h/t to my friends at The Political Carnival with their cartoon of the day. So what do you think about Sister Sarah ever attempting to take a serious run for the presidency? I think the chance is somewhere between slim and none that she even lasts until the first debate. If she does throw her hat in there she'll quit just before that debate is scheduled and blame the media for demonizing her after she's raked in as many campaign contributions as possible from the suckers who don't know any better. Then she'll go back to ClusterFox and tell everyone how the "lamestream media" never gave her a chance so she just had to quit and John Ziegler can make another revisionist history excuse for a "documentary" and pretend he's relevant.

If not Palin, who might be the next GOP candidate for the presidency that would actually have a chance to win their nomination? I'm thinking someone who is on almost no one's radar screen right now, and that's David Petraeus. Your thoughts on that or anything else that has caught your attention today welcomed.

Open thread below...

We've wondered how long it would be before John Ziegler -- Sarah Palin's favorite braying jackass and America's least favorite bachelor -- would turn his loudmouth schtick on members of his own side who fail to live up to his worshipful worshipfulness of Sarah Palin.

Sure, he's good for a Glenn Beck episode or two, but sooner or later he was going to be dealing with conservatives who have a somewhat less-than-adulatory view of Palin.

So he attended this past weekend's Western Conservative Political Action Conference in Los Angeles with the express purpose of trying to interview David Keene, president of the American Conservative Union, which oversees the National CPAC gathering every year. Ziegler was actually a sponsor at this year's Western CPAC, where he set up a booth to hawk his "how the media screwed Sarah" video that no one either believes or wants to waste the time watching.

When he sat down with Keene, though, he went into his usual attack-mode schtick (the only person I've ever seen him interview who he didn't treat like this was Palin), and finally pushed Keene over the edge when he basically asked him why he was corrupt. Keene got up and tried to walk away, but Ziegler pursued him through the hallways, still haranguing. At one point, Keene tells him he'd like to hit him, but won't.

Finally, Keene told Ziegler exactly what everyone who's ever watched him is forced to conclude:

Keene: You're a scumbag.

Ziegler: I'm a scumbag?

[Chases Keene through another doorway]

Ziegler: Why won't you answer the question?

Keene: Because you're an a--hole. Got that? An a--hole.

Ziegler: I'm an a--hole?

Keene: Yes, you are. Now, go.

Ah, comedy gold. Especially when he tries to explain himself:

"I often get accused of being one of those who only craves personal attention and has less than pure motives."

"This entire episode has greatly furthered my already strongly held belief that the vast majority of the conservative 'movement' is 'led' by fakes, flakes, freaks, frauds, phonies and sell outs who are far more interested in protecting their own little thiefdoms than promoting the cause."

Hahahahaha.

[Via Digby.]

Our buddy, Sam Seder, decided to go check out the protest talk show hack (and professional potty-mouthed angry person) John Ziegler organized to take David Letterman off the air in light of his joke about Sarah Palin's daughter, a joke for which he had already apologized twice.

Give Sam credit. It wasn't easy to find those whole fifteen protesters amongst the sea of media covering them. I'm not sure that your protest can be considered effective if the media outnumbers the protesters by more than 2 to 1. Way to try to horn in on the media circus that surrounds Palin, Ziegler.

(T)o show you the lengths Ziegler will go for his point, check out this convoluted logic in explaining the hypocrisy of going after Letterman and not other media figures. When asked why the protest took a week to happen, Ziegler asked, "Why did David Letterman take a week to apologize?" When Air America, in more of an accusation that a question, remarked that Sarah Palin went on Saturday Night Live in 2008 a week after they had aired a skit which said that Tod (sic) Palin had slept with his daughter, Ziegler pointed out that skit was set in a New York Times staff meeting where the paper's staff was considering topics to write, so it was essentially a satire on what the Times might publish to discredit her, not Saturday Night Live saying this directly of Gov. Palin.

So this was more about attacking David Letterman and CBS than in some crusade to go after "perverts." And as Keith Olbermann pointed out, the amount of time for Letterman's apology was a matter of 3 or so hours, not a week. It sounds like Ziegler graduated magna cum laude from the Palin school of upholding responsibility.

The timing of Ziegler's latest round of publicity appears to be tied in with his return to radio in Los Angeles this month, almost as if he got involved to promote his revitalized radio career. But when you look at his track record, it's a wonder that even in the world of conservative talk radio that he keeps getting hired.

Ahhhh...so the real agenda comes out. Well, Ziegler, Freedom of Speech is a wonderful thing. You're free to make an ass out of yourself and others are free to start a FireJohnZiegler.com site to show you for the ass you are.

Two words come to mind every time John Ziegler appears on TV: Braying. Jackass.

Contessa Brewer had him on MSNBC this morning to talk about David Letterman's rude and sexist remarks about Sarah Palin. But it quickly became obvious that Ziegler wasn't going on MSNBC to talk about the subject -- he was there so he could bash MSNBC for six minutes or so.

And he was his usual a-hole self. It's really a sight to behold; the man's capacity for self-humiliation seems bottomless.

