GOP Radio host Smerconish to be simulcast on MSNBC in place of Imus

Are DUers who advocated pushing Imus out the door happy? At least he was anti-Bush. This guy is a Rovebot. It's ironic that Sharpton el al were so gung-ho about getting Imus off TV. Well what'd they get in his place? A RWer who supports anti-black policies more than Don Imus ever did.

http://mediamatters.org/items/200704200003

Smerconish's list of contributions to Republican causes:


http://www.newsmeat.com/media_political_donations/Michael_Smerconish.php

I would have MSNBC blocked from my TV right along with fux.

who OPPOSED the war preaching to other Republicans...now we have a PROWAR Republican bellowing over the airwaves....

At least Imus was on to the Bush administration and he told his audience so. And his audience needed to hear that.

The right of center audience that IMUS had is also now being soothed by the likes of Limbaugh who are the only people on the air agreeing with the point that he shouldnt have been fired.
That whole demographic which was leaning into our corner is now in serious peril of joining the McCain choir.
Congrats to the gullable.

I certainly am not listening to Rush. But you're right about the McCain thing.

There is most certainly a backlash out in hinterland....against those who did this most awful thing of lynching (figuratively) Imus for a mistake, and who no doubt will be after others before long. They will flock to the GOP side, but to a more moderate candidate. Instead of the moderate Dem. candidate, or the charismatic Obama, who, after all, has been endorsed by Jackson....one of those who supported the figurative lynching of Imus.

long suspension was the right way to go.

He was the ONLY person on TV with a wide audience who openly called Bush and Cheney war criminals, and was watched by viewers from across the political spectrum. (Olbermann doesn't have the weight that Imus did, and he's watched exclusively by the choir. I haven't heard Olbermann call the team war criminals, either.)

Guess Olbermann, who also wanted Imus fired, is pretty happy right about now. That leaves him as the only source on main TV for Dems to go to to hear news the way they like it.

He reaches about as many people in a month (mostly Democrats, too) as Imus reached Republicans in one hour of his four hour show.

Imus made it OK for Republicans to make fun of Gonzales, to call for his head, to call Bush and Cheney war criminals that should be hanged, to speculate over which of the two would wet their pants if such an event occurred, to call Rummy a bastard, and on and on.

And here's the sad thing. No one is talking about "nappy headed ho's" anymore. So much for that "national dialogue," eh? They're talking about Korean killers and Alec Baldwin.

Had Imus kept his show, and the Rutgers team been allowed to "input" into his format, maybe we'd have seen Imus with a black, lefty, female cohost ripping his ass everytime he stepped over the line? Frankly, I would PAY for that kind of programming, and I am no fan of pay radio.

Even though I can't stand the lying loudmouth...
nothing makes republicans look more ridiculous
than having another one of their court jesters on TV
for all to see what truly awful people they are.

But just the opposite has happened.

I listen to red radio occasionally. It's scary stuff. I can't believe what I'm hearing sometimes. But what's scary is that there are people out there who agree with that stuff, and are encouraged to go further with their wild beliefs.

Neither is FOX News for that matter, they are a major laughingstock across the country. No one except the fanatics consider them to be a legitimate news source.

Don't get me wrong I would strongly prefer the right-wing did not have a stranglehold over our airwaves, but it seems that people are catching on and seeing these people for who they are. I bet Smerconish's show bombs in the ratings and MSNBC walks off with egg on their faces for making this choice.

They are unfortunately the #1 morning show. Imus was a competitior, but that is no more.

Fox is #1 in prime time evenings.

And I read a poll showing that, for the first time, there are more Independents than there are EITHER party. Which means that both Dems and Repubs have left their parties and now call themselves Independents.

But now that the Imus show is gone, that is one less mainstream outlet that was openly and bravely critical of the GOP powers. This had an effect on the last election. Now that will be replaced by someone in the mainstream who is NOT openly critical, and that will have an effect, as well. Not on me...but there are sheeples out there in hinterland.

http://politics.netscape.com/story/2006/11/03/foxed-out-fox-news-ratings-drop/

Yes, unfortunately you are right that they are still number one. But while other networks are seeing their ratings drop as well, none are dropping at nearly as rapid of a pace as FOX's have been. If this keeps up they won't be number one much longer. As it is I know people who watch FOX not for news, but for comedy. This may help their ratings but it does not help their reputation.

