Rachel Maddow at Brave New Films

Liberal Bloggers Keep Torture Supporter Brennan Out of the CIA

2008-11-28T00:48:11Z

In what Glenn Greenwald is calling the best political news he's heard since the election, John Brennan has taken himself out of the running for an intelligence post in the Obama administration. Brennan has been Obama's top intelligence adviser, but he is also closely connected with Former CIA Director George Tenet and was a staunch proponent of the Bush administration's controversial policies on torture, rendition, detainment, and warrantless wiretapping.

Perhaps the best part is, the reason cited for Brennan withdrawing his name was that liberal bloggers had "raised a firestorm" about his nomination recently. Kudos to Greenwald, Digby, Cenk, Andrew Sullivan, Jane Hamsher, and other bloggers who took this on, not to mention the 200 psychologists who wrote to President-elect Obama protesting Brennan's possible appointment. It's great to know that we have the power to effect change like this in Washington, particularly now when it's so critical for Obama to move away from Bush's legacy of torture and human rights violations. (Now let's turn our attention to the Gates appointment, especially if it has repercussions for Afghanistan.)

You can support Obama in closing Gitmo and ending unconstitutional military commissions by signing our petition here.

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Maddow: Why Won't Obama Pursue War Crimes Investigations?

2008-11-30T21:37:05Z

From HuffPo's Jason Linkins:

On last night's Rachel Maddow show, Maddow engaged Slate's Dahlia Lithwick in a discussion on how Barack Obama might tend to some of the more morally troubling aspects of the outgoing Bush administration -- issues like torture and detention and rendition. Initially, Lithwick says, she was optimistic that an Obama administration would follow through on promises to close Gitmo and bring a halt to the practice of torture. But there's been some hedging.

"I've been waiting for war crimes tribunals to get sexy," Lithwick quipped,. "For folks like me, who have been covering Padilla and covering Moussaoui, covering Gitmo, covering waterboarding for years, we were waiting for this moment for [Obama] to say, as he said, days after the election...we're closing Guantanamo...and within hours, they kind of pulled back on it a little bit." Lithwick noted that the camp is taking a "turn the page" line on potential prosecutions, that it wasn't a matter the Obama team "wanted to expend capital on." "My feeling is," Lithwick said, "if you don't want to expend capital on war crimes, what do you want to spend it on?"

Throwing Down the Gauntlet Over Lieberman

2008-11-20T02:11:05Z

The tension surrounding tomorrow's secret ballot vote to determine Lieberman's fate in the Democratic caucus continues to build. Late last week, Senators Sanders and Leahy publicly called for Lieberman's ouster from the Homeland Security committee. Then Rachel Maddow challenged Lieberman to appear on her show to defend his partisan politics and poor committee leadership. And today, Senators Carper and Dorgan came forward to claim Lieberman should be punished for actively campaigning against Barack Obama and other Democrats throughout the election, an amazing twist considering Carper was Lieberman's Delaware campaign chairman when he ran for president in 2004.

All of this comes on the heels of our Lieberman Must Go campaign, in which over 1,700 people have already called their Senators and asked them to take away Lieberman's gavel tomorrow. Forget the myth about needing Lieberman for a 60-seat filibuster proof majority -- or check out Mark Karlin's post at Buzzflash if you need that myth debunked. Instead, think about what would happen if Lieberman were to remain chair of the Homeland Security committee. All of his ugly smears of President-elect Obama would go unpunished. All of his hawkish views of Iraq and Iran would go unchecked. And all of his ineptitude when it comes to investigating the Bush administration for Hurricane Katrina or war profiteers would go unnoticed, as he sets his subpoena power sites on Obama.

It's not to late to call your Senators and tell them Lieberman Must Go.

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Running Out of Time to Take Action on Lieberman

2008-11-20T12:47:20Z

What part of "Lieberman Must Go" don't Democrats understand? The Huffington Post reports that President-elect Obama and Senators Dodd, Carper, Nelson and Salazar not only want Lieberman to remain in the caucus, but they're seeking alternative ways to punish him rather than simply taking away his Homeland Security Committee chairmanship. To complicate matters, Sen. Evan Bayh (D-IN) said on Rachel Maddow's show that Lieberman needs to offer a "sincere apology" in order to hang onto his gavel.

While I would get a kick out of seeing Lieberman offer a profound mea culpa -- particularly on Maddow's show -- a heartfelt apology simply will not undo months and months of Lieberman's partisan rancor. And for Bayh to suggest that Democrats might actually need Lieberman to bring an end to the Iraq war is downright preposterous, considering both he and Lieberman have been two of the war's biggest proponents.

