MSNBC has suspended David Shuster for his boorish on-air comments about Chelsea Clinton and her mother's presidential campaign.
I'm sure it's related to Hillary's threat to boycott MSNBC debates.
I doubt it's out of a sense of decency or wanting to maintain civility.
SEATTLE -- A distasteful comment about Chelsea Clinton by an MSNBC anchor could imperil Hillary Rodham Clinton's participation in future presidential debates on the network, a Clinton spokesman said.
In a conference call with reporters, Clinton communications director Howard Wolfson on Friday excoriated MSNBC's David Shuster for suggesting the Clinton campaign had "pimped out" 27-year old Chelsea by having her place phone calls to Democratic Party superdelegates on her mother's behalf. Wolfson called the comment "beneath contempt" and disgusting.
"I, at this point, can't envision a scenario where we would continue to engage in debates on that network," he added.
MSNBC said Shuster, who apologized on the air for his comment, has been temporarily suspended from appearing on all NBC news broadcasts except to offer his apology.
"NBC News takes these matters seriously, and offers our sincere regrets to the Clintons for the remarks," MSNBC spokesman Jeremy Gaines said, adding the network was hopeful the debate would take place as planned.
Libs bashing libs.
Oh, the humanity!
14 comments:
Why is there no action on this site? I think it's a good enough extreme rightwing site.
This just reminds me why we cannot elect a democrat in office. Are we all going to have to watch what we say, hoping that nobody is offended by oft used contemporary figures of speech. Yes, that's what I said- "Pimping" is a common term used today, and yes it insinuates that the Clinton campaign is using their daughter to get votes. Nothing more, nothing less. Forget whatever connotations you have personally attached to the term. It means nothing. Why is it that whenever somebody expresses an opposing viewpoint, the ultra liberals come crawling out of the woodwork crying that somebody is being an awful human being because they don't believe the "right" things. And then you go about taking any action necessary to make sure that they are shut down and cannot express their opinion or viewpoint? Doesn't sound like freedom to me- it sound's like the thought police are back at it again. There is truly nothing more offensive than a person or minority group of people trying to control the media with the aim of controlling the views of the majority. If you take offense to the connotations "pimping" implies- you can only be offended by your own thoughts, for you are the one creating the connotation that Chelsea Clinton is a whore. The reporter is merely pointing out that some people could question the fact that the Clinton campaign might be using Clesea as a shill. And some could construe that it's a rather cheap way of getting votes. How dare we think this- how dare we express an opinion. Quick, shut me down before I express a rational viewpoint.
Its not that you need to "watch what you say" Its about journalism being neutral. He is using his position in a news broadcast to influence voters. This is happening all over networks. People are cohersed by news networks that are only reporting what they want you to hear. This is not very democratic AT all. In fact it is reminisent of censored news.
I'm sure in their journalism classes, they teach them what good and bad arguments are. Blantant attacks, especially sexists ones, aren't very proffessional. Just bad taste. Imagine if he had said that Obama was enslaving his daughter to make phone calls for him on Monday night?
How would you feel if someone used that term describing your wife, daughter, mother, aunt or niece. You would be mad a hell.....exactly!!
What if a women talking head said about Obama....'It must be hard out there for a pimp.' She be fired before the first commerical finished.
The single issue concerning this election is not racism. Obama is one of the boys. The unspoken issue in this election is sexism.
Men in this country are terrified of a strong women and the male press is beating Hillary.
Lets have an honest decussion about Obama's ties to Rezko and why he is purchasing land and a house for less then their appraised values???? Chicago-House-Gate!!!!
Read the Chicago Sun Times and the Chicago Tribune both papers ran numerous articles....none of the men in the press are reporting. If it was Hillary she would be tied to the stake.
SEXISM!!!!!!
Linda. Check the politifact and factcheck.org . rexzko's business is not obama's business.
AMERICA'S TIME FOR RECONCILIATION HAS COME
Here's where we can start:
cslang.blogspot.com
PASS IT ON
peekay,
You can't dismiss the Rezko - Obama connection that easily.
From the Sun-Times:
Obama has been friends with Rezko for 17 years. Rezko has been a political patron to Obama and many others, helping to raise millions of dollars for them through his own contributions and by hosting fund-raisers in his home.
Obama, who has worked as a lawyer and a legislator to improve living conditions for the poor, took campaign donations from Rezko even as Rezko's low-income housing empire was collapsing, leaving many African-American families in buildings riddled with problems -- including squalid living conditions, vacant apartments, lack of heat, squatters and drug dealers.
...Eleven of Rezko's buildings were in Obama's state Senate district.
Obama, now a U.S. senator running for president, has come under fire over his friendship with Rezko, who was charged last fall with demanding kickbacks on state business deals under Gov. Blagojevich.
