MSNBC Is Not Fox: Ed Schultz Won’t Speak At Wisconsin Democratic Convention

The Fox Propaganda Network has been pumping out lies and misinformation for well over a decade. Study after study have demonstrated that those who watch Fox on a regular basis are the most misinformed people in America, moreso than people who watch no news at all. And this is by design. Fox has never been a "news" station. It was created in 1996 to enable Roger Ailes to avoid campaign finance restrictions (this was before Citizens United when we still had a Supreme Court that followed the Constitution, of course), and it has been the source of disinformation ever since.

One thing that Right Wingers love to do when confronted with their own corruption is to make the tired claim that "both sides do it". Not that that's a justification anyway - if you shoot someone that doesn't make it ok for me to shoot someone. And in any case, it isn't true. Rush Limbaugh slandering a private citizen for expressing an opinion he didn't agree with is not the same as a professional comedian making a somewhat tasteless remark about a candidate for Vice President. This is why the Right Wing, when confronted with Fox's corruption, will always say "MSNBC is just as bad." But they aren't. Fox let Glenn Beck tirelessly promote the Roger Ailes created astroturf "tea party", multiply every crowd estimate by 50, speak at their rallies and even disgrace the memory of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. by staging a book sale on the anniversary of his greatest speech. MSNBC on the other hand suspended Keith Olbermann for simply donating money to candidates.

But MSNBC is not Fox. They do not pretend to be a "news" station, but openly advertise themselves as "the place for politics". And also unlike Fox, when they make mistakes, they own up to them and deal with them.

Article excerpt follows:

MSNBC Is Not Fox: Ed Schultz Won’t Speak At Wisconsin Democratic Convention
By: Jason Easley
June 4, 2012

A recent AP story stating that Ed Schultz would be speaking at the Wisconsin Democratic Convention was shot down by MSNBC today. Schultz will attend only as media.

The original AP story stated that, “The head of the Democratic National Committee will be one of the guest speakers when the Wisconsin Democratic Party holds its convention in Appleton next week. DNC Chairwoman Debbie Wasserman Schultz has been confirmed as one of the speakers. The Florida congresswoman will be joined by Ed Schultz, a nationally syndicated radio and talk-show host.”

At the time this seemed odd, because MSNBC made a big production out of burning all bridges with Keith Olbermann after he made three unapproved political donations in 2010, but it turns out that Schultz now will not be speaking at the Wisconsin Democratic Convention. According to TVNewser an MSNBC spokesperson said, “Ed does not have a speaking role at the Wisconsin Democratic convention. The convention is open to press and Ed plans to attend.”

Interestingly, the short MSNBC denial doesn’t say whether or not Schultz originally was scheduled to speak, only that he now will be attending the convention as a member of the media. If Schultz was never scheduled to speak then somewhere along the way there was a miscommunication, but it is entirely possible that staring their potential hypocrisy in the eye caused the network to put the kibosh on Schultz’s appearance.

I think it is great that Schultz is attending the convention. In fact, I wish MSNBC would carry some of the event. Wisconsin is going to remain an epicenter for grassroots activity after the recall election, and in many ways the state has becoming the heart of true grassroots political activism. It is good to see MSNBC sticking their policy of not mixing journalism and activism, because Schultz does more for the causes he believes in by talking about them on his nightly program than he ever could accomplish by addressing the faithful at a political convention.

MSNBC still isn’t Fox News, but viewers must remain vigilant and continue to hold MSNBC to a higher standard than their top rated sewer dwelling competition, because the left needs MSNBC to be more than a third place Fox News clone.