A daily compilation edited by Brent H. Baker, CyberAlert items are drawn from daily BiasAlert posts and distributed by the Media Research Center's News Analysis Division, the leader since 1987 in documenting, exposing and neutralizing liberal media bias.
Tracking Liberal Media Bias Since 1996
Friday April 30, 2010 @ 10:57 AM EDT1. CBS Trumpets Opposition to 'Notorious' Arizona Law from One Cop and Linda Ronstadt, Already Finds 'Chilling Effect'
CBS won't let go of liberal efforts against the new immigration enforcement law in Arizona. A night after Katie Couric focused on "the backlash against Arizona's new immigration law. San Francisco bans official travel to that state," she teased Thursday's CBS Evening News by trumpeting a lawsuit against it from a lone police officer: "The latest response to Arizona's new immigration law? Sue the state. We'll tell you who is." She soon cited how "the first lawsuits were filed today challenging it, including one by a Tucson police officer who claims the law is unconstitutional." Reporter Bill Whitaker presumed Arizona has earned "notoriety," instead of popularity for a law with majority support, as he began: "Six days after Arizona gained notice and notoriety with the toughest anti-immigration law in the country, protests are building, opposing sides are hardening, outside pressure is mounting. Today opponents turned on a little star power: Mexican-American singer Linda Ronstadt spoke out."
2. 'Crackpot' Republicans Behind 'Lunatic Magnet' Arizona's 'Crackpot' Immigration Law
Former New York Times reporter Timothy Egan is not a fan of the new illegal immigration crackdown in Arizona, a state he calls a "lunatic magnet": "The crackpot laws owe their genesis to the crackpots who dominate Republican politics, who in turn cannot get elected without the backing of crackpot media."
3. MSNBC: Charlie Crist Independent Run Shows GOP Pushing Out Moderates
During Thursday's 11AM ET hour on MSNBC, anchor Tamron Hall asked former Democratic National Committee Chairman Howard Dean about Florida Governor Charlie Crist's expected announcement to run as an independent in that state's senate race: "Is this a sign that people, perhaps centrists or moderates, like Charlie Crist, have no place in this new emerging Republican Party?" Later, in the 1PM ET hour show Andrea Mitchell Reports, host Andrea Mitchell opened the program: "Charlie Crist expected to make it official later today, running as an independent in the Florida senate race. Is he leaving the party or did they leave him?"
4. NBC's Andrea Mitchell Sides With U.K. Prime Minister, Slams Voter as a Bigot
On Thursday's Morning Joe, NBC reporter Andrea Mitchell appeared and seemed to agree with Britain's Prime Minister that a voter he met was a bigot. Discussing Gordon Brown's April 28 comments, which were caught on a live mic, Mitchell defended, "And what he said is not actually that offensive...I mean, it was an honest opinion."
5. Time Places 'Moron' NewsBusters on 'Least Influential' List
Time magazine's website on Thursday named me [MRC news analyst Matthew Balan] to their tongue-in-cheek "Least Influential People of 2010" list, ranking me with other notables such as Russian President Dmitri Medvedev, MSNBC anchor David Shuster, and Clarence Thomas. Contributor Joel Stein stated that he was "short on morons" to put on his list, so he picked me [Balan] after CNN anchor Rick Sanchez told him about our recent dispute. The Time writer got to me after listing three-pages-worth of notables. I was immediately preceded by actor Joaquin Phoenix, "political extremist" Lyndon LaRouche, and Justice Thomas. Stein detailed that "Rick Sanchez told me to put him on because they got in a fight about whether Sanchez was serious or kidding about being surprised volcanoes exist in cold places like Iceland. I forgot to ask Rick what category he thinks Balan should go in, but I was short on morons so I put him here."
