MSNBC (Still) Hearts Alan Grayson
07/12/11 00:46 Filed in: slanders
They were quite the power couple for a while, and now they’re doing the deed again.
When it comes to free media, Alan Grayson had an extraordinary run with MSNBC. In a world where Media Matters was fulminating over John Kasich’s nine appearances on Fox News, Grayson’s 62 appearances on MSNBC during his campaign for Congress were largely unremarked upon.
But those were not the only special favors granted by MSNBC. There was a time when the ‘news’ channel took measures to prevent its copyrighted footage from being used for partisan political purposes. But when it came to Alan Grayson, the rules changed. Grayson’s re-election campaign was important enough for MSNBC to permit the candidate to use MSNBC footage and MSNBC anchors in his ads to get himself re-elected:
MSNBC could hardly have been unaware that this ad was using their footage; they ran the ad, including footage from Keith Olbermann and Ed Schultz, for free when interviewing Grayson! And when that ad didn’t do the trick, Grayson unleashed another one, his ‘final campaign ad’, a last-ditch attempt to get out the vote:
What do you know? More MSNBC footage! How very civic minded of the ‘news’ channel to give Alan Grayson another special exemption to its ‘rules’.
These ads were also used for another purpose: raising money. So it was that Grayson’s fund-raising website featured one of these ads on its front page, and still to this day hosts both of them. And of course Grayson used his many appearances on MSNBC to raise money as well. The pitch was startlingly consistent: go to my website congressmanwithguts.com, we’ve raised over $X-thousand dollars, X-hundred people have contributed, etc. Indeed, Grayson’s repeated scrounging for money was part of our exposé of Rachel Maddow’s lie that MSNBC does not allow fundraising on its air (the Grayson segments begin at 3:00):
All of this brings us to Monday, July 11. It was an appearance by Alan Grayson on--surprise!--MSNBC (yes, the bookings have continued apace). Just by coincidence, it was another blue-dress interview with Ed Schultz. Just by coincidence Schultz happened to ask if Grayson might run for office again. And just by coincidence, it turns out that Grayson had announced his re-election that very day! Will wonders never cease? And the final coincidence is just as much a ‘coincidence’ as all the others. Watch as Alan Grayson repeats his well-worn money spiel almost word for word:
It’s a good thing MSNBC is an impartial news channel, because stuff like this might give people the idea that they’re something else.
But those were not the only special favors granted by MSNBC. There was a time when the ‘news’ channel took measures to prevent its copyrighted footage from being used for partisan political purposes. But when it came to Alan Grayson, the rules changed. Grayson’s re-election campaign was important enough for MSNBC to permit the candidate to use MSNBC footage and MSNBC anchors in his ads to get himself re-elected:
MSNBC could hardly have been unaware that this ad was using their footage; they ran the ad, including footage from Keith Olbermann and Ed Schultz, for free when interviewing Grayson! And when that ad didn’t do the trick, Grayson unleashed another one, his ‘final campaign ad’, a last-ditch attempt to get out the vote:
What do you know? More MSNBC footage! How very civic minded of the ‘news’ channel to give Alan Grayson another special exemption to its ‘rules’.
These ads were also used for another purpose: raising money. So it was that Grayson’s fund-raising website featured one of these ads on its front page, and still to this day hosts both of them. And of course Grayson used his many appearances on MSNBC to raise money as well. The pitch was startlingly consistent: go to my website congressmanwithguts.com, we’ve raised over $X-thousand dollars, X-hundred people have contributed, etc. Indeed, Grayson’s repeated scrounging for money was part of our exposé of Rachel Maddow’s lie that MSNBC does not allow fundraising on its air (the Grayson segments begin at 3:00):
All of this brings us to Monday, July 11. It was an appearance by Alan Grayson on--surprise!--MSNBC (yes, the bookings have continued apace). Just by coincidence, it was another blue-dress interview with Ed Schultz. Just by coincidence Schultz happened to ask if Grayson might run for office again. And just by coincidence, it turns out that Grayson had announced his re-election that very day! Will wonders never cease? And the final coincidence is just as much a ‘coincidence’ as all the others. Watch as Alan Grayson repeats his well-worn money spiel almost word for word:
Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy
It’s a good thing MSNBC is an impartial news channel, because stuff like this might give people the idea that they’re something else.
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