I watch O'Reilly sometimes. I can't stomache Hannity, though, even just to see how he slants things. But I can take O'Reilly in small doses.

Imus was an equal opportunity basher. He explained to a lot of Bush voting cool-aid drinkers what a Neo-Con was. I know a Republican who turned on Bush/Cheney because he listened to Imus.

This is like having an illiterate Rush on MSNBC. More frightening than you know.

:thumbsdown:

with Sharton, NOW etc used as pawns unaware of the purpose.

1) It wouldn't take long to find Imus saying something that when pointed to very clearly should not have been said.
2) Fox picked it up pretty quickly
3) then the entire LW blogosphere, pundits and politicians come in to play.
4) Followed by calls to boycott sponsors
5) within a few days he is fired in both places

So, we lost a large audience show - that although obnoxious at parts - actually wasn't RW radio/tv.

What do we have left? Olberman is cool, but that is not a serious news show. They have even taken most of PBS - and are still whining about the liberal media.

The question is why did so many here fall for it?

I listened to Imus. I could say it was because that was the station my husband put on. That would be true, but not the whole truth. I kept it on because almost every day there was someone worth hearing.

Those conversations with politicians, authors, pundits etc were usually extremely interesting. He was low key enough, he could push people into being more relaxed. It was interesting to here and I ignored the garbage.

From the comments on last Sundays talk shows, so did the talking heads who appeared. It was interesting to see their reactions - the ones I now have the least respect for are the David Brooks - who never knew he said anything bad. Yeah - that's why he was called a shock jock.

Imus is a grouchy guy who hates most people and spouts off at anything, an Archie Bunker type. But he did catch on to this administration and I give him points for that. He was one of the few voices on television that spoke out about them. It depressed me to see so many calling for his head and ignoring the real evil of Rush and crowd.

GE, Proctor and Gamble (yes, really), Sprint-Nextel, Staples, and a host of other "big name" sponsors get from none other than the US government, and specifically, the Pentagon.

They want to keep this gravy train of a war going as long as possible. And with Imus stirring up the GOP sheep, that had potential to get in the way of their profit margin.

If they really gave a shit about Black people, they'd have covered the mistrel insults that Rush broadcast just a month ago--but no one has said Word One about that at all. And that was pretty damned egregious. But hey, he's for the war.

They waited for Imus to shoot off his stupid, completely wrong mouth at six fourteen in the morning, and then ran around sticking a mike and a camera into the faces of every "outraged" person they could find. They flogged the fucking story to death, and they did it on purpose.

Olbermann gets the same number of viewers in a month as Imus pulled in over both radio and TV in a single HOUR of his four hours a day show. Olbermann preaches to the lefty choir. The righties are watching that asshole O'Reilly at that eight PM timeslot. Imus preached to the right, and his message was "Bush and Cheney are war criminals. Stop the war. Fire Gonzales." It's that stuff that got him fired. Not those offensive remarks that he said, because he really HAS said worse and they solved the problem by just not COVERING it.

Imagine what they could have done with this whole 'race in America' thing had they KEPT Imus on? He could have, and likely would have, led the charge. He surely would have changed his format, and held himself up as a bad example, as he frequently did with the booze and coke and painkillers and smoking and so forth. He might have even gotten himself a Black co-host to rip him when he gets all racist and shitty. It could have been a money maker.

But those piddling profits are unimportant--it was the content of Imus's antiwar messages that were interfering with the "real" profit line--sure, his show made millions, but just about every one of those sponsors paid more in FINES for violating trade regulations with the Pentagon than they made off of Imus. Imus was chump change, and he was only a useful tool when he SUPPORTED the war.

It was a business decision, certainly....in that they needed to shut him up. But about the WAR, not about his race/religion/gender/orientation insults.