6. Oops: CNN, WaPo Jumped on CAIR's License Plate 'Hate' Theory, Now Disproved
On April 22 and 27, CNN and The Washington Post both helped forward Islamic advocacy group CAIR's publicity stunt which demeaned an anonymous Virginia motorist as a racist. The Post finally found the driver on Thursday – and apparently, both news outlets jumped the gun, as the owner claimed that the numbers on his license plate were a tribute to his favorite NASCAR drivers, not secret code for "Heil Hitler." Anchor Rick Sanchez devoted a brief on his Rick's List program on Tuesday to presenting CAIR's side of the story on the controversy. After showing a picture of the pickup truck and the plate in question, as well as the anti-Islamic message on the truck's tailgate, Sanchez explained that "CAIR...also noticed the vanity license plate. It reads '14CV88.' CAIR says that is a coded hate message. We're told the number eight is for the eighth letter in the alphabet, 'H.' Two eights equals 'H.H.' for 'Heil Hitler.' Fourteen represents imprisoned white supremacist David Lane's motto about securing the future for white children." The anchor didn't mention the owner's side of the story.
7. ABC Thrills Over 'Rising Star' Charlie Crist's 'Declaration of Independence' From GOP, Grilled Lieberman
ABC's Good Morning America on Thursday gushed over "rising star" Charlie Crist's decision to leave the Republican Party and run as an independent in the Florida Senate race. Next to a graphic that read "Declaration of Independence," co-host George Stephanopoulos speculated, "Is this trouble for Republicans? Will more independents rise up?"
CBS Trumpets Opposition to 'Notorious' Arizona Law from One Cop and Linda Ronstadt, Already Finds 'Chilling Effect'
CBS won't let go of liberal efforts against the new immigration enforcement law in Arizona. A night after Katie Couric focused on "the backlash against Arizona's new immigration law. San Francisco bans official travel to that state," she teased Thursday's CBS Evening News by trumpeting a lawsuit against it from a lone police officer: "The latest response to Arizona's new immigration law? Sue the state. We'll tell you who is." She soon cited how "the first lawsuits were filed today challenging it, including one by a Tucson police officer who claims the law is unconstitutional."
Reporter Bill Whitaker presumed Arizona has earned "notoriety," instead of popularity for a law with majority support, as he began:
Six days after Arizona gained notice and notoriety with the toughest anti-immigration law in the country, protests are building, opposing sides are hardening, outside pressure is mounting. Today opponents turned on a little star power: Mexican-American singer Linda Ronstadt spoke out....She endorsed the first of what's likely to be a flurry of opposition lawsuits.The law doesn't take effect for several months, Whitaker noted, "but many citizens say it's having a chilling effect already. Listen as we talk to this immigrant rights worker." Viewers then heard a male voice: "Why don't you go back to Mexico if it's so great, man?" Whitaker acknowledged some local governments "are pushing for Arizona-style immigration laws," but countered with how "many more cities are lining up in opposition. Dozens are threatening to cut all business ties with Arizona."
Oh, and this was Whitaker's last sentence: "Just yesterday, the U.S. Border Patrol picked up 105 immigrants crossing the border near Tucson illegally."
Just as on Wednesday, the soundbites ran 4-to-1 against Arizona's law.
Earlier:
- Wednesday night: "Couric Touts San Francisco as Proof of 'Backlash Against Arizona's New Immigration Law'"The story on the Thursday, April 29 CBS Evening News, transcript provided by the MRC's Brad Wilmouth:
- Tuesday night: "ABC and NBC Champion 'Growing National Backlash' Against 'Laughing Stock' Arizona"
- Monday night: "CBS Again Focuses on Victims in Arizona: 'Many Feel the Sting of Racism in New Law'"
- Friday night: "CBS Frames Arizona's Anti-Illegal Alien Law Through Eyes of Opponents: 'Veto Racism'"
KATIE COURIC: Turning now to Arizona's new immigration law, the first lawsuits were filed today challenging it, including one by a Tucson police officer who claims the law is unconstitutional. And despite continuing protests, other states may actually follow Arizona's lead. From Phoenix tonight, here's Bill Whitaker.— Brent Baker is Vice President for Research and Publications at the Media Research Center. Click here to follow him on Twitter.
