Maddow scorches Koch brothers on ‘correction’ demand: ‘I don’t play requests’

[DonViejo]

By David Ferguson

Saturday, January 4, 2014 11:12 EST

On Friday night, Rachel Maddow delivered a blistering reply to a letter from attorneys representing billionaire conservatives Charles and David Koch. While she has always been willing to make corrections on the show, she said, the Kochs’ current quibble is about a matter of actual verifiable fact and as such needs no correction.

“You know, you never like to get stuff wrong,” she said, “but it does happen from time to time and when we get stuff wrong on this show, I try to make sure that we correct it. We don’t mind making corrections. That said, don’t push it.”

A recent story about the Koch brothers’ financing of a national network of right-wing pressure groups is factually true, in spite of the Kochs’ ire at being mentioned unfavorably in the media.


“We cover the Conservative movement a lot on this show,” she said, “and in so doing we occasionally find people who have been mentioned in our coverage who are absolutely outraged that they have been mentioned in our coverage.”

“And the Conservative political figures who you can most count on to threaten to sue you and call your boss and scream about their victimization as loud as they can whenever they get mentioned by name in a way they do not control are of course, the Koch brothers,” she said.

The Koch attorneys went so far as to send a script for Maddow to read on the air, which she flatly refused to do.

“The Koch brothers’ letter to us includes a script that they want me to read to you on the air denouncing my own reporting on the Florida “Drug Test the Poor” story and telling you that they are not involved in promoting any such issue,” she continued.

“I’m not going to read their script. I’m not going to renounce my own reporting on this story because the reporting on this story stands,” said Maddow.

“We will not stop reporting on the political actions and the consequences of the political actions of rich and powerful men even if they send angry letters every time we do it,” she vowed. “I will not read scripts provided to me by anyone else. I do not play requests. I will happily make corrections when I do get things wrong. We do it on this show all the time. But I will not renounce or retract reporting that is true even if the subjects of that reporting don’t like it.”


Watch video about this story, embedded below via MSNBC:

http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2014/01/04/maddow-scorches-koch-brothers-on-correction-demand-i-dont-play-requests/

Full article posted with the permission of Raw Story

[babylonsister]

1. Rec'd, and brava, Rachel!

[Lil Missy]

2. GO RACHEL!!!!

[DirkGently]

3. I would love to see the "script" they gave her.

Bet it was a hoot.

[nxylas]

78. Me too

But reading it out would be giving the Kochs what they want. Ah well.

[Cleita]

4. She also invited one or both Kochs on her show to speak for themselves.

I'm watching for the flying pigs right now.

[groundloop]

6. She'd tear them apart....

I'd love to see it, but it'll never happen. Chickenshits.

[SCVDem]

31. We're gonna need a bigger studio!

Two Kochs and a hundred lawyers.

They would sit there and designate a 'mouthpiece' to answer all questions.

[Heather MC]

40. i bet they were at home saying oooohhhh I not gonna go near an icky girl

[SCVDem]

74. They might catch "The Gay"!

[VWolf]

82. Don't you mean "teh gay"?

[BrotherIvan]

5. Big brass ones

Kudos to her and to her producer for standing up to those reprehensible pigs. I wish every reporter had as much integrity and cajones.

[Little Star]

7. I always learn something watching Rachel's show. Always!

[lastlib]

8. Memo to Rachel: Don't fly on any small planes in the foreseeable future.......

...I put nothing past those slimy basturds.

[tblue]

77. She won't live in fear.

Wish none of us would. That said, I hope we all have her back when she stick her neck out to speak truth to power.

[47of74]

9. Good!

Long past time somebody stands up to these reprehensible slime balls.

[MissNostalgia]

10. "went so far as to send a script for Maddow"

The audacity of these cons to provide a script, I wonder how the delivery of this script went down with MSNBC heads, if they've accommodated the Bros before.

[Matariki]

27. Yeah, makes you wonder how often that happens

Probably explains why so much of the news sucks so bad.

[2banon]

11. Well Done Rachel!

Haven't been watching her clips much lately, and I generally avoid invitations promoting msnbc clips, (and others) with deceiving hooks which tend to greatly exaggerate actual content. e.g. "scorches" "smacks down" etc..

I have to say in this case is the exception to the rule.. well done!

[ejbr]

12. DAYUM!!!

[Historic NY]

13. Good for her!!

[elzenmahn]

14. BRAVO!!!!

Rachel has consistently stood up to the Koch-heads - applause to her and her crew.

