Tag Archives: Ezra Klein

March 14, 2013 · 3:40 PM

MSNBC’s Chris Hayes to replace Ed Schultz

MSNBC’s Chris Hayes

Personally, I’m quite pleased with MSNBC’s programming decision…

Politico

MSNBC’s Chris Hayes has been tapped to replace outgoing host Ed Schultz in the 8 p.m. weeknight slot, according to network sources.

In just a year and a half, Hayes has generated a cult following as host of the weekend program “Up with Chris Hayes,” which takes a progressive policy wonk’s approach to the news. He will now host a show directly ahead of his mentor Rachel Maddow, MSNBC’s marquee name, and, at age 34, will be the youngest primetime host in cable news television.

The move, first reported by Brian Stelter of the New York Times, was confirmed by sources for POLITICO. MSNBC is expected to make a formal announcement later today, and would not reply to a request for comment.

Schultz announced on Wednesday night hat he would be ending his weeknight program and moving to a two-hour slot on Saturday and Sunday evenings. Schultz, a talk radio personality, has served as an MSNBC primetime host since 2009, and became best-known as an advocate for unions, labor and the middle class. His new show will air on weekend nights from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. — a relative no-man’s land for cable news programming.

Like former MSNBC host Dylan Ratigan, Schultz suggested that the move was his choice and that he wanted “to get out with the people and tell their stories.” Sources at MSNBC told POLITICO that Schultz was more likely pushed out to make way for new — and younger — talent. By tapping Hayes, MSNBC is continuing its push to bring cable news to a younger demographic.

Hayes has long been seen as a primetime host-in-waiting at MSNBC, given his rapid success, though in Nov. 2012 he told POLITICO he’d be “reluctant” to give up the freedom and autonomy that comes with hosting a two-hour weekend show.

Hayes’ replacement on Saturday and Sunday mornings has yet to be named. Sources had long speculated that Ezra Klein might get Schultz’s primetime spot, so it is conceivable that he could take over on weekend mornings.

UPDATE (10:00 a.m.): And now it’s official.

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December 7, 2012 · 7:48 AM

Friday Blog Roundup – 12-7-12

10 Things to Know for Today
Your daily look at late-breaking news, upcoming events and stories that will be talke..

11 Books You Might Have Missed
Here are the 2012 fiction and nonfiction books that might have flown under the radar—..

Protests greet ‘right-to-work’ bill in Michigan
Thousands of people protested “right-to-work” legislation in and around Michigan’s Ca..

At Boehner’s Request, He and Obama Negotiate Alone
House Speaker John A. Boehner asked to exclude other leaders, leaving it to him and P..

Another handcuffed young man manages to shoot himself
A perturbing trend is emerging in the South. Twice in six months, young men have man..

“Fire Boehner”: Speaker’s head demanded over Tea Party purge
“If Speaker Boehner wants to purge independent, bold conservatives—I think it’s time ..

Calling for stimulus, Democrats cite ‘real cliff’ if jobless benefits ..
Just a day before the Labor Department releases the unemployment numbers for Novembe..

Video: Restaurant chain bites off more politics than diners will chew
Ezra Klein reports on how Darden Restaurants, including Olive Garden and Red Lobster..

Reaction Roundup: Jim DeMint leaves the Senate, and everybody’s happy ..
DeMint press conference (file photo) The reactions on this one are almost unanimous:..

George Zimmerman Suing NBC Universal For ‘Deceptive And Exploitative M..
George Zimmerman, the man who was arrested and charged with second degree murder in ..

 

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September 18, 2012 · 12:10 AM

Why the Poor Pay No Federal Income Tax: A Wee Tutorial

I’ll try to put the Mitt Romney tape fiasco into perspective:

Mitt Romney had to call an impromptu news conference late this evening to explain his remarks in the following video:

Here is a portion of the press conference video in which he makes no apologies for his remarks:

Mother Jones – Kevin Drum

Is it true, as Mitt Romney says, that 47% of Americans don’t pay federal income tax? Yes! That’s mostly because they’re either poor, elderly, or take advantage of tax credits for low-income workers. Details here.  But why do these people pay no income tax? Ezra Klein breaks it down into Twitter-sized chunks:

  • Rs have spent years cutting income taxes and increasing things like the Child Tax Credit. This means fewer people pay income taxes.
  • So whenever you hear a stat like “47% don’t pay income taxes,” remember: Reagan and Bush helped build that.
  • These tax cuts for the poor were partly in order to make further tax cuts for the rich political palatable.
  • But now that fewer people pay income taxes as a result of GOP policies, they’re being called lazy and dependent.
  • And thus the GOP’s tax cuts are being used to make a case that the rich are overtaxed and that the less-rich are becoming dependent.
  • Which thus leads to a policy agenda of tax cuts for the rich and cuts to social services for the non-rich.

Yep, that’s about it. Also worth noting: the poor often pay higher state tax rates than the rich. Add in payroll taxes and excise taxes, instead of cherry picking only a single tax, and it turns out that the poor and the working class end up paying a fair chunk of their income in taxes. Not as big a chunk as the rich, it’s true, but then, it strikes most of us as perfectly fair that the poor should pay lower tax rates than the rich. I wonder if this strikes Romney as fair too?

