McLaughlin show slanted against Iraq War and in favor of pulling out

[Thurston Howell IV]

I was very surprised to see John McLaughlin stacking the deck on his show to be against the Iraq War and in favor of pulling out. Not only that, he seemed downright anti-Bush! Poor Tony Blankey (from the Moony, right-wing newspaper the Washington Times) was the only panelist spouting the adminstration line. He was definitely being ganged up on. I'm not a regular watcher of the program, but I'm hard pressed to remember anything quite like it on a right-wing program.

Since McLaughlin is a front guy for GE, I'm assuming that multinational corporations are starting to read the writing on the wall, and are at least beginning to question the wisdom of following the Bush administration off the cliff.

This is how McLaughlin prefaced the Iraq section of the program:

"U.S. dead in Iraq has reached that chilling number 1,000. More than 20 U.S. servicemen were killed in one week, 11 in one day, hundreds of Iraqi civilians also dead. Iraq's major cities, including Fallujah, Tikrit, Karbala, Najaf and Ramadi, are all under the control of insurgents. Where is this grim situation heading? Answer: Civil war. So is the most likely future for Iraq, says a brand-new report from the regarded British Royal Institute of International Affairs. It is also a view shared by many American analysts. The three-way civil was scenario is as follows: One, the Kurds in the north gained breakaway self-rule in the 1990s and will not give up their autonomy. Kurdish militias are battling now for control of Kirkuk, a city outside of Kurdish-held territory and oil-rich. Two, the Shiite majority that suffered under Saddam Hussein and his Baath Party government, dominated by minority Sunnis, do not want to suffer under Sunnis again. Three, the Sunni minority, in control of Iraq for decades, like it that way. Sunnis now hold much of central and northwestern Iraq and will resist both Kurdish domination in the north and any attempt at Shiite control of Baghdad."

http://www.mclaughlin.com/thisweek/thisweek.asp

[nadinbrzezinski]

1. Maybe just maybe

we are at a turning point with the media

Here is another theory, how many of us are now watchign these programs regularly? RATINGS are everything. I mean right now listening to AAR Saturday programing... I no longer watch Teevee and many others are doing the same.

They may be trying to get back some market share

[NYCGirl]

2. McLaughlin has felt this way since the war began.

And his "McLaughlin Group" is the only show I know of that gives the casualty numbers, the injury numbers, and the Iraqui death numbers every week.

[amber dog democrat]

3. I am going to trust him allot further than ANY cable or

broadcast news source. Watched him for years. My sense is he is too level headed to be taken in by the delusional utopian nitwits in charge. But I wager he is not a liberal either. I trust him more than CNN or MSNBC et al.

[NYCGirl]

5. McLaughlin a liberal? No, no, no. He's old-style Republican/Conservative,

and a somewhat reasonable man. There are fine, reasonable Republicans. They just don't happen to be in the current administration, with the possible exception of Powell, who's lost all credibility.

[amber dog democrat]

7. Kind of like my maternal grandfather.

Cattle rancher and wheat farmer. I will work with any old style Republican, ( excepting MaCain who is far too like an unprincipled whore ) to get our country back from these thieves and nitwits. I mean old style like Eisenhower.

But the Grover Norquist nut jobs are beyond any consideration.

I agree with you on Powell. He's a washed up political hack too proud to admit yet, but still going through the motions. I stopped believing him when he got up and lied to the UN.

[NYCGirl]

8. The crooks and liars in the WH now make even Barry Goldwater look

downright moderate.

Powell used to be respectable, but he's used up any political goodwill he ever had, carrying water for the neo-cons. It's such a waste.

And McCain better watch his back, because when they finish using him for what they want, they'll just throw him away without a pang of remorse.

[amber dog democrat]

12. I could exile Powell and McCain to Elba

and let them rot. They're useless. Yes Barry Goldwater looks better and better every day. More than that, in retrospect he might have been better than LBJ. I never can forgive him for his Gulf of Tonkin Resolution.

an aside:

Get this, Even MacNamarra is not saying this situation in Irag is a terrible mess and he has no idea how we can get out of it.

But back to Powell, I have had doubts about him going back to 41's term in office.
He has turned into the Mouth of Sauron far as I can see.

Hell, even Nixon is better than the chimp. I never thought I would say that.

[NYCGirl]

15. LOL! You're right. Even Nixon.

As nasty a political player and a snake as he was, at least he didn't wrap it in syrupy piety.