The reality is, though, that we're running out of time if we want to make our voices heard about Lieberman's fate. The entire Democratic caucus will convene soon to decide whether to strip Lieberman of his committee chairmanship. That's why you must call your Senators today and tell them "Lieberman Must Go!" Over 1,300 people have already made the call.

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Colbert Report: Rachel Maddow, Queen of Cable

2008-11-26T19:34:04Z

Rachel Maddow says the Bush administration has been like hiring a vegan to be your butcher.

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Rachel Maddow Slams the New 'Poll Tax'

2008-11-20T12:10:39Z

From The Washington Monthly's Steve Benen:

A friend of mine in Miami, M.G., waited in line for five hours the other day to vote. Her elderly mother wasn't physically able to wait that long, but fortunately, M.G. was permitted to hold her place in line. Some senior citizens don't have anyone willing or able to help in that capacity, and they're forced to choose -- endure extraordinarily long lines, which is a challenge even for young voters, or just go home, and not participate in the most important election in generations.

I've seen plenty of reports over the last week or so about how inspiring all of this is. And these reports are not without merit -- for a country that is allegedly cynical and apathetic, there are untold thousands willing to endure painfully (literally) long lines just to cast a ballot.

But Rachel Maddow seems to be the only media figure calling this out for what it is: a poll tax.

Rachel Maddow-Calling a liar, a liar

2008-10-21T11:00:45Z

Rachel Maddow uses an L word. 10/13/08

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Maddow and Sirota on McCain's "Rigged Economic Plan"

2008-11-20T03:00:18Z

Rachel Maddow and syndicated columnist David Sirota discuss John McCain's "rigged economic plan" which promotes conservative Bush policies.

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Rachel Maddow Blasts Former Bush Speechwriter David Frum

2008-11-20T06:44:48Z

Watch Maddow slam former Bush speechwriter David Frum for comparing the hate-filled discourse at McCain-Palin rallies to "The Rachel Maddow Show."

Over at Think Progress, Ali Frick takes Frum to task for coining the "Axis of Evil" and launching numerous smear campaigns against prominent Democrats over the years.

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Rachel Maddow on Leno: Politics, Palin, and Pat Buchanan

2008-11-01T09:29:56Z

From HuffPo:

Rachel Maddow appeared on "The Tonight Show" Thursday night, where she discussed politics, personal stories, and Pat Buchanan with Jay Leno.

Leno introduced Maddow as the host that "doubled the ratings" of MSNBC's 9PM hour, and also made sure to mention Maddow's stint as a Rhodes Scholar (which Maddow simply referred to as "I went to grad school in England").

Maddow described Barack Obama as "presidential" and said McCain "looks like the guy who doesn't want Barack Obama to be president." She also said that she finds Sarah Palin "entertaining," and that she once felt like Pat Buchanan's culture wars were directed at her, but now she enjoys debating with him.

Leno and Maddow also discussed the ways the political framework have changed. "Liberal and conservative don't map all that easily onto our politics anymore," she said.

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Maddow: Venomous Hate at McCain-Palin Rallies is Frightening

2008-11-06T20:51:08Z

Rachel Maddow reports on the "venomous hate" being incited at McCain-Palin rallies.

(HuffPo's Sam Stein has more on how McCain has created a difficult situation for himself by stoking all of the animosity toward Obama in the first place.)

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Rachel Maddow Ratings Are In - She's Cleaning House

2008-10-31T09:30:40Z

Watch more at www.theyoungturks.com

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FOX Attacks MSNBC Bias and “Lesbian Air America Host” Rachel Maddow as Her Show Debuts

2008-11-10T20:16:27Z

Yes, supposedly neutral “media analyst” Tim Graham attacked MSNBC for alleged bias and for giving “lesbian Air America host” Rachel Maddow her own show.

(IMPORTANT REMINDER! Rachel Maddow’s show debuted last night (Sept. 9) at 9pm ET! Be sure to email MSNBC at letters@msnbc.com to let them know how much you loved Rachel’s show, and how upset you are that Keith Olbermann was pulled off of MSNBC’s debate coverage!)

MSNBC’s decision to not allow Keith Olbermann and Chris Matthews to cover the upcoming presidential debates and the above video illustrate something very important about FOX and conservatives: they don’t want the news to be unbiased — they want it to be like FOX. In that sense, trying to appease them with moves like pulling Olbermann and Matthews isn’t going to make them happy because nothing will ever be enough unless MSNBC abandons all journalistic integrity and becomes a Republican propaganda machine like FOX. Further, it confirms in their mind that the myth of the “liberal media” is true since MSNBC has essentially admitted it. Meanwhile, expect to see people like Sean Hannity and Brit Hume (who easily sheds his faux-gravitas “Walter Cronkite” persona to become a horribly acerbic “commentator” when asked) on FOX’s presidential debate coverage.

