I have only watched parts of Morning Joe online in video clips if there were something I really wanted to see. Other than that, I find he is too unpredictable....and his show is more about senationalism and ratings than real honesty and clarity.
Recently his Morning Joe co-host, Mika Brzezinski, wrote a letter to the New York Times defending him. She accused the newspaper of having "liberal" editorial pages.
Mika's letter to the NYTMy television and radio co-host has spent the last five years being equally tough on Republican and Democratic leaders in Washington. Joe was one of the first TV reporters to criticize the Bush White House during Hurricane Katrina. And while others were writing of a permanent Republican majority, Joe was predicting the collapse of the G.O.P. because of its reckless economic policies.
On our TV and radio programs, and also in his latest book, Joe urges his party to be more moderate in temperament and more accepting of dissent from leaders like former Secretary of State Colin L. Powell.
Joe’s evenhanded approach angers harsh ideologues on both sides. Last week, he was attacked by right-wing hosts for being too open-minded, and now by your liberal editorial page.
This liberal thinks The New York Times should follow Joe Scarborough’s example of speaking truth to power — regardless of which party is in power.
Trouble is, he doesn't always do that..."speak truth to power" that is. Though I have sometimes found myself in agreement with him, there are too many times he took the easy way out of a situation.
Media Matters has called him out many times on factual misspeaking recently as seen at this link from their site with the
search terms "Joe Scarborough."Think Progress also calls Joe out on his
recent strong defense of torture.SCARBOROUGH: This scene yesterday…I’m serious here, this comes straight out of “A Few Good Men.” The reason why the closing scene with Jack Nicholson on the stand worked so well, is, of course, we were all rooting for the young attractive Tom Cruise, just like more Americans are probably rooting for President Obama. But at the same time, what was said on that stand by Nicholson…I was struck by that contrast.
..."But to refresh Scarborough’s memory, at the end of the movie, Jessup ends up going to prison for his actions. “You’re under arrest, you son of a bitch,” Cruise tells Nicholson’s Cheney-esque character in a dramatic scene at the end of the movie. So to keep playing out Scarborough’s fantasy world — Will real-life end the same way “A Few Good Men”did? Based on his continued insistence that torture works(!), we’ll put Scarborough down as hoping “no.”
David Brock spent several pages on Joe Scarborough in his 2004 book called "The Republican Noise Machine." I transcribed a few because of the picture they paint of how the noise machine works. Scarborough is representative of use of the media for one's own goals.
From page 243: Some background on how Republicans can quietly have their scandals while those of Democrats are blasted loudly on air.
"Amid rumors of infidelity, Scarborough divorced in 1999 and unexpectedly announced in May 2001 that he would resign his congressional seat. Two months later a twenty-eight-year old female staffer, Lori Klausutis, was found dead in Scarborough's Florida district office. Ruled by authorities to be the result of an injury from a fall, the death was barely mentioned in the media, even though the medical examiner in the case had his medical license revoked in Missouri in 1996 for falsifying an autopsy report. Two months previous, Chandra Levy, a federal intern with whom Democratic Representative Gary Condit admitted having an extramarital affair, disappeared. That story gathered sensational wall to wall cable coverage for months."
There was so much more to that incident than that. I found this from another site.
The nebulous circumstances surrounding Klausutis's death were further compounded during her body's postmortem exam. Michael Berkland, the medical examiner assigned to perform the autopsy, quickly released a statement to the press indicating that there were no signs of trauma to the body or any indication of foul play. Later, however, he admitted the body had "a scratch and a bruise."
Berkland, it must be noted, has a less than professional record. He was fired from his position as medical examiner in Missouri for making false statements and eventually lost the right to practice medicine in that state (see sidebar). Still, Berkland concluded in the final autopsy report that Klausutis's heart had failed. Moreover, by failing to officially close the investigation, long after they had ceased to interview witnesses, the police prevented the public from learning any facts about Klausutis's death.
Only when the autopsy report was released (and that occurred only because the editor in chief of the Northwest Florida Daily News Ralph Routon's editorial demanded its issuance) did those willing to exercise their rights under Florida's Sunshine Law learn the extent of Lori's injuries.
The autopsy report revealed that Lori had suffered two skull fractures and an additional wound. A 71/4-inch crack all but spanned the top of her head, from right temple to left.
As a likely consequence of that blow, blood poured in from a steadily pumping heart to form a fist-sized hematoma at the left temple. There were separate 11/2-inch eggshell fractures, essentially pulverizing the bone, deep inside the skull behind the right ear. The back of her head was bashed, and her lungs were filled with bloody foam, suggesting that she took a relatively long time to die.
Who is MSNBC anchor Joe Scarborough?Absolutely no publicity for Scarborough, that intern's death was not mentioned in the media. The death of Klausutis was ignored by the media. Gary Condit, Democrat, was dragged through the mud though he was innocent.
