Clinton Sends Blistering Letter To NBC News Over Chelsea "Pimp" Remark

New York Times:

Senator Hillary Clinton sent a blistering letter today to the head of NBC, which suspended one of its reporters Friday for comments he made about Chelsea Clinton.

The reporter, David Shuster, had said Thursday that Ms. Clinton had been "pimped out" to make calls to superdelegates on behalf of her mother.

Mrs. Clinton said in her letter, to Steve Capus, the head of NBC, that she wanted to write personally to convey the "depth of my feeling" about Mr. Shuster's comments.

"Nothing justifies the kind of debasing language that David Shuster used and no temporary suspension or half-hearted apology is sufficient," she wrote.

She also said that Mr. Capus should look at "the pattern of behavior on your network that seems to repeatedly lead to this sort of degrading language."

Read the entire article here.

Read the whole story: New York Times

Comments

[rmcneal103]

MSNBC and all cable "News" channels are editorial channels. They do not report news these shows express opinions and commentary.

Hillary professes to be the agent of change, a candidate that will take this country into the future yet she can't even stay up with current colloquialisms. How is a person whose language is stuck in the 1960's going to relate to a population and a country that has changed drastically over the past 40 years? After all the words we use reflect the views, we have.

[Bulbul]

MSNBC is supposed to be a news organization, and they are supposed to inform the news to the Public. After all, the race is for the highest position in the Country.
The way these grown ups present themselves is utterly degrading not only for themselves and their own family but for all of us, the public hungry for news..
This should be the most exiting time for the people and the Country, could be the history in the makind.
Instead of that, MSNBC is setting a new low standard for the so called news, and they have only themselves to blame not anyone else.

Sad Day indeed.

[Grulg]

Gotta agree. I like MSNBC too-I'm surprised at just how idiotic and juvenile they've been whenever covering Hillary. Guys-grow up. It's as if they cannot Fathom having a woman prezzie or take it seriously. Chris Matthews I'm lookin' at you pallie.

[Bulbul]

Mathews gotta go, hard to endure him foaming at the mouth , spitting venom !

[joja]

Back off the caffeine, Clintons.

It's just a free-publicity stunt -- we get it.

We're not all as gullible and stupid as your rabid fans.

Get over it, already.

[MNmommy]

Hahahahaha­hahahahaha­ha.

That was *blistering*?

Hahahahaha­hahahahaha­ha.

MSNBC - get your shit together.

Still a shame that Shuster had to take the fall for an environment that has sucked there for months. Bunch of frat boys thinking it's OK to say anything about women. Last week Scarborough threatened to backhand Mika. No isolated incidents here.

[ebbtide]

I think she has sucked all the blood out of this (and Chelsea) as she can. It is not going anywhere. Chelsea stands mute. Doesn't she have a voice to defend herself? Chelsea still playing the little twelve year old child?

[abbiehoffmansghost]

Who cares if you liked or didn't like the comment: if someone said something like that about my daughter and wife in front of me it would be lights out. Swollen lips and missing teeth slow down that kind of talk.

[totalliberal]

Right on. Little kiss asses should watch their mouths.

[Bulbul]

You are a good Man and your family must be proud of you.

[hank48188]

The comment was very degrading, but if you read the e-mail exchance between Shuster and the Clinton camp you will see that Shuster was still defending the undefenseable, he DIDN"T WANT TO GIVE AN APOLOGY, he didn't think he was wrong! at least Imus knew he was wrong instantly and never defended his comments, at look what happened to him.

[KaAp]

Yes, Obama did sweep today and it was wonderful.
What was not wonderful was watching the sort of trepidation and caution in the remarks of the MSNBC panel ...
I still do not see what the big deal is about Shuster, as someone reminded me on this blog Olbermann used the word in reference to General Petraeus ... and as much as I think Shuster used the term as vernacular I am sure in retrospect he really meant it in terms of exploitation ... the Clintons have really blown this totally out of proportion and are trying to capitalize on it politically ... it is rather absurd that Shuster needs to be the offering because he was a good reporter with a bright future ... it is sad to see his career tarnished over a flippant remark ... and it was also sad that MSNBC aired Clinton s life story right before election coverage ...
Who cares really? Obama won ... but, again, I do not want to see lives destroyed in Clinton's wake (of course her votes on Iraq etc etc have already done that to more young men and women) ...