BILL WHITAKER: Six days after Arizona gained notice and notoriety with the toughest anti-immigration law in the country, protests are building, opposing sides are hardening, outside pressure is mounting. Today opponents turned on a little star power: Mexican-American singer Linda Ronstadt spoke out.
LINDA RONSTADT: The dirty little secret is I'm probably not the one that would be pulled over because I'm light-skinned.
WHITAKER: She endorsed the first of what's likely to be a flurry of opposition lawsuits.
ALESSANDRA SOLER MEETZE, AMERICAN CIVIL LIBERTIES UNION OF AMERICA: We will be devoting our collective resources to stopping this bill from taking effect.
WHITAKER: The controversial law requires police in Arizona to demand proof of citizenship of anyone they suspect is in the U.S. illegally. It takes effect this summer, but many citizens say it's having a chilling effect already. Listen as we talk to this immigrant rights worker.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE VOICE: Why don't you go back to Mexico if it's so great, man?
SALVADOR REZA, COMMUNITY ACTIVIST: That's what this law is causing. It's causing the division and bringing out the worst, the worst in people.
WHITAKER: Citing crime rates and the cost of social services, the mayor of Costa Mesa, California, and legislators in Ohio and Texas, say they are pushing for Arizona-style immigration laws.
STATE REP. DEBBIE RIDDLE (R-TX): The citizens are sick and tired of political correctness. They want, they want to take their country back.
WHITAKER: But many more cities are lining up in opposition. Dozens are threatening to cut all business ties with Arizona. Already at least eight conventions have pulled out of Phoenix in protest. The city could lose up to $45,000 on each.
JEFF FRANKLIN, RESIDENT OF SUNRISE, ARIZONA: I work in the hotel business, and know for a fact that there are several cancellations already in the pipe for several hotels in Arizona.
WHITAKER: Arizona has gone through this kind of economic pressure before. In 1987, when the state refused to observe the national Martin Luther King holiday, there was a national boycott. The Superbowl pulled out of Tempe. It all cost the state $300 million. Then, Arizona backed down. This time, state lawmakers plan to hang tough. Why? Because of this: Just yesterday, the U.S. Border Patrol picked up 105 immigrants crossing the border near Tucson illegally.
'Crackpot' Republicans Behind 'Lunatic Magnet' Arizona's 'Crackpot' Immigration Law
Timothy Egan, liberal New York Times reporter turned liberal nytimes.com columnist, is the latest former reporter to weigh in on Arizona's anti-immigration law, "Desert Derangement Syndrome."
It would be hard to top former Times Supreme Court reporter Linda Greenhouse's hysterical conflation in her Tuesday print-edition column of Arizona's stricter enforcement of immigration laws with a Nazi police state, but Egan gets in his share of insults, some courtesy of comedian Jon Stewart, the "Mark Twain of our day."
But for all its diversity of land and people, Arizona is also a lunatic magnet. As I drove, I listened to the radio blather of a state in mob-rule frenzy of cranky old men. Once in Phoenix, I saw on television that sign in a car's rear window, the new image of Arizona to the rest of the world: "I'm Mexican. Pull me over."
Arizona Gov. Jan Brewer signed the state's the immigration law last Friday in Phoenix. The Associated Press Arizona Gov. Jan Brewer signed the state's immigration law last Friday.
This week, Jon Stewart called Arizona the "the meth lab of democracy." A few days ago, the governor signed the instantly infamous "show me your papers" law, allowing authorities to stop and question anyone who looks Hispanic. Another new measure lets people carry concealed weapons without a permit, following on the heels of the new-found freedom to pack heat in bars and restaurants, something that was outlawed in much of the Old West. And the state house has just approved a bill that would require candidates for high office to show a birth certificate.
....
Stewart, the Mark Twain of our day with a New Jersey quirk or two, got it right with his meth lab jab. But Arizona is more than a laboratory for intemperate times: this place is a warning of what a state can look like when it's run by talk-radio demagogues and their television cohorts.
