MSNBC hosts appearance by Mark Williams, who again smears progressives
SUMMARY: On MSNBC Live, Norah O'Donnell hosted Mark Williams -- a New York-based radio host and spokesman for the Our Country Deserves Better Political Action Committee -- who took the opportunity to accuse President-elect Barack Obama of "buy[ing] the office of presidency" and of promising to enact "harmful, anti-American policies." This is merely the latest in a string of appearances on MSNBC in which Williams has made baseless and incendiary attacks on progressives.
On the November 24 edition of MSNBC Live, anchor Norah O'Donnell hosted Mark Williams -- a New York-based radio host and spokesman for the Our Country Deserves Better Political Action Committee -- who took the opportunity to accuse President-elect Barack Obama of "buy[ing] the office of presidency" and of promising to enact "harmful, anti-American policies." This is merely the latest in a string of appearances on MSNBC in which Williams has made baseless and incendiary attacks against progressives.
Williams appeared on MSNBC Live to tout a television ad produced by the PAC thanking Gov. Sarah Palin for, in Williams' words, "representing the beliefs, the views, and the values of a great number of Americans." Williams said the PAC is raising money to run the ad during football games on Thanksgiving Day. When O'Donnell asked Williams if he was "using Sarah Palin to raise money for [his] PAC," he responded, in part: "That's the way politics is done in America -- you raise money. Ask Barack Obama. He raised what, a billion, to buy the office of presidency." Williams also asserted, "[W]hat Our Country Deserves Better is all about is supporting the institution and the office of the presidency of the United States while guarding the nation against harmful, anti-American policies that this incoming president promises to enact." O'Donnell responded by saying: "All right, Mark. Well, you're definitely serving it up hot on this Thanksgiving. Thanks so much."
Media Matters for America has noted comments Williams has made in a series of appearances on MSNBC in the past three years, smearing and baselessly attacking progressives and Democrats:
- On the August 16, 2007, edition of Hardball, Williams asserted that "every military advance we have made" in Iraq "has been ruined, one way or another, by some fat-mouthed congressman, usually a Democrat, opening his mouth on Capitol Hill."
- Also on the same edition of Hardball, presumably referring to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) on Iraq, Williams said, " 'Nancy Botox' is out there saying, you know, 'We're leaving! We're running! We're gonna go away!' " Host Chris Matthews responded, "You know, Mark, that doesn't help me any."
- Williams also asserted on that edition of Hardball: "I hope what we get is the truth from General [David] Petraeus about every step forward on the ground being made by the military since we started this being ruined, and two steps backwards being taken on Capitol Hill by the Democrats playing politics on this and plucking the pennies off the eyelids of the newly dead."
- On the September 26, 2006, edition of Tucker, Williams asserted that "people have made up their minds ... that if we vote Democrat, that just hastens the day we disappear in a nuclear holocaust."
- On the August 22, 2005, edition of Hardball, Williams referred to another guest on the program, Colleen Rowley, a former FBI whistleblower and Minnesota Democratic congressional candidate at the time, as a "pathetic creature" and asked what she had done besides "flapping her jowls on MSNBC."
Additionally, Williams has made similarly charged comments in appearances on Fox News. For example, on the February 2, 2008, edition of Fox News Live, Williams said of Sen. Hillary Clinton, "I've been in upstate New York in the Albany area for the last couple of weeks, and I have yet to meet anybody who likes this woman." And on the October 5, 2007, edition of America's Newsroom, Williams claimed that Obama "took his flag pin off after 9-11, and he felt, apparently, some sort of an affinity or some sort of a connection, because at that point he felt it OK to come out of the closet as the domestic insurgent he is."
From the 11 a.m. ET hour of MSNBC Live on November 24:
NORAH O'DONNELL (anchor): And just in time for the Thanksgiving holiday, a conservative political action committee is raising tens of thousands of dollars to launch an ad campaign thanking Sarah Palin for her role in the 2008 election. Our Country Deserves Better is rolling out a series of four ads like this one.
[begin video clip]
NARRATOR: We thank you for your passionate, hopeful, and articulate advocacy of common sense conservative values.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: You're a symbol of hope for America.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We're thankful you taught your son about the greatness of America, and the honor and valor of serving in our nation's armed forces.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Thank you, Sarah Palin.