[Grulg]

No they haven't. If someone on Fox had referred to Michelle Obama being pimped etc. you'd be screaming KKK and then some at'em at the top of your lungs. Hold your faves to the same standards you do your foes if at all possible. Shuster should have kept his mouth shut, the spooge-fest on MSNBC for Obama has been rediculous frankly at times, and the boys club acting like they cannot fathom having a girl in the Oval Office-juvenile, unprofessional and frankly unsuprising.

[LorettaSingbiel]

"If someone on Fox had referred to Michelle Obama being pimped etc. you'd be screaming KKK"

Do you mean the same KKK who were in favor of his parents 1961 INTERRACIAL "marriage" being Constitutionally ILLEGAL?

The same KKK who spread the WorldWideWeb word that Barack Obama is a Muslim who, if elected, will "change" America into an Islamic State?

The same KKK who are in favor of President Pastor Huckabee's desire to "change" America's Constitution into The Bible?

The same KKK who believe every RABID REPUGNANT RACIAL REMARK out of Bill-O's offensive oral orifice to be "family-valued"?

I AGREE with KaAp: "it is rather absurd that Shuster needs to be the offering because he was a good reporter with a bright future ... it is sad to see his career tarnished over a flippant remark".

How about MSNBC tarnishing the career of Tucker Carlson, for his heartfelt heroic tale of his kick-ass high school days of protecting his manhood from GAY kids. And of course his tale morphed from "being BOTHERED by" to "being PHYSICALLY GRABBED by" a gay kid in a bathroom, to feebly attempt to JUSTIFY his ATTACK in his "compassionate conservative" viewers' opinions?

Stay safe, healthy and happy,
Love, Loretta

[awenyyds]

NBC, MSNBC have fallen even lower than Fox News. SHAME on you for calling yourself News organizatons.

[KISSman]

This entire thing is a bunch of hot air and Hillary is just making a stink to get some sympathy press. This thing is so misconstrued on her end because the comment is not really even a criticism of Chelsea, but a shot at the swarthy Clinton campaign and how they use their daughter to do their dirty work. I still find it a shame that Chelsea isn't woman enough to talk to the media though. It makes her still seem like a child.

If I'm Obama, I just say, "Fine, one less debate then." He doesn't need it; Hillary does. He's not the one getting his butt handed to him right now; she is.

[specultr]

Maybe she is taking advantage of the remark for political gain as a politician in a heated race should, but it was still a disgusting remark. I'm male and support Obama. We should all be against sexism. Let's move on.

[MNmommy]

She's probably just being an offended mother.

Did you bother reading the note?

[watchingthings]

If Hillary dosn't want mud splashed on her daughter..­..what the Hell did she drag her into the "mud wrestling" ring for?

[dora rice]

it's a campaign for the highest office in the coutry...n­ot a mud wrestling contest. Only the lowest trash in America makes it a mud wrestling contest, and they don't count.

[watchingthings]

I was making a point. Hillary did her share of mud slinging. Does she bring her daughter as a shield against some of it rebounding back on her? Are the Clintons beyond approach and should only be allowed to sling shit and not be accountable themselves? So, dora_rice ...take your "Hollier then Thou" shit and peddle it elsewhere.

[midtown]

Yeah, the 28-year-old (who, incidentally is the same age as Obama was when he graduated Harvard Law and was on his way back to do community service) who lives in Manhattan for a hedge fund firm, and who graduated from Oxford in International Relations and wants to go into politics. Since she has represented her mother alone campaigning in Utah, Nebraska, Delaware and elsewhere, she is now fair game on the circuit.

Chelsea is NOT doing what 25-year-old Meghan McCain is doing which is following her dad and posting photos on a blog: mccainblogette.com

Chelsea is her mother's surrogate in states that her mother can't get to. She's a junior politician in a presidential race. We need to ask what position her mother intends to give her should she win.

[OneWoman]

And as such she should tolerate sexist comments that imply she is a prostitute? I dont think so.

Language matters. Words convey meaning.

I've read comments that say the word "pimp" doesn't mean what it used to. I've seen people point to the show "Pimp My Ride" to make their point. Well, if you've watched the show, the cars are made over to be gaudy and flashy--consistent with what Pimps are supposed to be. "Pimp" still means the same thing. Rap music (which I enjoy) has glorified pimping of late. This is because many rappers are affiliated with gangs and one of the ways they made/make money was/is via prositution, i.e. they were/are PIMPS.

The word hasn't changed. It still means the same thing. We are just expected to be OK with it now. Well, guess what? I'm not OK with it. Sexism, like racism, is NOT OK.

