What TV political host are you PERSONALLY most likely to agree with?

[aaaaaa5a]

Nobody agrees with everyone all the time. But if you had to pick just one TV political commentator/host you most often personally agreed with, who would it be. AND... what issue do they "champion" that helps to secure your support/vote.




I left off Wolf Blitzer, Campbell Brown, Anderson Cooper and Larry King because they offer less opinions as hosts when compared to the others. Greta was left off because of space. Feel free to add your own.



My answer:

Commentator-Bill Maher
Issue-Religion


Close second:

Commentator-Keith Olbermann
Issue-Bush corruption/investigations

[aaaaaa5a]

1. Thanks for the votes guys, but just curious... "What issue do they champion?" NT

[EFerrari]

2. Other: Amy Goodman. Issue: Journalism. n/t

[bobthedrummer]

77. My first choice too, Democracy Now.

I'm disappointed that Bill Moyers isn't on this TV list.

[Stevepol]

3. Not that I agree with Schultz more, but I agree with what he chooses to talk about more.

Maddow and Olbermann, right now at least, seem to be covering issues that I feel are of less importance. Schultz is lasered in on health care and the financial mess, that is, the way the government bailouts have favored the banks over the US businesses. I also like his emphasis on the unions.

He deals with the other issues but they're not his central focus. I agree with what M and O say, though.

[Ladyhawk]

4. Bill Maher - Religion

Yep, me too. I live in a very religious area and his insights are very much appreciated. I feel less alone.

[frog92969]

31. Ditto - My vote and reason.

But my first choice would have been Bill Moyers,
for mainly the same reason.

[Engineer4Obama]

5. Stephen Colbert

Issue: Truthiness

[aaaaaa5a]

8. Good call. I will add John Stewart. Issue-hypocrisy NT

[Engineer4Obama]

14. Personally

I love Stewart for his vicious take down of CNBC and Jim Cramer.

[PassingFair]

37. +1 for Colbert.

I will never forget the way he
TOOK IT TO BUSH at the Correspondent's
Dinner.


...and managed to slam the sniveling
media rodents with the same blow.

[Orsino]

87. Colbert and Stewart, as comedians...

...do more commentating on issues that matter than do all the rest of our pundit class put together.

[Ladyhawk]

93. If I'd known we were going to include "fake" journalists,

I might have had a harder time deciding. :)

[dysfunctional press]

6. bill maher is a big peta supporter...so i can't go with him.

:shrug:

[aaaaaa5a]

21. I agree that PETA can be out there a bit.

but the concept is a good cause.

[Raine]

63. Agree

PETA is far out but I like that Bill Maher has concern and compassion for animal issues, there's other groups besides PETA.

[wryter2000]

29. He's also a misogynist

Thinks Tail Hook was "boys being boys" and snidely insisted there must be some reason girls aren't good at math and science. I haven't watched the smug bastard since.

[Ikonoklast]

7. Other.

Bill Moyers.

[napoleon_in_rags]

9. I'm disappointed to see Shultz so low.

I think he rules.

[redqueen]

11. Yes, I'm surprised by that.

Even Maher is beating Ed. :wtf:

[napoleon_in_rags]

68. It might just be that he's fairly new.

I don't watch as much news, and I only discovered him recently. Give him time, I say.

[aaaaaa5a]

12. I am really surprised KO is so far ahead.

And who voted for Beck? They didn't even give an issue? Coward! LOL!

[Engineer4Obama]

15. Mental Health

He's a walking advertisement of why its important.

[redqueen]

10. Ed... insurance reform. (nt)

[tinkerbell41]

13. Unionism!!!

I grow to love Ed more everyday. Also his constant pounding on Healthcare issue, and skewering RUSH almost everyday. I used to think Lou Dobbs, a few years ago but he started saying some shit
I couldn't agree with, then I realized he's racist.

[rucky]

16. Commentator - Glen Beck

Issue - Drugs

[Sebastian Doyle]

30. Glenn BecKKK should be the poster child for what BAD drugs can do

whether prescription or otherwise.

