fred barnes at Brave New Films

FOX's Mort Kondracke Raises Concerns About McCain's Cancer

2008-10-24T12:54:28Z

Looks like we're not the only ones concerned about McCain's health records being released. On The Beltway Boys, FOX's Mort Kondracke conveyed his apprehension regarding the possible recurrence of McCain's melanoma. Kondracke told Fred Barnes that he wouldn't be satisfied if someone as unqualified as Sarah Palin had to take over because McCain's cancer had returned, and he said the American people shouldn't be either.

I wonder if Kondracke saw Brave New PAC's ad or read the open letter signed by over 2,800 doctors, urging McCain to provide full disclosure of his medical records. Probably not, considering Kondracke's FOX crony Bill O'Reilly bitterly objected to the ad, and CNN and MSNBC refused to run it on hypocritical grounds.

But it doesn't matter, since the movement surrounding the corporate media's censorship of the Brave New PAC ad has been big enough for people like Kondracke to take notice from all the way down at the other end of the political spectrum. Maybe Kondracke saw Meet the Bloggers last Friday, in which Dr. Richard Sagebiel, co-director of the UCSF Melanoma Clinic, explained the dangers of McCain not releasing his medical records in full. Maybe he saw Brave New PAC's full-page ad in Friday's NY Times or Frank Rich's column on Sunday. Or maybe Kondracke just saw the non-partisan actuarial math circulated by the Associated Press, which revealed McCain stands a 25 percent chance of dying in office.

Barnes on FOX: ‘I don’t care about mental health parity.’

2008-10-31T21:29:51Z

From Ben Armbruster at Think Progress:

Included in the massive $700 billion bailout bill Congress passed and President Bush signed today is a bipartisan mental health parity provision that gives employees the same treatment rights for mental illness as for other physical ailments. “Congress has given hope to the millions of Americans and their families who live with mental illness,” said Sen. Chris Dodd (D-CT). But last night on Fox News, the Weekly Standard’s Fred Barnes coldly dismissed the measure, saying “it doesn’t belong” in the bill:

BARNES: I don’t care about the mental health parity, and some of the other things that don’t belong in there. On the other hand, we have a crisis, and we need to do something.

More details on the Mental Health Parity law here.

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FOX News Pundits Overlook Palin's Lies

2008-10-31T03:31:34Z

FOX News pundits, Democrats, conservatives and moderates alike gushed over Sarah Palin's convention speech without noting that she told a passel of lies, that she's involved in a corruption scandal, that she has radical viewpoints out of step with mainstream America and that she has a radical pastor to rival Jeremiah Wright.

And while the National Enquirer was a hero when it exposed John Edwards' affair, nobody mentioned that it is now reporting about an extramarital affair between Palin and her husband's business partner.

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McCain & the Economy: You'll Laugh, You'll Cry...

2008-11-23T06:52:39Z

A mashup that covers everything John McCain and the economy. From Phil Gramm (McCain's chief economics advisor) calling Americans whiners along with many conservative pundits to McCains belief that the economy is strong and that all the country's economic problems are psychological and everything in between.

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FOX’s Non-Elitist Fred Barnes: Calling All Americans “Whiners” Is Just “Straight Talk”

2008-10-27T15:29:40Z

Imagine what would happen if anyone Barack Obama had ever spoken to in his life (let alone his campaign’s top economic advisor) had said that America is a “nation of whiners.” Republicans, those champions of the common man, would be having fits of righteous indignation, shouting “Elitism!” so much you’d think they got paid every time they said it. It would be called further damning proof of how “out of touch” and “unable to connect with average Americans” Obama is, and that pesky “liberal” corporate media would spend hours “discussing” and “analyzing” its ramifications. Think back on the literally hundreds of hours spent (and still being spent) on Obama’s comment that rural people tend to cling to religion, guns, and their racial identity when times are tough.

But what happens when Phil Gramm, John McCain’s top economic advisor, claims that the horrific state of the Bush economy is simply “mental” and the victims of it are all “whiners”? FOX and the Republicans actually defend this demeaning characterization of the economic woes facing the majority of Americans because of Bush’s disastrous policies, and in the case of FOX’s Fred Barnes, actually claim it is a positive for McCain.

Fox News Begins Responding To Cancellation Of Nevada Debate

2008-01-12T19:57:31Z

The Beltway Boys, Fred Barnes and Mort Kondracke, went after John Edwards, 3/10/07, for refusing to participate in the Fox Sponsored political debate in Nevada blaming his decision on " Moveon left wing liberals not in favor of free speech" who he later labeled " juior grade Stalinists". Also, the Fox News website reported the news by posting an article that was extremely critical using the headline " Lunatic Fringe In Charge".