My favorite part comes when he whines that MSNBC is trying to depict the Republican Party as the party of aging white males.

Gee, I wonder where they could have gotten that idea:

A 52% majority of those surveyed [all adults] couldn’t come up with a name when asked to specify “the main person” who speaks for Republicans today. Of those who could, the top response was radio talk show host Rush Limbaugh (13%), followed in order by former vice president Dick Cheney, Arizona Sen. John McCain and former House speaker Newt Gingrich. Former president George W. Bush ranked fifth, at 3%.

So the dominant faces of the Republican Party are all men, all white, all conservative and all old enough to join AARP, ranging in age from 58 (Limbaugh) to 72 (McCain). They include some of the country’s most strident voices on issues from Sonia Sotomayor’s nomination to the Supreme Court to President Obama’s policies at home and abroad. Two are retired from politics, and one has never been a candidate.

There's also the flaming a-hole demographic. It looks like Ziegler has that one covered.

Ziegler: ...and surprise, surprise, she gave an incredibly classy answer showing far more class than clearly most people on this network have,"

Brewer: I don't really know what to do with that. Honestly, I'm here to give you an opportunity, I consider myself a common sense thinker, I haven't attacked you, and for you to come on and use those sort of insults, insults me.

..cut the mic please.

(Please donate to C&L's 2009 fundraiser if you can. We need your support.)

I know it's not big news, but it's still nice to see that Larry Elder is off my LA radio dial.

Tune in to conservative talk radio in California, and the insults quickly fly. Capturing the angry mood of listeners the other day, a popular host in Los Angeles called Republican lawmakers who voted to raise state taxes "a bunch of weak slobs."

With their trademark ferocity, radio stars who helped engineer Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's rise in the 2003 recall have turned on him over the new tax increases. On stations up and down the state, they are chattering away in hopes of igniting a taxpayers' revolt to kill his budget measures on the May 19 ballot.

But for all the anti-tax swagger and the occasional stunts by personalities like KFI's John and Ken, the reality is that conservative talk radio in California is on the wane. The economy's downturn has depressed ad revenue at stations across the state, thinning the ranks of conservative broadcasters.

For that and other reasons, stations have dropped the shows of at least half a dozen radio personalities and scaled back others, in some cases replacing them with cheaper nationally syndicated programs.

Casualties include Mark Larson in San Diego, Larry Elder and John Ziegler in Los Angeles, Melanie Morgan in San Francisco, and Phil Cowen and Mark Williams in Sacramento.

What these lunatics don't seem to understand is that California is facing a huge economic crisis.

The immediate question facing the state's conservative radio hosts is whether they can wield enough clout to block Schwarzenegger's ballot measures in May. They portray them as reckless proposals that would hasten California's economic decline. The worst, they say, is Proposition 1A, which would extend billions of dollars in tax increases for an extra two years, even while it imposes a spending cap long sought by conservatives.

In a special election likely to draw a dismal turnout, they hope that those most upset by the $12.5 billion in new taxes will be the ones most strongly motivated to cast ballots. Their inspiration is Proposition 13, the 1978 ballot measure that capped property-tax increases.

I'm not sure where they think revenues are going to come from, but protesting the Octomom is pretty pathetic even for them.

Letting Max Blumenthal roam the halls of CPAC's annual shindig is guaranteed political comedy gold. Sure enough, he meets up with our old pal John Ziegler, and much hilarity ensues.

Max has the whole story here.

Now that he has his bogus "documentary" about media bias in the 2008 campaign -- built on a false premise and laughably bad data -- all ready for sale to the wingnuttery-consuming public, John Ziegler has been making the rounds on TV -- mostly Fox News, because his appearances on other networks have been so unprofessional and contentious that they likely won't have him back.

He was on Bill O'Reilly's show Monday, and then popped up on Glenn Beck's program yesterday. It's really a prime display in complete wingnuttery, especially as Ziegler lets everyone in the country see what a complete and utter a-hole he really is.

But then, as Heather noted this morning, we knew that about Ziegler from his appearance on a dating show last year, thanks to the fine folks at Political Carnival:

Meanwhile, regarding that media bias thing:

'Liberal bias?' IU professors find network TV election coverage favors Republicans

A visual analysis of television presidential campaign coverage from 1992 to 2004 suggests that the three television broadcast networks -- ABC, CBS and NBC -- favored Republicans in each election, according to two Indiana University professors in a new book.

Continue reading »

David Shuster had a knock-down, drag-out fight with wingnut extraordinaire John Ziegler over his new pseudo-documentary about the supposedly unfair mediatreatment of Sarah Palin:

Professional right wing angry person John Ziegler (remember his potty-mouthed but fact-light challenge of 538.com's Nate Silver?) is busy as a beaver, creating the "documentary" Media Malpractice... How Obama Got Elected about how that "librul media" (*sigh* Can that phrase be retired yet?)