I hope that's all you agree with him on. And what the Hell are the other votes for that douchebag about? :wtf:

[DireStrike]

17. Rachel: Journalism

You can tell that she spends all day researching the stuff she reports. She knows everything through and through. She is dogged and resplendent with integrity.

[CTyankee]

18. I second that. I voted for her. She does her homework.

She demands excellence and most times she gets it. The others she leaves in the dust (Pat Buchanan, who made an absolute FOOL of himself on her program this week).

More Rachel, please...

[redqueen]

19. Resplendent?

Interesting word choice.

[DireStrike]

53. Why is that?

I just wanted to go with nonstandard phrasing. Did I miss some significance?

[TahitiNut]

20. Yes, she does her homework. Not just research, but organization.

She's able to present an organized and logical summary of the issue in a substantive and reasoned way. It's impressive.

[ThomWV]

22. Good judgement, good reporting, and she's never rude and doesn't shout.

[depakid]

72. No question about it

[Captain Hilts]

23. Nine men, one woman. All white. I don't think any are vets. nt

[aaaaaa5a]

27. Pat Buchanan calls that the baseline... or the control group.

Your point is right on. It still amazes me that with all the 24hr cable tv talk, not one minority has even been given a chance to host a show.

[Captain Hilts]

39. And as my signature notes, only 2 out of 30 op ed writers for the WP are women. Sad. nt

[elocs]

24. To be honest, I don't really watch any of them, even online.

Not even the ones that so many here are orgasmic about all the time. Certainly I have seen them, but I do not actively watch them and I do not follow them and hang on their every word to get the next most quotable quote.

[scheming daemons]

25. Wow... three nutjobs actually voted for Glenn Beck

[AspenRose]

26. I miss Phil Donohue and Charles Grodin

Why isn't Tavis Smiley on the list?

[GoCubsGo]

35. Grodin is a hoot!

I had forgotten that he had a show back in the late 1990s. I watched it all the time, and was extremely unhappy when the canceled it. He was one of the few that were calling "BS" over the Clinton impeachment.

[aaaaaa5a]

38. Phil Donahue just missed the mark on the rise of liberal talk shows

I bet if his show was re-introduced today it would be very popular. He has spoken out in the past about the limits put on his show back then because the "the higher ups" were worried about having a "liberal bias."


He was one of the few to speak out against the war. Him and Obama! LOL!

[wryter2000]

28. A really hard choice

I voted Olbermann, but I could have easily have voted for Rachel or Big Eddie.

[GoCubsGo]

36. Yup.

Keith got my vote, but mostly because he's been at it on TV longer than the other two. I dare say neither Ed nor Rachel would have a TV show if not for Keith. He paved the way for them. I also love his sense of humor and the fact that he does not always concentrate on politics-oriented current events.

[asjr]

32. Tina Fey

[marmar]

33. I swear Keith and I share the same brain sometimes.....

..... I almost always agree with Rachel, except when she does something odd like endorse Tom Vilsack.

[marmar]

34. OK, who selected Glenn BecKKK?

I sincerely hope that was for sh*ts and giggles.

[undeterred]

40. I can't get past the idea that there is someone who agrees with Bill Maher.

He's a soulless misogynist pig who should be removed from the airwaves.

[aaaaaa5a]

42. Are you serious?

I don't agree with Maher on everything. But when he speaks about religion he is 100% correct. And while he is a bit extreme, the concept behind his "four is making us sick" has merit.



IMHO, over the last 30 years, high fructose corn syrup has killed more people in this country than cigarettes.

[undeterred]

44. I don't think he is capable of understanding religion

or any form of spirituality. He just doesn't have the depth for it. Yes, I am dead serious. I think he is revolting in every way.

:puke:

[Forkboy]

62. I thought he nailed it. Go figure.

[Onceuponalife]

84. Me, too

He speaks for us non-religious folks.

