MSNBC: Romney on 'Far Right'

NewsBusters ^ | Mark Finkelstein

[governsleastgovernsbest]

Everyone remembers how on the day Barack Obama announced his presidential candidacy, the MSM was awash with stories of how he is on the "far left" of social issues. Or not.

Not only does Obama support partial birth abortion, as an Illinois state senator he twice voted against the Born Alive Infants Protection Act. Read the disturbing details here. This record clearly puts him to the extreme port side of the political spectrum on social issues. But a special prize to the first reader who spots any description of Obama as "far left" in the media.

But it's a whole different MSM ball-game when it comes to labelling Republicans. Literally within minutes of his official announcement this morning, MNSBC applied the "far right" tag to Mitt Romney. MSNBC host Chip Reid's guest to kibitz on the announcement was former Wonkette Ana Marie Cox, who according to her Wikipedia entry was once an editor of an online Marxist magazine.

View video here.

Said Reid: "He's a flip-flopper. He was pro-choice, and he was to the left of Ted Kennedy on gay rights in Massachusetts, and now he's to the far right."

Reid prefaced his observation by saying: "He's barely out of the starting blocks and I'm going to go right for his knees." Give Reid full marks for candor. But where is the fairness? Again, when is the last time the MSM labelled any of the major Dem presidential candidates "far-left" on anything?

Aside: as you'll note from the screencap, Reid's "going for the knee caps" comment provoked considerable mirth and hilarity in Cox.

Contact Mark at mark@gunhill.net

[Williams]

I understand that. Far right should mean a racist neo nazi who wanted to initiate an all out nuclear war with the USSR.

In MSM speak it means kindly but tough old Ronald Reagan. And that is fine with me. I think most of the electorate is upset with leftism and will welcome a true conservative.

[Unmarked Package]

An excerpt from Mitt Romney's speech today announcing his candidacy appears below. This is what MSNBC judges to be 'Far Right' in their world. I guess it is for the Marxists in the Democrat Media.

__________________________________

"And so, with them behind us, with the fine people of Michigan before us, and with my sweetheart beside me, I declare my intention to run for President of the United States.

"It has been said that a person is defined by what he loves and by what he believes and by what he dreams.

"I love America and I believe in the people of America.

"I believe in God and I believe that every person in this great country, and every person on this grand planet, is a child of God. We are all sisters and brothers.

"I believe the family is the foundation of America – and that we must fight to protect and strengthen it.

"I believe in the sanctity of human life.

"I believe that people and their elected representatives should make our laws, not unelected judges.

"I believe we are overtaxed and government is overfed. Washington is spending too much money.

"I believe that homeland security begins with securing our borders.

"I believe the best days of this country are ahead of us, because…

"I believe in America!

__________________________________

The full text of the speech is available on the web at NRO (good stuff).

[pissant]

They called Reagan far right and much worse. It's a tactic that does not work.

[PGalt]

Thanks for your investigative reporting and links on the propagandists.

[Austin Willard Wright]

Romney is pretty far right of most the pack currently running for President

On what basis, do you make that strange claim? Last time I heard, even McCain had not endorses mandatory health insurance (as Romney has). McCain (who I despise) is even better than Romney on the second amendment. If the truth be told, Romney is second only to Guilliani is his left wing views.....at that least that applies to Romney prior to 2007!

[rhombus]

I think most of the electorate is upset with leftism and will welcome a true conservative.

I really think it depends on the issue. Conservatives should be wary of deceiving themselves.

[Austin Willard Wright]

I believe we are overtaxed and government is overfed. Washington is spending too much money.

LOL. So Romney, who gave the people of Mass., a budget busting program of mandatory and socialized health insurance (now costing far more than anticipated), now has "got religion" and claims that government is too big? If you believe that whopper, I've got a stratched up and wheezing fifteen-year old Honda, you might want to buy.

[Cymbaline]

That tells you more about MSNBC than it does about Mitt Romney.

People call him many things, but "Far Right" isn't among them, is it?

[governsleastgovernsbest]

My pleasure, PG. As accustomed as I am to MSM tactics, I'll admit to being shocked that Reid so quickly dropped the "far right" label on Romney.

[Garvin]

"MSNBC: Romney on 'Far Right'"

Then how did he ever get elected to be the Governor of Taxachusetts?

[Ditter]

I think you are right about about that. I think I just saw him on tv for the first time and he is a handsome dude! That would make the libs worry because they are very shallow IMHO and looks are very important to them.

[KeyLargo]

From NationalLedger.com
http://www.nationalledger.com/artman/publish/article_272611552.shtml
News Analysis
Barack Obama Attacks Australian and American Soldiers' Sacrifices
By Jackson Simpson
Feb 12, 2007

Barack Obama is off and running for president. The items covered first by the inexperienced senator from Illinois, attack one of America's great allies and their soldiers and attack the sacrifice of the soldiers from America that are laying their lives on the line in Iraq. First up, Australia. The sophomore senator sounded off like a sophomoric political hack.