The crackpot laws owe their genesis to the crackpots who dominate Republican politics, who in turn cannot get elected without the backing of crackpot media.
Egan must yell a lot at the radio as he drives; in a March 2009 column he referred to Rush Limbaugh as a "sweaty, swollen man."
Egan doesn't drop his self-righteous pose long enough to admit, as reporter Marc Lacey does, that Mexico is much stricter with migrants than the new Arizona law is. Neither does he try grasp the failure of the federal government to control its borders, a fundamental job for any government.
Clay Waters is director of Times Watch. You can follow him on Twitter.
MSNBC: Charlie Crist Independent Run Shows GOP Pushing Out Moderates
During Thursday's 11AM ET hour on MSNBC, anchor Tamron Hall asked former Democratic National Committee Chairman Howard Dean about Florida Governor Charlie Crist's expected announcement to run as an independent in that state's senate race: "Is this a sign that people, perhaps centrists or moderates, like Charlie Crist, have no place in this new emerging Republican Party?"
That set up the left-wing Dean to bash conservatives and the GOP: "What effect does the tea party have on the Republican Party? And this is a really good example. They've driven another moderate out of the Republican Party....there just apparently is no place in the Republican Party for moderate, thoughtful people anymore."
Hall first asked Dean about an odd rumor: "There is a story online that's being picked up by conservative blogs that you offered to contribute to Charlie Crist's campaign if he left the Republican Party. What happened there?" Dean explained: "That was a joke between me and Joe Scarborough which some enterprising staffer for Crist picked up and pushed it around. It's not true. I'm supporting Kendrick Meek." He then added: "I actually think that the two big winners out of this are the United States, who are hopefully going to get a real senator instead of a far-right person, and I do think, of course, it helps the Democratic Party and Kendrick's candidacy as well."
After Hall introduced Dean at the beginning of the segment, she remarked: "I say it like you're a correspondent now....I love that being a possible segment Governor Dean, you coming on and talking about the top political news of the day."
Later, in the 1PM ET hour show Andrea Mitchell Reports, host Andrea Mitchell opened the program: "Charlie Crist expected to make it official later today, running as an independent in the Florida senate race. Is he leaving the party or did they leave him?"
In a later interview with Republican New Hampshire Senator Judd Gregg, Mitchell wondered: "What does it say about the Republican Party that someone like Charlie Crist cannot survive in the Republican Party and is going to become an independent?" Gregg shot down Mitchell's characterization: "Well, I don't think that's what it says, really. I think what it says is that Charlie Crist was in a tough primary and decided he probably wasn't going to win, so he decided to choose another course of action." He went on to praise Rubio:
I think the fact we've got somebody like Mr. Rubio running, who has this really amazing story, quite honestly, who's Cuban American, has come up from – basically in the classic American tradition – of coming up from very humble means to be a leader in his state, shows that we've got a pretty broad tent and we have a lot of diversity and a lot of good people running for office.Here is a full transcript of Hall's exchange with Dean about the race:
11:20AM—Kyle Drennen is a news analyst at the Media Research Center. You can follow him on Twitter here.
TAMRON HALL: Well, Florida Governor Charlie Crist will make it official this afternoon, or is expected to make it official at 5PM Eastern Time that he's going to run for U.S. Senate as an independent. Now this comes – would become a three-way race with Democrat Kendrick Meek, Marco Rubio, and Charlie Crist. And for more on that and some of the other top political news of the day, I say it like you're a correspondent now, of course, we know former Vermont Governor Howard Dean, he also served as chairman of the Democratic National Committee. I love that being a possible segment Governor Dean, you coming on and talking about the top political news of the day. But you're making news with Charlie Crist. There is a story online that's being picked up by conservative blogs that you offered to contribute to Charlie Crist's campaign if he left the Republican Party. What happened there?
