'Doesn't it seem as if Chelsea is sort of being pimped out in some weird sort of way?'

Tell MSNBC to Stop the Misogyny!
Take action!

Contact NBC/MSNBC and tell them to stop the misogyny.
Compiled by Lori Price, www.legitgov.org

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'He's like the DC sniper, lying in wait, always on the hunt for Hillary... His guests try to change the subject, embarrassed for his custom-fetishized caviling.'

Regardless of who you support (or don't support) in the 2008 presidential 'election,' aren't you tired of Chris Matthews' nightly women-hating snarky comments and facial expressions? (As to Tucker Carlson, I don't even want to *go there.*)

Most of Matthews's misogyny-gone-wild vitriol (See Media Matters for America's summaries, below) is directed toward Senator Hillary Clinton. One does not have to vote for Hillary Clinton or support her candidacy to conclude that Chris Matthew's daily 'Clinton-bashing' rants are obscene!

The Founder and Chair of Citizens for Legitimate Government (CLG), Dr. Michael Rectenwald, a frequent guest on MSNBC, addressed this issue with NBC's top brass. Below is the email Dr. Rectenwald sent to NBC/MSNBC.

Regardless of who you support for president in 2008, the issue at hand: Misogynist Matthews needs to stop the Clinton-bashing or MSNBC needs to stop him by getting a new 'Hardball' host! --LRP

MSNBC misogynist spew by reporter David Shuster, as guest anchor on 'Tucker,' 07 Feb 2008. 'Doesn't it seem as if Chelsea is sort of being pimped out in some weird sort of way?'

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On 22 January, the president of NBC News, Steve Capus, wrote back to Michael Rectenwald, telling him to "easy up."

From: Rectenwald, Michael
Sent: Monday, January 21, 2008 7:55 PM
To: phil.griffin@nbc.com; steve.capus@nbc.com; letters@msnbc.com;
hardball@msnbc.com
Subject: From a guest and viewer: Chris Matthews's Obsessive Clinton Dementia

Dear MSNBC,

I have been viewer and a guest of your network for several years. I appeared numerous times on "Scarborough Country" before Joe moved to the "Morning Joe" show. I appeared, infamously, on Tucker, regarding the David Vitter mini-scandal.

Over the past months, I have been horrified at the treatment of Hillary Clinton by Chris Matthews. I find Chris Matthews to be nearly obsessed, in a sick way, with Hillary Clinton. This obsessiveness has not only been misogynist, it has also been downright insane.

Chris Matthews has a special, heavyweight hankering for Hillary hate. His animus appears to be especially personal, as if she's somehow slighted him, or refused him a date. He misses no opportunity to scorn her smile, ridicule her delivery, or sneer at the color of her dress. He spares nary a minute bolstering any opponent she might have, be he Obama, Edwards or even a Republican. He's like the DC sniper, lying in wait, always on the hunt for Hillary. His guests try to change the subject, embarrassed for his custom-fetishized caviling.

Matthews even appears to be embarrassed about his own behavior on occasion. His recent apology bears some witness to this. However, the singular case of ascribing her success to Bill Clinton's "messing around" is just the tip of the iceberg. His vitriol is much more widespread and deep.

As a Democrat and a liberal activist, I find it impossible to watch "Hardball" any longer. Matthews is unrepentant, despite his recent apology. I believe he will continue to bash Clinton irrationally for as long as he is on the air. I also think his misogyny will continue unabated after a while.

I urge you to remember the lesson of Imus, and do something before this recidivist misogynist makes an irrecoverable mistake.

Sincerely,

Michael D Rectenwald, Ph.D.
North Carolina Central University
Duke University
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• Matthews on Clinton's debate performance: "The porridge will be just right." --Misogynist TV host compares US Senator to 'Goldilocks' in fairy tale By Lori Price 26 Feb 2008 On MSNBC's 'Hardball,' during segment one of the 'Hate Hillary Hour,' host Chris Matthews and three pals ponder, "Which version" of Hillary will show up at the debate tonight?" Apparently, men are allowed to vary their tactics and to strategize. Women, on the other hand are hysterical and whimsical. They keep revealing 'different sides.' Michael Rectenwald is right. Oh, BTW, Matthews. You never know if and when one of those *three bears* will growl and bite you in the a**.