[end video clip]
O'DONNELL: Joining me now live is Mark Williams, spokesperson for Our Country Deserves Better. Mark, thanks so much for joining us.
WILLIAMS: Thank you. Good morning.
O'DONNELL: What's the purpose of this ad campaign?
WILLIAMS: To say exactly what it says: Thank you, Sarah Palin, for representing the beliefs, the views, and the values of a great number of Americans, us included. A very simple message. It's Thanksgiving, and we thank Sarah Palin for representing us. It's not exactly all that -- there's nothing hidden in there.
O'DONNELL: Well, how much are you spending on these ads, and how widespread are they running?
WILLIAMS: Well, the ads will be running nationally. In fact, they'll be running during football on Thanksgiving Day, and they're only the latest in a long series of ads. We spent well into eight figures during the final weeks of the election campaign on a 35-city, 6,000-mile speaking tour where we also spent a great deal of money in swing states like Nevada and Michigan, as well as nationally. The bottom line here is --
O'DONNELL: So, Mark? Mark, so you said they will --
WILLIAMS: -- is we're simply saying thank you, but what's been very interest -- I'm sorry.
O'DONNELL: Mark, can I ask you -- I'm sorry, so you said, so they will be running. They're not currently running, is that correct?
WILLIAMS: These -- these ads are the latest. These particular ads are not running. We have a whole bank of ads that have been running. These are simply the ones we made for Thanksgiving to express --
O'DONNELL: I guess --
WILLIAMS: -- that sentiment.
O'DONNELL: Mark, the reason I ask that is because I was reading about this, and I saw that the director of your PAC said that you hope to raise tens of thousands of dollars with this new ad. I guess I just have to ask the question, are you using Sarah Palin to raise money for your PAC? Are you really thanking her, or are you using her image and her supporters just to raise money for your PAC?
WILLIAMS: We're raising money to run the ads, because ads aren't cheap to run. That's the way politics is done in America -- you raise money. Ask Barack Obama. He raised what, a billion, to buy the office of presidency. What's been most interesting of all about this entire thing, though, has been the vitriol and the sheer fury with which a very simple "thank you" has been greeted. The people who are posting to Arianna Huffington's post, and to Daily Kos, and Democratic Underground, and a few of these other places, have been vile, they've been racist, they've attacked my good friend Lloyd Marcus -- who happens to be a black man -- with all kinds of racial epithets. They are absolutely -- their heads are exploding because we said a very simple thing: "Thank you."
Since when did hope and change mean you can't say "thank you" to someone who shares your political point of view? Is it now forbidden to have an opposing political point of view? What America deserves -- what Our Country Deserves Better is all about is supporting the institution and the office of the presidency of the United States while guarding the nation against harmful, anti-American policies that this incoming president promises to enact. And, at the same time, say thank you very much to Sarah Palin and try to do something to head off the "Dan Quayle-ing" of her, which we've seen happening quite a bit.
O'DONNELL: All right, Mark. Well, you're definitely serving it up hot on this Thanksgiving. Thanks so much.
WILLIAMS: OurCountryDeservesBetter.com, or dot-org. Don't miss it. Thanks, Norah.
Another FAR RIGHT WING HACK trying to spread his FAR RIGHT WING PROPAGANDA to anyone who will listen.
I don't know. I'm a Liberal, and I supported Obama, and I very much did not want McCain to win and continue Bush's disasterous policies ... so I have to agree:
Thank you, Sarah Palin!
Oh, yeah, so much worse than 2000.
yeah, plaxico was pretty bad back then too.
Hey....careful now....plaxico was a Steeler then. Loved him on the Black and Gold!!
Oscar, I think Obama is looking very strong early and since I'm center right politically I have to think some of the more liberal people are fidgeting a bit by what is going on so far. We'll see what happens...
I'm hoping he has a successful 4 - 8 years, but the beauty of our political system is that if the majority of the electorate does not like the progress/change, mid course corrections can be made.
there was a reason to whine in 2000, the wrong guy took office. and we paid a dear price for that. eight years of disaster.
No fidgeting here. He's leading. Got my support.
"I have to think some of the more liberal people are fidgeting a bit by what is going on so far. We'll see what happens..."
Heh, heh. Yeah, right. Lefties are the fidgety ones these days.
Watch this meltdown of ideologues over at FoxNews.
circular firing squad anyone?
