New MSNBC same old Skullduggery - Manufacturing the News Liberals Love - Part 2.

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Chris "Hardball" Matthews serves softballs to Hillary in exclusive Lovefest.

For a guy who claims to be excited by the movers and shakers in history, and one who enjoys projecting a "tougher than nails" approach to interviews, he certainly met his match when he interviewed Hillary Clinton this past Tuesday on his Hardball show.

What a misnomer for a show name.  Matthews was like a puppy dog licking the boots of his master as he substituted softballs and cotton candy for anything close to tough questions.  It began before she started when Matthews, like a star struck student in awe of his professor, giddily told his audience this was going to be the best interview of his career, or some such nonsensical words.

From that moment on, he seemed like his goal was to get a six-figure grant from the Clinton Foundation to study the genetic mutations in Republicans, not to report the news.

It made me think back to 2008 when Matthews headily took on the Clinton machine and got pulverized in the process.  Guess he learned his lesson.  If you cannot tell the truth then you should embrace the lies.  Back then it seemed he was point man in the media for the fledgling Obama campaign, a role he maintained until his hero kept double-crossing the liberal base after promising them the world.
    

Here is an excerpt from a story in the quite liberal Huffington Post written by Sam Stein and published on August 5, 2008.

Matthews Calls Clinton Press Shop "Lousy," "Kneecappers"

Chris Matthews fired a salvo at the Clinton campaign this morning after both he and his MSNBC colleague were privately and publicly rebuked for recent comments deemed misogynistic or inappropriate.

Appearing on MSNBC's Morning Joe, the Hardball host went off on the Clinton press shop, calling them "knee cappers" who were "lousy" and delve in the business of "intimidation."

"What she has to do is get rid of the kneecapers that work for her, these press people whose main job seems to be punishing Obama or going after the press, to building a positive case for her," said Matthews. "Her campaign slogan right now is don't get your hopes up. That won't work in America. You can't diminish Obama and hope that you will rise from the ashes."

Here we are, sixteen years later, and Matthews is so incensed the American public could be so stupid as to support Trump, that he now embraces his own enemy.

Where I come from that is selling out your principles and mortgaging your independence.

Perhaps the low and high point of the interview came when he tried to coach Hillary on how to handle the Trump questions about the infidelity of her husband, Wild William Clinton.

Playing the part of Freud and psychologically evaluating her situation, he told her she was the victim and what a tragedy she had to endure as the never-ending tales of Bill's promiscuity kept popping up over the years.

In a courtroom, it is leading the witness.  In the Hardball lovefest, it was more like offering humble advice to the Goddess, although humility is hardly one of Matthews' virtues.

However, for a time it was Romeo and Juliet all over again as he continued.  When he was done what had we learned?

Did he ask about the influence of Goldman Sachs over her and her husband?

Like who raised the money to pay off the millions of dollars in legal fees for Bill's impeachment or the millions in settlements to his former mistresses.

No questions about the $250,000 to $500,000 she and her hubby get just for speaking to Goldman people?

No questions about the millions of dollars she and her Clinton Foundation get from Wall Street banks, the same banks that paid nearly $200 billion, yes that is billion, in fines and settlements for their role in destroying the economy in 2008-2009, yet not a single banker has been punished.

In fact, under Obama, the crooks have flourished and the ten biggest banks are down to six and bigger and richer than ever, even after the billions in fines.

Sanders is proving to be a thorn in the side of Hillary who claims to represent the people while advocating the cause on behalf of Wall Street and taking millions from the financiers.

   

    

Her only opponent, Bernie Sanders, announced an economic plan two days ago that pledged to break up the biggest banks and financial institutions, whose size and complexity threaten the financial system as a whole and the U.S. economy.

Why is this more critical than ever before? Because the massive banks that fueled the 2008 financial crisis are even bigger today.

Sanders points out: "Three out of the four largest financial institutions (JP Morgan Chase, Bank of America and Wells Fargo) are nearly 80 percent bigger than before we bailed them out. Incredibly, the six largest banks in this country issue more than two-thirds of all credit cards and more than 35 percent of all mortgages. They control more than 95 percent of all financial derivatives and hold more than 40 percent of all bank deposits. Their assets are equivalent to nearly 60 percent of our GDP. Enough is enough."