[aaaaaa5a]

45. I think the world would be a safer, more peaceful place without religion.

What God is cowardly enough to let so many people die in his name?

[undeterred]

46. I think the world would be a safer, more peaceful place without misogynists.

Which gender goes uses war as an excuse to rape and kill innocent women and children?

[aaaaaa5a]

47. Um.... does Bill Maher hate women?

My understanding is that he has been at the forefront in the fight for gender equality.

[undeterred]

55. This writer sums up Maher's misogyny:

Bill Maher’s a liberal. That means he supports your right to suck his dick.

<snip>


My beef with Bill Maher isn’t limited to his shockingly stupid and derivative material. I’m also nauseated by his general attitude toward himself and toward other people. He’s clearly vainglorious to a degree that would make any rapper blush, and it couldn’t possibly be less warranted. He’s a short, unfunny half-wit who looks like Spuds Mackenzie with Dan Cortese’s hair. There aren’t a lot of grounds for arrogance there.

<snip>

His demeanor is so repulsive that I can hardly bear to watch his show at all, but when he starts interacting with other people it really comes out, especially if those other people happen to have vaginas. I can’t count the number of times I’ve seen Maher look straight through a female guest and dismiss what she’s had to say despite the fact that it was more insightful, informed, and interesting than anything he himself could have come up with. He makes no attempt whatsoever, when discussing women in the news, to disguise his utter disdain for women and their humanity, and he routinely dehumanizes women in his stand-up routines and on his show. He’s constantly harping on and on about the “pussification” of American men, which is what he calls the “trend” toward men treating women like human beings and taking their partners’ feelings into account (if only). And when he’s not complaining that men aren’t all out hanging out at the Playboy mansion while their wives are at home cooking pot roasts and hanging around in Frederick’s of Hollywood gear for their men to come home so they can suck their dicks, he’s making obvious, unclever, derivative, and adolescent “jokes” about sex and the “differences” between men and women.

So Bill Maher’s an asshole with no talent who gets paid a thousand times more than what he deserves to spread sexism all over our faces. Who cares, right? I care because he’s the world’s number one Liberal Dude and because he’s a perfect example of what’s wrong with the world of comedy.

Let’s talk about comedy for a minute. I know it doesn’t matter as much as feminism in the grand scheme of things, but my life basically revolves around finding things to laugh about, and the world seems to be conspiring as of late to keep that from happening. It’s now become virtually impossible for me to be entertained in the sense that anyone intended. I suppose that makes me some kind of asshole, but it’s true. I mean, is there on this planet a single comedian that doesn’t spend half his time talking about shitting, his balls, his disgusting attitudes toward sex, and “what’s wrong with women”? It may be a problem with the audience, but it seems pretty clear that there’s no such thing as a comedian/comedy writer who won’t stoop to that shit in order to get laughs out of the kinds of people who think ranch dressing improves any dish.

<snip>

Liberal Dudes like to make a big show of what egalitarians they are by blathering about their support for women’s “rights” and “equality,” but you’ll see just how sincere their concern for women’s issues is when someone brings up date rape (dude, chicks these days are scandalous and get fucked up a lot), when someone points out the pervasiveness of sexual harassment in the workplace (dude, why can’t chicks take a compliment?), when someone mentions any aspect of the systemic sexism in our culture and social structures (dude, why can’t chicks take a joke?). The gendered insults start flying when anyone suggests to a Liberal Dude that women don’t deserve to get groped, ogled, verbally harassed, date raped, or treated like idiots just because we have vaginas.