Both Rachel Maddow and David Sirota (sp?) tonight proclaimed Obamas economic team to be center-right. Is this true or will these two be called out on this website tomorrow?
Center right? Really? Did they shoot spittle at each other, too?
You're just upset because there are serious, serious fractions in the Republican Party.
I mean really, bruce. Conservatives are casting thunderbolts at each other from there rear ends on the tv over the extent of government involvement in this economic crisis. Sirota and Maddow are talking about keeping the President -elect's feet to the fire and you think we got problems on the left? You could only be so lucky at this moment if the internal disagreements on the right were as mild as ours on the left.
Obama's actions thus far reinforce reinforce my thought that he would govern from the center. That's all I'm saying. I voted for him under the premise that this would be the case. I would have thought progressives wanted a bit more than that and Maddow is saying as much.
Conservatives can bloviate all they want but they are out of power. Obviously the election documented that Republicans are in trouble right now.
His actions? You mean his political appointments, wait and see what policy they create.
Maybe he will govern from the center but the center is decidedly more left than it's been in 25-30 years. But tell me what about creating 2.5 million federal jobs to rebuild our infrastructure, instituting universal healthcare, investing in green technology, recruiting an army of public school teachers and just generally making public service a priority has anything to do with centrism?
I agree that the center continues to move left, at least the social ideas.
I think he was talking about creating 2.5 million new jobs, not 2.5 million federal jobs but I might be wrong.
That wouldn't even keep up with demand, by the way, but it would certainly be a nice reversal from where we currently are.
Keep believing that free market crap, I implore you. It destroyed McCain/Palin and it will destroy the conservative movement as we know it. The economy was THE central issue in the campaign and conservative market fundamentalism lost. Economics have shifted left, too. Thank God. I would argue that economic issues are social issues. Economic issues are the moral issues that are intertwined with our continued progress toward a more perfect union. Are we going to continue cutting taxes for the wealthiest and hope they urinate gold on our backs or are we going to require them to sacrifice a little more to reinvest, for the sake of broad prosperity, in the commons like education, healthcare and infrastructure that enabled their uncommon wealth? Freeing people from the shackles of the supply side profit fiends is the broth that our American revolution was steeped in.
Face it, more people agree with New Deal progressive economic views than conservative trickle down theory for good reason. Reaganomics shrinks the middle class, concentrates wealth at the top and pits neighbor against neighbor in bitter competition for limited (for profit) public services.
I'm sorry but to say that the country is center right on economic policy is to believe one's own conservative bs.
Obama is now talking about extending the Bush tax cuts until they expire in 2010. He has assembled an economic team that is being called the smartest, most talented that we've had in Washington. They were also called center-right by Maddow and Siroto, among several others.
Of course, that is their opinion and you have yours.
By the way, I fully support progressive taxation and loathe CEO compensation packages in the hundreds of millions. I agree it's irresponsible, especially when they don't produce for the company as has been the case with so many in recent history.
It's good to know that you support progressive taxation and that you doubt that CEO's are 500 times more valuable than average working guy.
But this hearing only what you want to hear is a case study in what's wrong with the right. Yes, Rachel and David said, "center right." Did you hear any other words in that interview besides the inner Republican soothing phrase, "center right?"
They also talked about Obama's advisory team telling the Washington Post that personnel are not policy, that Obama intends to govern Progressively, that Obama's team, and he has said this himself, is there to carry out his vision for economic recovery. They also talked about David Axelrod telling the NYT that, Obama is not hiring people for their vision, he's hiring them to effectuate his vision.
So go ahead ignore the context of the Maddow/Sirota interview and fixate on "center-right" phrase as if it was crux of their discussion. Given they only hear about 10% of what's actually said, it's no wonder Republicans are so wrong about so much.
colleen rowley is an american hero. if higher ups had listened to her there is a good chance we would not have had 9-11. she tried to get someone to listen to her concerns about the flight school students. but ultimately, it was bush who set the tone of deliberately ignoring the threat of terrorism, which led to the attack. it could have been stopped.
O'DONNELL: Mark, can I ask you -- I'm sorry, so you said, so they will be running. They're not currently running, is that correct?
WILLIAMS: These -- these ads are the latest. These particular ads are not running. We have a whole bank of ads that have been running. These are simply the ones we made for Thanksgiving ..
