Kondracke, Barnes: “MoveOn.org-Howard Dean-Daily Kos-Michael Moore left wing of the Democratic Party” is “just as nasty and mean” as -- if not "[m]eaner" than -- Savage, Limbaugh

Written by Joe Brown

Published

Morton Kondracke stated that if Ned Lamont defeats Sen. Joseph Lieberman (D-CT) in Connecticut's Democratic Senate primary, it will be “bad news” because Lamont “represents a triumph” for “the MoveOn.org-Howard Dean-Daily Kos-Michael Moore left wing of the Democratic Party,” which is “just as nasty and mean on the left as Rush Limbaugh and Michael Savage ... on the right.” Fred Barnes responded that these Democrats and progressives are "[m]uch meaner."


On the July 22 edition of Fox News' The Beltway Boys, co-host and Roll Call executive editor Morton M. Kondracke stated that if Ned Lamont defeats Sen. Joseph I. Lieberman (D-CT) in Connecticut's Democratic Senate primary, it will be “bad news” because Lamont “represents a triumph” for “the MoveOn.org-Howard Dean-Daily Kos-Michael Moore left wing of the Democratic Party, which is not only ... bad on foreign policy” and “globalization, but is also just as nasty and mean on the left as Rush Limbaugh and Michael Savage and those other hot dogs [are] on the right.” When co-host and Weekly Standard executive editor Fred Barnes responded that these Democrats and progressives are "[m]uch meaner" than conservatives such as Limbaugh and Savage, Kondracke agreed that this was true “in some cases.”

Kondracke's and Barnes's comments reflect a pattern -- documented by Media Matters for America -- in which the media denounce liberals, and particularly liberal bloggers, as “angry” or “crazy,” while ignoring hateful -- and even threatening -- comments made by conservatives. Savage and Limabugh, with whom Barnes compared some in the “left wing of the Democratic Party,” have a history of particularly outrageous, false, and hate-filled comments.

From the July 22 edition of Fox News' The Beltway Boys:

KONDRACKE: Up, Ned Lamont. Senator Joe Lieberman's Democratic primary foe is making big-time gains in the latest polls. After being down 15 points in early June, he's now up four points in the latest poll taken last week. And that's among likely voters, Democratic voters. But, running as an independent, which Lieberman said that he'd do if he lost the Democratic primary, Lieberman trounces Lamont and the Republican candidate in the general election. So this is a good news-bad news story. In bluest-blue Connecticut, you have a situation where a moderate, Joe Lieberman, will win -- according to this poll -- a majority of the vote.

BARNES: One way or another.

KONDRACKE: That's good. The bad news is that Ned Lamont represents -- if he wins -- represents a triumph in the Democratic Party for the MoveOn.org-Howard Dean-Daily Kos-Michael Moore left wing of the Democratic Party, which is not only, you know, bad on foreign policy, but on globalization, but is also just as nasty and mean on the left as Rush Limbaugh and Michael Savage and those other hot dogs on the right.

BARNES: Meaner. Meaner. Much meaner.

KONDRACKE: Well, in some cases, yes. Because --

BARNES: Look, you know what Lieberman's problem is -- and I hope he gets re-elected -- you know what his problem is? He is connected to Bush. He supported Bush's Iraq policy. It's the Bush link that drives those lefties crazy. They hate Bush so much.