What's Wrong With This Picture?
These are the top 10 Most Influential Political Pundits in America, according to the Telegraph UK. Sing along with me: "One of these things is not like the others. One of these things just doesn't belong. Can you guess which thing is not like the other..." The rest of the list is hardly comforting either: 11-20, 21-30, 31-40, 41-50
And this is the sad state of political dialogue in the US today. Digby continues:
I have long held that the reason so many people hate liberals in this country is because the right convinced them that all of those pictured above who are not right wing icons --- are liberal. No wonder they hate us. With the exception of Jon Stewart, they are all immense jackasses.
The list includes a few Democratic political operatives and a handful of intelligent liberals like Paul Krugman and Rachel Maddow who are listed at 48 and 50, but for the most part they are rich, mainstream gasbags and conservative dickheads.
I have no idea what criteria the Telegraph used to make these judgments (and they seem not to make any distinction between political operatives and pundits) but I don't think they are far off in their assessments, even if they were made for the wrong reasons. They are the most influential --- and that's the problem. When three of the top liberal pundits in the country are actually comedians (no matter how funny), you know there's a problem.
Stewart sticks out like a sore thumb.
Did I win a stuffed animal?
With the exception of Stuart, that list could double for 'Greatest Champions Of Fascism In America'.
Top ten pundits? Either Right-wing water candidates and recent decampers from the administration like Rush and Rove, or complete egotistical tools like Russert and Matthews. At least Stewart and Colbert KNOW that they are professional buffoons, the others are accidental ones.
with the exception of jon stewart, the rest are more than
jackasses, they are some of the worst LIARS and bigots
in this country.
I think there is only one that tells the truth.
The Comedian.
Two of them are assholes.
Two more are slime.
Where's Olbermann?
And WTF is a comedian doing on the list?
The pundits on the right can appeal to the easy way to get votes (Yay my gang! Boo, your gang!) The Left has to try to overcome that. Pity that every time they succeed the Right destroys them....
I have felt for a long time that these chumps just aren't very smart (Jon Stewart being the exception). They dress nicely, write well, speak well and look pretty much like resonable people should look. But the truth is that this bunch are really about as dumb as bricks. These are some exceptionally stupid people.
you have to admit that maddow is just now making a splash, and krugman isn't all that great...in fact krugman is a douche sometimes...
maddow is beyond reproach other than she may be too smart for most of her adversaries!!
if maddow were straight, i'd want a date!!!
John Stewart and the 10 Dwarfs.
What we old folks used to call news is now entertainment which for the most part is fantasy and myth. Keep people entertained and there won't be riots.
Yes, there IS a problem when Colbert gets the number 11 spot because he's a FAKE right wing pundit, but only half the people watching his show realize it's meant to be a joke.
Stewart sticks out like Sir Paul did on the Beatles "Let It Be" cover, blood red background and everything.
And Tweety looks a little like Ringo there, come to think of it..
Top row. #3, officer. That's him! He's the guilty one. He did it!
#11 looks suspicious too.
Stewart has McCain on as a guest on Wednesday
Cue the 10,000 wingnuts who think that Rush is the #1 most influential pundit in America. Didya read the comments? Dittoheads were incensed that Rush was not crowned King of All Everything. Even though he broke down and admitted in the wake of losing 2006 that he was "carrying water" for many politicians.
And there were several others going ON AND ON AND ON about Coultergeist. Who, as I recall, retails for about $4.00 on most bookshelves and is a pure product of Wingnut welfare.
These people are all a joke. They haven't been influencing anything for about three years. Just echoing each other's nonsense in a shrinking chamber of irrelevance.
Except Jon Stewart. What's he doing in there, again?
Top row, #8, officer. That's him! He's guilty. He's the one who did it.
#11 looks suspicious too.
LOL.
It looks like a who's who of people we'd love to pie in the face. [the only exception being Jon Stewart]
Pericles @ 12:
Here's the weirdest thing.
Colbert can slip in and out of character with such ease that one can never be sure whether or not he's in character when he's on tv.
Pericles @ 12:
And I can probably guess the political proclivity of the half that think it is serious...
