Bill Maher Presses Maddow On Christie Coverage: "It"s Not Watergate" (VIDEO)

Bill Maher may have broken up with MSNBC, but he’s still paying close attention to just how much coverage the network gives to New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie (R).

Maher brought MSNBC host Rachel Maddow onto his HBO show Friday night and pressed her to explain why the network gives so much airtime to the scandal surrounding the Christie administration’s involvement in closing lanes on the George Washington Bridge.

“I am totally obsessed with the Christie story, unapologetically,” Maddow said, comparing it to her past coverage of disgraced former Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich.

Maher wrote in what he called a earlier this month that he was going to “start seeing other news organizations” in protest of the network’s wall-to-wall coverage of Christie. He added that MSNBC had become like Fox News and that the so-called Bridgegate scandal had become the network’s version of Benghazi.

“I should have said that, yes, this is not the same as Benghazi,” Maher said. “I made that analogy, I said ‘This is your Benghazi.’ Benghazi is nothing. There is no scandal there. This is an actual scandal. It’s just that it’s not Watergate.”

“When there are gonzo political corruption stories, you cover them,” Maddow responded. “The most interesting thing about the Christie one is that we still don’t know what happened. It’s still not resolved. We still don’t have an explanation.”

National Review writer Charles C.W. Cooke ventured another theory about why MSNBC has hammered Christie in recent weeks: to “get rid of Chris Christie” from the 2016 presidential field.

“So you think that I’ve created the bridge story out of whole cloth in order to elect a Democrat in 2016?” Maddow asked with a mocking laugh, concluding that the bridge scandal was simply “an ongoing story worth covering.”

Watch below:

h/t Raw Story

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Bill Maher Presses Maddow On Christie Coverage: "It"s Not Watergate" (VIDEO)

Rachel Maddow slams handling of West Virginia water crisis: ‘A disaster of the ongoing variety’

By Arturo Garcia
Thursday, February 6, 2014 0:32 EST

MSNBC host Rachel Maddow pointed out on Wednesday night that the issues surrounding West Virginia’s water supply have not abated, despite the assurances by Gov. Earl Ray Tomblin’s (D) administration that the problem would be resolved quickly.

“If that is where you left the story, if you figured, ‘Oh, water’s back on, that must be the end of it,’ then what you missed in this story was this situation going from really bad to even worse to ‘Oh my God, how is this happening?’,” Maddow said.

In the days since she first highlighted the toxic Jan. 9 spill at a Charleston facility — which left 300,000 residents without water — Maddow pointed out that not only have officials been forced to reverse course on at least one directive that the water was safe again, but that Freedom Industries, the company in charge of the plant, reported that a second chemical had leaked 19 days after the initial incident.

In the latest incident, Maddow pointed out that two schools reported “the return of the syrupy smell” emanating from their water pipes, forcing them to be flushed again. Meanwhile, residents suffering from liver or kidney illnesses or immune system difficulties have been advised not to drink the water.

Regardless, Tomblin and officials from the Center for Disease Control and the Environmental Protection Agency insisted to the public that the water is safe, leading to a scene at a press conference where local reporters pushed back against their claims.

“There’s a big issue in the community — there’s no faith,” one reporter was heard saying in a clip played by Maddow. “There’s no faith in the water. There’s no faith in the system. Clearly, one of the issues is, people would like their homes tested. They’re worried about the pipes.”

However, Tomblin initially balked at the prospect of having officials test water pipes for residents statewide, before apparently backtracking on that Wednesday afternoon.

“This has been worse than an accident in West Virginia,” Maddow charged. “This has been a disaster of the ongoing variety.”

Watch Maddow’s commentary, as aired Wednesday on MSNBC, below.

Arturo Garcia

Arturo R. García is the managing editor at Racialicious.com. He is based in San Diego, California and has written for both print and broadcast media, including contributions to GlobalComment.com, The Root and Comment Is Free. Follow him on Twitter at @ABoyNamedArt

The Raw Story

Rachel Maddow slams handling of West Virginia water crisis: ‘A disaster of the ongoing variety’

Maddow: Paul ripped off Wikipedia

Maddow noted similarities in Paul’s speech and the Wikipedia page of a movie. | AP Photo

MSNBC host Rachel Maddow is accusing Sen. Rand Paul of lifting some material from Wikipedia for a speech he gave at Liberty University in Virginia.