HOWARD DEAN: That was a joke between me and Joe Scarborough which some enterprising staffer for Crist picked up and pushed it around. It's not true. I'm supporting Kendrick Meek, as you would expect. It's a very interesting race, though, because I actually think that the two big winners out of this are the United States, who are hopefully going to get a real senator instead of a far-right person, and I do think, of course, it helps the Democratic Party and Kendrick's candidacy as well. So this is going to be a hot three-way race, and I think any of the three of them could win it.
HALL: What does this say about – and I do want to talk about the impact this could have on Kendrick Meek – but I want to get your thoughts on what this means for the Republican Party. Is this a sign that people, perhaps centrists or moderates, like Charlie Crist, have no place in this new emerging Republican Party?
DEAN: Well, it's a really interesting question because we're going to be asking ourselves this question a lot over the next several months. And we've already been asking it. What effect does the tea party have on the Republican Party? And this is a really good example. They've driven another moderate out of the Republican Party. Charlie Crist is the kind of republican we badly need in the United States Senate so we can actually get something done there and not have this nonsense of filibustering the finance reform bill and all this kind of thing that's going on. And yet the Republicans actually pushed him out of the race is what they did. You had all manner of people endorsing Rubio, who used to be thought of as mainstream Republicans. And there just apparently is no place in the Republican Party for moderate, thoughtful people anymore. So Charlie Crist runs as an independent. You now have a hot three-way race that could be won by Kendrick Meek, or Charlie Crist, or Rubio.
HALL: Well, Politico is already predicting that this is going to be a very ugly race, that, in their words, 'it's going to get personal.'
NBC's Andrea Mitchell Sides With U.K. Prime Minister, Slams Voter as a Bigot
On Thursday's Morning Joe, NBC reporter Andrea Mitchell appeared and seemed to agree with Britain's Prime Minister that a voter he met was a bigot. Discussing Gordon Brown's April 28 comments, which were caught on a live mic, Mitchell defended, "And what he said is not actually that offensive...I mean, it was an honest opinion." [Audio available here.]
Even the fellow panel members on the mostly liberal MSNBC seemed shocked. Guest Sam Stein of the left-wing Huffington Post recoiled, "Really? To call her bigoted?"
Mitchell repeated her charge: "Well, she was decrying immigration and in a lot of people's views, that is a bigoted stand." Fill-in host Savannah Guthrie didn't seem to agree, asserting that this wasn't something you do "when you're trying to reach out to the working class."
The British newspaper The Sun recounted the back and forth between Brown and "lifelong Labour supporter" Gillian Duffy:
Mr Brown's unguarded comments were made after the pensioner quizzed him about immigration claiming it was a taboo subject.A transcript of the April 29 segment, which aired at 7:02am EDT, follows:
During their exchange in the street, Mrs Duffy told the Prime Minister: "You can't say anything about immigrants."
She added: "All these eastern Europeans - where are they coming from?"
Mr Brown said a million people had come from Europe but another million Britons had moved the other way.
Mrs Duffy also complained about people on benefits.
She said: "There are too many who aren't vulnerable and they can claim, and people who are vulnerable can't get claims - can't get it."
Mr Brown said: "But they shouldn't be doing that. There is no life on the dole for people any more."
As he went to leave, the Prime Minister shook her hand and told her: "Very nice to meet you, very nice to meet you."
WILLIE GEIST; How bad is this for Gordon Brown?—Scott Whitlock is a news analyst for the Media Research Center. Click here to follow him on Twitter.
ANDREA MITCHELL: This is not good. You know, I've known the Prime Minister a long time. He was the Chancellor of the Exchequer. He had waited for all of those years to have his own chance. This is his first election because Tony Blair stepped aside and, of course, he had not had a chance to be elected. This is not good. The British press makes us look like pussycats. They're all over this. And what he said is not actually that offensive. It was probably- I mean, it was an honest opinion.
SAM STEIN (Huffington Post): [Shocked] Really? To call her bigoted?
MITCHELL: Well, to call the woman bigoted- Well, she was decrying immigration and in a lot of people's views, that is a bigoted stand. But, you just don't go and insult a pensioner, as they call them.
SAVANNAH GUTHRIE: Especially when you're trying to reach out to the working class.