The funniest part was your suggestion that Maddow and Krugman were intelligent liberals.
How can 11 pictures be the top ten (10)? Is there a tie or something?
marko @ 9:
Yep. And that coming from a Canadian who only gets to enjoy her MSM appearances online. She has yet to break the cable tv barrier in this country, but she'd be a huge hit here too, no lie.
Americas ten most wanted! These guys are just as guilty as the bush outhouse bunch. I hope to see them in jail,deported or even someone just walk up to them in some public place and kick their ass. They deserve no less for selling out our country. I can't even stand to look at the scum.
They all have Narcissistic Personality Disorder.
Have you ever played The Assassination Game? If one person could be killed, whose death would most benefit the world?
Don't respond to this with names for obvious reasons, but my choice would be one of the more prominent pundits on this list - much more so than any politician.
CD @ 19:
He's at his best as Phil Ken Sebben... .and Reducto.
I bet the right wingers of America are using this list to pleasure themselves with, because all these years, they knew how atrocious they were! It's good for their fragile egos to have this list now to refer to. Poor things. So sad and pathetic they are.
They are also all white men.
YourMom @ 26:
Problem -- all of those people (with the exception of Stewart) are shilling for an order that has ceased to have any real political significance.
We will show this to them in November. Be patient. There's no reason to resort to violence.
That is, as long as the mechanisms of Democracy are not interfered with.
to be fair, the telegraph is very right-wing for a UK paper.
Umm... they're all white men?
Did I win?
Tax Cuts at Work
http://tinyurl.com/6elg4j
mike @ 31:
The Telegraph, aka The Torygraph
Hannity at #3? And Colmes doesn't make the top 50? That makes their show kind of, well, UNfair and UNbalanced. Say it ain't so, FOX.
Margeaggedon @ 27:
Roll mode Gary!
The first thing that is wrong with the pictures I would guess but can't confirm is that you are showing us snapshots of the asses of Limbaugh, Hannity, and Rove while the others are facial portraits. Is this the correct answer?
L.A. Confidential @ 33:
And I thought the Reagan years were the height of Gluttony
I see so many of these pundits as a sort of "Tokyo Rose" for the middle class.
They all try to lull the masses into believing that "right is good".
Especially that dumb-ass Hannity. A middle class guy who the right uses into
fooling the middle class that if they continue to support Republican policies, that
their lives will improve.
But each of these guys appeals to our lowest common denominator—xenophobia, racism,
and class warfare.
The one with the hat looks a lot like my bookie, but my bookie is a lot more honest.
" for the most part they are rich, mainstream gasbags and conservative (white male) dickheads."
Now we know what they look like, ID them to the police. They aided and abetted a massacre bigger than Virginia Tech!
joeedugan @ 35:
Wait Colmes is a real person?
I always assumed he was a halloween mask on a stick that Hannity yelled at from time to time.
"Take your time. They can't see you through the one-way glass. Can you identify the man that told you the TRUTH today?"
The "liberal media" is just one of many enormous hoaxes brought to you by the corporate media.
Corporations by their very nature cannot be liberal. Corporations are amoral, their sole purpose to make money. This goal is entirely in opposition to liberal goals of protecting liberty and opportunity for all citizens.
Probably the next most important hoax is that taxes are a form of theft. Taxes, spent on programs that benefit society and not a few elite rich, can improve the quality of life for everyone. Who doesn't benefit from better roads, schools and parks, safer food and water, and stronger social safety nets?
We've seen the breakdown throughout the Bush years, on a massive scale, from kids poisoned by lead paint, to dozens of people dying from tainted drugs, to the salmon industry collapsing, to the catastrophic failure during Katrina.
The propagandists can hide in their gated communities, but there's only so long the wider community will listen to them before they smell a rat.
marko @ 9:
I'm tuning into a lesbian.
fastfeat @ 40:
Bookie, gangster...either fits. It's the GOP.
LOL Colbert Beat Billo!
We're a War Machine. Even food is being used as a weapon now.
Ruthless People @ 47:
Looks like a buffoon.
The interesting thing is that line up is suggestive of Shakespearean drama/comedy where the court jester actually is the most insightful one in the cast.