Wouldn't it be a big kick in the head if it turns out that Imus was Swiftboated by the RW in order to stop his bashing of the Admin? This seems even more probable now that a RW/Bush supporter was quickly dropped into his spot?

BTW, I am NOT an Imus fan. Never watched him or listened to him.

he did say exactly what they said he said.
In 2004, the SBVT repeated fabricated lies as the RW did on many things with Kerry.
What was the same was the 24/7 echo chamber repetion of it and making it the biggest issue of the day.

Read MADem's response(#19) - MADem makes the best case I've seen for it being a pro-war take down.

It amazes me how even DUers couldn't see how anxious the right wing was to have Imus gone.

Cheney is laughing his ass off.

And so many of us here were called racists just for seeing thru the scan.

Now we have a precedent.

Actually, an email campaign objecting to his bias would be in order even before he starts, since we already have evidence of his previous public comments.

and keep Imus, if given that choice. There were alot worse people than Don Imus. How many right wingers were cheering on the "beat up Imus" chorus....Elizabeth Hasselbeck (The View) wanted Imus gone, that should have been a hint, but anyways...

They OWN NBC. They make the rules.

Follow the money.

The address is linked at the mediamatters site that Ninja Jordan has linked in the OP.

not watched MS NBC since the firing. And now a right wing nut on in place of Imus. Disgusting :(

Has anybody heard if Imus is headed to Sirus or anything?

ahead in the rating and we all know how progressive they are.

The general public is sick of RW chatter
This is just classic top down idiocy

This is not where their money really comes from. This is just their propaganda outlet.

What a tinfoil-hat theory THAT is.

I'm disappointed in the extreme that they are replacing Imus with Smerconish, but I am convinced that it's sheer coincidence. Imus was a cancer on the face of MSNBC and it was long past time for him to be replaced. All the anti-Bush, anti-Cheney sentiments he had didn't make up for the ugliness of him as a person and the way he and his staff treated others.

Man, I cant wait for his first show. I wonder if I can make it through 10 minutes before going balistic.
Our local station replaceced IMUS with a pair that I am still trying to peg down. They seem kind of nuetral to right of center but not overtly so. I wonder if they will be axed in favor of ClearChannel light.

what would happen. Right? :sarcasm:

It's nice to know that some supposedly liberal Democrats are willing to tolerate a bigot as long as he bashes the Bush Administration, too. So much for principles.

The enemy of my enemy is not necessarily my friend.

We'll deal with Smerconish - and anyone else who follows him. But good riddance to Imus. He should have been fired a long time ago.

With enthusiasm like that I am certain I can turn on my TV or radio and see that it has been completly cleaned up with perhaps the exception of a solitary stray that has somehow managed to thus far escape your scrutiny ...
But wait ... no,
in fact every foul mouthed neocon shill that was there 4 years ago is still spewing their crap and they have been joined by a multitude of others?
What happened to the "we'll deal with them" attitude? Have you been slacking on the job? lol ...
Face it, you were handed IMUS's head on a platter and now are intent to believe you made a difference. Nothing has changed, just one less war critic on the radio and last I recall if you subtract 1 from 1 you are left with zero. Coincidence? Ya know what they say about coincidence.
Anyhow ... IMO, stopping the holy crusades from engulfing the globe rates as a much higher priority than seeking revenge for your hurt feelings. Must just be me but I doubt the two come anywhere close to eachother. Set your priorities straight and the job gets a lot easier.

Compared to Limbaugh, Savage, Levin etc Imus was a far more multi dimensional person.

His shock jock type stuff was beyond the pale, and he was pulled further over the line by many of the people with him.

He was though sincere on things like treatment of veterans, or autism. He also was able to conduct excellent informal disscussions with pundits and politicians. My regret is that these people didn't see the risk and get Imus to avoid this type of stuff - though we don't know what anyone said in private.

They got rid of a foul-mouthed old cowboy that no one took seriously, and replaced him with a loyal brownshirt for the Bush regime. Congrats.

And those NASCAR loving, country music listening, book buying, angry, white, male, likely voter Republicans LISTENED to him. When Imus said "Bush and Cheney are war criminals" it made it 'OK' for them to say the same thing.