The passages in question are descriptions of the movie “Gattaca,” about genetic discrimination in a dystopian future. Monday night, Maddow noted the similarities in Paul’s speech and the Wikipedia page.

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Paul was making a point about abortion and how it can be compared to removing undesired genes from the nation’s pool. He referenced the movie as an example of eugenics.

“In the movie Gattaca, in the not-too-distant future, eugenics is common. And DNA plays a primary role in determining your social class,” Paul said at Liberty.

That compares to the Wikipedia entry on the movie, which hadn’t been edited since late September: “In the not-too-distant future, liberal eugenics is common and DNA plays the primary role in determining social class.”

The Kentucky Republican continued summarizing the movie.

“Due to frequent screenings, Vincent faces genetic discrimination and prejudice. The only way to achieve his dream of being an astronaut is he has to become what’s called a ‘borrowed ladder,’” Paul said.

Wikipedia read: “Due to frequent screening, Vincent faces genetic discrimination and prejudice. The only way he can achieve his dream of becoming an astronaut is to become a ‘borrowed ladder.’”

Maddow continued to highlight similar passages, saying Paul’s speech “was totally ripped off of Wikipedia.”

“He assumes the identity of Jerome Morrow, a world-class swimming star with a genetic profile secondary to none, who’s been paralyzed in a car accident,” Paul said.

That was similar to the Wikipedia line: “He assumes the identity of Jerome Eugene Morrow, a former swimming star with a genetic profile ‘second to none’, who had been injured in a car accident, leaving him paralyzed from the waist down.”

“Jerome buys his identity and uses his DNA, his blood, his hair, his tissue, his urine to pass the screening,” Paul continued.

From Wikipedia: “Vincent ‘buys’ Jerome’s identity and uses his ‘valid’ DNA in blood, hair, tissue, and urine samples to pass screening.”

After the segment, Maddow’s blog noted that after Paul’s speech on Monday, somebody edited the Wikipedia page to include “Rand Paul talking point” instead of “borrowed ladder,” but it was quickly edited back out.

Paul was speaking at Liberty in support of Virginia Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli, who is running for governor in the election next Tuesday.

Paul’s office couldn’t be immediately reached for comment.

POLITICO – Congress

Maddow: Paul ripped off Wikipedia

Maddow to same sex couples: ‘Just get married’ whether it’s legal or not

By David Ferguson
Saturday, October 19, 2013 11:08 EDT

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On Friday night’s edition of “The Rachel Maddow Show,” Rachel Maddow discussed a tactic that is being used by same sex marriage advocates in New Jersey, and which has proved to be effective in other parts of the country. Same sex couples have been marrying while the legality of their marriages is still being worked out in the courts, a tactic that has proven effective in moving marriage laws forward in several states.




Maddow was joined by New Jersey Democratic gubernatorial candidate State Sen. Barbara Buono. The two discussed current Gov. Chris Christie’s stubborn resistance to same sex marriage, even as those marriages move forward in his state.




Maddow began the segment by explaining that in Asbury Park, NJ, the town clerk has started handing out marriage licenses to same sex couples. Asbury Park was once a run-down, nearly abandoned town well past its boom years, but an influx of LGBT people, artists and new businesses have caused the town to boom anew.




“And that is great for the residents of Asbury Park,” Maddow said. And while these couples who are marrying, she explained, are individual families, they are part of a tactic that has proved effective for marriage equality advocates.




“While marriage rights are still being adjudicated,” Maddow said, “just get married. It has an effect.”




She recounted that in 2004, San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom up and announced that he was going to start marrying same sex couples in his city. That action, she said, “strapped a turbo-charge” to the drive toward marriage equality in California. Public officials did the same in New York state and other states where same sex marriage is now legal.