I have heard it said by some very intellingent and perceptive individuals (my 83 year old father, a retired psyciatrist) that the best way for the Democrats to deflect and deflate the non issues that the Republican wing nuts, MSM and 527s unleash is with humor. By doing that, these blow hard pontificators can be made to appear like the water carriers that they really are. Soooo, who has the better sense of humor among the Democrats? That person should be the nominee (snark).
Almost didn't recognize the pic of Clannity there. His head's at least twice that size now.
Must have been taken back when it would still fit in a pillowcase, not have to be covered with a full-sized white sheet.
Tony @ 29:
with a penchant for white sheets
Captain Bitter Elitist Hussein Kangaroo @ 46:
If Maddow were straight she'd be with a man who wasn't posting on a blog from his mother's basement. :)
fastfeat @ 52:
I am waiting for the Hannity / Hal Turner phone recordings to go public.
Its going to sink Sean once and for all.
No blonde bimbos
With more gray matter in their breasts
Than in their fluffy noggins?
Where is O'really? Was his head too big to fit up there with the rest?
Ruthless People @ 54:
There you go. Cheap shot by bringing my mom into it. (Yo, mom, bring me some more Doritos)
Shouldn't these guys be wearing Nazi Field Commander outfits?
It is because the Telegraph says so? Rove #1? hmm.
Ruthless People @ 54:
Or Coultergeist hanging at gay restaurants, then hiding her head when spotted.
ysbaddaden @ 56:
Tweety's there...
Tweety was bragging about this on Friday.
The "suit" is the moder uniform of the fascist.
Flag lapel is the new swastika.
ferrofluid @ 61:
'Mann' another of the proverbial self hating RW closet cases
L.A. Confidential @ 64:
Hahaha just kidding. Free speech an all.
The good, the bad, and the huh?
Is there a T-shirt with that slogan for sale?
I want one.
Ruthless People @ 54:
I have no idea where this blog is posted from but was mainly agreeing that we need more Rachel Maddows in this world was all.
L.A. Confidential @ 59:
Hopefully they will go down in history as war criminals of the elite.
L.A. Confidential @ 64:
The Faux Hannity and Colmes logo almost a swastika in its own right, go look at it...
bamboozled @ 45:
Yeah, it’s interesting that taxes are a form of theft but investing isn’t. If I invest in a company and that company makes money, I myself did nothing to improve the profitability of that company. The workers there increased the profitability, what they produced is monopolized by the corporation and indirectly by the investor. THAT isn’t a form of theft, that one class makes things while another sits on their ass and monopolizes the benefits of what is produced, simply asking the economic system to correct the injustice is theft. “Libertarians” call it “coercion”. Another joke of an idea. If I am a worker and you a capitalist, I am not coerced into working if I “CHOOSE” to work for a wage. If, taking into account the real world god forbid, I own nothing but my body and you the means to my survival, you can tell me what my wage will be and I DO in fact have a choice; I work for the conditions you lay out for me or starve. So I don’t have person to person coercion in that I’m not forced to but agree to work for whatever condition the capitalist says, I’m a victim of institutional coercion, but the institution according to “libertarians” is perfect, so there is no coercion involved. What a ridiculous philosophy.
ysbaddaden @ 67:
DIY 'iron on' printer paper.
YourMom @ 26:
How about not sounding like a violent freak? However angry you are at these people, let's leave posting violent fantasies to the frustrated cretins on the Right. Thanks.
Well definitely John Stewart is 'one not like the others'.... The odd man out of that rogues gallery... As for the rest? For the most part, they are all lacking an orange jumpsuit and a number... JD
Glenn Beck at #16????????????????? That is just sick, wrong, fucked up. This list has not credibility!!!!!!!!!!!!
Pepper @ 71:
check out the dividends paid on shares these days, a pittance, anybody who wants to get a 10% pa return on owning most stocks these days is insane.
I suppose people are gambling more with stock prices than going for the dividends !!!
I think some of those and other pundits are under investigation.
http://www.freepress.net
and soon to be in the House Judiciary on youtube
http://www.youtube.com/profile?user=HouseJudiciary
marko @ 9:
I don't care whether she's gay or straight, I believe she would be a delight to have dinner with while I listened to her.