That is how the Right Wing Noise Machine works.
Scarborough even joked on air about Lori Klausitis's death. He said "Have you heard I'm a murderer?" He said they are "comparing me to Gary Condit". Remember the outrage, the calls over that. He just keeps on like the energizer bunny.
He said more than that, from the article just above:
On May 29, 2003, Scarborough appeared on Don Imus's radio show. While complimenting Scarborough on his sense of humor, Imus said, "Don't be afraid to be funny, because you are funny. I asked you why you aren't in Congress. You said that you had sex with the intern, and then you had to kill her." Scarborough laughed and replied, "Yeah, well, what are you gonna do?"
It was all a joke.
On pages 245 and 246 of The Republican Noise Machine, David Brock tells of other things Scarborough has done on his shows. It illustrates clearly the double standard that exists for Democrats and Republicans.
Just before the California recall election in October 2003, as allegations of sexual harassment were swirling around Republican challenger Arnold Schwarzenegger, right wing radio host and MSNBC "analyst" Kim Serafin appeared on Scarborough Country, accusing one of Schwarzenegger's alleged victims of being convicted of multiple drug and prostitution changes. Serafin's charges, broadcast to the MSNBC audience with no rebuttal were false. Only after the election did MSNBC correct the record.
Scarborough's show attacked the victim instead of letting the facts out.
Brock went into more of the manner in which Scarborough conducted his show. I don't watch his new show, but I hear it might be similar in many ways.
Unlike Hardball, but like many of the FOX shows, Scarborough Country uses a formula that involves stirring up sexual, racial, and ethnic animosities through the stories he chooses to cover. Some are cited on-air to the unreliable Drudge Report.com. The stories have included "gay scout masters", "English only" controversies, tuition discounts for students who are illegal aliens, the rights of transexuals, and protests against campus affirmative action programs. He has called Democratic Senator John Kerry a "sissy" and a "sissyboy". When Disney announced it would make a movie by liberal filmmaker and author Michael Moore, MSNBC headlined the story "Disney's New Rat"; Scarborough asked..."Mickey Mouse, M_I_C_C as in communist? K-E-Y-M_O_O_R_E."
Brock tells of how Joe went after the Dixie Chicks, Tim Robbins, Susan Sarandon and Danny Glover.
Like Bill O'Reilly and many talk radio hosts, Scarborough has used his show to target free speech rights and the livelihoods of those whose views he does not share. During the Iraq War, he supported the boycott of the Dixie Chicks concerts after they criticized President Bush. He applauded when the Baseball Hall of Fame canceled an event featuring the anti-war actors Tim Robbins and Susan Sarandon. He instigated a "revote the Oscar" campaign against Michael Moore.....
Scarborough led an on-air "investigation" of the "extreme" views of actor Danny Gover, organizing a protest against Glover's role as a spokesman for telecommunications giant MCI.
Eventually MCI sent word they would no long use Danny Glover. Scarborough's campaign against him had worked.
Joe Scarborough's reward for his media accomplishments, the Morning Joe show. He must have pleased the powers that be.
Izzy Walser and other characters played by Joe Scarborough.
The St. Pete Times had an interesting article about Scarborough's background in 2000.
Joe Scarborough's peculiar personalityIt talks about his newspaper, the Independent Florida Sun. It mentions his nom de plume, Izzy Walser...a mysterious fellow.
Joe Scarborough, rock singer/newspaper publisher/congressman, wants to start a media empire here. Never mind that his weekly paper, the Florida Sun, has lost thousands of dollars since he started it four months ago. What matters to Scarborough is that he has an outlet for his creativity.
Rock music has always been his outlet -- he recorded a CD called Joe -- but Scarborough says he got weary of drummers leaving for drug rehab and guitarists who passed out on stage. He has found that people in the newspaper business are slightly more stable.
His paper is a mix of right-wing opinion, political profiles and pop criticism. He writes many articles himself, but uses pseudonyms because readers complained when he wrote a signed column that said the Atlanta Braves always choke in the playoffs.
..."He writes many stories under the pseudonym Izzy Walser, who is listed in various issues as national affairs correspondent, religion writer and olfactory correspondent (for a story on transmitting odors over the Internet).
He even wrote a song:
I met a girl from Austin, Texas,
who turned out to be an L.A. man
What's the deal with Austin, Texas,
please help this redneck understand
I saw a church in Austin, Texas,
its cross stood resolute and gray
Wish I knew what "resolute' meant
Cause it's a word I like to say
From his song, Austin, Texas
Being a Republican means you don't get called out in the media when there is a handy Democrat to be put on the air and have their reputation destroyed.
The double standard means he gets to say things with impunity and get paid well for them, while those who try to get to real truths get pummeled by the right wing and the noise machine.
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