Monday, May 26, 2014

Scarborough Attacks #UniteBlue as Freaky Fringe Extremist Haters - UPDATE: Non-Apology-Apology

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"Morning Joe" Scarborough of MSNBC decided to launch an attack on the Progressive Twitter group #UniteBlue on Friday's show, and the members, including myself, did not take kindly to being called "fringe freaks" and "hate-mongers."

Even after the Unite Blue blog and countless tweets tried to set him straight about the group, Joe doubled down on Twitter. Maybe his real problem with us is that many Democratic candidates are joining to gain exposure and retweets, and it is helping them, especially in the South. We are the people who re-elected Barack Obama as President and ruined the nasty plans of the GOP. Sorry, Joe.

Unite Blue members are the most valuable demographic to most shows on MSNBC, and we haven't forgotten that Scarborough bragged that he helped get Martin Bashir fired for insulting Sarah Palin. Joe's pal, MSNBC Chief Phil Griffin, pandered to Palin when she got far-right Tea Party Twitter (#tcot) riled up, and Martin Bashir was thrown under the bus. But wait, Phil - isn't it the Dems and Obama supporters who are the entire "Lean Forward" Demographic?

Joe Scarborough, meanwhile, is leaning backwards and many liberals inside and outside of Unite Blue are calling for his resignation. Others just want Phil to make him apologize. I'm just glad to know how he really feels, and now we have it on the record.





Joe's Insult Via #UniteBlue Blog
“I could just take people who use the hashtag #UniteBlue and make a sweeping condemnation about America’s labor movement if I wanted to, but I don’t because I know that these people are on the fringes; they’re freaks; they’re hate mongers; that there are a lot of people who are in America’s union movements that are good, decent, hardworking people who actually would agree with me on a lot of issues.”



Response from Unite Blue:
After displaying his willful ignorance of normal, hardworking Americans, Joe Scarborough owes an apology to the mothers, fathers, retirees, millennials, activists, professionals and all other members of UniteBlue. Calling tens of thousands of good, decent people ‘freaks’ is a sweeping condemnation and makes you a hate monger.

Half a million Tweets per month use the hashtag #UniteBlue, more than #GOP or #TeaParty. It seems this has been getting under somebody’s skin. Nothing scares the Right more than a united Left, and its Joe Scarborough’s job to make progressive grassroots movements like UniteBlue look like a crazy, fringe group. That’s why he makes $100,000 per week while opposing a $10.10 per hour minimum wage.

Supporting unions and workers rights is not a fringe cause. This attack merely demonstrates how far the right has drifted, how out of touch Joe Scarborough has become with the mainstream, and how much the working class coming together scares certain people.

My Graphic that has gone Viral on Twitter:



Joe Strikes Back, Without Apology



Unite Blue Responds Again:



On Monday he started Back-Peddling Slightly
But No Apology


Change.Org Petition for MSNBC to Fire Joe

Politicus Petition to Make Joe Apologize

Open Letter from #UniteBlue to Phil Griffin:
Mr. Phil Griffin
President, MSNBC
30 Rockefeller Plaza
New York, NY
May 26, 2014
Dear Mr. Griffin:

Last Friday May 23, Joe Scarborough insulted thousands of honest, hardworking Americans who choose to organize under the banner of #UniteBlue, falsely alleging on MSNBC’s Morning Joe show that “these people are on the fringes; they’re freaks; they’re hate mongers.”

Mr. Scarborough owes an apology to the mothers, fathers, retirees, veterans, soldiers, activists, professionals and all members of UniteBlue. Calling tens of thousands of good, decent people ‘freaks’ is a sweeping condemnation and makes him a hate monger.

Half a million Tweets use #UniteBlue each month, more than #GOP or #TeaParty. Many of us are MSNBC viewers who were personally offended by these demeaning words and petty attacks. In response to the unprecedented outrage that resulted, Mr. Scarborough decided to double down instead of apologizing. This time he called each of us ‘extremists,’ and it’s really deeply offensive. Your entire network is being poisoned thanks to this behavior.

At this time, we are considering a number of petitions that have arisen calling for boycotts of Morning Joe and its sponsors. We have stood firmly against the promotion of hatred on the airwaves from others such as Rush Limbaugh, and cannot find any attempt on behalf of Joe Scarborough to move the political conversation forward meaningfully.

We respectfully request that Mr. Scarborough personally and publicly apologize for his comments on air and offer the opportunity for a UniteBlue representative to explain who we are; real people who want a voice in our democracy.

UPDATE: Joe Issues Non-Apology Apology

Via Unite Blue
“I brought it up on Friday… I brought up UniteBlue, and I could find people in UniteBlue who said some terrible things about me over the past two, three, four years, but that doesn’t mean there aren’t great people in the union movement, that doesn’t mean there aren’t great vets and great people in UniteBlue, that there aren’t great people in these organizations… Don’t we at some point realize that there are some people who will try to associate them self [sic] with a bigger group and say hateful things that shouldn’t be associated with the labor movement or UniteBlue?” Joe Scarborough on Morning Joe, 5/27/2014.

While this was not the full-throated apology that thousands requested, this display of respect is a promising first step, and we will continue to hold him accountable when political commentary devolves into disparaging and divisive attacks.
Now it’s time to move forward. We must continue to fight against the conservative politics of hate, division and fear, and once again affirm the audacity of hope, compassion and love.
Thank you to everyone who joined in our efforts this weekend. Way to go #UniteBlue!


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Now Joe is blocking #UniteBlue members.
He can dish it out, but can't take it.









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