Captain Bitter Elitist Hussein Kangaroo @ 75:
I've got a brother in law that listens and watches him. I told my nephew to ignore any of the quotes he repeats.
YourMom @ 26:
Nah, but I have used a few of these clowns as backdrops for playing darts.
(Hope that's not too offensive, sitemonitor)
Rating pundits is bad enough, but having a thread re: rating pundits is somehow worse. Legitimizing the absurd. We need more pundits !@#$%^&*
Apologies to Jon Stewart & Colbert, who are at least legitimate intelligent entertainers, the rest are just wannabes, w/the possible exception on Obermann.
Interesting to note, these elite snobs keep trying to say Obama is elite ~ pot/kettle
It's not about the candidates anymore, it's about the talking heads. Very sad!
The minutia in today's media is truly nauseating ... Matthews was beaming when he mentioned a couple days ago he was #2 on this list, like he had just won a spelling bee ;)
ferrofluid @ 76:
If you make a single cent out of the work of others you made a cent more than you directly earned. How “libertarians” who claim that taxes are theft can at the same time stand by that is beyond me, but not them. Their philosophy is a joke to begin with.
L.A. Confidential @ 59:
Drudge, Insanity, Turd Blossom and Limpballs are particularly easy to envision with swastika arm bands on. They should have been born in 1940's Germany, in a past life probably were.
Captain Bitter Elitist Hussein Kangaroo @ 75:
Somebody at CNN loves Glenn Beck. His column is always on their website. They promote him as some sort of deep serious THINKER, when he himself admits he has ADD, and has lost most of his brain cells due to long time substance abuse.
Rove is at #1 because he gets a percentage from all the others, Stewart excepted.
You must have been expecting me to come on this site today, because this is a classic example of what is wrong in media today.
With the exception of John Stewart, the rest of these idiots are simply bigots of the worst kind.
These are the very same ass holes that are pretty much responsible for the problems in this country and oh was a shame it is with all the murder and may-ham going on across this country that these people are not the victims of it, instead of some of the Innocent people who just happen to be in the wrong place.
CD @ 6:
KO is way above these assholes. are you another gop reichwingneoconnut?
Margeaggedon @ 18:
More like waterboard and some of those other non-torture things we do to emeny combatants that most of these clowns support.
The man who is enslaved to wealth can never be honest-democritus
there is no limit to human greed and folly.
BOY, am I glad I hadn't eaten before viewing this...not that it's NEWS...it is disgusting though...despite explaining the sad state of awareness the American public has on any issues facing this country...keep them STUPID appears to be working as the best ploy to be able to manipulate the sheeple. Worked so well to get BUSHCO into the WH...let's see if it eventually puts McCain over the top...these "guys" are the ones DESTROYING THE DEMOCRATIC PARTY by not reporting accurately without the spin (can't be expected of many of them) and keeping people stirred up enough so there WILL be anger when this is resolved...listening to KEITH OLBERMANN who now is one of the most disgusting BARACK BUTT KISSERS...whatever happened to JUST reporting the news? Never mind, I know...
joeedugan @ 84:
The country's fascination with Glenn Dreck is indeed one of the Seven Blunders of America. Never could figure it out.
I've done time in lockup with guys with far more intelligence, stage presence and integrity than Dreck.
He must know how to keep a CEO smiling somehow...
What’s Wrong With This Picture?
I thought it might me that little Timmy Russert actually had a male organ.
Matthews gets half a million viewers nightly and he's #2?
Garbage list.
I want to know, is that a chin or a tumor on Drudge's face?
By the way Dodd should be #1, he is of a dying breed-- talking head without an political agenda.
I'm talking to you Olbermann/ O Reilly.
OK, I've gone away and reached another conclusion:
Political pundits don't have much influence in America.
dadams @ 87:
NO!
I'm disapointed that he's not one of the 10 Most Influential Political Pundits in America.
Pretty much everyone who's been here for a while knows I'm a fan of Olbermann.
Ruthless People @ 94:
That's his FACE?
