were exceedingly amazed, saying, Who then can be saved?

    That’s the KJV.

    The gospels are written by man inspired by God.

    This is another clever but poorly disguised deflection. Of course it was written by men, mammals like you and me for the matter. But unlike other biblical books, the gospels are supposed to be eyewitness testimony of the life of Jesus. According to Matthew, who is the author in this case, Jesus said these words in his immediate presence. He didn’t imagine it in his head like the other books. Remember that two other eyewitnesses confirmed the account and context. Which brings me to the disciples’ response of astonishment at the difficulty of the challenge? How did your Dartmouth professor reconcile their reaction with his expert analysis?

19. lbsles

    Posted February 28, 2013 at 6:54 PM

    More Details Emerge on Obama’s Prison Purge

    Some lone actor over at the Immigration Customs Enforcement Department was acting on his own, probably trying to score points. The story they’re telling is that there has been so much fear about the sequester, and it permeated all levels of government and everybody panicked. “Oh, no, spending cuts!” So you had somebody over at ICE — who was a good employee, very loyal — just getting a head start on everybody. He was trying to impress Obama and trying to do his job and get a bunch of kudos.

    Nobody knew that it happened. We have an up-to-date on this, the Washington Free Beacon: “The Department of Homeland Security’s immigration enforcement division was ordered last week…”

    Ordered!

    It was not some random guy acting on his own, not some free agent lone wolf, but rather orders were issued from Homeland Security “last week to reduce their illegal immigrant detainee populations to 26% below the legally required level, according to a research organization that monitors immigration issues. That reduction is significantly greater than those required by the impending budget cuts” in the sequester.

    “According to Jessica Vaughan, policy director for the Center for Immigration Studies, ICE was recently ordered to reduce its detainee populations even further. ‘Last week, ICE field offices all over the country were ordered to reduce the number of detainees from 34,000 to 25,000 by March 1,’ Vaughan said in a post on the group’s website.” They were ordered to do this last week, not yesterday, last week.

20. lbsles

    Posted February 28, 2013 at 6:55 PM

    Unprecedented: Spoiled-Brat President Does Intentional Harm to the Country in Order to Beat Republicans on Sequester Cuts

    Now, I know Obama thinks that he’s harming Republicans. This is exacting harm on the country, and it’s entirely unnecessary. None of these so-called budget cuts are necessary. None of this panic is necessary. It is not even going to be felt in reality if the sequester actually does happen. We read the three-paragraph report from the AP on this near the end of the program yesterday, but there hasn’t been much mention of it in the rest of the Drive-By Media. I’ve only seen one article buried in the New York Times on a report from Fox News. Fox is reporting 500 illegal alien criminals were released in Pima County, Arizona, alone. Apparently Obama never gets tired of sticking it to Arizona.

    The New York Times reported that there were reports of releases in more than a dozen other locations all over the country. Can you imagine any other president doing this in a fit of pique? “Okay, I’ll show you.” You know, folks, I’m gonna tell you something. In what used to be considered, if we can remember this far back, normal, sane times, this is an impeachable offense. This is in direct violation of the oath of office. Defend and protect the Constitution of the United States and the people. We’re opening the doors of prisons before the sequester has even happened, before there have even been any budget cuts. This is so childish, except the consequences are real for people that live nearby these detention centers. This is on-the-ground, hard, cold reality.

    Bob Woodward attacked Obama today, saying that Obama’s decision not to deploy an aircraft carrier because of budget cuts that haven’t even happened yet is a kind of madness. Woodward said, not me, Woodward said, “Can you imagine Ronald Reagan sitting there and saying, ‘Oh, by the way, I can’t do this because of some budget document?’ Or George W. Bush saying, ‘You know, I’m not going to invade Iraq because I can’t get the aircraft carriers I need?’ Or even Bill Clinton saying, ‘You know, I’m not going to attack Saddam Hussein’s intelligence headquarters,’ … because of some budget document?”

    Woodward said, “Under the Constitution, the President is commander-in-chief and employs the force. And so we now have the President going out because of this piece of paper and this agreement. ‘I can’t do what I need to do to protect the country.’ That’s a kind of madness that I haven’t seen in a long time.”

    Now, if he’s saying that, what else is he thinking? He’s right if you stop and think about this. Not just releasing 30,000 illegals, but now not deploying an aircraft carrier. I mean, this is the infantile, immature, childish rant of a spoiled brat. It’s really uncanny. In my lifetime it is unprecedented, and it is a kind of madness.