Liberal Dudes think they’ve done us a favor by being willing to tolerate our presence in public life. When we ask for any more than that, they think we’re a bunch of ungrateful bitches and start telling us we don’t know how lucky we are, that we’re hysterical, we’re crybabies, we’re weak, blah fucking blah. My personal favorite Liberal Dude line is “You women want equality but then you can’t handle it.” (Maher brought that one up constantly with regard to Hillary Clinton. He claimed she got her chance to run with the big boys and then acted like a pussy when things didn’t go her way. You know, because she faced absolutely no obstacles being the first viable female presidential candidate we’ve ever had.) Is there anything more offensive and obscenely entitled than the attitude these dudes take toward women wanting to be treated like human beings? They basically come right out and say, “We’ve given you a few of the rights and some of the status we have, so shut the fuck up. You’re lucky you even got that. Just think, you could be wearing a burqa.”

http://rageagainstthemanchine.com/2008/09/19/bill-mahers-a-liberal-that-means-he-supports-your-right-to-suck-his-dick/

[aaaaaa5a]

59. Fair post, although I disagree.

I think Bill Maher's position on women's issues are outstanding. Sure he rubs some people the wrong way.

However to call him a misogynist or insinuate that he is, to me is a huge stretch.

I have seen Maher stand up for women when it comes to abortion, equal pay, military sexual harassment and he blasts religion on a weekly bases for their discriminatory gender practices.


We will just have to agree to disagree. I think your characterization of him is wrong. Sometimes people can be a little too sensitive or lack objectivity in cause they believe in passionately.

Anyway, good article. I read the whole thing. It was very informative.


BTW... What political commentator DO you like?

[undeterred]

65. I don't watch television any more.

I listen to Air America. Favorite is Thom Hartman.

Maher can get on the right side of womens issues, particularly if he thinks its going to get him laid. But he is so wildly inconsistent that I don't trust what he says. He is profoundly immature when it comes to women. If he ever really gets to know and love a woman maybe he'll change.

[aaaaaa5a]

70. We have found common-ground!

I listen to Thom Hartman too. I think he is the best radio personality going.

[aaaaaa5a]

71. We have found common-ground!

I listen to Thom Hartmann too. I think he is the best radio personality going.

[Iggo]

80. Yeah, but what do you think about Bill Maher?

[Vidar]

41. Jon Stewart.

[Iggo]

79. Oh hells yes!

Hard to believe I got this far down the list before his name popped up.

[Lydia Leftcoast]

43. Amy Goodman and Bill Moyers--politics in general

Those are my top two. I don't have anything other than basic-basic cable, so I see Moyers on PBS and Goodman on public access.

[KoKo]

48. Grit TV...and all the other "Alternative News"...why bother with the Paid for CRAP

and why is it that we can't PAY for REAL NEWS instead of the disinfo, lies, obfuscation, propaganda that we get from our Mainstream TV that most of us PAY FOR...if we need more beyond the basic Network News!

WE ARE SUCKERS for "MAINSTREAM..MCCORPORATE NEWS" and we don't want to ADMIT IT!

[heppcatt]

51. mine also ;D

[DireStrike]

56. I forgot about Amy... she should be my top choice

I guess this was a poll of mainstream talking heads though. Poor Amy can't get traction anywhere. =/

Did you see the enraging footage from the 2004 RNC protest?

[EFerrari]

83. Bill and Amy have spoiled me forever for those other guys.

I've learned so much from them and it's been mostly painless, too. lol

Btw, their shows can be streamed for people who don't have cable.

:hi:

[Lydia Leftcoast]

86. Fortunately, Bill Moyers is on PBS and Amy is on my basic-basic cable's

public access station.

:hi:

[gleaner]

49. It was hard to choose...

between Keith Olbermann and Rachael Maddow but I went with Olbermann because he stood up and told the truth about the Bush administration, their policies and the results of their policies at the height of Bush's power. Speaking out so public ally against Bush, then, could have cost him more than his job.

I admire him now for his exposure of political corruption, and his determination that those who tortured should be identified and punished. Also his commitment that Americans have a right to know what their government is doing and to refuse to let the government hide in a shroud of secrecy so that we do not know anything until after the fact.

Maddow is just as committed to the same causes as Olbermann and she is very well educated and determined as well. Any way we could vote for two?;)

[aaaaaa5a]

50. I like Maddow and Olbermann too.

But I went with Maher because he will speak about all issues. He can even offer insight into "scary" topics such as religion, that you don't find anywhere else.