• Make no mistake: The GOP-run media is using race to pick off Clinton first, Obama second. The media is (finally) giving us wall-to-wall political coverage instead of Lindsay Lohan and Britney Spears - but that of the campaigners and their surrogates, not the issues. Where is John Edwards? He's as far from Bush as you can get, and so the corpora-terrorists don't want us to hear/see him. After a Bush false flag in the summer of 2008, the GOP troll on tap will gain about 10 points heading into the November 'elections.' When the GOP steals a *third* presidential 'election,' the Reichwing - pushing race as a false front-and-center issue 24/7 - will claim that even though Barack Obama was ahead in pre-election polls, people must lied to pollsters and in fact, decided not to vote for an African American for president, after all! Hint: Do you think we will be getting wall-to-wall coverage of the Kennedys, when the general election campaign begins? LOL, we'll be back to Lindsay and Britney in the blink of an eye. --LRP 28 Jan 2008

• 'Bill Clinton is holding the audience hostage in Missouri.' --D.C. Sniper #2 aka Joe Scarborough (D.C. sniper #1 is Chris Matthews) bashing Bill Clinton during MSNBC's Democratic South Carolina primary coverage. [Earth to MSNBC: We don't want Reichwing 'Morning Joe' on a panel discussing Democratic primaries!] --LRP 26 Jan 2008

• The GOP-run media is making 'race' the issue in the Democratic primary, so that people are brainwashed into forgetting that Bush is carrying out genocide in Iraq for Exxon, Halliburton and Blackwater while trying to kill as many elderly, poor people and minorities at home, by turning over the National Treasury to same. Don't fall for the media's false front-and-center issue of race, to dissuade people from voting against sociopath John McCain, GOPervert Mitt Romney - or whichever Republican warmonger is on the menu - in November. --LRP 26 Jan 2008

• On Friday's 'Hardball,' Chris Matthews asks a(nother) rightwing pundit: 'Do you like that all these guys have chosen her [Hillary Clinton] as their target range?' It's YOU, Chris Matthews, who has her in YOUR target range! Tell MSNBC to Stop the Misogyny! 'Chris Matthews is like the DC sniper, lying in wait, always on the hunt for Hillary.' --MDR 25 Jan 2008

• During Wednesday's 'Hardball,' a graphic superimposed over Chris Matthews's shoulder - during one of his Clinton-bashing segments - actually read, 'Can Bill kill for Hill?' Matthews's next graphic was that of John Edwards's head with text about his hair, leading into a special feature on John Edwards's hair and grooming. For his next segment's promo, Matthews intoned, 'Coming up: Who's got the sleaziest friends - Hillary or Barack?' --LRP 24 Jan 2008

• 'If Hillary Clinton wins the Democratic nomination, she'll be running as a team, with Bill Clinton, for president. Specifically: How would you run against Bill and Hillary Clinton, in November?' --Sexist Hill-bully (and Coup 2000 co-architect) Tim Russert, during the GOP debate on MSNBC --LRP 24 Jan 2008

Tell MSNBC to Stop the Misogyny!

Chris Matthews
hardball@msnbc.com

Hardball
hardball@msnbc.com

NBC
Mr. Phil Griffin,
Senior Vice President, News
NBC Television Network
30 Rockefeller Plz
New York, NY 10112
phil.griffin@nbc.com

Steve Capus
President, NBC News
steve.capus@nbc.com

MSNBC
viewerservices@msnbc.com

letters@msnbc.com
MSNBC/Microsoft-NBC
30 Rockefeller Plz
3rd Fl.
New York, NY 10112
(212) 664-4444

Dr. Michael Rectenwald
contactus[at]legitgov.org

See also:

It's Hard out Here for a Pimp (like Shuster): Cable "News" and the Pimping of Myth --The Rec Report By Michael Rectenwald 10 Feb 2008 Remarks by MSNBC reporter/anchor, David Shuster, about pimping Chelsea Clinton have caused a petit mal convulsion... On the first level of signification, the level of language, the comment posits Hillary in the role of pimp, and Chelsea in the role of prostitute. Despite the remonstrance of Republicans, Obama fans, and other Clinton haters-that the vernacularism has been divested of its strict denotation and the word "pimp" has lost its sexual significance- "pimp" still retains the meaning of sexual hustler. That's exactly how such vernacularisms work.

'I became Chelsea's mother long before I ran for any office and I will always be a mom first and a public official second.' Clinton Calls Shuster Comment Part of 'Troubling Pattern' 09 Feb 2008 In a press conference at the University of Maine, Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton called controversial comments made Thursday about her daughter Chelsea part of a "troubling pattern of demeaning treatment" by MSNBC. Clinton's campaign has also taken issue with some remarks in the past by MSNBC's Chris Matthews.

MSNBC Suspends Shuster Over Clinton Comment 08 Feb 2008 MSNBC suspended correspondent David Shuster this afternoon for making a disparaging remark about Chelsea Clinton as officials in her mother's campaign raised the possibility of punishing the network by pulling out of a planned debate in Cleveland. While filling in as an anchor yesterday, Shuster was discussing the 27-year-old's role in Hillary Clinton's campaign when he asked: "Doesn't it seem as if Chelsea is sort of being pimped out in some weird sort of way?" [See: Identity Politics: Sexism, Racism and the Political Imaginary --The Rec Report By Dr. Michael Rectenwald 24 Jan 2008.]