Rachel Maddow: McCain's Freddie/Fannie Flip Flops

2008-11-01T03:32:00Z

Rachel on MSNBC 9-5-08
http://www.airamerica.com

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IAVA Director: Faux Walter Reed Background "Was as Close as McCain Got to Veterans Issues" at RNC

2008-10-30T03:32:23Z

From Ali at Think Progress:

On Thursday night, Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) formally accepted his party’s nomination for president at the Republican National Convention. During his speech, a mysterious image of a building appeared on the screen behind him, which TalkingPointsMemo identified as Walter Reed Middle School, in North Hollywood, CA. (The school did not grant permission to use its image.) Some suspect McCain had intended to show a photo of Walter Reed Medical Center; the McCain campaign has offered conflicting explanations for the bizarre use of the photo.

Appearing on MSNBC’s Countdown last night, Paul Riekhoff, director of the Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America, slammed McCain for completely ignoring Iraq and Afghanistan veterans during his speech, saying the mistaken background was “about as close as Sen. McCain got to veterans issues”:

RIECKHOFF: I think honestly that backdrop, whether it was Walter Reed medical center or Walter Reed middle school — that’s about as close as Sen. McCain got to veterans issues last night. He didn’t mention the word veteran once during his entire speech, didn’t talk about post-traumatic stress disorder, didn’t talk about veterans funding. I think he really forgot where he came from last night.

RACHEL MADDOW - MSNBC 8-27-08

2008-10-31T03:31:15Z

Rachel on MSNBC preview Bill Clintons DNC speech.
http://www.airamerica.com

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Rachel Maddow: The Media & The Clintons

2008-10-31T03:30:22Z

Rachel's DNC coverage on MSNBC 8-26-08
http://www.airamerica.com

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Rachel Maddow

2008-10-30T15:29:53Z

Sam Seder Dispatch live from the Democratic National Convention

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Dear John (McCain) will you stop taking $58,000?

2008-11-08T02:21:29Z

I challenge John McCain to refuse to accept anymore disability payments from the United States of America so those funds can be distributed to veterans whom need the money more.

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Congrats to Rachel Maddow and Her New Gig!

2008-10-29T21:30:31Z

Watch more at www.theyoungturks.com

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Ask Dr. Maddow - Rachel Maddow

2008-10-30T03:30:47Z

How to order a Martini in Europe.

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Meet the Bloggers with Rachel Maddow

2008-11-23T18:56:31Z

Join us: meetthebloggers.org

Cenk Uygur and co-host David Dayen discussed the future of Afghanistan with special guest Rachel Maddow along with bloggers David Dayen, Baratunde Thurston, Liliana Segura, and Roberto Lovato.

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Meet the Bloggers with Special Guest Rachel Maddow

2008-10-30T03:31:01Z

On this week's Meet the Bloggers, Cenk Uygur and co-host David Dayen discussed the future of Afghanistan with special guest Rachel Maddow.

Meet the Bloggers airs Fridays live at 1pm ET/10am PT. But you can always catch the full episode: http://meetthebloggers.org/.

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Meet the Bloggers: How Does Pakistan Factor into the Afghanistan War?

2008-10-30T03:31:00Z

On Friday's Meet the Bloggers, host Cenk Uygur discussed Pakistan's role in the war in Afghanistan and the larger U.S. war on terror. Uygur was joined by bloggers Roberto Lovato, Liliana Segura, and Baratunde Thurston.

Watch the full episode: http://meetthebloggers.org/.

Meet the Bloggers airs Fridays live at 1pm ET/10am PT.

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Afghanistan and the Antiwar Movement

2008-10-30T03:31:04Z

Four years ago, progressives used to joke that the single best organizer of the haplessly divided American left turned out to be none other than George W. Bush. Left to its devices, as everybody knows, the progressive movement invariably fractures and splits apart, like clay soil in the sun. Faced with a common enemy in the 2004 election season, however, progressives were as unified and as motivated as we had been in at least a generation.

The solidarity that was galvanized by that massive mobilization lasted through Bush's second term. It helped curb the ambitions of an imperial presidency and propelled Democratic majorities into the House and Senate. It weathered the storm of a fiercely contested Democratic primary. It contributed to annihilating the Republican brand, perhaps for a generation, perhaps for good.

Today, however, as this revitalized progressive movement finally finds itself in a position to begin to imagine the tasks involved in actually governing in the near future, lines of fissure are opening under the surface. Those rifts demonstrate only what we already knew: that from the beginning ours has been a movement characterized more by the enemies we hold in common than by our shared values. As a defensive force, the motley coalition that formed in opposition to the Bush administration's radicalism hung together admirably. It has many internal squabbles ahead, however, before it will find itself prepared to present the world with a clear and coherent governing agenda.