Olbermann SUSPENDED for political donations, to return Tuesday, 11/9

Seems like MSNBC anchor Keith Olbermann donated $2,400 each to three candidates. Two were Arizona congressional candidates, and the other was Jack Conway, who ran for the Senate against Rand Paul in Kentucky. At least one of these candidates appeared as a guest on his show. MSNBC has policies regarding political donations, and it seems like Olbermann's actions are a breach of those policies. Also seems hypocritical of him, given his disdain for Fox's contributions to GOP causes. It will be interesting to see how this plays out.


Olbermann

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Updated On: 11/7/10 at 09:16 AM

"Liberals get away with everything. It will all be swept under the rug and forgotten."

Note to self: never open a Goth post with a mouth full of water. Excuse me while I dry off my keyboard.

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Of course there is a double-standard for liberals and conservative, but it's not in the direction Goth supposes. Let's see, Eliott Spitzer resigns over prostiture scandal, David Vitter gets reelected. Sanford goes AWOL on the state of South Carolina, serves out his term. John Ensign has an affair with a married staffer, pays off her family, no consequences. Yeah, I'd say there's a double-standard.

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Anyway, back to Olbermann. I know he's an advocate rather than a reporter, and his program doesn't even pretend to be 'fair & balanced', but if MSNBC has ethics policies, he needs to abide by them. And if MSNBC's anchors spoke with one voice against Fox's donations, they can't just ignore this.

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JoeK and madbrian, you do see the difference between private citizens and elected officials don't you?

I can point out just as many incidents of liberals getting away with things: Bill (I didn't have sex with that woman) Clinton.

Unfortuantely in today's society, neither politicians nor journalists have any standards. They make up the rules as they go along and change them as they see fit.

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You mean the man that got impeached and lost his law license for lying about sex Goth? Give me a fricking break.

The MSNBC rules are a little hazy as it applies to hosts vs. reporters, but I do think Olberman should say something and disclose.

I do find it to be a bit different for an individual to donate the max individual limits as opposed to Fox News donating as a corporation (which impacts shareholders and may actually be a violation of its own corporate policy).

But this is what Fox does - it goes all the way around the bend, across the street, and underground in conduct, and then tries to claim moral equivalence with someone who goes outside to get the paper and steps in his neighbor's yard. When I see MSNBC hosts actively fundraising for the Dems at events, as many Fox News people have for GOP events, come back and we can have a discussion.

Please don't engage the troll.

Strummer, the health care clinics were non-partisan charity functions. Not the same as actively pushing a political party or candidate. I guess you could argue that by highlighted the need for the clinics advances the democratic agenda, but I have a hard time equating true charity functions with a political rally.

Updated On: 11/5/10 at 10:52 AM

Strummer, that had more to do with Clintons and Olbermann not exactly playing well together.

I honestly think it stems from Olbermann being such an Obama supporter in the primaries, and MSNBC in particular being seen as rooting for Obama over Hillary.

If a newsperson had made donations to a political candidate they are interviewing, and they don't disclose that information, I care.

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Olbermann definitely politicized those clinics.

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Updated On: 11/5/10 at 01:04 PM