Time Places 'Moron' NewsBusters on 'Least Influential' List
Time magazine's website on Thursday named me [MRC news analyst Matthew Balan] to their tongue-in-cheek "Least Influential People of 2010" list, ranking me with other notables such as Russian President Dmitri Medvedev, MSNBC anchor David Shuster, and Clarence Thomas. Contributor Joel Stein stated that he was "short on morons" to put on his list, so he picked me [Balan] after CNN anchor Rick Sanchez told him about our recent dispute.
The Time writer got to me after listing three-pages-worth of notables. I was immediately preceded by actor Joaquin Phoenix, "political extremist" Lyndon LaRouche, and Justice Thomas. Stein detailed that "Rick Sanchez told me to put him on because they got in a fight about whether Sanchez was serious or kidding about being surprised volcanoes exist in cold places like Iceland. I forgot to ask Rick what category he thinks Balan should go in, but I was short on morons so I put him here."
As you might remember, I put up an item on NewsBusters on April 15 about the CNN anchor's remark about "when you think of a volcano, you think of Hawaii and long words like that. You don't think of Iceland. You think it's too cold to have a volcano there." Four days later, Sanchez named me to "the very top" of his "List U Don't Want 2 Be On," and devoted more than four minutes to how I did a "hot job" on him for his "joke."
By the way, Stein is someone who once fantasized about dancing with former attorney general Janet Reno back in 2002. He is on the record as saying that he didn't support American troops in a 2006 L.A. Times column: "When you volunteer for the U.S. military...you're willingly signing up to be a fighting tool of American imperialism" (this quote was a runner-up for the MRC's Quote of the Year)
Earlier in the online piece, before he revealed his picks, the Time contributor explained that "it was very difficult to fill up a list of 100 uninfluential people. For help, I called news anchor Rick Sanchez, who hosts Rick's List on CNN...I figured that when you're trying to book guests in the afternoon on CNN, you get to talk to some pretty uninfluential people." Stein continued with a few quotes from the CNN anchor: "'Don't shy away from easy pickings,' Sanchez advised. 'When someone says something dumb, Joel, it's your job to report it.' Sanchez airs a segment called 'The List You Don't Want to Be On,' from which he gave me some names. 'A lot of times these guys are famous for 35 seconds,' Sanchez said."
Stein actually made fun of Sanchez, his helper, later in the same paragraph: "'I'd never heard of the president of Toyota until he was on the list. I can't even remember his name now' [said Sanchez]. That man's name, by the way, is Toyoda. When someone says something dumb, it is my job to report it."
The Time contributor was actually only following in the footsteps of The Daily Show's Jon Stewart, who made fun of the CNN anchor after he infamously asked, "By the way, nine meters in English is?" during CNN's coverage of the Chilean earthquake and resulting tsunami back in February 2010. During that newscast, Sanchez also misidentified the Galapagos Islands as Hawaii.
—Matthew Balan is a news analyst at the Media Research Center. You can follow him on Twitter here.
Oops: CNN, WaPo Jumped on CAIR's License Plate 'Hate' Theory, Now Disproved
On April 22 and 27, CNN and The Washington Post both helped forward Islamic advocacy group CAIR's publicity stunt which demeaned an anonymous Virginia motorist as a racist. The Post finally found the driver on Thursday – and apparently, both news outlets jumped the gun, as the owner claimed that the numbers on his license plate were a tribute to his favorite NASCAR drivers, not secret code for "Heil Hitler."
Anchor Rick Sanchez devoted a brief on his Rick's List program on Tuesday to presenting CAIR's side of the story on the controversy. After showing a picture of the pickup truck and the plate in question, as well as the anti-Islamic message on the truck's tailgate, Sanchez explained that "CAIR...also noticed the vanity license plate. It reads '14CV88.' CAIR says that is a coded hate message. We're told the number eight is for the eighth letter in the alphabet, 'H.' Two eights equals 'H.H.' for 'Heil Hitler.' Fourteen represents imprisoned white supremacist David Lane's motto about securing the future for white children." The anchor didn't mention the owner's side of the story.