[gleaner]

92. Yeah, Maher is good too...

Maybe they should let us vote three times.;)

[blue_onyx]

52. Rachel

I agree with her on most issues. She is clearly well-informed and presents a comprehensive view of issues. I also like that she presents information in a calm manner, even when she strongly disagrees with the guest (ex: Pat Buchanan last night). Some other hosts seem to get a little too preachy, pompous, and loud for me.

[Greyhound]

54. 3 votes for Glen Beck? You guys are really in the wrong place.

No Stewart?

[aaaaaa5a]

58. That was a mistake on my part.

I should have kept it to progressive hosts only. But I try to be fair to all sides.

[WorseBeforeBetter]

67. You forgot Celine Dion. (n/t)

[aaaaaa5a]

69. I learned my lesson the last time!!!!!!!!! LOL

I will never live that down, will I!!!!!!




:rofl:

[WorseBeforeBetter]

75. LOL Maybe not, aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa...

but your heart WILL go on!

[Greyhound]

78. Not a mistake at all, let them keep verifying that they are here.

DU is fascinating for it's representative sample of "the public". The depths of naiveté and ignorance that are such a great part of our nation are on glorious display here almost every day. That and the
diverse news sources are what's kept me here for all this time.

Thanks.

[WorseBeforeBetter]

66. They're screwing with the OP.

I'll vote Glenn Beck just because it's a dopey poll.

[heppcatt]

57. wait wait wait i didn't see the Glen Beck option i change my vote to GET OFF MY.......

PHONE GET OFF MY PHOOOOOOOONNNNEEEEEEEE!!!!!111!!!!!!!!!! YOU PINHEAD.

oh glen my favorite comedy act i never listen to.

[fishbulb703]

60. wgere is the sarcasm and cynicism of colbert?!?!? nt

[Stinky The Clown]

61. For me it is a tie between Schultz and Maddow

And not on any one issue. I just find myself most often in line with their thinking.

[Raine]

64. Ed Shultz ...

I also like Lawrence O'Donnell, David Shuster, Rachel and KO.

[cascadiance]

73. Laura Flanders of GRITtv

My big issue is corporatism controlling governmennt...

Her not being on the list has me pick Rachel Maddow instead.

[EFerrari]

90. Laura Flanders is very good! I just got Grit and watch her every day now.

Once you watch the real stuff, you can't go back. :)

[cascadiance]

74. Cenk Uygur of the Young Turks should also be an option here too...

Have way too many that noone should vote for on this list and a whole bunch missing that would get votes if on there...

- Cenk Uygur
- Amy Goodman
- Bill Moyers
- Laura Flanders
- Avi Lewis ( of Al Jazeera's Fault Lines who is Naomi Klein's husband )
- Dan Rather (on HD Net now)
- James Zogby (Viewpoint with James Zogby)

[ControlledDemolition]

76. KO, he serves up what O'Reilly deserves on a regular basis. n/t

[Vickers]

81. Commentator: Maddow Issue: what a racist has-been Buchanan is.

:thumbsup:

[Hannah Bell]

82. Elvira.

[Onceuponalife]

85. So I guess we have six freepers here, then?

[DailyGrind51]

88. Obermann is the Edward R. Murrow of the 21st Century!

[TeeYiYi]

89. Amy Goodman

I voted for Rachel Maddow since Amy was not a choice.

TYY

[slampoet]

91. There are no Pro-Labor Commentators on National TV so my view is never represented.

Sad to say but i am part of a group that represents around 8-12% of the electorate and yet never has a National Media figure advocating for us on a regular basis.

You could say the closest he have is Michael Moore but I really can't think of anyone else who doesn't just pay lip service to Labor issues.

[SoxFan]

94. Tweety

Yes, Tweety.

Similar background....Irish Catholic, moderate Democrat, northeastern upbringing, absolute inability to know when to shut up.