Maddow said that these acts of civil disobedience have been “a surprisingly effective direct-action tactic” toward LGBT people getting marriage rights.




Newly elected Sen. Corey Booker has made a similar announcement, in spite of the fact that Gov. Chris Christie has made his opposition to same sex marriage very plain.




Maddow welcomed Christie’s challenger, Barbara Buono to the show, who agreed that Christie was staking out a losing position on marriage equality, but that this isn’t a new course of action for him.




“The governor has a history of using his office to advance his own political interests,” Buono said. Not only is he off the mark on social issues, she told Maddow, “his economic plan really has just enriched the wealthy and crippled the middle class.”




Watch the video, embedded below via MSNBC:













The Raw Story



Maddow to same sex couples: ‘Just get married’ whether it’s legal or not

Maddow: After Everything, GOP Comes Up Empty

Luke Russert, NBC News Capitol Hill correspondent, talks with Rachel Maddow about the likelihood of another shutdown crisis in Congress in the future. Next, Rachel gives a concise review of just how badly Republicans lost this month.

RealClearPolitics Video Log

Maddow: After Everything, GOP Comes Up Empty

Maddow: Conservative Media In Denial Over Shutdown Severity

First, Rachel Maddow contrasts the treatment of the shutdown in the liberal and conservative press. 

Next, Congressman Scott Rigell, R-Va., who represents the nation’s largest military district, talks with Rachel Maddow about the damaging effect of congressional redistricting on the democratic process and why Congress needs to break its habit of continuing resolutions instead of appropriations.

RealClearPolitics Video Log

Maddow: Conservative Media In Denial Over Shutdown Severity

Rachel Maddow Goes After Alex Jones and Infowars in Full Segment - 4/24/2013

Maddow: GOP Returns To Government Shutdown Agenda

Congressman Frank Pallone talks with Rachel Maddow about the determination of House Republicans to shut down the government, despite widespread bipartisan disapproval by the American people.

RealClearPolitics Video Log

Maddow: GOP Returns To Government Shutdown Agenda

Maddow: GOP Returns To Government Shutdown Agenda

Congressman Frank Pallone talks with Rachel Maddow about the determination of House Republicans to shut down the government, despite widespread bipartisan disapproval by the American people.

RealClearPolitics Video Log

Maddow: GOP Returns To Government Shutdown Agenda

Maddow: Anti-Obamacare Push By GOP Sens. Cruz, Mike Lee A "Profit-Driven Ruse"

MSNBC: Rachel Maddow on conservatives using a war on Obamacare as a means of bilking money from gullible conservative patsies and the dangers of Republicans playing political games with the economic wellbeing of the United States. 

RealClearPolitics Video Log

Maddow: Anti-Obamacare Push By GOP Sens. Cruz, Mike Lee A "Profit-Driven Ruse"

Maddow: Americans Leaving GOP Behind On Marriage Equality

Maddow: Americans Leaving GOP Behind On Marriage Equality

Rachel Maddow reviews the growing acceptance of equal marriage rights across America, even among Republicans.

RealClearPolitics Video Log

Maddow: Americans Leaving GOP Behind On Marriage Equality

Tyrel Ventura Gives EPIC Smack Down to Rachel Maddow Over Conspiracy Theories

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Tyrel Ventura drops an epic beat down on Rachel Maddow and the whole of the news media in this rant defending conspiracy theorists.

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Tyrel Ventura Gives EPIC Smack Down to Rachel Maddow Over Conspiracy Theories

Rachel Maddow, Propagandist for Huge Criminal Conspiracy (theory) Liars

Rachel Maddow, Propagandist for Huge Criminal Conspiracy (theory) Liars

Tyrel Ventura Gives EPIC Smack Down to Rachel Maddow Over Conspiracy Theories

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Tyrel Ventura drops an epic beat down on Rachel Maddow and the whole of the news media in this rant defending conspiracy theorists.

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Tyrel Ventura Gives EPIC Smack Down to Rachel Maddow Over Conspiracy Theories