The Clinton legions immediately set out to trash the Sanders plan.

No, Chris Matthews might consider naming his show "Powder Puff" to better reflect the role he is playing in the presidential sweepstakes.

See the next article for Part 3 of the series.

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New Jersey Stuck in Political Quagmire - Payoffs Abound for Democrats Menendez & Staff

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Just when we thought our politicians were starting to get the message that payoffs and campaign bribery have no business in our government we learn that Robert Menendez, Senator from New Jersey, was in the midst of securing $8 million in federal special earmark money to pay for corporate work that had already been promised from developers.



In fact, the multi-million dollar luxury condo complex on the New Jersey - New York waterfront required the private financed park as a condition of approval back in 2003, a fact that Menendez says he did not know. What kind of staff work was involved that led him to get $8 million in federal money for a luxury development when hundreds of teachers are being laid off in New Jersey and jobs could have been saved with the same money?

Maybe the problem with Washington politicians can be best seen by this fact. Menendez and former Senator Frank Lautenberg received over $100,000 in campaign contributions from the owners and employees of the privately owned complex. A former member of the Menendez staff received over $200,000 as a lobbyist for the project.



Menendez is quit to point the finger and lay the blame on Wall Street or BP for the problems we face as and he wants to be the leader in fighting to save jobs for the teachers yet he quietly, behind the scenes, is steering $8 million to huge developers and $200,000 to former staff members to pay for a park in one of the most luxurious condo complexes on the Hudson waterfront.

Liberals and Democrats including the powerful teachers union should be outraged at the hypocritical action by their advocate and the people of New Jersey should be disgusted by the continued efforts of the political machine in Washington to steer limited funds to special interests. Wake up New Jersey, you have been sold out again!



Apparently cleaning out the Governor's mansion with the election of Governor Chris Christie was just the first step in cleaning out the horrible mess in the Democrats stranglehold on the state and their disregard for the needs of the people of New Jersey. Using grey areas of the law to benefit huge corporations was supposed to be a thing of the past. Maybe Menendez should become a thing of the past as well to make sure people are heard.



The following is a report on the funding scandal that appeared in the Washington Times online.

By Jim McElhatton

HOBOKEN, N.J. | With a rooftop pool and 24-hour concierge service, the new luxury condominiums off Frank Sinatra Drive here seem an unlikely spot in need of a multimillion-dollar federal giveaway.

Yet U.S. taxpayers doled out at least $8 million on a public walkway and park space in front of the Maxwell Place development here overlooking the New York City skyline - an amenity the development touts alongside its entertainment lounge, rooftop hot tub and theater screening room.

But the decision to use tax dollars to fund the walkway project was made after private developers had already agreed in 2003 to pay for it - indeed, it was a key condition for getting the project off the ground, according to public records and interviews.



Still, under the so-called earmarking process, by which Capitol Hill lawmakers slip requests for pet projects into larger spending bills, Sens. Frank R. Lautenberg and Robert Menendez, New Jersey Democrats, later pushed for millions of dollars in federal funding for the project.

In the swamp of federal earmark funding, $8 million isn't a lot. But critics say the project is emblematic of why the earmark process so enrages many taxpayers.

Mr. Lautenberg and Mr. Menendez combined have received approximately $100,000 in campaign donations from executives of past and current developers of the Hoboken project and their employees over the years, federal election records show.

What's more, the developers' lobbyist, whose firm reaped more than $200,000 in lobbying fees, was a longtime senior aide to Mr. Menendez, who was a member of the House when the lawmakers secured funding for the project in 2005.

Neither Mr. Menendez nor Mr. Lautenberg said the donations influenced their decisions. They also said they were unaware that the developer had already agreed to spend millions of its own dollars to complete the walkway.

The public walkway and park were dedicated by city officials last year, and developers, on top of the money from the federal government, separately paid out millions of dollars for the project. But questions persist. Watchdog groups, while noting there was nothing illegal about earmarking federal funds for the project, question the push for taxpayer money if developers already were obligated to foot the bill.

"If it already was going to be done by the private sector, why would we swoop in and pick up the majority of the costs?" said Steve Ellis, vice president of Taxpayers for Common Sense. "That same $8 million could have been used on other worthwhile projects."

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