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Ben Cardin

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I don't make a habit of watching CBNC, and this disgusting display by one of their anchors, corporate CEO suck-up Maria Bartiromo is one of the reasons why. Mediaite posted this segment, and apparently the author over there didn't find anything wrong with Bartiromo's behavior and just quoted the fact that she decided to go off on Democratic Sen. Ben Cardin for not making a deal yet with Republicans during these so-called "fiscal cliff" negotiations and had the Wall Street traders cheering for her once she was done.

Roxpert over at Daily KOS had a, shall we say, slightly different reaction to this interview, which I share: WATCH!: CNBC's Maria Bartiromo attacks Ben Cardin...:

This is an example of why conservative corporate media is stoking the flames raging in America that causes some people to become unhinged. She interviewed Senator Ben Cardin this afternoon, and hardly let him speak as you'll see after the squiggle...

Maria's behavior toward Senator Cardin was over the top. CNBC has a slogan called "Rise Above" to try to be an activist network and get a compromise fiscal cliff agreement. Of course, to corporatist conservatives like Bartiromo, the DEMS are the ones in the way of any agreement and she hates, HATES, that senators actually would like to raise taxes on the rich as this video clip shows clearly...

How many times did Maria interrupt Senator Cardin, mid-sentence? How could she get away with asking him to step down if we can't get an agreement? How does she get off questioning his competence? The people of Maryland may have a different idea.

As they noted, she really owes the Senator an apology for her behavior, but I don't expect we'll get one any time soon. Bartiromo and her ilk care about protecting one thing and that's the ultra-wealthy in our society and it's a shame Cardin didn't do a better job at pushing back at her, but when you're interrupted and cut off at every turn, that's not too easy to do. He did about as well as anyone might hope for given how hostile her questioning was toward him and with how much he was even allowed to speak.

I'm also sick and tired of any of these talking heads like Bartiromo pretending that Republicans have actually put tax loopholes on the table, when they've refused to specify a single one that they would vote for. Bartiromo is being paid pretty well to make sure the interests of the 1 percent in this country are protected, and she's got that feigned outrage down pat just like a ton of Republicans we sadly get treated to on the air these days. If anyone isn't sure what a hissy fit looks like about the fact that it's possible their taxes might go up, all you have to do is watch the clip above.

Bartiromo is being paid a salary of $1 million a year and has a net worth of about $22 million. It's a shame that information isn't run in the chyron under her name on the air every time she opens her mouth so the viewers would be made aware of her conflict of interest with her so-called "reporting" every time she starts carping about taxes on the rich going up. It's her own taxes she's complaining about.

You can watch the whole interview at CNBC's site here if you've got the stomach for it.



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Good old Sen. Jeff Sessions who joined his fellow Republicans with deciding that attacking Elena Kagan for her association with "activist judge" Thurgood Marshall, the first African American to serve on the Supreme Court also decided it was a good idea to defend Bush's choice of Harriet Miers for the high court while deriding Elena Kagan as someone with the least "real legal experience of any nominee in at least 50 years and not just that the nominee has not been a judge."

John King actually gets Sessions to admit that although he didn't think Miers was the best choice for the Supreme Court, he was going to let her through because he was "being nice to a Republican president. Ben Cardin pointed out the Republicans disregard for Kagan's role as solicitor general. I've got a lot of reasons I didn't like Miers but the main concern for me was that she worked as a union buster and what that would mean when it came to her ruling on decisions that affected labor in the United States. I'm sure Jeff Sessions wouldn't have had any problems with that sort of "activism."

Jeff Sessions and his Republican cohorts apparently haven't learned that playing the race card when it makes you look like the huge flaming racist that you are, and calling the extremely smart woman who worked with the Supreme Court in a position that is often called the "tenth Justice" unqualified might not be the best strategy if you don't want to look like you're just playing partisan politics for political gain and hoping what's left of your racist and sexist base finds it appealing.

Transcript below the fold.

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Ed Schultz takes on the Republican fear mongering that's stirring up the crazies at these town hall meetings.

But first, tonight's "OpEd."

Goofy? Yes. Spooky? Yes. And a guy shows up with a gun at a presidential town hall.

If that's not dangerous, I don't know what is.

Now, to do all of this justice, I have to show you this first tonight. Take a look at what happened inside the town hall meetings of Senator Arlen Specter and Senator Claire McCaskill today.

Here it is.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You and your cronies in the government do this kind of stuff all the time. Well, I don't care!

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I do not want to pay on a health care plan that includes the right for a woman to kill her unborn baby.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I don't want this country turning into Russia, turning into a socialized country.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: What it says is, as a 74-year-old man, if you develop cancer, we're pretty much going to write you off.

MCCASKILL: You don't trust me?

AUDIENCE: No!

MCCASKILL: Hey! Hey!

OK. Ma'am-OK.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SCHULTZ: Fear, fear, and more fear.

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