Wow, O'Reilly must be pissed that he was beaten by Colbert and Stewart; it would have been hilarious if Olbermann would have beaten him too, though.
It's an insult to Jon Stewart to call him a pundit. (Anyone with an ounce of dignity would be insulted to be called a pundit. Such a degrading occupation.) He's a satirist, the opposite of pundit. Karl Rove isn't a pundit either; he's a propagandist/saboteur of American society. Drudge isn't a pundit; he's a propagandist/gossip columnist. Shouldn't someone called a pundit be engaged in punditry?
Stewart is the exception. The others in this group are cold blooded sociopaths, liars, and in some cases criminal. They all work for corporate America. These faces will go down in history as the demagogues they are and represent the faces that caused the decline of Western Civilization. At least that's my opinion. I could be wrong.
raker @ 101:
I was thinking largely the same thing.
How exactly are they defining "pundit?" And "influential," for that matter?
Aww, poor Bloody Kristol down to 32 wedged in between two BLACK men (Roland Martin and Juan Williams). Feel a little uncomfortable there, you smug sack of shit?
Stewart is the only one who doesn't belong in prison.
Ruthless People @ 94:
from years of working out with exercised balls ;)
We're doomed. The barbarians are in the gate.
Conservative happy, Liberal sad
or is it a case of rose tinted glasses, blinkers and ignoring or outsourcing the screaming brats...
It sure would be nice to have a real news media in this country.
I want a pony too!
ferrofluid @ 105:
Scrotum.
They all support The Messiah OBAMA! What a F**in surprise! Hillary has had to fight for average people with these tools hunting her like a rabbid dog.
This has probably been said already, but "here's your liberal media folks, made up of Republicans".
That is the CHANG WE WANT! Fire all the MSM TOOLS.
ricksramblings @ 110:
Last I heard they were supporting Clinton, BECAUSE THEY THINK SHE WILL BE EASIER TO BEAT.
who owns the telegraph? Is it a murdock paper?
the concentrated media ownership will determine what opinions you're allowed to hear.
Ruthless People @ 1:
That and the pic is "lilly white".
If that is really a list of the most 10 Most Influential Political Pundits in America, I'm ashamed!!
What does it say about the IQ of the people who put them there..... (AKA their fans)?
The saddest thing of all is that the most honest no B/S person of the top ten (Stewart) is a comedian!
The telegraph uk is obviously a conservative rag.
It is.
Notice anyone who has been known to bash a Democrat - is in the top 25.
But here's another weird picture I hope C & L looks into , what does the Chicago Tribune have against Obama. Right now Brian Lamb's C-span has another reporter from the Tribune on to answer callers 'election' questions.
This ass-hole Michael Tackett repeatedly throws snide comments against Obama to the callers. And while the camera spans a huge multi-racial crowd for Obama - including old and young - and they're all smiling looking ...well, in fact quite like a beautiful representation of this country. what does he do? Says isn't only because Stevie Wonder is there and that it's nothing more than a circus.
Whereas the staged event at a firehouse - all standing at attention in color coded groups, looks nothing like the America I know. But rather is a furtherance of a twisted vision from a tyrranical mind, of how America should remain: closed, controlled, afraid and easily led off a cliff.
screech @ 8:
Americans are some exceptionally stupid people, I work around a bunch of them everyday.
Great people, warm and friendly and smart in other areas, but politics? World events?
Dumb as a fence post.
The Telegraph is a conservative rag. The Guardian is the progressive paper in London.
Stus @ 3:
Well, it is the conservative Telegraph. I don't think you would see anything this rediculous in The Guardian.
They are all MEN. That's what's wrong.
sas @ 123:
Maddow might take issue with that.
Suck it, Lou Dobbs!