[hank48188]

Wake up, he came back to Chicago to begin his political life. The community work he was doing was FAITH BASED, you know that George Bush stuff

[Marmann]

Not only that, but Chelsea is courting the "super delegates" on her mother's behalf. We're looking at another Supreme Court appointment for president, and we can't count on MSNBC any more to tell the public the truth about what's going on because they're being "pimped out" by Hillary Clinton.

I remember right after New Hampshire when the Democratic exit polls overwhelmingly proved to be in Obama's favor, yet Hillary "won." I remember seeing Chris Matthews with this "WTF?" look on his face. I thought sarcastically to myself, "Yeah, all Republican voters were honest in the exit polls, and all Democrats were liars." But he didn't really challenge it, and other panelists scurried to come up with ridiculously convoluted reasons for her "win."

This whole thing stinks.

[ReelBusy]

the real hypocrisy that I see here is in the Clinton's are still acting like their very politically active grown-up daughter/operative is 13 years old.
She's 28 years old, campaigning and lobbying super delegates yet refuses to speak with the press?
For the Clinton's to play victim and hide behind a common colloquial expression for political purposes makes me wonder if Hillary will play the victim as President too?
This is also a very right wing kind of reaction from the Clinton campaign. Akin to the GOP's reaction to MOVEON's Betray-us NYT ad. In that the point is not about whether what you said is right or not but if I'm offended by it.
This does not bode well for Dems in Nov. and will scare the swing independent voters to the old guy. Mitt Romney pimped his boys out for his GOP run but they talked to the press all the time.

[dora rice]

you never understood that you shouldn't insult a 28 year old woman as much as a young girls. Hear me.....dec­ent people should not be associated with the word pimp. That's what makes decent people different then the criminals on the street.

[Marmann]

"decent people should not be associated with the word pimp."

"Decent people" weren't. Chelsea is now part of the infamous "Clinton machine," and that's about as "decent" as the "Bush machine."

The statement by Shuster was more about how the Clintons are exploiting their daughter than about Chelsea herself. Hillary didn't have time for "staying home and having teas and baking cookies" when Chelsea was a toddler, but she's got time for her now.

It took me about three years to become "allergic" to the voice of Bush. I'm already there with Clinton and her whining.

Americans are tired of censorship, and the fact that MSNBC is now "pimping" for the Clintons is nauseating.

Look for MSNBC ratings to drop because Americans are tired of this.

[watchingthings]

dora-rice:
".....dece­nt people should not be associated with the word pimp. That'a what makes decent people different then the criminals on the street".
Let me see here.....t­he criminals are on the street and you and the decent people are where?

[OneWoman]

Since when did "pimped out" become a common colloquial expression?

[nomobull]

since mtv

[bikerdude]

If you think its okay, then pimp out your own kids. It is a disgusting expression used to denigrate all the parties involved.
Using terms like this is akin to swiftboating, which is a Republican tool to sway opinion. They whine like hell when innuendo like this used against them, but continue to use stuff like this at every opportunity.

[SCharb]

Maybe Clinton should write a blistering letter to herself...

http://clintonattacksobama.pbwiki.com/Incident+Tracker

[Maezeppa]

If you can't detect your own hypocricy there's probably little I can do to enlighten you on the matter. Clinton's letter to MSNBC was appropriate and even restrained, as was her wholly legitimate criticism of Obama.

[waltontynerross]

This is SO overblown, and nothing but what Clinton campaign manager, Mark Penn (just the CEO of the biggest PR firm in the world), has orchestrated to drum up sympathy votes for his now fledgling--once inevitable­--candidat­e.

I applaud MSNBC for regularly providing the very best media coverage and analysis of this election. They should stand up for free speech and not back down under Clinton campaign arm-twisting and demands to kiss the Clinton ring.

[midtown]

Mark Penn also needed to divert press from the fact that donors and fundraisers didn't find out until the morning of Feb 6 that Hillary was broke. She was down $5 mill at the end of Dec 2007 and after the loan another $5 mill for a total of $10 million owing. Now its coming out that Hillary couldn't pay her NH campaign workers.

Apparently, the fatcats and fundraisers on the Wed AM conference call were not happy campers. They need the David Shuster debacle to cover.

[BBGG]

They look and sound like a station of Good Old Boys and think this is a Good Old Boys country. Should women walk 20 steps back with their berkas? I thought that was one of the things our boys were fighting for over there. Too bad more women aren't on the Boards for the networks and media and wish we had fewer of those mealy-mouthed female co-anchors who smile & laugh at the good old boy comments but wish secretly they could pound a few heads & kick a few scrotums. Bet they have to fetch the coffee!

[bluestatelib]

I truly believe that Hillary is upset with Shuster and MSNBC for Shuster's thoughtless, stupid comment. However, I also believe that Hillary is shamelessly using Shuster's comment to rally women (and some men) around her as a victim of sexism. Is that smart politics? Maybe. A cheap political ploy? Definitely.

On a scale of 1-10 with 10 reaching Rovian level shamelessness, Hillary's politically opportune false outrage at MSNBC rates as a 3 or 4. Bill's race-baiting in South Carolina and Hillary's despicable attempt to get the Florida and Michigan delegates seated after the Democratic Party and all of the candidates agreed not to seat them after they summarily moved their primary dates to January rates as a 7-8 (as the latter two have the potential to split the party irreparably).

Such shameless tactics, both large and small, are a major reason why I could never support Hillary in the primary or general elections.

[gala1]

Hillary hardly has to waste any time citing the misogyny that's metastasizing throughout the media during this campaign. The media is doing an impressive job all on its very own.

It's not like any sentient woman in America doesn't notice it. But we are getting a bit of an education as to its blatant extent.
Who needs burquas. We are findig out all you have to do in this country is be a fully adult female.

A journalist is only as good as his judgement, and a network is only as credible as its journalists.

What good does it do to trumpet that we finally have a campaign where a woman and a black man can run for president if the media and the blogosphere erupt into leprous patches of misogynist degradation?

Particularly in the blogosphere where men who really have lot of unfortunate issues about women can hide under the white sheet of anonymity to let loose their personalized vitriolic agenda.


To put it into perspective, if every racist had his insulting say and every pundit could choose to go with belittling inferences about Obama who would be there to defend him?

All of us.
So why not, a question the media really does need to start considering soon or lose women viewers in droves, extend the same civility to Hillary? Is she any less worthy of the same courtesy you would extend to Obama?

What would have happened to any reporter that asked Obama if Michelle Obama was out pimping for him that very same day?
Would he have been merely suspended or fired on the spot?

I'd say I'd boycott MSNBC but I realize short of occasionally catching the Olbermann loop rant, I never tune in to it any more.

The sorry truth is that we desperately need a third news channel. A tabloid proof objective news channel that is aimed at grown ups. No 24/7 dead blondes.

I don't include Faux because, well Faux is not news, it's government sanctioned propaganda. And if I wanted Lewis Carroll, I'd read Lewis Carroll.

gala

[specultr]

I agree with your comments, and I support Obama. TV is a waste of time. My step-father used to call it the idiot box. There is little objective journalism but plenty of advocacy. My wife and I canceled our cable about a month ago to dedicate ourselves to more reading. I'll admit that we're having strong withdrawal symptoms though.

[BBGG]

I thought I was the only one who noticed. It is blatant and seems to include most networks and talk shows. There is no counter-commentary and that is sad. A woman's network perhaps?

[LorettaSingbiel]

"I also believe that Hillary is shamelessly using Shuster's comment to rally women (and some men) around her as a victim of sexism."

BINGO!

Stay safe, healthy and happy,
Love, Loretta

[oligodendroglia]

If Chelsea was "pimped out" then:

Michelle (daughters included), Oprah, Teddie, Caroline ...

The Gore kids, the Bush daughters, Barbara

the entire Edwards clan etc.

have all been "pimped out"

[anythinggoes]

NOT ONLY PIMP BUT WHORE TO CHINA AND OPEN BORDER WHATEVER CORPORATION TELL THEM

[midtown]

Her husband pimped out American workers to overseas companies (NAFTA . . . China MFS) to far greater damage. Just ask half of Georgia and South Carolina.

[hank48188]

Obama's biggest backers are the Internationalists, they are the ultra-rich elite eastern liberals like David Rockerfeller, George Soros and Ziggy Brzezinski who was Jimmy Carter's National Security Advisor.Th­eir agenda is doing away with borders and increasing free trade. These are the same people that took Jimmy Carter from an unknown peanut farmer to the Presidency in 1976. It was right after Watergate and the demise of the Republicans. Carter and Brzezinski were behind the failure of the Iranian Hostage situation in 1979 and the humiliation of America. Now these same people are promoting Obama and will hold great sway over him because, like Carter, he is weak and in over his head without much understanding of the world or anything else. Obama doesn't know how to run anything and will be dependent on these people to actually run the Gov't, choose the insiders to run the various department of goverment. Do a little investigation kids, this is the real deal.