This is what happens when a billionaire's self perception of entitlement enters into the world of delusion. You run into people with actual spines.

Go get 'em, Rachel!

[cntrygrl]

15. Those bums

couldn't even polish your brass ones, if ya physically had them, Rachel. Bravo to you and thank you for all your hard work!!!

[jwirr]

16. Take care Rachel. These guys have no moral values and will stop at nothing.

[marlakay]

36. My first thought was body guard?

If they are second richest people on earth that is major power and worries me they may try to hurt her.

She isn't like some outspoken politicians who many have faults of their own, she loudly speaks facts...something not on the news much.

[SoapBox]

17. The KKKoch Terrorist Brothers would like nothing better than to

control everything you say...do...and buy.

I'll bet just that thought of such ultimate control, gives them a, well, it rhymes with tiffy.

[Joe Bacon]

18. Dear Koch Brothers

FUCK YOU!

[WoodyD]

19. Rachel rocks /nt

[Vashta Nerada]

20. I'm glad someone out there is willing to stand up to the Kochs.

Good for Rachel. I'm glad she's standing her ground.

[The Wizard]

21. Republicans have been playing the victim card

and getting away with it. Ask Martin Bashir. It's time to put our collective fingers in their faces and tell them no no no and no again. A party that has a Senator who enjoys , and pays, a prostitute cleaning his soiled diaper has no business in any meaningful position in government. The Koch suckers pay for much of the Republican jihad against the American working class and as far as I'm concerned they can go eat shit and bark at the Moon.

[freedom fighter jh]

22. AFAIK, it was Rachel that exposed the Koch brothers in the first place.

At least I never heard of them before she talked about them on her show. Or maybe it was on Keith Olbermann's show. I don't remember.

[murielm99]

33. Actually, I think it was an academic in Wisconsin

who was doing research and stumbled upon the whole ALEC network. He began to write about it, and they tried to intimidate him. He went public with a series of emails from ALEC. He stood up to them, and the Kochs and ALEC began to receive publicity. No one had heard of them before that.

The Kochs and ALEC are like slugs under a rotting log. They are effective until someone lifts the log and exposes them to the light of day.

So many of these evil, powerful types are only effective when they remain mostly unknown. I have said this here before, but I think Rove lost much of his effectiveness when his name became a household word. He could not operate in the dark any more.

[Frustratedlady]

62. The first time I heard of the Kochs was the phone call

with Gov. Walker of Wisconsin during the big protest. What a riot when Walker nearly wet himself over the thrill of talking to, who...David Koch? I laughed for days.

[Hekate]

23. God, I love Rachel. You go, girl.

[RoccoR5955]

24. Rachel had better watch her back

These bass turds have her number, and probably will go to any extreme to see that she is off the air.
They think that they own the country. Little do they know, that there are people who will not kowtow to them.

[grahamhgreen]

32. Guaranteed they're pulling every string to get her fired, but how many people can msnbc fire before

their thin veil of liberalism dissolves?

[kelliekat44]

45. I wouldn't be surprised if they planted a fake story with leads just to make her look bad. nt

[grahamhgreen]

71. Likely, that or some form of wickedness.

[murielm99]

25. For some reason, this brings to mind

the time Letterman made a joke about the "yawning kid" who was standing behind Bush at a campaign speech. They did everything to intimidate Letterman into admitting the tape was doctored, which it was not. I remember Letterman being persistent, but in a comic way. He joked about his body being found in the trunk of a car. That is not funny, really, but it could have happened, if he was not Letterman.

Eventually the boy guested on the Letterman show. That was a good move.

Will they back Rachel? They already fired Martin Bashir.

[Matariki]

26. "The Koch attorneys went so far as to send a script for Maddow to read on the air"

Wow. Just wow.

Arrogant assholes. I wish they would die soon. Hate to say that about another human being, but truly, the world would be much much better without these selfish pricks.

[NastyRiffraff]

28. Kick 'em Rachel! Kick 'em in the balls!

Excellently done. But I echo those who urge her to watch her back. I wouldn't be surprised at anything these scumbags do. And I mean anything. Sending a script! They think they rule the world.