Here's the thing- why even bother, when CNN has effectively already aired your ad- for free!
Norah O'Donnell's hackdom never ceases to amaze. This guy asserts that Obama "bought" the Presidency. Uh, what?
She can't even point out he was elected in a landslide? That this guy just stinks to high heaven? Let's see: he wants a special Day of Remembrance for Palin..for God only knows what. And yes, Our Country Deserves Better- that's why we elected Obama. Unbelievable that he gets free time for his fraud PAC on CNN.
How can anyone take this guy seriously when he belongs to a group called Our Country Deserves Better at the same time he worships that creepy woman from Alaska?
It's time the media stopped giving air time to lunatics and giving them the appearance of normalcy.
well, i must say, i do agree with him there, our country does deserve better, better than gov. palin. as well, i think she should be thanked, for demonstrating, in a way not possible by the democrats, just how bankrupt the republicans/conservatives have become. if anyone doesn't understand, merely point them to a picture of her.
aside from that, once again, i find i've not a clue who this guy is, other than some scam meister, taking money from the 24% who still (in spite of all the evidence to the contrary!) think pres. bush deserves to be on mt. rushmore.
if anyone doesn't understand, merely point them to a picture of her.
The great unspoken fact of this election was that most people realized she was a nitwit. Except the MSM, who would never point it out, but rarely, and only in the most veiled language. It took the satirists to tell the truth about this horrible character.
Show me someone who badmouths liberals and I'll show you a degenerate.
This is an especially appropriate time of the year to give thanks to people like Mark Williams and Sarah Palin and the list is far too long to mention here.
These people and many other have done more for the progressive cause than they could possibly imagine.
So thanks Mark and thanks Sarah for reminding us that conservatives have a set the bar extremely low (an understatement if there ever was one) but someday you'll fade away and we'll remember you fondly.
I think I see a pattern eminating from all this. The far right pushed Dubya into the presidency because he was a cowboy who didn't read or otherwise inform himself. Dubya was easily handled to push the far right agenda. Now he's going to pasture and the far right need another easily manipulated, poorly prepared and vauous about national and world affairs. Now they have Sarah Palin, and the far right wing machine can't push her hard enough. Let them push all they want. America is far more awake now than we were in 2000 and 2004. They can't steal their way into the White House again.
If the Republican Party continues to use mouthpieces like this guy, the Democrats can count on being in office permanently.
Notice how proud he is of all the money his group spent on ads in the last weeks of the campaign in "swing states" like Nevada and Michigan. Has he even looked at the election results yet?
It's hilarious how blind Republicans of this ilk are to the fact that they are driving away voters en masse from what remains of their party.
>>who took the opportunity to accuse President-elect Barack Obama of "buy[ing] the office of presidency" and of promising to enact "harmful, anti-American policies."
Isn't Obama one of the few who didn't rely on lobbyists to win? And after the right spent the last 8 years tanking the economy and fighting everyone but Bin Laden who put the in charge of determining who is anti-American?
that was such an idiotic comment, it wasn't even worth pointing out the obvious: every politician "buys" the office, by virtue of collecting funds from donors, and spending them on ads, etc. i believe sen. mccain did the same thing.
however, i feel certain that there's a body of numbnuts out there who will go "yeah, he bought the office, he wasn't elected or anything!"
More than that, Wookie!
it's an unsult in which he confesses and projects his lack of scrupples and his complete disdain for democracy and the rule of law.
Obama BOUGHT our votes?!? What hatred he must feel right now for the American people!
He ought to be run outta town on a rail. Better yet, maybe DOJ will be able to dig up one of this guy's holes in the desert!
It's not her skirts. It's the garments beneath. And only when she's worn them all day.
Good God!!!
And they are running these when people are getting ready to eat food!?!?!??!
For that idiot woman?
Really?
I'm sure this idiot felt the same way about all those who were against the Iraq war who he smeared.
What's also interesting is the acknowledgement of the "Dan Quayling" of Palin. These hacks KNOW that she has become a political punchline (due to the fact that she is, at this time, a complete and utter embarrassing buffoon of a political lightweight neophyte) but are desperately struggling to give her some sort of relevence fot the future. Bill Maher summed it up best on the end of season "New Rules". He just put up a picture of bible spice and said two words, "GO AWAY"!!!!!!