Shuster started off by telling Ziegler that Palin thought Ziegler mischaracterized her in his promos. You can't make this stuff up folks, but when it comes to right-wing apologists, anything is possible. (very rough transcript and not in order)

Shuster: Sarah Palin says your decision to post excerpts out of context on YouTube led to misleading reports. Your take? Ziegler: I'm sorry that she feels that way. I don't believe that's the case..

Shuster then brought up Ziegler's idiotic statement when he said that the media was "assassinating Palin." Right-wing propagandists will cry "victim" everytime.

Shuster: Wait as second, wait a second. You think it's accurate to use the word 'assassinate'? Regardless of the heavy criticism, doesn't it diminish real assignations when you throw out the word 'assassinate' because Sarah Palin didn't like some of the questions she got in an interview? Ziegler: I believe her character was assassinated, David, and I believe this network played an enormous role in that process and you took the clip of the Katie Couric out of context.[..] Shuster: But John, even in the documentary, at least in the clips that you've released, she still can't answer, at least it takes her several opportunities, she still really can't say what she reads. Does Sarah Palin take any responsibility.... Ziegler: David, that's ridiculous. Apparently you didn't watch the clip. Shuster: I did, She talked about news articles that are widely circulated in Alaska Ziegler: You're a joke. Shuster: John, the joke is the fact that you and Sarah Palin can't take any responsibility for the fact that she wasn't prepared to run for vice president. Does she ever acknowledge that in any of your interviews? Ziegler: Did you not watch the clip?...This is clearly an agenda by MSNBC... Really? So is that your opinion, David? Is that your opinion, Shuster: No, I'm asking you Ziegler: As an alleged news person, is that your opinion? That she was unprepared to be vice president of the US? That doesn't seem very objective to me... Shuster: John, it's the opinion of 65% of the people... Ziegler: It's not your opinion, it's everybody's opinion. Shuster: It's everybody's opinion that's had an opportunity to interview her, except for you and my question is, when you interviewed her, did she ever express any responsibility for her own shortcomings, any? Ziegler: I feel like this is OJ Simpson interviewing the Cobbs Shuster: It's a simple yes or no answer....

You see, with guys like Ziegler---when he's confronted with facts that disprove his propaganda, he gets abusive. Where have we seen that before? And I find it laughable that Palin and her supporters will not admit that she was ill-prepared to run and hasn't taken responsibility for her own actions, but yet they ask average Americans who are losing their jobs to take responsibility for their own failings. Anyway, Ziegler will be on again for Round 2 with Shuster at the 3/6PM hour. It will probably be plenty entertaining. The right-wingers are so worried about the Fairness Doctrine being pulled, but in reality, when they are given time to explain their positions, that's when they are exposed as the whack jobs they really are like....John "The Joke" Ziegler. More to come....

Professional right wing angry person John Ziegler (remember his potty-mouthed but fact-light challenge of 538.com's Nate Silver?) is busy as a beaver, creating the "documentary" Media Malpractice... How Obama Got Elected about how that "librul media" (*sigh* Can that phrase be retired yet?) failed to do their job and resulted in Barack Obama's election. Yeah, that liberal Fox News and Rush Limbaugh...I'm sure it had nothing to do with the epic failure of the Republican Party. But who better to get on camera and grouse about the mean ol' media than Sarah Palin?

A new video interview with the governor, who talks at some length about media coverage during and after the campaign. The interview is by conservative broadcaster John Ziegler, who is producing a documentary, "Media Malpractice ... How Obama Got Elected." It was done at her Wasilla home on Monday, and posted clips on YouTube yesterday. A big chunk of the YouTube clip is Palin teeing off on media coverage of her family. She talks about a double standard between coverage of her family and Obama's, and suggests a double standard between scrutiny of her and Caroline Kennedy (who's pursuing a New York Senate seat) because of her social class. "When I heard Barack Obama state in one of his interviews on national television that his wife was off limits, meaning, family's off limits -- you know, 'Attack me, I'm the public official, come after me, I can handle it and we'll duke it out if need be, but family's off limits' -- I naively believed, OK, they respected that in him and his demand for that to be adhered, naively believing that must apply to all of us, right? But it didn't apply." On Kennedy: “I’ve been interested also to see how Caroline Kennedy will be handled and if she will be handled with kid gloves or if she will be under such a microscope also. It’s going to be interesting to see how that plays out and I think that as we watch that we will perhaps be able to prove that there is a class issue here also that was such a factor in the scrutiny of my candidacy versus, say, the scrutiny of what her candidacy may be.”

Oh yeah, the media has been so kind to Caroline Kennedy. And don't get me started on that "Shriekin' Evil" Keith Olbermann. The ridiculous lengths Republicans will go to retain their victim status. Celtic Diva's Blue Oasis has more...

Last time we checked in with Nate, he was busy getting cursed at by wingnut radio talk show host and "documentary filmmaker" John Ziegler for daring to question a poll Ziegler commissioned that purportedly "proved" that Obama voters were somehow misinformed, and therefore Obama only got elected because his supporters are dumb. I'm sure Ziegler would disagree with that characterization, but it's pretty clear that's what he's supposedly trying to prove. The transcript Nate posted of their first exchange was rather lively. This second encounter doesn't disappoint.