Free Republic

Rep. Allen West (R-Fla.) is offering up a punishment of sorts for MSNBC host Chris Hayes. Hayes found himself in hot water this weekend when he said he felt “uncomfortable” calling fallen soldiers “heroes” – remarks for which he later apologized. West, who’s served more than 20 years in the military, apparently didn’t think that was enough. He said on his Facebook page Wednesday that Hayes should be forced to interact directly with wounded soldiers at Walter Reed Medical Center in Bethesda, whom West visited earlier that day. “The insidious words of MSNBC's Chris Hayes this past weekend evidences why...

Chris Hayes’ recent discomfort with the word hero reminded me of an anonymous quote from the civil war:If you are ashamed to stand by your colors, you had better seek another flag. How dare he use fallen soldiers as a prop to highlight his anti-war sentiments! If Chris has trouble supporting those who insure his freedom, maybe he should…[fill in the blank].I’m well aware that he recanted his statement (text below). But, but in light of what we’ve seen lately from our media, I find his apology disingenuous at best.On Sunday, in discussing the uses of the word "hero" to...

During a panel on Tuesday's NBC Today, liberal pundits Star Jones, Donny Deutsch and Nancy Snyderman condemned left-wing MSNBC host Chris Hayes for suggesting fallen U.S. troops are not heroes. Deutsch was the strongest in denouncing Hayes: "I hope that he doesn't get more viewers as a result of this...this guy is like a – if you've seen him...he looks like a weenie. Read more: http://newsbusters.org/blogs/kyle-drennen/2012/05/29/nbc-today-panel-rips-chris-hayes-he-looks-weenie-after-anti-military-c#comments#ixzz1wHG26JRN

MSNBC host Chris Hayes apologized Monday evening after outraging veterans by saying it makes him "uncomfortable" to describe all fallen soldiers as heroes. The TV presenter made the controversial comment on the eve of Memorial Day, while kicking off a panel discussion on his show "Up With Chris Hayes" -- noting that it is "very difficult to talk about the war dead and the fallen without invoking valor, without invoking the words 'heroes.'" Explaining why that makes him uneasy, he added, "I feel ... uncomfortable about the word hero because it seems to me that it is so rhetorically proximate...

The MSNBC host, who on the eve of Memorial Day said it makes him “uncomfortable” to describe fallen soldiers as heroes, apologized Monday after outcry from a top veterans group. "On Sunday, in discussing the uses of the word "hero" to describe those members of the armed forces who have given their lives, I don't think I lived up to the standards of rigor, respect and empathy for those affected by the issues we discuss that I've set for myself," Chris Hayes, host of "Up With Chris Hayes," said in a statement. "I am deeply sorry for that." The comment...

"Chris Hayes' recent remarks on MSNBC regarding our fallen service members are reprehensible and disgusting," VFW National Commander Richard DeNoyer said in a statement to FoxNews.com. "His words reflect his obvious disregard for the service and sacrifice of the men and women who have paid the ultimate price while defending our nation. His insipid statement is particularly callous because it comes at a time when our entire nation pauses to reflect and honor the memory of our nations' fallen heroes." He continued: "It is especially devastating to the many broken-hearted children, spouses and parents, left behind to grieve for a...

Chris Hayes: I'm 'Uncomfortable' Calling Fallen Military 'Heroes' By Mark Finkelstein | May 27, 2012 | 09:21 ........................... In fairness, Hayes and the other panel members distinguished between their respect for the valor of the individual military members who had given their lives with the worthiness of the various causes in which they fought. Even so, what does it say about the liberal chattering class, which Hayes epitomizes, that it chokes on calling America's fallen what they rightly and surely are: heroes? Watch the hesitant Hayes in what almost seems a parody of the conflicted intellectual. CHRIS HAYES: Thinking today...

Effete: affected, overrefined, and ineffectual; see "Chris Hayes." OK, I appended the name of the MSNBC host to the dictionary definition. But if ever you wanted to see the human embodiment of the adjective in action, have a look at the video from his MSNBC show this morning of the too-refined-by-half Hayes explaining why he is "uncomfortable" in calling America's fallen military members "heroes." Hayes is worried that doing so is "rhetorically proximate" to justifications for more war. Oh, the rhetorical proximity! View the video after the jump.

This could go down as some of the worst political advice ever. Then again, consider the source. Chris Hayes isn't exactly in the business of helping conservatives lead . . . or win elections. On his MSNBC show this morning, Hayes advised conservatives to call the war that President Bush led against Iraq "criminal." Yeah, that's the ticket. View the video here.