He was moving the goalposts. A little nudge at a time. And bringing that rightwing crowd with him.

I wish more here could have seen that.

What's wrong with NASCAR? What's wrong with country music? I'm as blue as anyone here, but don't lump me into THAT category. Just because I enjoy seeing a good race or listening to a good song now and then doesn't make me a "likely voter Republicans."

so fucking easy to do. I'm not saying this to be mean, it's the truth. NASCAR and country music are more GOP than they are Democratic.

Look, if you examine the "demographics" of NASCAR, most of them are white, male, voting, Republicans. You're an EXCEPTION to the rule. Same with country music--more hardcore country music fans (not ones who listen to "country AND") vote GOP. Not all, but they do have the preponderance, even with the rising tide of Democratic fans post Dixie-Chicks: http://musicrowdemocrats.com/press/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=17&Itemid=1

The entertainment at the RNC conventions is largely country, when it isn't "Xtian Rock." Every so often they'll drag in some "ethnic" entertainers--just to claim that they're even handed (even when they aren't).

The NASCAR and the music on the Imus program were the "side dishes" to the main course. The main course was political, aimed at the GOP angry, white, voting male. If they didn't like the main course (Impeach Bush/Cheney War Criminal/Condi Incompetent/Rummy Vicious Killer/Gonzales has to go) they could find something else on the plate to enjoy, be it NASCAR or a live appearance by Big 'n Rich.

Definition of a NASCAR dad: Larry J. Sabato, director of the University of Virginia's Center for Politics, described Nascar Dads as "middle-to-lower-middle-class males who are family men, live in rural areas, used to vote heavily Democratic but now usually vote Republican." Most political experts more or less agree with that description, although political consultant Mudcat Saunders adds that Nascar Dads are often suburbanites who are "rural-thinking" about religion, patriotism, hunting, and fishing. http://www.thenation.com/doc/20061204/lipsyte


Here's an article on NASCAR's decline you might find amusing: http://www.salon.com/tech/htww/2006/11/20/nascar/index.html

I wasn't offended, I was just trying to be funny. Maybe this would have helped: :sarcasm:

Now I feel better. Thank you for getting my point!

It's just that sometimes, you say something, and you get a response from someone who is just DETERMINED to take offense, no matter what. If you say Underwater Basket Weaving is an idiotic career choice, you get accused of being prejudiced against Underwater Basket Weavers, and there are calls for your head because you aren't "progressive" or "tolerant" towards nitwits who like to weave baskets underwater.

I'm an antiwar, "economic moderate (i.e. pay your damned bills)", and a "human rights liberal" (meaning we all ARE created equal and should have the same rights) type of Democrat. That makes me a far rightwinger around this forum to some (which is left of the party as a whole, at least in some pockets) so I am accustomed to catching shit for my points of view.

Gee, what a surprise.

Tweety is a big fan of Smerconish. They're both Philly oriented.

Great, just great. Ugh, double ugh.

Smerconish is NEVER gonna get Imus' guests.

Kill your TV in the AM. It's all gone to shit.

Who would want to listen to either Imus or this RoveBot??

I doubt if any DUer had anything to do with the actual firing of Imus, nor the hiring of Smerconish. This was an MSNBC selection of yet another wingnut of the Far Right to host another of their programs. Sure, I would rather have Imus instead of Smerconish. I don't get to make those decisions, though. All complaints should be directed at MSNBC. Thanks.

This presents another opportunity to get rid of an a-hole right wing wacko for good.

Just wait, he'll say something over the line and watch Imus-Part Deux open up in theaters everywhere...

Or he'll just tank in the ratings and the dill hole that made the program decision will look like an ass. Maybe then we can get Bill Press to do his radio show on the TeeVee. I think the hand wringing is premature here, folks.

Why are they being protected? They have all said much much worse things than Imus has.

They didn't call Cheney a war criminal, however.

All they have to do is tick off a critical mass of people, and they're finished. Sure people will still listen to them and buy their books, but it'll be fringe again, not mainstream.