Did anyone at CNN or the Washington Post consider the possibility that the story was underbaked until they communicated with the driver? Did they consider someone might find the driver and his truck and be spurred to angry talk and/or violence based on the media's incomplete accounts? The Washington Post, at least, printed an update on Thursday to their initial article from the 22nd (the ball, obviously, is also in Sanchez's court now, as well, especially since he went after NewsBusters for not calling him before we took the "cheap shot" at him). The Post's Brigid Schulte returned to the scene of her incomplete story and provided the driver's perspective in her Thursday article, "Virginia driver denies license plate had coded racist message."
Douglas Story, a Chantilly dump truck driver for the Virginia Department of Transportation, says he wanted to grab people's attention when he paid $224.90 to have a mural of the burning World Trade Center detailed onto the tailgate of his Ford F-150 along with a sticker that reads: "Everything I ever needed to know about Islam I learned on 9/11."Story's account does seems to square away. Both Stewart and Earnhardt Jr. did indeed change their numbers in the middle of 2008. Also, Schulte's Washington Post article from April 22nd, which quoted Hooper, gave the impression that the CAIR spokesman profiled the Virginia man (Schulte also only provided the advocacy group's side of the story in this initial article).
But he got more than he bargained for when a photo of his pickup went viral on the Web last week. Motorists and Muslim groups complained that his Virginia vanity license plate -- 14CV88 -- was really code for neo-Nazi, white supremacist sentiments. The state Department of Motor Vehicles voted last week to recall Story's plates and force him to buy new ones.
"There is absolutely no way I'd have anything to do with Hitler or Nazis," Story said Wednesday. He contacted The Washington Post after an article about his plate appeared last week; the state, citing privacy rules, had declined to release the identity of the plate's owner. "My sister-in-law and my niece are Jewish. I went to my niece's bat mitzvah when she turned 13 three years ago. Does that sound like something an anti-Semite would do?"
Story says the numbers 14 and 88 on his plate were not references to a white power slogan or "Heil Hitler," as the Council on American-Islamic Relations theorized, but an homage to his favorite NASCAR drivers: Tony Stewart, who drives car No. 14, and Dale Earnhardt Jr., who drives No. 88.
Story applied for the vanity plate in March 2009, shortly after Earnhardt changed his car number from 8 to 88 and Stewart changed his from 20 to 14.
CAIR spokesman Ibrahim Hooper said his group looked into the meaning of the numbers 14 and 88 after receiving complaints about Story's license plates....Hooper said he doesn't buy Story's version "given the overt anti-Muslim bigotry displayed on the truck and the Confederate flags and their historic connotation of racism....
Story received a certified letter last week from the DMV ordering him to get new plates. And his boss told him that he could no longer park on VDOT property with the anti-Islam mural. So Story spent an afternoon getting new randomized plates and peeling the mural off by hand.
"I feel naked," he said.
Hooper at first thought the picture [of Story's truck] was a Photoshopped hoax. But when he called the DMV and discovered the plate was registered in 2005 to a Ford F-150 pickup truck, Hooper started to worry. "If the license plate had been on a VW Beetle with nothing else on it, or a Volvo station wagon, no one would probably have noticed," said Hooper. "But when the Confederate flag is thrown in...it shows the convergence of anti-government and anti-Islamic sentiments that unfortunately seem to be growing."Neither the Washington Post nor CNN made the effort when they ran their initial stories to provide Story's side of the controversy. They could have been thwarted by the privacy rules, but they unquestioningly ran with CAIR's take on the license plate.
—Matthew Balan is a news analyst at the Media Research Center. You can follow him on Twitter here.
ABC Thrills Over 'Rising Star' Charlie Crist's 'Declaration of Independence' From GOP, Grilled Lieberman
ABC's Good Morning America on Thursday gushed over "rising star" Charlie Crist's decision to leave the Republican Party and run as an independent in the Florida Senate race. Next to a graphic that read "Declaration of Independence," co-host George Stephanopoulos speculated, "Is this trouble for Republicans? Will more independents rise up?" [Audio available here.]
