Rachel Maddow Smacks Down CNN For Airing Bachmann's SOTU Response

[somone]

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/01/26/rachel-maddow-cnn-bachmann-sotu_n_814149.html

Rachel Maddow Smacks Down CNN For Airing Bachmann's SOTU Response

Rachel Maddow criticized CNN for airing Michele Bachmann's Tea Party-themed response to the State of the Union, calling it an "inexplicable" decision.

CNN was the only network to air both the official Republican response, given by Wisconsin congressman Paul Ryan, and Bachmann's speech. Speaking on Tuesday night, after the response had aired, Maddow said she was at a loss to explain CNN's choice.

"Michele Bachmann is not the national spokesperson for the Republican Party," she said. "She is unlikely anytime soon to be chosen to be the spokesperson for her party. But tonight, inexplicably, a national news network decided that they would give Michele Bachmann a job that her own party never did."

Maddow called it "a remarkable act of journalistic intervention to elevate, in effect, a group with which they are co-sponsoring a presidential debate...to the level of the major parties in this country." CNN, Maddow said, "decided tonight not to just cover the news about the State of the Union, they decided to make their own."

[wtmusic]

1. CNN didn't even offer to air my response

I might have considered, if they had bagels and fresh fruit in the Green Room.

[Mumble]

2. Why wasn't Sara Palin given air time to respond????

She know how to run a country better than Bachmann any day........

[Aleric]

3. Rachel's wrong on this one

Bachman may not be the official spokesman of the party heads - but she is the spokesman for the party's hearts.

Let her talk and show the world the real republican party.

[Loge23]

4. Yes, contrasts with the softball on KO

I was following KO on Twitter last night and I looked for the Bachman speech - I needed a good laugh.
Never did find it - must have skipped over CNN.
It's all good for Rachel to take a strong position on this even if I disagree, but I'm still pissed about the KO affair and the B team still left at MSNBC. They didn't exactly distinguish themselves as KO's allies in all this - "good friend" or not.

[Bluenorthwest]

7. They were all exactly perfect in their support of KO's decision

I think you are entirely wrong about that. Very much so. What you seem to think they should do is not their right, KO belongs to himself, and in professional circles, you do not speak out of turn for your peers, much less your mentors. It is not proper to make personal fodder out of another person's life. They would be wrong to do so, not right to do so.
Personally, I think KO is making a great choice he should have made some time back.

[fishwax]

11. what do you think they should have done to prove themselves KO's allies?

I only saw O'Donnell's response and some of Maddow's, but I thought they were pretty much on pitch.

[Sal Minella]

10. Are we to believe that the "real" Republican Party thinks the

Founding Fathers abolished slavery?

Whatever it is you've got in your pipe, I don't want any, thanks.

[grahamhgreen]

5. Why not air Bernie Sanders response, and give him a week of promo's?

[northoftheborder]

9. CNN wrong - glad no one else gave her coverage.

[WingDinger]

6. No, I LOVED IT. It was comedy, tragedy, hubris, skapegoating all in one.

[slackmaster]

8. I'm glad I turned off the TV before the programming degraded into pure shit-slinging

:hi: