The Comcast Whores of MSNBC

MSNBC likes to portray itself as being in the vanguard of liberal thought in America. Its slogan "lean forward" really means "lean left." However on one very important issue such "tribunes of the people" as Chris Matthews, Rachel Maddow, Lawrence O'Donnell and Ed Schultz are notably silent. That issue is, of course, Comcast's proposed merger with Time Warner Cable that would create a media behemoth with 30 million cable and broadband subscribers. From my personal point of view the proposed merger is fine and as I have blogged twice before (2/13/14 and 11/5/12) two of my family members are very happy shareholders of Comcast.

In a recent editorial (March 15, 2014) the far from left wing Economist magazine called on regulators to block the merger because  "Comcast will have extraordinary power over what content is delivered to consumers, and at what speed." The editorial further argued that the merger "would reduce competition, provide no benefit to consumers and sap the incentive to innovate."

If there ever were a "progressive cause" this is it. But the MSNBC commentators secure in their cushy jobs would rather discuss traffic jams on the George Washington Bridge. Simply put Comcast owns them in fee simple. Moreover Comcast has on its payroll Margaret Atwell Baker, a former commissioner on the Federal Communications Commission and its chief lobbyist is an influential Obama fundraiser. Indeed Comcast has contributed to to practically every Senator overseeing the proposed acquisition of Time Warner Cable. It was thus no coincidence that The Economist cover story was entitled, "The New Age of Crony Capitalism"

So next time when you tune into MSNBC remember that they are only pretending to be "leaning forward."