Suffer me to begin with a suggestion: if you ever have the chance to hear the Rev. William Dailey of Notre Dame law school speak, jump on it. Dailey is a stunningly brilliant advocate, among the best I have ever encountered on any issue. Dailey appeared on today's Up With Chris Hayes on MSNBC, where he masterfully made the case against the Obama administration's order forcing Catholic institutions to provide services that violate their moral principles. Predictably, the panel resorted to an ad hominem argument against him. Panelist Michaela Angela David implicitly, and Hayes himself explicitly, argued that celibate Catholic...

No wonder President Obama adopted some of the language of the Occupy movement in his class-warfare speech this week. It's led by the likes of Alfredo Carrasquillo, a fellow "community organizer" with whom the president perhaps identifies. Carrasquillo specializes in breaking into foreclosed homes to dole them out to others--beginning with himself--to live in. Chris Hayes gave Carrasquillo a sympathetic platform on his weekend show this morning. Making it clear that he was speaking as a "devil's advocate," not, God forbid, expressing his own opinion, Hayes gently inquired of Carrasquillo whether, you know, it could be said he has no...

Check out the screengrab after the jump. Before Chris Hayes uttered word one of commentary about Hermain Cain's speech suspending his campaign, he reacted with derisive laughter. Hayes, host of a weekend MSNBC show, was serving as analyst on Alex Witt's show as they broke down the Cain announcement. Hayes went on to mock Cain and his speech as a "bizarre charade" and a "freak show," along the way laughing once more, this time at the notion Cain might have a career as a motivational speaker. View the video here.

The following 65 names are confirmed members of the now-defunct JournoList listserv. 1. Ezra Klein 2. Dave Weigel 3. Matthew Yglesias 4. David Dayen 5. Spencer Ackerman 6. Jeffrey Toobin 7. Eric Alterman 8. Paul Krugman 9. John Judis 10. Eve Fairbanks 11. Mike Allen 12. Ben Smith 13. Lisa Lerer 14. Joe Klein 15. Brad DeLong 16. Chris Hayes 17. Matt Duss 18. Jonathan Chait 19. Jesse Singal 20. Michael Cohen 21. Isaac Chotiner 22. Katha Pollitt 23. Alyssa Rosenberg 24. Rick Perlstein 25. Alex Rossmiller 26. Ed Kilgore 27. Walter Shapiro 28. Noam Scheiber 29. Michael Tomasky 30....

It was the moment of greatest peril for then-Sen. Barack Obama’s political career. In the heat of the presidential campaign, videos surfaced of Obama’s pastor, the Rev. Jeremiah Wright, angrily denouncing whites, the U.S. government and America itself. Obama had once bragged of his closeness to Wright. Now the black nationalist preacher’s rhetoric was threatening to torpedo Obama’s campaign. The crisis reached a howling pitch in mid-April, 2008, at an ABC News debate moderated by Charlie Gibson and George Stephanopoulos. Gibson asked Obama why it had taken him so long – nearly a year since Wright’s remarks became public –...

Barack Obama is president. Oil is gushing in the gulf. America was eliminated from the World Cup. Looking for a laugh break? Try this: MSNBC has described DEMOS as "non-partisan." OK, I hadn't heard of them, either. But their web site just happens to mention that Barack Obama is "a founding Board member of Demos." But that didn't stop Chris Hayes of the lefty Nation mag, on MSNBC this evening subbing for Ed Schultz, from, yes, describing DEMOS as "non-partisan" in introducing the group's Washington, DC director, Heather McGhee. And who is Heather? From the DEMOS site: "previously, she was...

Someone just let 12 million cats out of the bag . . . A lefty pundit has admitted what the Obama admin likely thinks but dare not say: that he would like to grant citizenship to all 12 million illegal immigrants in the USA. Chris Hayes of The Nation made his candid comment during an exchange with Pat Buchanan about the Arizona immigration law on today's Morning Joe. View video here.

Nancy Pelosi: you lie! Chris Hayes didn't take to the floor of the House to call the Speaker out. But the Washington editor of The Nation did "totally agree" with Joe Scarborough when the Morning Joe host described as "a lie" Pelosi's claims that insurance companies hate ObamaCare. Added Hayes: "I think that's a completely disingenuous statement by Nancy Pelosi." The pair were reacting to a clip of Pelosi's interview yesterday with Diane Sawyer in which the Speaker said of House Minority Leader John Boehner that "some people will do anything for the insurance companies." Pelosi cast the bill as...

What's a principled stance on the life of an unborn fetus if it means achieving the be-all and end-all victory for liberal ideologues - a government intrusion into health care? According to The Nation's Chris Hayes, it's just "one giant obstacle." Hayes, filling in for Rachel Maddow on MSNBC's March 9 broadcast of "The Rachel Maddow Show," didn't seem impressed with Rep. Bart Stupak, D-Mich. Stupak, who has a documented history of having a pro-life position on abortion long before so-called health care reform was even a possibility, has been taking heat from left-wingers in this political battle. But according...