If you haven't noticed, O'Reilly and Limbaugh are losing audience like mad. In some cases the free market is a good thing, this is going to be one of them. It's our jobs to get people to realize that what they're listening to is harmful to America, and those sources of bile and hatred will go quietly into the fringe.

Expose it, condemn it, change enough minds, and you win every time.

If he makes no money(bad ratings) or becomes a threat to their money(advertiser boycotts, viewer outrage), he's gone.

The worm has turned, the people are beginning to wrest control of their airwaves from the corporates, and they're using the corporates' most beloved thing, the free market.

A very wise cartoon character once pointed and said: "ha-ha".

Many of Rupert Murdoch's news outlets don't turn profits either (or didn't for a very very long time).

These big businesses that own big media make the lion's share of their money from the non-media industries. In addition, even their media outlets are in the business of selling ads to other businesses.

but I think and hope that this is the beginning of the end of the money party's control of our airwaves and media. The internet is a very powerful tool in this battle.

We need to keep it going. Let's watch the bigots like a hawk, expose their bigotry, and put pressure on their advertisers and Sharpton and Jackson and NOW to decry their behavior as well.

You have to be incompetent to not make a profit with a newspaper. Or so biased no one buys or advertises in it.

will buy it--and the tourists will only make the mistake once! It's as bad as the Manchester Union-Leader...really odious, from the "news" articles to the editorial page.

It was "nice" that MSNBC got those huge ratings with IMUS, because it gave them credibility.

People like going with the winner. Viewers like watching the 'best' and 'most popular' show. It makes them feel like they're part of a cool crowd.

But here's the truth--MSNBC is a frigging pimple on the General Electric ass. It is useful because it provides an outlet for them and their fellow corporate sponsors, some of whom are subsidiaries, to shop their products to a retail audience. But more importantly, it provides a VENUE for GE to shape HEARTS and MINDS.

When you examine GE's relationship, and the relationship of many of the corporate sponsors of the show, with the US government, you see that they make billions--BILLIONS--off of the taxpayer teat. Billions, I said. They pay more in fines to the federal government (with no loss of contracts, though) for noncompliance with Buy America regulations than they ever made off of Imus.

The longer this war goes on, the more they make. Every day the war is SHORTENED costs them money. BIG money.

Imus was working against their bottom line. He was always offensive, and even more offensive in other examples than this latest disgrace. But no one complained, or if they did, MSNBC didn't air their complaints around the clock and whip up a controversy over it, did they?

Because back then, he was "staying on message" and supporting the war.

So they aren't interested in hearing Bill Press--if they do put him on, they will put him in opposition to a rightwinger on another channel, like Olbermann is a counterpoint to O'Reilly, so all he's doing is preaching to the already converted, and they too can claim to be "Fair and Balanced." We all remember that they weren't interested in hearing Phil Donohue, who had BETTER ratings than Tweety--he had the "wrong" message, and GE didn't like it.

So, at the end of the day, the only way an outrage by this asshole Smerconish will be covered is if they CHOOSE to cover it. And they'll only choose to cover it if he goes "off the ranch" on the war issue, like Imus did.

Some light reading on GE: http://www.coopamerica.org/programs/rs/profile.cfm?id=231

Everyone recognizes General Electric's famous slogan claiming that its services "bring good things to life"; however, good things are the least of what the company is known for. GE has made its mark over the years with the creation of many toxic Superfund sites, knowing exposure of humans to radioactive material, and the alleged manipulation of news coverage through its mass media entities. The company promotes its environmental business segment "Ecomagination," while simultaneously fighting Superfund clean-up laws that hold the company accountable for damage caused by years of careless PCB dumping. GE has also secured millions of dollars in defense and military contracts, earning itself a place among notorious war profiteering companies such as Lockheed Martin and Halliburton. Between its green business endeavors and becoming an EPA Climate Leader partner, GE is vying for the favor of green consumers and shareholders -- but the company's actions still tell a vastly different story.
Bottom line: let GE know that toxic dumping and war profiteering won't be tolerated. Express support for the company's sustainability efforts and use the Green Shift to find eco alternatives.

