MRC's Notable Quotables: Please Explain Why Republicans Suck

Now online: the November 3 edition of Notable Quotables, MRC’s bi-weekly compilation of the latest outrageous quotes in the liberal media. This week, CBS's Norah O'Donnell invites ultra-liberal Massachusetts Senator Elizabeth Warren to explain "what's going to happen if Republicans take control," even as the ultra-partisan Chris Matthews sneers: "What's worse, [North Carolina GOP Senate candidate] Thom Tillis or Ebola?"

Meanwhile, over on CNN, Newsroom anchor Carol Costello says a tape recording of Bristol Palin describing to police how she was shoved to the ground and dragged is "the best minute and a half of audio" she's come across in a long time. Highlights are posted after the jump; the entire issue is posted online, with 21 quotes (four with video) at www.MRC.org.

Midterm Softball: Please Explain Why Republicans Suck

Co-host Norah O’Donnell: “You serve in the U.S. Senate. Democrats are in control. The Republicans need six seats. On average, since World War II the opposing party of the President has won about six seats. What’s going to happen if Republicans take control?”
Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-MA): “Oh, it’s going to be ugly out there if the Republicans take control.”
O’Donnell: “I guess that was a softball of a question, wasn’t it?”
Warren: “How many ways can we talk about this?”
Rose: “She just teed it up for you. Go.”
— CBS This Morning, October 28.

Are Republicans Worse than Deadly Virus?

Bloomberg’s Jeanne Cummings: “[The focus on Ebola] has not been good for the Democratic candidates. You look down in North Carolina, what little bit of a lead that [Democratic Senator] Kay Hagan had held, pretty stubbornly, for months, is now shrinking, in part because Thom Tillis has seized on this and not let go. He was one of the earliest critics of the President. He’s been one of the constant critics.”
Host Chris Matthews: “What’s worse, Thom Tillis or Ebola?”
— MSNBC’s Hardball, October 27.

Nasty Liberal Ad Just Too Good to Fact Check

Correspondent Chip Reid: “Candidates across the country are talking about Ebola and blaming the other side. Republicans are doing their best to tie their opponents to a White House under fire....Some Democrats are firing back, claiming that Republican spending cuts have made the problem worse....An independent liberal group called The Agenda Project has even released a new ad with the tag line, ‘Republican Cuts Kill.’”
Clip from ad showing various Republicans: “Cut..cut...cut...cut.”
— CBS This Morning, October 21.

“One week before Election Day, candidates across the country are trying to use Ebola to their political advantage....One independent liberal group released an ad criticizing Republicans for cutting spending that they say could have led to an Ebola vaccination. Scott, that ad is titled ‘Republican Cuts Kill,’ which shows just how tough the political battle over Ebola has come.”
— Reid on the CBS Evening News, October 27. There was no suggestion in either of Reid’s pieces that there was any factual problem with the Democrats’ charge.

vs.

“On many levels, this line of attack is absurd. Obama’s Republican predecessor oversaw big increases in public-health sector spending, and both Democrats and Republicans in recent years have broadly supported efforts to rein in federal spending. Sequestration resulted from a bipartisan agreement. In some years, Congress has allocated more money for NIH and CDC than the Obama administration requested....This blame game earns Four Pinocchios.”
— Washington Post fact-checker Glenn Kessler, October 15.

Longtime Political Hack = Just What Government Needs Right Now

“You know, you’ve got a lot of medical experts working on Ebola right now, but to the extent there is a crisis in the United States, which I don’t think there is, there’s a communications crisis and a management crisis inside the government. Ron Klain is an expert in communications, he’s an expert in management. That’s what the government needs right now.”
— ABC’s George Stephanopoulos on Good Morning America, October 19.

Republicans: Suppressing the Black Vote Since 2011

Chris Matthews: “Michael Steele was chairman of the RNC back before it was dedicated entirely to black voter suppression, and David Corn is the Washington bureau chief with Mother Jones. Both are MSNBC political analysts. I see it-”
Panelist David Corn: “That was the best introduction ever!”
— Introducing a political panel on MSNBC’s Hardball, October 28.

Slicing Up Joni Ernst: “A Radical Disguised as a Hog Castrator”

“Take a look at Iowa, where the castrator Joni Ernst has a two-point lead there against Democrat Bruce Braley — the margin of error there is three, so they’re tied — but now comes word that Ernst pulled something of a Sharron Angle two years ago. She has talked about killing politicians she doesn’t agree with. Just how radical is that? Pretty radical....How did she go from that radical to this person who is just talking about castrating pigs?”
— Host Chris Matthews on MSNBC’s Hardball, October 23.

“Up next, Joni Ernst....She is a radical candidate disguised as a hog castrator.”
— Matthews on Hardball, October 24.

At Least Republicans “Have Had Their Rabies Shots” This Year

“There’s no doubt that this year, Republicans have been far more disciplined. So, they had their rabies shots....No ‘legitimate rape’ talk this time. They’ve got themselves a little better discipline.”
— Ex-Newsweek/The Daily Beast editor Tina Brown on MSNBC’s Morning Joe, October 20.

Bristol Palin Assaulted; CNN Anchor: “Sit Back and Enjoy”

“Okay. I’m just going to come right out and say it: This is quite possibly the best minute and a half of audio we’ve ever come across — well, come across in a long time anyway. A massive brawl in Anchorage, Alaska, reportedly involving Sarah Palin’s kids and her husband. It was sparked after someone pushed one of her daughters at a party....And now police have released audio of that interview. It does include some rather colorful language from Bristol. Here now is Bristol’s recollection of how that night unfolded. So sit back and enjoy.”
— CNN Newsroom anchor Carol Costello on October 22, introducing audio of Bristol Palin describing how a man shoved her, dragged her on the ground and repeatedly cursed at her. Costello apologized the next day.

Zinging Hillary: At Least One Corporation Created a Job

Clip of Hillary Clinton: “Don’t let anybody tell you it’s corporations and businesses that create jobs. You know that old theory trickle-down economics. That has been tried. That has failed.”...
Washington Post’s Charles Lane: “I don’t know, I thought NBC created a job for Chelsea, so there is at least one corporation that has created a job.”
— From the panel discussion on FNC’s Special Report with Bret Baier, October 27.

 

To read the entire November 3 edition of Notable Quotables, please visit www.mrc.org.