Reporter initially defended Chelsea comment 08 Feb 2008 A copy of the e-mail exchange between MSNBC's David Shuster and Philippe Reines, a longtime Clinton aide, was obtained by Politico. On Thursday, Shuster guest-hosted Tucker Carlson's MSNBC show, "Tucker," and in referring to Chelsea Clinton's role in calling superdelegates on behalf of the Clinton presidential campaign, he asked if she was "sort of being pimped out in some weird sort of way?"

MSNBC's Chelsea comment angers Clinton --Anchor Shuster apologized on the air for his comment 08 Feb 2008 MSNBC says it has temporarily suspended anchor David Shuster from all NBC news broadcasts -- except to offer his on-air apology for what he said about Chelsea Clinton.

Clinton Camp Floats NBC Ban 08 Feb 2008 Enraged over comments made by MSNBC host Davis Schuster on the "Tucker" program, the Clinton campaign says it may ban national network NBC.

Dr. Rec details the "Tweety Effect." Identity Politics: Sexism, Racism and the Political Imaginary --The Rec Report By Dr. Michael Rectenwald 24 Jan 2008 Obama, the first viable African-American presidential candidate in our nation’s history, has been used to provide a "liberal" Trojan horse for sexists like Matthews to drive their misogyny home. But as divided as the electorate is by the Clinton-Obama clash, liberal activists have not been fooled. I submit that not only is Matthews’s deployment sexist; it is also racist. It’s a cynical use of supposed progressive anti-racism to cut in anti-progressive ways.

Chris Matthews addresses firestorm 17 Jan 2008 On the January 17 edition of MSNBC's Hardball, host Chris Matthews addressed the firestorm sparked by his comment about Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton (D-NY) that "the reason she's a U.S. senator, the reason she's a candidate for president, the reason she may be a front-runner is her husband messed around. That's how she got to be senator from New York. We keep forgetting it. She didn't win there on her merit."

With women, Matthews administers the "Chris Matthews test" 17 Jan 2008 Summary: As Media Matters for America has extensively documented, MSNBC host Chris Matthews has a history of making degrading comments about women, particularly Democratic presidential hopeful Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton (NY). A Media Matters review of Matthews' MSNBC commentary found that, in particular, Matthews frequently comments on the physical appearances of his female guests and of other women discussed on his program.

Does Chris Matthews have a problem with women? 11 Jan 2008 Using overtly sexist language, he has referred to Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton (D-NY) as a "she devil" and compared her to a "strip-teaser." He has called her "witchy" and likened her voice to "fingernails on a blackboard." He has referred to men who support her as "castratos in the eunuch chorus." He has suggested Clinton is not "a convincing mom" and said "modern women" like Clinton are unacceptable to "Midwest guys." He has called her "Madame Defarge" and "Nurse Ratched."

After vowing not to underestimate Clinton, Matthews asserted, "[T]he reason she may be a front-runner is her husband messed around" 09 Jan 2008 During MSNBC's coverage of the January 8 New Hampshire Democratic primary, Chris Matthews -- host of MSNBC's Hardball -- discussed Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton's (D-NY) victory and said, "I've seen her now address large crowds in the last couple of days -- thousands of people -- under tremendous stress when it looked like she was losing this primary campaign, based upon all the polling. And she stood out there for several hours at a time taking every question." Matthews went on to say, "I give her a lot of personal credit. I will never underestimate Hillary Clinton again." But as media critic and blogger Greg Sargent noted, during an appearance on the January 9 edition of MSNBC's Morning Joe, Matthews said of Clinton, "Let's not forget -- and I'll be brutal -- the reason she's a U.S. senator, the reason she's a candidate for president, the reason she may be a front-runner is her husband messed around. That's how she got to be senator from New York. We keep forgetting it. She didn't win there on her merit. She won because everybody felt, 'My God, this woman stood up under humiliation,' right? That's what happened."

Hill-bullies May Bring US Four More Years of GOP Rule --The Rec Report --By Michael Rectenwald 08 Mar 2007 Hill-bullies are not exclusive to Faux and Raunch. Chris Matthews, the otherwise floundering middleweight chameleon, has a special, heavyweight hankering for Hillary hate. His animus appears to be especially personal, as if she's somehow slighted him, or refused him a date... If we continue to join in all those rein-in-Hillary games of the right, we might just end up with Rudolph or Huckabee.

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