Stephanopoulos also oddly called the Florida governor a both a "GOP star" and a "rising star," despite the fact that Crist's popularity has been fading within the party for almost a year. However, when then-GMA host Diane Sawyer interviewed Joe Lieberman on August 9, 2006, she was highly critical of the Democrat's decision to leave his party.
Sawyer scolded, "Senator, I heard you say 'I'm a Democrat.' But you're talking about running as an independent and there are members of the party who've already said, commentators, that this is a selfish decision. How can you run against the party?...You're going to be all alone out there."
In a segment on Crist's departure, Thursday, reporter Claire Shipman did note the moderate Republican's blunders, such as hugging Barack Obama during a visit last year. Highlighting the potential harm Crist's actions could cause, she trumpeted: "And this new form of Republican fratricide stretches well beyond Florida."
Commenting on Rick Perry's victory over Kay Bailey Hutchinson in Texas, Shipman intoned that this was a "A warning shot that surely chills all moderate incumbent Republicans."
A transcript of the April 29 segment, which airs at 7:09am EDT, follows:
7am teaseGEORGE STEPHANOPOULOS: [ABC graphic: Declaration of Independence]: And as Republicans abandon the fight to block financial reform, a GOP star set to announce he's abandoning the Party to run as an independent. Is this trouble for Republicans? Will more independents rise up?—Scott Whitlock is a news analyst for the Media Research Center. Click here to follow him on Twitter.
7:09
STEPHANOPOULOS: After the Goldman Sachs grilling on Tuesday in the Senate, Republicans decided to stop blocking debate on President Obama's financial reform bill. And there's been some political drama down in Florida where one of the party's rising stars who has hit a rough patch in his Senate run, Governor Charlie Crist is expected to announce today he is leaving the GOP, but will stay in the Senate race as an independent. Claire Shipman starts us off with this story from Washington. Claire?
ABC GRAPHIC: Declaration of Independence: Top Candidate to Leave Party
CLAIRE SHIPMAN: Good morning, George. That's right. Crist's decision, potential decision certainly is a game-changer in the Florida race. But more importantly, the sunshine state brawl has become now a national petri dish of sorts. It's letting us all look at what can happen in the unpredictable, anti-establishment world of Republican politics these days. The Republican Party made Charlie Crist one of the most powerful political figures in Florida. But he's lost its support. His survival plan now, to walk away.
CHARLIE CRIST: I'd say what I said the other day, things change.
SHIPMAN: Big-time. Once a shoo-in, with a big lead, he now trails political newcomer, rising Republican star and tea party hero, Marco Rubio. What happened? Most point to this embrace. Both the literal arms around President Obama on a Florida visit, but also Crist's more damaging embrace of the Democrats' stimulus plan, a political no-no for most Republicans. Crist may get a second chance as an independent. A recent poll showed him a bit ahead in a three-way spread. But Democrats hope a split of the conservative vote will help their man, Kendrick Meek.
KENDRICK MEEK: Some feel running against two Republicans is better than running against one.
SHIPMAN: And this new form of Republican fratricide stretches well beyond Florida. John McCain is facing a bloody Republican primary in Arizona. And in the Texas gubernatorial primary, Washington-bashing Republican Governor Rick Perry, easily crushed Senator Kay Bailey Hutchinson, once thought a Republican powerhouse. A warning shot that surely chills all moderate incumbent Republicans. Now, of course, changing party affiliation isn't totally unique. You remember Jim Jeffords, Joe Lieberman, Arlen Specter, a year ago. Most of the time the politicians are doing it because they want to win. But if this sort of political expediency, George, becomes a pattern, it could start to have national implications.
Friday, April 30, 2010
Fwd: MRC Alert: CBS Trumpets Opposition to 'Notorious' Arizona Law from One Cop and Linda Ronstadt, Already Finds 'Chilling Effect'
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