Amy Goodman blasts MSNBC execs...Live on Hardball!

[tgnyc]

Amy just took advantage of a live guest slot on Hardball to blast MSNBC over the firing of Phil Donahue. When someone in the audience (they were outdoors at Rockerfeller Center) asked a question, she promised to respond, but first offered the following:

GOODMAN:...I'm glad that all of the execs are at the "Top of the Rock" (Rockerfeller Center). I want to congratulate you Chris on 10 years at MSNBC, but Phil Donahue should be standing beside you right now. He shouldn't have been fired for expressing an anti-war point of view --

MATTHEWS (looking like someone put shit in his hamburger): I don't know what the reason was but I doubt it was that.

GOODMAN: Well we have the evidence, the NBC memo that was a secret memo that came out that said they didn't want him to be the face of this network, an anti-war face at a time when the other networks were waving the flag.

MATTHEWS (looking like he wants to punch Goodman in the face): If being against the war was a problem, I would have been out of here four years ago, because I was against the war from day one and it didn't cost me a job. So let me just tell you they're not against the anti-war people. {CROSS TALK} There's always conservative tendencies in corporate America. You know that. Next question!

Wow, that was refreshing. Bet the execs at the Top of the Rock had shit on all that expensive lobster and champagne.

Too bad Amy didn't get the opportunity to remind him that it was Phil's guests that made him persona non-grata. Perhaps Tweety should go back and check his guest list from 2002 and 2003. MAybe then he'd get it.

[thepurpose]

1. I think Amy might be persona non-grata now. Tweety looked like he

wanted to squirm between the cracks in the sidewalk when she started making what I thought was a legit comment.

[Ms. Clio]

2. "There's always conservative tendencies in corporate America"

Whaaaaaaat? I thought the media was "liberal"?!?!

[AlamoDemoc]

14. WOW! my exact thought....was it right-slip tang's fault? lol

[Ms. Clio]

27. incredible -- it's one to bookmark!

[Eric J in MN]

3. Why did they fire Donahue but not Matthews for being

...against the Iraq War during the leadup?

[htuttle]

5. Because Matthews is a putz

Nobody worries about what Tweety thinks -- just wait 5 minutes and he'll change it anyway...

[Postman]

6. Because unlike Matthews, Donahue WAS anti-war....

and was having guests that were pointing out the neo-con lies, whereas Matthews was deep throating his neo-con guests....

BTW... Donahues' show was the highest rated show on MSRNC, higher than Chris Matthew's "BeachBall" show..

[blm]

24. Because Matthews was BARELY anti-war and let his prowar guests dominate

the program. He consistently let them "convince" him of their points for war. He'd nod his head in agreement with their most fascist points.

[Postman]

4. Chris Matthews anti-war from day one.....Beam me up Scotty...

who's this asskisser trying to kid?

[Gabi Hayes]

8. the answer to your question lies in the final sentence of the OP

he had, I'm sure, the usual ratio of pro vs. anti-invasion guests: about four or five to one

there have been studies that showed the amazingly overwhelming preponderance of pro war voices on every show, including PBS Newshour, which was something like ten to one for the invasion

[acmejack]

12. What a lying SOB!

"If being against the war was a problem, I would have been out of here four years ago, because I was against the war from day one and it didn't cost me a job"

Are we talkiong about the same Chris Matthews here?

[Bozita]

20. If he was anti-war, he certainly kept it from his viewers

Might as well beam me up too.

NBC ought to fire Tweety. Give the job to Amy Goodman.

Amy plays hardball.

[jayfish]

22. I Hate Having To Do This, But He Was.

I posted, in shock, about it the moment he said it.

Jay

[aint_no_life_nowhere]

28. He wrote some very strong anti-war columns in the San Francisco Chronicle

like this one, entitled 'The Road To Baghdad'.