Much of the criticism has centered on two real estate deals involving Obama's South Side mansion. In the first, Obama paid $300,000 less than the asking price for a doctor's home, while Rezko's wife paid the doctor full price for the vacant lot next door. Then -- a few months before Rezko was indicted -- Obama bought part of that lot from Rezko's wife.
But Obama's ties with Rezko go beyond those two real estate sales and the political support, the Sun-Times found. Obama was an attorney with a small Chicago law firm -- Davis Miner Barnhill & Galland -- that helped Rezmar get more than $43 million in government funding to rehab 15 of their 30 apartment buildings for the poor.
...Obama had been at the firm for two years when he began his political career, running to replace state Sen. Alice Palmer.
Rezko became Obama's political patron. Obama got his first campaign contributions on July 31, 1995: $300 from a Loop lawyer, a $5,000 loan from a car dealer, and $2,000 from two food companies owned by Rezko.
There's more, and it's not good. Rezko is a problem for Obama that's not going away.
But to get back to Shuster's remarks, it's ridiculous to call Chelsea a shill or being pimped out by her mother's campaign.
Chelsea is a grown woman. What's wrong with her working on her mother's campaign? Why speak of that in derogatory terms?
Most interesting about this Shuster incident is that it shows the Clintons still wield plenty of power when it comes to controlling the media.
MSNBC buckled.
give me a break.....its a word....I agree with backcylinder 100%. What else are you going to call it...its exactly what they are doing. Funny, I don't remember other presidential candidates throwing their kids out there like this. I live in Nebraska...we got Obama in Omaha. We got Chelsea in Lincoln. Hillary was apparently too good to grace us with her presence and Bill never would come hear in the 8 years he was in office, so they sent poor Chelsea out to stump. Does saying 'sending Chelsea to stump' sound any better than 'pimping Chelsea out'???? I think Hillary is just looking for an excuse to avoid any debate she can. Please, please, please don't let her become president. For the whole time she is in office everyone will be jumping over backwards to ensure they don't do or say anything that might be perceived to be in anyway critical of the first female president...and believe me...if anyone does say anything it will all be a 'right wing consipiracy to keep women in their place'. Hillary is nuts. Proof is her putting up with Bill's shenanigans all those years (probably still is). All we need is her 'crocodile tears on command' crap in some United Nations speech. Her being president is the single biggest threat this country will ever face.
Interesting, Mary. Very interesting.
But a question. If it was boorish comments from the MSNBC person, what about when a local media person says it? Is that still boorish?
A pimp is a man who solicits clients for a prostitute.
The comment by a reporter on national TV to refer to Senator Clinton's conduct with respect to her daughter was not only tasteless it was completely inaccurate and unprofessional. MSNBC should have suspended him for not living up to journalistic standards. Unfortunately, the journalistic standards at MSNBC are increasingly nonexistent so they probably didn't notice until the media started writing about it.
Can you imagine the uproar if someone from the Clinton camp had said that Senator Obama had been pimping Michelle Obama or Oprah of Caroline Kennedy by having them campaign on his behalf? MSNBC would have spent days accusing Clinton of being a racist. Or MSNTV's response if FOX TV had made the statement. Olbermann would have skewered Bill O'Reilly and named him the "worst person in the world."
It constitutes only the latest example of the decreasing professionalism at MSNBC, which seems no longer to understand what it means to report the news.
Kudos to Touchet and jrterrier!
I understand that "pimping" and "pimp" have attained a different status in American popular culture. I would not expect to hear such at a high school debate, and I certainly don't expect to hear it from intelligent news commentators.
Youth culture, new words, and the like intrigue me; however, don't tell me that trashy talk is acceptable journalism.
I don't care if it is FOX or MSNBC or the Wall Street Journal. I don't care if it references Hillary, Bush, Condi, or Regan... I don't want to hear trashy language from newscasters.
And to think this offensive, degrading talk about Chelsea came from MSNBC...
I bet FOX News is looking quite inviting to Hillary now.
MSNBC has been dragging journalism through the gutter for years.
To answer your question, Capper--
Of course, it would be boorish if someone in the local media said: "But doesn't it seem like she's being--but doesn't it seem as if Chelsea is sort of being pimped out in some weird sort of way?"
Has someone in the local media used such terms to describe Chelsea's role in her mother's campaign?
I missed that.
I guess you did.
I did miss that. Thank you for pointing it out.
My interpretation of that post is not the same as yours.
In my view, James seems to be merely using Shuster's term to link to an article about the controversy.
If he believes that the Clinton campaign is pimping Chelsea out and exploiting her, then I disagree with him; and I disagree with his reiteration of the phrase to express that opinion.
However, that's not my impression.
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