Barack Obama Attacks Australian and American Soldiers' Sacrifices

His target was Australia's Prime Minister John Howard. "Howard had said that Senator Obama's call for U.S. troops to be withdrawn from Iraq by March 2008 would deliver a victory for terrorists and destabilize the entire Middle East." Howard said: "If I was running al-Qaeda in Iraq, I would put a circle around March 2008 and pray, as many times as possible, for a victory not only for Obama, but also for the Democrats."

***

Obama fired back like a kid on a playground. "I think it's flattering that one of George Bush's allies on the other side of the world started attacking me the day after I announced...I would also note that we have close to 140,000 troops in Iraq, and my understanding is Mr. Howard has deployed 1400, so if he is...to fight the good fight in Iraq, I would suggest that he calls up another 20,000 Australians and sends them to Iraq....Otherwise it's just a bunch of empty rhetoric."

Scott Johnson called it this way. 'Obama not only insulted our ally, he formulated the insult in the inelegant fashion of an intellectual thug.' That's close enough. Right out of the gate, Obama wants to belittle the Australian troops in Iraq.

***

Just so they wouldn't feel left out, Barack decided to belittle the American troops as well. The senator made this blunder during a speech at Iowa State University. On Sunday he criticized the war in Iraq as a conflict that had "wasted" more than 3,000 American soldiers' lives. Someone must have told Obama that was a poor choice as he did the quasi backtrack the very next day.

Speaking to a group of reporters in the kitchen of a Nashua, N.H., home after a gathering for Democratic party activists, Obama said he had misspoken in Iowa, adding that his opposition to the war was grounded in a desire for soldiers to return home safely to their families.

"I would absolutely apologize if any of them felt that in some ways it had diminished the enormous courage and sacrifice that they'd shown," Obama responded.

***

Slam the Australian troops, check. Slam the American troops, check.

[JRochelle]

Bad news for ROmney today.

Several pols in MI that had said they would support him are jumping to McCain.

[Unmarked Package]

The healthcare initiative in Massachusetts has many costly, unnecessary mandates placed in it by the ultra-liberal Legislature of MA that were not part of the proposal from Mitt Romney and the Heritage Foundation. Newt Gingrich endorses the original Romney plan minus the mandates. The plan is market-based in the private sector, not government controlled, single-payer socialized medicine like HillaryCare. Romney vetoed the added mandates and the Legislature overrode the vetoes. Screwing up good ideas is what Democrats do best.

Romney inherited a state budget deficit of $3 billion upon taking office in 2003 in Massachusetts and left office with a $1 billion surplus; accomplished by cutting spending (line-item vetoes) and without raising taxes.

Do you honestly believe Senator Jim DeMint (R-SC), a fiscal conservative hero in the Senate and Romney supporter, would endorse a big government spender? If you do, I'll sell your old Honda back to you for a profit. :-)

[Austin Willard Wright]

The healthcare initiative in Massachusetts has many costly, unnecessary mandates placed in it by the ultra-liberal Legislature of MA that were not part of the proposal from Mitt Romney and the Heritage Foundation.

Romney signed this atrocity and boasted about it once it passed. It speaks volumes about what kind of man he is that he is now blaming the Democrats for his handiwork. He wants it both ways. Claim credit if it "works" and blame the Democrats if it fails.

Don't cite Newt as an authority. Newt endorsed the prescription drugs boondogle, which most Republicans opposed. I'll take Ron Paul any day over a shameless "triangulator" like Romney.

But....hey if you believe that Romney has suddenly "got religion" and is now pro-gun and anti-big government, you're free to follow him down the garden path? Just don't complain when he disappoints you.

[Beckwith]

MSNBC: Romney on 'far right'

From MSNBC's perspective he probably is.

After all, this is the outfit that pays Obelmann and Matthews.

[circumbendibus]

I saw the exchange between Reid and Cox commentators. I thought it was condescending. They questioned Romney's credibility, calling him a "flip-flopper" right out of the DNC playbook.

However, I kept watching PMNBC, and Nora O'Donnell came on with an actual reporter rather than a left-wing pundit who actually mentioned what Mitt said in his speech.

The reporter, a young man who happened to be black (sorry, didn't get his name) gave a good summary of some of Romney's selling points about himself. One Mitt line I particularly liked was:

"I do not believe Washington can be transformed from within by a lifelong politician. There have been too many deals, too many favors, too many entanglements…and too little real world experience managing, guiding, leading."

The black reporter concluded that this was a line that was referring to Obama, who hasn't even "managed a corner store" as Romney went on to say.

[msnimje]

On what basis, do you make that strange claim?

Maybe you could read what I actually wrote before you decide if the claim is strange.

I hope you chose your Presidents more carefully than you read my post.

[RockinRight]

Far right?

Bwhahahaha!