Politico's Smith: Fox can now "confirm to its viewers" that Dems are "cowards

[NNN0LHI]

http://mediamatters.org/items/200704100006

In an April 9 entry to his Politico.com weblog, Politico senior political writer Ben Smith asserted that Fox News can "confirm to its viewers that Democrats are ... cowards" after Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton (D-NY), Sen. Barack Obama (D-IL), and former Sen. John Edwards (D-NC) declined to participate in a presidential debate sponsored by Fox News and the Congressional Black Caucus Political Education and Leadership Institute. Smith wrote: "No word yet from {Rep. Dennis} Kucinich {D-OH} and {former Sen. Mike} Gravel {D-AK}, or the other campaigns, or from Fox, which could presumably do an empty podium hour and confirm to its viewers that Democrats are, in fact, the cowards it's often portrayed them as. Sounds win-win to me." snip

Smith's entry was flagged by the Drudge Report, which, as Media Matters documented, has linked extensively to The Politico since the publication launched less than three months ago.

[fasttense]

1. Oh the republics are spinning this morning.

They can spin, spin, spin until they are dizzy but most of America has caught on to their tricks.

[rasputin1952]

3. They make whirling dervishes look like their on xanax...

tornadic winds blow when these people start their engines...:D

[ComerPerro]

2. not suprised. Politico is RW trash. But I love the way Faux News "thinks"

Dems won't come on Fox News. It must, therefore, be because they are cowards, because it couldn't possibly be that Fox is extremely unfair and biased, and that the very idea that Fox is a legitimate news organization is laughable, at best.

It MUST be becasue Dems are cowards.

BillO and Hannity use the same kind of thinking.

Hell, I could tape a show using a webcam, for youtube, and invite Rush or Hannity or BillO. If they refuse to come out to Kansas and be on my "show", does that mean they are cowards who are afraid to debate me?

[JNelson6563]

4. Let them scream and carry on

and when Dems don't blink maybe they will have to make some changes.

We should work to get all our Dems off that channel.

Julie

[Dawgs]

5. Well, considering the only people that watch Fox News, or read Politico and Drudge are...

Kool-Aid drinking Republicans, does it really matter?

[Na Gael]

6. Dems should negotiate

If the Neocons wish to have Democrats on the Fox debate, tit for tat would be good.
A debate hosted by Rosie O' Donnell, Keith Olberman, and Helen Thomas sounds fair enough.

[Ian David]

7. Is there now any doubt that Politico.com is a right-wing propoganda instrument?

1) They misquote Democrats claiming that we call our out-of-Iraq strategy a "slow bleed," and then the talking heads and Bush administration throws it at us for weeks-- claiming we said it ourselves. Politico apologises for their "mistake."

2) Politico.com "accidentally" misquotes the Edwards campaign, adding credence to the theory that John Edwards was trying to exploit his wife's cancer.

3) Now, Politico.com claims that Democrats are cowards.


Politico.com is CBS's blog-version of Fox Noise Channel.

I had wondered how they managed to get White House press credentials so easily.

It's not like they give those things out to just ANYONE, right?

[Toots]

8. Fox is most definitely a Hostile environment for Democrats

I just wish it would be worded in that way.

[hang a left]

9. dammit i said i wasn't going to post to this thread

but hey since I am here now...

THEY ARE FUCKING IRRELEVANT AND THE SOONER THEY REALIZE IT THE BETTER FOR ALL OF PLANET EARTH!!!!

[bunkerbuster1]

10. Whenever a wingnut brings up this "coward" meme

and yeah, that meme is all over the Internets the past day or two--

Make sure to remind one and all that their beloved Chimperor hasn't seen fit to appear before a less-than-toadying audience since, as far as I can recall, the 2004 debates with John Kerry.

Now that's cowardly.

Refusing to give Fox News the veneer of respectability by refusing to participate in a Fox-sponsored debate of "Democrat Party" candidates? That's just common sense.

[SoFlaJet]

11. man The Politico

sure showed their true colors quickly didn't they? I actually had high hopes when it started...now I just have them on ignore

[BeyondGeography]

12. What's the burn rate of Republico?

And how long until they start laying off people? There is absolutely no value to what they do and they are stafffed up to the ears with pricey MSM'ers. Burn, baby, burn.

[underpants]

13. It is no accident how they got so much notoriety and access so quickly

They are just another arm of the noise machine.


As per usual Media Matters is on it
http://mediamatters.org/items/200703290002

[Marr]

14. "the cowards (Fox News) has often portrayed them as".

So he acknowledges that this self-described "news channel" has been politically biased in it's coverage, smearing Democratic politicians, but he thinks that refusing them a chance to define the Democratic debate is... cowardice?

This guy is either stupid, or a master of doublethink.

I wonder what he'd say to maybe having The Nation host the next RNC debate? Will the Republican Party be the party of cowards if they refuse?