Hmmm, you wonder if the Telegraph is a right-leaning outfit? Cuz it's kinda hard to tell...
cg @ 125:
That statement gave me a chuckle. :)
And the right-wing TV pundits in the list (Limbaugh et al) could not even have had the kinds of shows they have now before Reagan rescinded the Fairness Act in 1987. That act precluded the kind of unchallenged bias the right-wing pundits routinely display, not to mention the serial lying. The removal of that act paved the way for the right-wing takeover of the media that gave us Limbaugh and his kind. And yes, they are that popular and influential in the US. Regardless of whether a liberal or a conservative paper had published it, the right-wing shows and pundits have a much greater number of stations and much larger viewership in the US than the others. That's a big part of the reason why Americans are so ill-informed and ignorant these days, and that's true whether they consider themselves liberal, conservative, or apolitical.
screech @ 8:
Not only dumb about world events and politics, but proudly dumb about world events and politics. They, especially the young ones, consider it very uncool/socially unacceptable to be interested in those areas. Very different from people in other parts of the world.
deang @ 127:
Very true. I really wish a candidate for President would make bringing back the fairness doctrine part of his or her platform.
With the exception of Stewart, the rest are assholes.
CD @ 19:
Colbert's fellow comedian and friend, Paul Dinello, has claimed that Colbert is not an especially political person but is just playing a character, that Colbert really doesn't have strong feelings about politics.
Fairness Doctrine. I meant to say Fairness Doctrine in Comment 127, not Fairness Act.
Everyone of the men pictured, except for John Stewart, can be used as a reservoir for the application of an hygienic feminine rinse.
deang @ 132:
You were quite well understood. :)
FLAKEY WHITE STUFF!
Fleece @ 135:
LOL!
Was that in reference to your name or in answer to the question?
I only recognized the first four (and Drudge, WTF he doingup there?) except for the second guy. I know I've seen him before but cant remember who he is. Dont know who the rest of those guys are except Stewart, the only one worth listening to.
BigTobacco @ 133:
A divorce attorney?
CD @ 43:
LOL! Poor Alan....
Chris Gamble @ 93:
Somewhere in New York, The Scar is beating his wife extra hard tonite.
You know how BADLY he wanted that "pundit cred"...but I think less people watch his abortion of a show than Tweetie's...
The only thing the Telegraph is good for,is to line the bottom of my cage with.It's the worst piece of garbage by far.
It'l take all these sons of bitches to shine the shoes of K.O.(except J. S.)
I wouldn't say this list covers the most influential, but rather the ones the media tries to make the most influential (for instance, Drudge rules their world). And even then, the list nearly completely screwed it up. I mean, come on, Sean Hannity? Only the backwash take this inbred seriously. And Tweety? Please. This list is like those put together in high school by the high school paper.
Chavez @ 141:
Post a map! We will get you out of that cage!
The real axis of evil responsible for this bush disaster and hopefully bringing down the GOP have been the two in the middle of the bottom row and the one on the bottom right who gave them a lot of their material, heads up, tips, and scoops.
the rest (besides the one standout) have mostly been picking from the smorgasbord of turdblossom pastries dished up everyday on the nationwide talk radio repetition machine.
slippy hussein toad @ 30:
Despite owning talk radio (93% conservative) and all the MSM outlets, conservatives will still be a small minority party come next January. That tells me how bad their agenda sucks!
If it were not for their complete monopoly of media outlets, they would have never become a majority party to begin with. Even during the days of their greatest Orwellean success, conservative republicans were at best a 52% party. Compare that to the 69% party FDR put together.
Cantor de Mambo @ 41:
Hah! Love it! As soon as I saw the pictures, I thought exactly the same 'white male dickheads'. But, did a search on 'white male'. So, couldn't agree with you more. The biggest problem with the 'news' media is the myopic viewpoint that it represents.
These people have no fricking clue. They are professional gossipers. Nothing more. When did any of them actually do any journalism... you know, like, actually research into issues.
Of course, it's a little unfair to lump Stewart in with them, given he's a comedian.
The rest though, 'blah!'.
How about we rename them to describe them more accurately...
I propose 'prossipers'. From 'professional' and 'gossiper'.
It sounds kinda rude, and conjures up 'prostitute' (or is that just me??? eek) which is exactly what these asses are.
deang @ 128:
its true but young americans make great door stops!
all. white. men.
that's what's wrong with that picture.
shiloh @ 81:
If tweety and Beck are so effective, how come nobody watches their shows?
And if the aristocracy can spend billions putting these propoganda idiots on the airwaves, then they can afford to pay a shit-load more in taxes!
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