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/chronicle/archive/2002/03/24/IN164155.DTL

In print he was pretty anti-war. But on his show, he was virtually swallowing Bush balls whole when the Chimp paraded in that flightsuit. Matthews on television, especially on Hardball has been a consistent whore for Bush and it's the reason I don't watch.

[proud2BlibKansan]

7. Amy was great!

Who was that other idiot on with her who said the American public was more interested in Mel Gibson than the middle east? That was great when Tweety asked the people standing there if they agreed and they said "NO!"

[Gabi Hayes]

9. Philly talk show host, neo-fascist Michael Smerconish

he has him on all the time, to help his brother's campaign for Lt. Goveror, if that's what he's running for, in PA

[PCIntern]

11. Smerconish is incredibly stupid and incompetent...

he thinks sneering is an argument. his show is 5th rate and no one in Philly takes him seriously. Smarmy SOB...

In fact, HIM I don't like...

[Postman]

15. and he claims to be a "lawyer"

how'd you like him representing you in court?

what a buffoon.

[PCIntern]

16. He's a giant turd...

he is a lawyer but like so many we have in this city, ineffective and stupid. We're a breeding ground for moron attorneys...it's kind of bip[olar here...the most brilliant in the country at times, and the dumbest. I treat many...it's pretty interesting actually.

[proud2BlibKansan]

13. He was an ass

[Fleshdancer]

10. Then why did he say this three years ago:

"We're proud of our president. Americans love having a guy as president, a guy who has a little swagger, who's physical, who's not a complicated guy like Clinton or even like Dukakis or Mondale, all those guys, McGovern. They want a guy who's president. Women like a guy who's president. Check it out. The women like this war. I think we like having a hero as our president. It's simple. We're not like the Brits."
(MSNBC's Chris Matthews, 5/1/03)


"We're all neo-cons now."
(MSNBC's Chris Matthews, 4/9/03)


"Why don't the damn Democrats give the president his day? He won today. He did well today."
(MSNBC's Chris Matthews, 4/9/03)


"What's he going to talk about a year from now, the fact that the war went too well and it's over? I mean, don't these things sort of lose their--Isn't there a fresh date on some of these debate points?"
(MSNBC's Chris Matthews, speaking about Howard Dean--4/9/03)

[ourbluenation]

17. Gloria - those are amazing quotes. Astonishingly insightful.

and he's back tracked on every one of them...he's not a very bright man when you get right down to it. he always seems to be the last one to figure shit out.

[LoveMyCali]

18. Women do love a hero

but what does that have to do with Bush and his codpiece? :shrug:

[twiterpatted]

21. SMACK DOWN.........DUH DUH DUH DUH DUH,, I'M LOVEN IT.

[upi402]

26. What!?! Tweety a flip-floppin' neocon phony??? Whaaaa????

:rofl:

[democrank]

19. I got a good chuckle out of this one.

Matthews was against the war from day one? What a riot! Matthews was like a human yo-yo on this war. Up and down. Back and forth. One day an interview with "The Jersey Girls" and to balance it....four interviews with Bush cheerleaders or umpteen military experts. He salivated over military uniforms and acted like a dog with red meat when some Rambo chickenhawk showed up. Good thing about Matthews, if you don`t like what he`s for on Monday, just wait until Tuesday. He`s bound to change with the scenery.

[Berry Cool]

23. The only good thing about Donahue being gone

is that when they dumped him, MSNBC apparently decided "Hmmm, he's too liberal, too much against the war...we gotta get someone less dangerous in here. Let's give a show to Olbermann." :rofl:

Keith was just going off today on Dan Patrick's radio show about how annoyed he is with the current administration. Said that if he were invited to eat with *, he'd say "Fine, but let's just be polite and talk baseball." I think he was saying that would be the only way he could have a civilized conversation with him...stick to baseball.

[upi402]

25. Amy can be my god -just for today...

:bounce:

[owillis]

29. Video Here

You can see the video of that here:
http://www.washingtonfix.com/story/2006/07/hardball_well_thats_awkward.html

[Emit]

30. Entire transcript link

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/14135345/