DHS Awards $8.8 Million for Exploratory Research on Advanced Nuclear Detection Technology
http://www.govtech.net/contracts/index.php
The U.S. Department of Homeland Security's (DHS) Domestic Nuclear Detection Office (DNDO) announced ten contract awards totaling $8.8 million to nine companies that will perform exploratory research in advanced nuclear detection technology. The Exploratory Research Program is designed to transform nuclear detection technology by funding aggressive research and development that is unconstrained by pre-existing user expectations and initial technical risks.

The nine companies selected are: Alliant Techsystems Incorporated, Mission Research Division; Canberra; EIC Laboratories, Incorporated; General Electric Global Research Center (two awards); Physical Optics Corporation; Radiation Monitoring Devices, Incorporated; Rapiscan Systems Corporation; Science Applications International Corporation (SAIC); and Westinghouse Electric Company.
Each contract consists of multiple phases, including an advanced technology demonstration, before potentially transitioning to a systems development and acquisition program. Successful technologies will be deployed to provide port-of-entry (POE) and non-POE radiological and nuclear detection capability.


GE Contracts won http://www.governmentcontractswon.com/search.asp?type=dc
Six pages worth...

So long as this new mouthpiece says what his corporate masters want him to say, he can insult any ethnic group, from gays to dusky folk, to any group you want to name, without consequences. He can be crass, rude, outrageous.

The minute he starts thinking for himself, if it doesn't match the party line, he's screwed.

I've been asking people to follow the money. You follow the MSNBC money, and it all goes back to GE, "We Bring Good Wars To Life."

:wow:

What are they thinking?!?

:wow:

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/michael-smerconish/roger-waters-the-pink-i_b_29838.html

Ummm, yeah not wanting to get rid of a basic right which has protected people's freedom since 1215 is so appalling. We need to go back and live in the thirteenth century again if we are to be a civilized nation.
:sarcasm:
If only Smerconish had half the brain of Roger Waters.

Of course, I'm joking. I don't believe Don Imus was dumb. I didn't think he should have been fired, and this just shows why. MSNBC replaces him with the worst of the worst. Imus said a very bad, bad thing. But look what his firing brought us? Imus wasn't a racist, he wasn't some right winger, he was a shock jock!! And he went way too far. So now instead we get this RWer hack.

Great, just great!!

The US will ratchet down only so far. And then...who knows. You can only get so dumb.

nt

I didn't listen or watch Imus and I sure ain't going to watch or listen to this new character, Smerconish.

You say that Smerconish supports anti-black policies, could you elaborate on that because I didn't read anything in your two links that would suggest that? There were quotes in there that made my skin crawl but I didn't see anything about him being anti-black.

It is obvious they shouldnt replace one mindless numbskull with another who happens to be MORE mindless ....

Imus deserved whatever he got .... The unmitigated gaul of MSNBC to replace him with an extremist RW asshole is another issue altogether ....

The principle is more important than the tactical advantage. Did anyone really think MSNBC was going to replace him with Air America? At least the line is drawn. The rightwing hate radio screechmonkeys now know that SOMETIMES actions have consequences. Thats good. As far as backlash do we really want to make decisions based on what MIGHT piss people off instead of what is RIGHT and what is WRONG? That road leads to perpetual GOP light policies. Sometimes you take a stand NOT because it is in your best interest but because you cant look yourself in the face if you dont stand up and say THIS IS WRONG. Having said all that I always said it was the outrage that mattered. I would have been fine with a suspension. However it shook out once it was shown there IS accountability would be alright with me.

He's quoted:

"When five Muslim men in attendance at the Meadowlands in September 2005 for a Giants-Saints game that was also a Hurricane Katrina fund-raiser, with George H.W. Bush in attendance, saw fit to pray in an area near food preparation and air duct work, I think it was a case of mind blank. That's a form of terrorism in itself."

I was hoping it would be Mike Barnicle, who CBS radio picked up to replace Imus.

This guy sounds like the spawn of Rush and Beck. :cry: