WAGCEVP
May 31, 2003, 02:00 PM
Fw: Another example of liberal media
Actor Yells at FNC, Plus Writers Guild
99% "Leftist Liberal"
Two signals about how entrenched liberalism in Hollywood means political
shows promote a liberal world view. On ABC's The View, actor John Spencer,
who plays Chief-of-Staff Leo McGarry on NBC's The West Wing, argued against
making his show more conservative as he asserted that "as a left of center
liberal Democrat, I like to watch Fox and yell at all those people," so
conservatives should enjoy yelling at The West Wing.
And on CNN's Reliable Sources on Sunday, Lawrence O'Donnell, the
Executive Producer of NBC's cancelled Mr. Sterling, a show about a liberal
Senator, was quite adamant that we'll never see a political drama set around
a Republican hero because "the Writers Guild of America, my union, is at a
minimum, 99 percent leftist liberal."
Some details:
-- During an appearance on ABC's daytime show The View on Wednesday, May
28, quad-host Joy Behar asked Spencer about whether the show's creator, Aaron
Sorkin, was forced out because the network wanted to make the show more
conservative.
Spencer pled ignorance and the recounted his reaction to watching "Fox,"
by which he probably meant the Fox News Channel, not the network of American
Idol and the Simpsons:
"I never heard that we were moving to a more conservative standpoint.
And I know myself, as a left of center liberal Democrat, I like to watch Fox
and yell at all those people, you know. And with 20 million viewers we must
have some Republicans, I mean, you know, and I would think that they would
love to watch us and scream back."
I'm sure many have done so before turning the channel, though the season-
ender a few weeks ago concluded with a big, fat and rude Republican Speaker
of the House, played by John Goodman, becoming the President, at least for a
while under a 25th amendment transfer of power. A fresh far-right foil for
the new writers.
For a bio and picture of Spencer, who plays Chief-of-Staff Leo McGarry:
www.nbc.com
-- On Sunday's Reliable Sources, host Howard Kurtz played an excerpt
from a panel discussion he moderated, which was held by the Kaiser Family
Foundation, about how politicians are portrayed on TV entertainment programs.
The panel was made up of former Clinton economic adviser Gene Sperling,
Dennis Haysbert, the actor who plays the President on Fox's 24, and Lawrence
O'Donnell, creator and Executive Producer of NBC's short-lived Mr. Sterling.
In an exchange brought to our attention by an e-mailer and tracked down
by MRC analyst Patrick Gregory, Kurtz inquired of O'Donnell: "One thing these
programs have in common, conservatives are practically invisible. President
Bartlet is a Democrat. Martin Sheen, in fact, made anti-war ads before the
invasion of Iraq. Mr. Sterling is a California liberal based loosely on Jerry
Brown. Why aren't there any Republicans?"
O'Donnell replied: "You will never get that TV show. [crowd laughter]
You'll never, ever going to get the Republican TV show. The Writers Guild of
America, my union, is at a minimum, 99 percent leftist liberal and, like me,
socialist. [crowd laughter] And we don't know how to write it. We don't."
For a bio and picture of O'Donnell, a former Democratic Senate staffer
who is currently a semi-regular on the McLaughlin Group: www.mclaughlin.com
Actor Yells at FNC, Plus Writers Guild
99% "Leftist Liberal"
Two signals about how entrenched liberalism in Hollywood means political
shows promote a liberal world view. On ABC's The View, actor John Spencer,
who plays Chief-of-Staff Leo McGarry on NBC's The West Wing, argued against
making his show more conservative as he asserted that "as a left of center
liberal Democrat, I like to watch Fox and yell at all those people," so
conservatives should enjoy yelling at The West Wing.
And on CNN's Reliable Sources on Sunday, Lawrence O'Donnell, the
Executive Producer of NBC's cancelled Mr. Sterling, a show about a liberal
Senator, was quite adamant that we'll never see a political drama set around
a Republican hero because "the Writers Guild of America, my union, is at a
minimum, 99 percent leftist liberal."
Some details:
-- During an appearance on ABC's daytime show The View on Wednesday, May
28, quad-host Joy Behar asked Spencer about whether the show's creator, Aaron
Sorkin, was forced out because the network wanted to make the show more
conservative.
Spencer pled ignorance and the recounted his reaction to watching "Fox,"
by which he probably meant the Fox News Channel, not the network of American
Idol and the Simpsons:
"I never heard that we were moving to a more conservative standpoint.
And I know myself, as a left of center liberal Democrat, I like to watch Fox
and yell at all those people, you know. And with 20 million viewers we must
have some Republicans, I mean, you know, and I would think that they would
love to watch us and scream back."
I'm sure many have done so before turning the channel, though the season-
ender a few weeks ago concluded with a big, fat and rude Republican Speaker
of the House, played by John Goodman, becoming the President, at least for a
while under a 25th amendment transfer of power. A fresh far-right foil for
the new writers.
For a bio and picture of Spencer, who plays Chief-of-Staff Leo McGarry:
www.nbc.com
-- On Sunday's Reliable Sources, host Howard Kurtz played an excerpt
from a panel discussion he moderated, which was held by the Kaiser Family
Foundation, about how politicians are portrayed on TV entertainment programs.
The panel was made up of former Clinton economic adviser Gene Sperling,
Dennis Haysbert, the actor who plays the President on Fox's 24, and Lawrence
O'Donnell, creator and Executive Producer of NBC's short-lived Mr. Sterling.
In an exchange brought to our attention by an e-mailer and tracked down
by MRC analyst Patrick Gregory, Kurtz inquired of O'Donnell: "One thing these
programs have in common, conservatives are practically invisible. President
Bartlet is a Democrat. Martin Sheen, in fact, made anti-war ads before the
invasion of Iraq. Mr. Sterling is a California liberal based loosely on Jerry
Brown. Why aren't there any Republicans?"
O'Donnell replied: "You will never get that TV show. [crowd laughter]
You'll never, ever going to get the Republican TV show. The Writers Guild of
America, my union, is at a minimum, 99 percent leftist liberal and, like me,
socialist. [crowd laughter] And we don't know how to write it. We don't."
For a bio and picture of O'Donnell, a former Democratic Senate staffer
who is currently a semi-regular on the McLaughlin Group: www.mclaughlin.com