[Paladin]

29. Bravisima, Rachel! (nt)

[grahamhgreen]

30. Cool, the Koch's are feeling the heat. Wonder if they'll attack or retreat?

[olegramps]

34. WEll it works for the rest of the MSM. They don't hesitate to read the GOP scripts.

[rustbeltvoice]

35. I like Rachel Maddow.

I do not have cable. I am not aware of all her statements. I know, we do not have a one to one correlation, but time after time she does well.

Rachel Maddow has shown intelligence, integrity of views and research, and clear reasoning that is absent those with the same job description. She has credibility, her competitors and opponents largely do not.

The Koch Brothers Inc. are a propaganda machine, and bullies. They wish their wishes to be done, but by the hands, and public words of others. They are devious, and vicious cowards.

From what i gather from the corporate MSNBC (whoever they are) they lack the credibility of Maddow, and that of Keith Olbermann, and Phil Donahue before her. They position their employees, between their ledgers, and the resistance of organised plutocrats and their fascist allies. She is not Edward R. Murrow, but she is damn good.

[Ed Suspicious]

41. Dr. Maddow rocks. How many PHD Rhodes Scholars does FOX employ?

[rustbeltvoice]

47. Hell-o Ed,

I don't know.

If i remember rightly, Diaper Dave Vitter was a Rhodes scholar. Kindasleasy Rice, Wolfowitz and others have a doctorate. No, credentials do not make a good, honest, and credible person. A good, and competent person is so before official documents, or without any. I think, gwbjr has an history degree from Yale, and an MBA from Harvard; and could you find a more invincibly ignorant individual in those areas?

[Ed Suspicious]

50. Point taken. I was focused on the morning show morons, Bill O, and the like when I was asking.

Sometimes it seems like blonde hair, a banging body, and an ability to believe your own bullshit are the only credentials required to work at FOX. I stand corrected.

[rustbeltvoice]

53. i am sure that Fox can contract an idiot with credentials, they have them as guests

O, my blood pressure would not allow me to watch any of Faux, et alia; only in snippets, to show who they are. I have clicked on Colbert, and Stewart commentaries; and have seen Letterman and Kimmel highlight their inanities. Some of these people do show up elsewhere also, and are taken seriously and with respect. Really, i view Ailes, O'Reilly, Limbaugh, Hannity, Ryan, Romney, Cantor, Cheney as part of the same band of rogues, charlatans, and criminals. They are as interchangeable as any story villain.

About the bullshit, when someone is wrong so often they should not be given a microphone. And yes, i see that Fox has an affinity for leggy blondes, and they dress, coif, and paint them like starlet Hollywood actresses. And yet, when a Hollywood actress has a non-Republican opinion they attack her. And believing it, sometimes one becomes the part they portray.

[Squinch]

51. None of them is a Fox commentator.

[heaven05]

37. kick ass rachel!

[Cha]

38. THank You, Rachel!

Mahalo, DonViejo!

[catbyte]

39. It must gall thee hell out of those evil crooks that she refuses to be intimidated

Go, Rachel!

[rhett o rick]

42. This war has only two sides. You must decide whose side you are on. Rachel made it

clear whose side she is on. The centrists among us dont know whose side they are on, but if they stay out of the fight, then they choose the side of the wealthy elite.

[alfredo]

43. Go Rachel

[oldandhappy]

44. Hope MSNBC has her back.

But I think MSNBC knows all of us out here would take down the network if they do not stand with her.

[mimi85]

49. i'm sure they do...

she's their bread and butter.

[glinda]

46. That was scary.

[indepat]

48. Please, Rachel, please do send enough rockets up the Koch brothers asses to do some major

scorching.

[longship]

52. I download Rachel's audio podcast nightly.

She's brilliant. But I have severe download limits here in very rural western Michigan, where no cable TV or broadband dares to tread, let alone paved roads.

But 10Megabytes of audio I can do easily. And Rachel is probably available on your favorite podcast aggregator as an audio only downloadable, even if you have broadband.

One of my favorite nightly visits is with Rachel Maddow. My ears are always happy about that. So is my brain.

[druidity33]

55. Do you have a link for those?

Do you go to the MSNBC site? I could just google it of course.... but if the info is handy?

[longship]

58. Well, I just get it on my iPad.

There has to be a link via Google.

Google Maddow podcast.

Here's a link:
http://podcastfeeds.nbcnews.com/audio/podcast/MSNBC-MADDOW-NETCAST-MP3.xml

Or, go to iTunes:
https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/msnbc-rachel-maddow-audio/id294055449?mt=2

There's also video podcast:
http://www.nbcnews.com/id/28981762/ns/msnbc-rachel_maddow_show/t/free-audio-video-downloaded-your-pc-or-portable-player/

I just searched on my Podcasts app.