[amber dog democrat]

18. When people start getting pius with you

watch your wallet and don't get it in writing, get it in blood.

There is that folk saying of how the devil quotes scripture.

Nixon said some things that were true. I am not so sure about Kissinger - that is another one Dante would place in the inner circle of Hell. I hope he enjoys his place right next to Pinochet and more than I have room to name.

Something else about the chimp. He is so witless and vulgar. I am not even sure it its an act anymore. Its almost as if there is some form of dementia going on here.
This is an evil, evil gang of usurpers who stole the presidency in a right wing coup.
It all goes down hill from there.

[mikehiggins]

19. infamous line about Goldwater

"they told me if I voted for Goldwater we'd be at war in VietNam within a year."

So I did, and we were.

The guy who made the nuclear ad regarding Goldwater may have had some regrets later on. I met him through a friend about five years ago and he didn't seem to think it was his brightest moment. That ad sort of opened the door that the Slime Boat guys slithered through this year.

What goes around comes around.

[Mayberry Machiavelli]

10. It's simple. McLaughlin is simply more principled than most media

people, Dem or Repub, even though his background is as a Repub tool. He felt the Iraq invasion was wrong from the beginning and wasn't afraid to say so, unlike 90 percent of the rest of the worthless US media. Regardless of any disagreements with McLaughlin, he deserves some respect for standing up against Iraqnam.

[Mr_Spock]

4. The sheer logic of the Iraq situation is starting to take hold.

There is an ever growing number of Republicans and other war advocates that are realizing that this is a no win situation in Iraq and that we would be best served as a nation to just cut and run at this point. This may be even MORE true for those who care about the effect it might have on our economic future. Iraq was portayed as being a very good investment that would turn a profit within a few years. It now appears that Iraq was a terrible investment and we will be paying for thier bankruptcy for many years to come. Republicans can deal with the civilian deaths (I don't know how), but they can't deal with the huge drain it is having on our economy and security as we are draining our ability to defend ourselves.

[Mayberry Machiavelli]

11. They realize, but just like in Vietnam, the "cutting and running" will

be delayed because of the "oh the shame of it, America losing a war!" factor. Even though the true shame was letting this gang of thugs buffalo the country into this war to start with.

[Mr_Spock]

14. I hollered long and loud at anyone who would listen "It's SO obvious they

are LYING!" "Can't you see it in their faces - look at their eyes!" I was ignored - now everyone is interested in what I have to say about Iraq. :eyes:

[wildflower]

16. I think you're right, and what you noted here is as telling as anything...

"Iraq was portayed as being a very good investment that would turn a profit within a few years."

That does sound like a reason to attack a country these days, doesn't it.

-wildflower

[wildflower]

6. Saw this tonight...what was with the Edwards putdowns?

As I posted over in the Media forum, this was the first time I've ever seen it (!) I kept wondering why they were shouting so much (even when not arguing). I've seen other shows that just seem so much quieter. (Again, unless there's an argument.)

The Edwards comments aside, I was glad to see that except for the WT guy, the guests were reasonable.

-wildflower

[NYCGirl]

9. They scream like that all the time.

I've been watching McLaughlin for decades, and they've gotten a bit louder over the years, but there was always a lot of raised voices. Poor Eleanor Clift has to yell to get heard over constantly interrupting Tony Blankley (he's the Washington Times jerk who bears a strong resemblance to Jabba the Hutt).

:evilgrin:

[wildflower]

13. Oh! Okay. I started wondering if it might have to do with

a hearing problem on the part of one or more of the people. (No offense intended in this.) Or maybe my own hearing problem (sensitivity to noise and all).

Is the schtick (Edwards/"Mack the Knife," etc.) par for the course?

-wildflower

[NYCGirl]

17. I haven't seen this particular show yet — it's shown in NYC on Sunday.

Although one of the Long Island stations shows it on Saturday evening, my TiVo is set to record it tomorrow on our NBC station.

[yardwork]

20. Pat Buchanan is a regular on McLaughlin

The show represents the Old Time Republicans. They hate the neocons, although for somewhat different reasons than ours.

[Disturbed]

21. Tweety used to be on that program.

I've been watching it for many years. Most Paleo-Conservs did not agree with the invasion of Iraq and still don't.

Guess it's too late but it's a damn shame that Kerry didn't say that he made a mistake in voting for that damn resolution and that the Occupation should end ASAP.