Madeleine Kahn singing "I'm Tired" from Blazing Saddles (1974) This refrain kept playing in my mind as I looked at this week's line up: I'm tired. I'm tired of what passes for news on these Sunday shows. I'm tired of the compromised hosts
February 3, 2013


Madeleine Kahn singing "I'm Tired" from Blazing Saddles (1974)

This refrain kept playing in my mind as I looked at this week's line up: I'm tired.

I'm tired of what passes for news on these Sunday shows. I'm tired of the compromised hosts teeing up talking points unchallenged (David Gregory, that means you). I'm tired of Republican bookings far exceeding Democratic (Chris Hayes, you have some 'splaining to do) and worse, the non-existence of liberal voices. I'm tired of the consistently wrong (looking at you, David Brooks), the criminal (that would be you, Ralph Reed) and the flat out repugnant (Wayne LaPierre AND George Allen, really?) getting yet another chance at the spotlight while people who have been right all along fight for airtime. I'm tired of the Beltway cocktail circuit deciding that what Americans should care most about is the deficit...or immigration...or Benghazi...or privatizing education in the name of 'reform'... or what Chuck Hagel thinks about Israel. I'm tired of the implacable and extreme getting a seat at the table and blocking those who might offer actual pathways out of the real problems this country faces.

I've seen thousands of these talking heads, again and again, and they're always singing the same tune.

Let's get some fresh voices, some fresh perspectives that reflect life outside of the Beltway.

Who's with me?

ABC's "This Week" -- Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev.; Michelle Rhee, former public schools chancellor of the District of Columbia. Panel: ABC News political analyst Matthew Dowd; Univision anchor Jorge Ramos; Nobel Prize-winning economist and New York Times columnist Paul Krugman; former Hewlett-Packard CEO Carly Fiorina; and Republican Rep. Lou Barletta of Pennsylvania.

NBC's "Meet the Press" -- Defense Secretary Leon Panetta and Gen. Martin Dempsey, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. Bob Costas. Panel: former White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs; Chairman of the Faith and Freedom coalition Ralph Reed; former National Hispanic Co-Chair for John McCain’s 2008 presidential campaign, Ana Navarro; and the New York Times’ David Brooks.

NBC's "The Chris Matthews Show" -- Michael Duffy, TIME Magazine; Katty Kay, BBC Washington Correspondent; Howard Fineman, Huffington Post Senior Political Editor; Annie Lowrey, The New York Times.

MSNBC's "UP with Chris Hayes" -- Joseph Stiglitz, author of “The Price of Inequality: How Today’s Divided Society Endangers Our Future” and winner of the Nobel Prize in economics; Julianne Malveaux, president emeritus of Bennett College for Women; Michelle Goldberg, author of “The Means of Reproduction: Sex, Power and the Future of the World”; Kiron Skinner, research fellow at the Hoover Institution and director of Carnegie Mellon University’s Center for International Relations and Politics; Michael Hastings, BuzzFeed Correspondent, Rolling Stone Contributing Editor; Barbara Slavin, a senior fellow at the Atlantic Council’s South Asia Center; Ali Gharib, Senior Editor for The Daily Beast’s Middle East blog, Open Zion; Michael Brendan Dougherty, national correspondent for The American Conservative; Dylan Glenn, former Special Assistant to President George W. Bush and now Managing Director of Guggenheim Partners, a financial services firm; Joe Weisenthal, deputy editor at BusinessInsider.com; Edward Conard, author of “Unintended Consequences: Why Everything You’ve Been Told About the Economy is Wrong,” and a former partner at Bain Capital.

MSNBC's "Melissa Harris-Perry" -- Dave Zirin, Sports Editor at The Nation Magazine; Dave Zirin, Sports Editor at The Nation Magazine; Dr. Gary Small, Director of the UCLA Longevity Center; Joy Reid, TheGrio.com; Cyrus Mehri, co-founder of the Fritz Pollard Alliance; Kai Wright, Editorial Director of Colorlines.com; Pat Egan, Assistant Professor of Politics and Public Policy, NYU; Richard Aborn, President of the Citizens Crimes Commission; Cathy Cohen, Professor of Political Science, The University of Chicago; Rebecca Traister, author of “Big Girls Don’t Cry” and Senior Writer at Salon.

CBS' "Face the Nation" -- NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell. Super Bowl panel: CBS Sports' Jim Nantz, Phil Simms and Shannon Sharpe.

CNN's "State of the Union" -- Panetta, Dempsey; Panel: former Obama policy adviser Melody Barnes, former Labor secretary Elaine Chao, Time magazine’s Michael Duffy and The Hill’s A.B. Stoddard; Super Bowl XL MVP Hines Ward, former Sen. George Allen, R-Va.

CNN's "Fareed Zakaria GPS" -- Bill Gates, Al Gore.

CNN's "Reliable Sources" -- Dana Milbank of the Washington Post, Amy Holmes of “The Blaze” and former PBS correspondent Terence Smith; SiriusXM political talk show host Pete Dominick and Marisa Guthrie of the Hollywood Reporter; NBC Sports host Bob Costas; Barbara Lippert of MediaPost.

"Fox News Sunday" _ Wayne LaPierre, CEO and senior vice president of the National Rifle Association; Mark Kelly, husband of former Rep. Gabrielle Giffords, D-Ariz. Panel: Kevin Madden, Former Romney Campaign Adviser; Nina Easton, FORTUNE's Washington columnist & senior editor; Laura Ingraham, broadcaster/ Fox News Contributor; Evan Bayh, Fox News Contributor//Former Democratic Senator from Indiana.

So what's catching your eye this morning?

Can you help us out?

For nearly 20 years we have been exposing Washington lies and untangling media deceit, but now Facebook is drowning us in an ocean of right wing lies. Please give a one-time or recurring donation, or buy a year's subscription for an ad-free experience. Thank you.

Discussion

We welcome relevant, respectful comments. Any comments that are sexist or in any other way deemed hateful by our staff will be deleted and constitute grounds for a ban from posting on the site. Please refer to our Terms of Service for information on our posting policy.
Mastodon