Hope this helps.

[druidity33]

66. It did, thanks! Looking forward to them...

i also live in a limited bandwith area (ie satellite) and can't really do video.

Cheers!

[longship]

67. Me, too.

From the Manistee National Forest, longship sends his fond regards and is happy to assist.

We've got no paved roads, nor cable TeeVee, nor broadband Intertubes, nor sewers, nor city water, etc.

But there are cell towers, with limited downloads. Saved my geek ass.

[pacalo]

54. K&R.

Rachel doesn't do things Fixed News style.

[Ilsa]

56. Dr. Maddow has integrity. And I bet

she would quit rather than follow a direct order to read that Koch-based bullshit on the air.

[GoneFishin]

57. Kick. nt

[Lint Head]

59. I love Rachel sooooooooooo much!

[joanbarnes]

60. If it wasn't for Rachel, we wouldn't even know about the Koch Bros, or Citizens United, etc. etc.

[ancianita]

61. Maddow has thrown down the media gauntlet against stealth corporate rule. No more social wedgies

for her. That stuff got cleared up in the 2012 campaign.

It's a joy to behold any bulldog journalist bust on class war terrorists in think tank clothing. But most especially the Eloquent Rachel!

[mitty14u2]

63. If you only watch Fox News turn to MSNBC Rachel Maddow - Old Dogs can learn New Tricks

http://www.msnbc.com/rachel-maddow-show

[Skid Rogue]

64. Go Rachel!!!!

It's so rare to see a popular member of the press actually use their constitutional protection to challenge powerful people that it's actually a little jolting and bizarre to watch. When she's at her best, it's her conciseness that kills.

[TexasTowelie]

79. I agree with you completely.

Welcome to DU! I think you are going to like it here.

[Jack Rabbit]

65. Let me make an accurate discription of the Koch brothers . . .

two corporate fascists.

[tartan2]

68. This is just one of the things about Rachel that I love!

I can't stand the Koch Brothers, I see them as a scourge on this country!

[ladym55]

69. I see a pattern here

The faux right-wing outrage is really focused on MSNBC right now. I watched Melissa Harris-Perry cry this morning because OMG she OFFENDED the Romneys. I had actually seen the original segment and didn't think a thing about it. There is a huge outcry that she be fired. It's 2014 and an election year. Clear Channel just shut down their progressive radio station in LA and replaced it with "Patriot Radio." The right is DESPERATE to shut down any voices that actually inform people.

[lofty1]

70. They hate publicity.

They don't want people to know who they are.

They'll back off from this story getting too big and scurry when the lights get flashed their way.

Those two pricks should be in jail. The more people know about them and realize what crooks they are, the more money they have to spend to buy their way out of trouble.

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-10-02/koch-brothers-flout-law-getting-richer-with-secret-iran-sales.html

[TxDemChem]

72. How dare they even send that BS over!

That's my girl!

[tofuandbeer]

73. Geeze...the Koch Brothers are sounding like Scientology. nt

[classykaren]

75. Yes Fox News does have Greta

[Nika]

76. Rachel is a special woman.

I enjoyed watching this segment and it speaks well as to why she is one of the best news reporter and commentator in the nation today.

[florida08]

80. this crap goes on all the time

People get fired over it. Martin Bashir is one example because of the idiot Palin and her racist comparison to slavery. The rw raised hell about DD Robertson ignoramus getting shunned by A&E when he stupidly said that blacks were happy under Jim Crow insanity. He will return of course and be bigger than ever. Robertson has a degree. Too bad he never used it.

I think Rachel is the last one left that has withstood the tide. But this propaganda works even in the face of truth because though real reporting is suppose to be protected by the first amendment, mostly it's not. It's protected by dollars. She won't go down easy and neither will her fans.

[Enthusiast]

81. Hey, fuck the Koch Brothers!

The fascist bully brothers.

[myrna minx]

83. K&R n/t

[davidpdx]

84. I saw the video on that one

I don't keep up with the show that much, but I try to get over to watch her occasionally.

Off topic: It seems as though NBC is going to start locking down their video to subscribers only. I had a tough time getting it (it usually is no problem). We'll see if they are really going to start making all of it subscriber only. If so, fuck'em I'll download it.