Carlyle Fielding Stewart III

In this day of the twenty four hours news cycle, info-tainment and stuff that passes as news but really is more personal opinion designed at fashioning a true idiocracy; where news organizations focus more on the celebrity life styles of the rich and famous than any serious or insightful analysis of American political life and culture, the political commentary of MSNBC’s all star line up is what I sometimes watch when my busy schedule permits.

With Bashir and Ratigan, Matthews and Maddow, Sharpton and Shultz, O’Donnell,  Henderson, Capehart, Eugene Robinson, Michael Eric Dyson, Chris Hayes, Melissa Harris Perry, Alex, and a host of other great, razor sharp minds, all other national networks pale in comparison.

I miss Keith Olbermann in the MSNBC format, the Edward R. Murrow of political commentary, although I can now catch him on Current TV, and for even deeper analysis of those current political events that MSNBC and other networks do not cover, I turn to Link TV and Free Speech TV where I can see and hear Amy Goodman and Thom Hartmann.

What I like about MSNBC is that the political commentators are in a class of their own compared to the talkings heads of other news organizations. After listening to extended broadcasts of one news station, which is largely slanted toward the corporate interests of the ruling oligarchs, I stopped tuning into the station because I got tired of feeling like I had to dumb down or tune in on another frequency because so much of opinions were just out of this world and just did not line up with the facts.

MSNC’s all star line up includes college professors, a Rhodes Scholar, a Pulitzer Prize Winner, people with political experience in the Halls of Congress and on Capital Hill, a minister and Civil Rights activist and a whole host of other heavies more precious than gold who can think and hold their own against anyone, anywhere at anytime and still have a gift for” keeping it real” and “making it plain.”

MSNBC  may have heralded a paradigm shift in news journalism for having among its cast political commentators and newspaper columnists who are also  political and community activists. They just don’t work from the warm and comfy environment of the studios, but actually get out there among the people to stand in the cold and wind and rain to support the struggle for equality and justice. This makes a powerful statement to the average viewer. These individuals actually care about the every man and woman in America and are not just delivering the news from inside the towers but also transporting their hides to the hard front lines where  John and Jane Q citizen struggle each day to speak truth to power. 

Moreover, they write books worth reading such as John Kennedy Elusive Hero by Chris Matthews, Dylan Ratigan’s Greedy Bastards, Eugene Robinson’s Disintegration, Al Sharpton’s “Go and Tell Pharoah, Michael Eric Dyson’s I Might Not Get There With You,  and other works by such authors as Richard Wolfe and other guests, which  I have devoured for a greater understanding of what is and has been happening in American politics today.

Who doesn’t love big Eddie? He is a front line, grid iron, outdoors man who knows what it means to take it to the opposition and who passionately advocates and defends middle class Americans, the rights of workers and unions and protests the injustices done to everyday, working people. What a breath of fresh air at a time when the power and fiscal elite are running roughshod over the average American.

And what about Reverend Al? The man who has borne his stripes and seen his share of pain but through sacrifice and service has reinvented himself and has become one of the most respected voices for Civil Rights in our era? Reverend Al has a keen understanding of things and his mental acuity, forensic skills and common sense, which is not common, will not only amaze you but set you on your heels and probably has had some of his more staunch opponent guests sighing relief at the first commercial break in his broadcast.

And then there is Rachel whom I have been listening to since her days on Air America whose cognitive prowess, prescient analysis, lazer focus and nuanced commentary reveal the shades and tints of  issues in ways that are unlike others in her media galaxy.

There is Lawrence O’Donnell getting desks for school children in Africa and who brings years of experience working in the Senate and truly understands how the American political system really works. He is knowledgeable, caring and knows what he is talking about. His passionate no non sense, cut to the chase, political forays are the result of years of working on the beltway in Washington.

And what about the fast talking inimitable Chris Matthews with his hard ball commentary and staccato style of rapid questioning that covers more ground in a single sentence and segment than a speeding bullet. Matthews is the Usain Bolt of modern political commentary.

There is Melissa and Malika, both strong, charming and brilliant, Jonathan also, brilliant,who always has a profound and deep understanding of the real issues and conveys them with a feeling of compassion and caring. There is Michael Eric “the poet of prose,” Dylan who often has me shouting “yes” at the television set and the ever so dashing Martin Bashir, interlocutor par excellence of the King’s Speech, purveyor of the punctilious, master of calm, the hard stare and the polite, silent extended pause when guests dribble out the absurd to the ridiculous.

MSNBC should be credited for assembling such a sumptuous potpourri of great minds and talents. I could go on and on about how these various individuals are all very similar but all very different. I appreciate watching news programs where the commentators are not just spewing out talking points for political purposes but have an affinity for the truth and a passion for giving thoughtful, prepared, informative analyses that are grounded in reality, are worth hearing,  do not let their guests off the hook with the hard questions and do not waste viewer’s precious time.

In a world where people often don’t say what they mean or mean what they say and at a time when political pundits tell the public things that they know are light years from the truth and planet earth, MSNBC is where I sometimes put my eyes and ears for serious political analysis and commentary.