False Equivalency Solution for MSNBC

[SoCalDem]

When Keith was suspended, it was out-of-the-blue...totally unexpected, and shrouded in secrecy..

None of us had ANY idea how long it would last, who was to blame, if it would morph into cancellation..

The fact that Joe's donations became part of the story, made it necessary for MSNBC to handle his "situation"..

Probably, Joe was brought in & asked when it would be convenient for him to take a small dive on his nerf-sword, for PR purposes.

Joe parlayed this fake equivalency into extra time off Thanksgiving week..

Even though the Keith issue is apparently resolved, adding Joe's issues to the story just make it all "fair & balanced" as far as the bosses are concerned.

[Mz Pip]

1. At least they handled it.

At least an attempt was made to appear fair.

The whole thing was silly IMHO.

[SoCalDem]

3. I think they knew they had to include him

Had they done it immediately, like they did with Keith, I'd believe their sincerity a bit more.

MoaningJoe is not even on on Thu & Fri of next week, and the announcement came out on Friday..

Missing "work" has never been an issue with Joe.. He misses all the time, comes in late, etc..

[PBS Poll-435]

2. I just don't understand how these people can't just write a check to a friend and have them make it?

Are these folks so arrogant that they thought they could blatantly violate a contract/policy that they signed because they were above it? :shrug:

[Bozita]

4. That's illegal. Geoffrey Feiger was tried for exactly that.

"Not guilty" was the verdict.

[PBS Poll-435]

6. 'Gift" 500 bucks to your friend. At lunch suggest they make a contribution to candidate 'A'

And pick up the check. :)

[Bozita]

7. Check out the Feiger case...

Posted: 6:06 a.m. June 2, 2008 | Updated: 10 a.m. June 2, 2008
CAMPAIGN FINANCE TRIAL
Thank you, jurors, cleared Fieger says
By DAVID ASHENFELTER and JOE SWICKARD
FREE PRESS STAFF WRITERS

Attorney Geoffrey Fieger won a dramatic acquittal Monday on federal charges of violating campaign-finance laws, saving his lucrative career and sending federal prosecutors in Detroit to yet another crushing defeat in a high-profile case.

Jurors rejected each of the felony charges against Fieger and his law partner, Vernon (Ven) Johnson, and then eight to 10 of them repaired to a downtown Detroit hotel to hoist glasses of champagne with the two defendants and their legal team.

“I want to thank the jury for listening,” Fieger said after the jury announced its verdict. It came after nearly 20 hours of deliberations over four days and a 20-day trial in U.S. District Court. “I hope this puts an end to political prosecution in the age of Mr. Bush,” referring to President George W. Bush’s administration.

Johnson and Fieger hugged family members, supporters and their lawyers after the jury cleared them. A conviction on any one of 10 felony counts against Fieger, and five against Johnson, could have sent them to prison and ended their legal careers.

The verdict was a victory for famed Jackson, Wyo., lawyer Gerry Spence, 79, who told jurors in closing arguments that his defense of Fieger was the last trial of his career.

Spence called the verdict “one of the great moments in my life. … This is a nice way to end a career — representing a great lawyer who represents ordinary people.”

Jurors said they acquitted because prosecutors failed to prove that Fieger and Johnson illegally channeled money to the failed 2004 presidential campaign of Democrat John Edwards.


Read more: Thank you, jurors, cleared Fieger says | freep.com | Detroit Free Press http://www.freep.com/article/20080602/NEWS06/80602036/Thank-you-jurors-cleared-Fieger-says#ixzz15lCBXdPF

[SoCalDem]

5. Me too..

Of course their friend might have already donated...

The real kicker is why they even bother with MONEY.. they have a more valuable gift to give.. airtime..

[Mz Pip]

8. If we are to believe Olbermann

he said he didn't know about the policy. Maybe he didn't read the fine print or have his agent or lawyer go over it all with him. Contracts are often very very very long.

Ignorance is no excuse really, but it's still a silly policy IMHO.

[rocktivity]

9. He said the policy wasn't spelled out in his contract

It's not in the MSNBC employee handbook, no one as NBC ever told him about it, and as an employee of MSNBC, it didn't apply to him anyway.

What Politico and MSNBC management should have done was get Keith's side of the story before going Shirley Sherrod on him.

:headbang:
rocktivity

[Mz Pip]

10. Yeah

hearing about your suspension from the TV or reading it for the first time on the Internet is pretty bad form. They should have talked to him before any of it got leaked out.

[SoCalDem]

11. and before they suspended ANYONE, they should have also investigated

to see if others had done the same..

A room with 2 or 3 or 4 or more , who all got the same "suspension" notice would have been the fair way to do it... or at least confronting them individually on the same day...

Griffin stepped in it, the way he handled Keith's suspension...and this is his way to "prove" how even-handed he is..

For all we know, Joey may have suggested the solution to him...as a way to ingratiate himself...since everyone already knew about his donations anyway..

[kick-ass-bob]

12. "Probably, Joe was brought in & asked when "

exactly. He was going to be on vacation for the week of Thanksgiving, so that's when they'd suspend him.

[SoCalDem]

13. It was always "implied" that Joe told them before he donated

so this after-the-fact suspension is just CYA..so Keith does not pursue it further with legal efforts