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August 22, 2011 · 5:16 PM

Jobs? No dice, says Boehner’s office byJoan McCarter

Read his lips: "No new jobs."

I certainly hope “the American people” (the GOP’s favorite saying) realize just who is stopping the jobs bills that have come out of the House.  The GOP have been holding up those bills for months now…

Daily Kos

Republicans are ready to fight to stop job creation, Ezra Klein learns when he asks Speaker John Boehner’s office about efforts to create a jobs super committee.

I ran Larson’s proposal by House Speaker John Boehner’s (R-Ohio) office on Friday afternoon, and it was immediately shot down. The response: Deficit reduction will spur job creation and, therefore, the supercommittee does not need to take on an additional mission.“As every economist and every rating agency has made clear, getting our deficit under control is the first step to help get our economy growing again and to create jobs,” said Michael Steel, spokesman for Boehner. “Without knowing the specifics of this proposal, my concern would be this is some sort of new window-dressing for the same tired old, discredited Washington stimulus spending proposals.”

Klein then says, “Whether it wins enough Republican support to become part of the supercommittee’s work remains a pretty big unknown.” Which isn’t the larger point Larson and Congressional Democrats are making, which is to “call [Republicans'] bluff” on job creation and put them in the position of refusing to act on the issue that voters overwhelmingly say is most important to them.

Boehner’s spokesman couldn’t have made it any clearer. The Republicans will fight against putting people back to work. The Democrats’ job is to make them have that fight.

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March 1, 2011 · 1:17 AM

GOP Demonstrate true meaning of “Job-Killing”…

Republicans fine with increasing unemployment…and they don’t deny that it’s what they’re doing!

The Rachel Maddow Show

Rachel Maddow explains this as clearly as anyone I know:

Part 1



Part 2

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December 16, 2010 · 3:19 PM

Mario Piperni: Deficits, Frauds and Peacocks

Mario Piperni’s graphic artistry is simply amazing!  On his blog he writes:

Ezra Klein makes the distinction between deficit hawks and deficit frauds.

The deficit frauds are the folks who use deficits for short-term political gain: This year, they’ve mainly been Republicans who opposed unemployment benefits because they’d add $56 billion to the deficit but demanded tax cuts that would add $4 trillion to the deficit. And they’ve been empowered not by Peterson’s money or even the climate in Washington, but by the fact that people get very anxious about the deficit when the economy slows, as it’s a number that they think helps explain the economic problems even as it mainly tracks them, and because a misplaced analogy to the European debt crises has made our deficit look scarier than it actually is.

Matt Yglesias prefers referring to deficit frauds as deficit peacocks.  That works for me.

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October 17, 2010 · 2:10 AM

Klein: Obama Needs Some New Blood

Newsweek

First Peter Orszag turned in his ID card. Then Christina Romer went. In short order, Larry Summers and Rahm Emanuel announced their exits. Jim Jones is gone, too. There are a lot of empty desks in the White House these days.

But that leaves room for new people to fill them. So far, President Obama has hired mostly from within. That’s a sign he’s happy with the advice he’s received. And in many ways, he’s right to be. This administration entered office with the economy teetering on the edge of the abyss. His team has successfully pulled us onto firmer ground.

Read the whole story: Newsweek

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October 1, 2010 · 4:34 PM

Extending Bush Tax cuts Adds $700 Billion to Deficit

Yep, $700 billion additional dollars to the deficit! 

The White House has released a very easy and simple explanation about the tax cut fight in congress.

Remember, the Republicans will not even discuss the tax cuts for small businesses unless the Dems include the Bush tax cuts for the rich in their plan…

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September 24, 2010 · 7:29 AM

Friday Morning Roundup

AP: Could GOP be playing into Dems’ hands?
AP : Facing a stiff political headwind, Democrats are grasping for any strategy they..

One Nation Working Together: The Fight to Build a Mass Movement for Jo..
Ben Jealous: “We are invisible to the majority in this country at this moment.” (pho..

Full context of Obama’s “absorb a terrorist attack” quote undercuts co..
As you know, conservatives spent much of yesterday slamming President Obama over an ..

Liberal blogger directly confronts David Axelrod, accuses White House ..
Top Obama adviser David Axelrod got an earful of the liberal blogosphere’s anger at ..

Joining A Growing Number Of Incumbents, Rep. Issa Refuses To Debate Hi..
Rep. Darrell Issa (R-CA) is fully embracing his role as the Ranking Member of the Ho..

GOP’s ‘Pledge To America’ Is To Ask Americans How To Solve Ameri..
During the roll-out of the House GOP’s “ Pledge to America ” gimmick, Ho..

Reichert: 172 Republicans Have Signed Onto Full Health Reform Repeal T..
Shortly after health reform was signed into law, many GOP lawmakers said they would ..

Beck promoted the work of an anti-Semitic 9-11 truther
On Fox News, Glenn Beck promoted Eustace Mullins’ book Secrets of the Federal Reserv..

Can’t right-wing bloggers read a (lunar) calendar?
Right wing blogs were forced to issue humiliating updates after their most recent fa..

The GOP ‘Pledge’: What’s Not In It
You can read it yourself. Or peruse the reviews: liberal Ezra Klein dissects its int..

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