While some are content with Martin Bashir’s 2-minute “mea culpa”  RATM continues to fight for this man to suffer some consequences for his vitriol.  As long as he is on the air, MSNBC and its sponsors are condoning his abuse of his anchor position.  Let’s not forget that Alec Baldwin was suspended for making a homophobic slur when assaulted by paparazzi; Bashir’s thoughtfully-composed and deliberately hateful attack on an iconic woman while acting as news anchor deserves at least the same punitive measure.
 
Who cares about Martin Bashir?  We all should.  When a “news anchor” is allowed to get away with this, it empowers the others.  That “slippery slope?”  It’s real.  This is beyond outrageous, and that the entire nation isn’t clamoring for his firing is proof of the extent to which we have adapted to this kind of vicious, hateful language.  That, in itself, is horrifying.  This is unacceptable, and we need to be crystal clear about it. An apology is the least we can expect – it’s laughable, really, and simply isn’t adequate. Defecating in someone’s mouth?  Fire this guy.
 
A letter that former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin’s political action committee, SarahPAC, wrote to the presidents of NBC News and MSNBC on Tuesday and obtained exclusively by Breitbart.com, makes clear that they are not satisfied with this apology either.  From the breitbart.com article “Exclusive Letter—Palin PAC to MSNBC: When Will Bashir Be Disciplined?

The letter, addressed to NBC News president Deborah Turness and MSNBC president Phil Griffin and signed by SarahPAC treasurer Tim Crawford, asks whether MSNBC disciplines its anchors based on the”target of the remarks rather than the remarks themselves.”

After applauding the network’s decision to suspend Alec Baldwin over his anti-gay slur, Crawford’s letter asks: “We would now like to know what disciplinary measures you are taking about Martin Bashir’s appalling statement on his MSNBC show last Friday that someone should defecate and/or urinate in Governor Palin’s mouth because she used the word ‘slavery’ to describe the burden the federal debt will have on future generations of Americans.”

It also mentions that MSNBC has set a precedent of firing and discipling other anchors for “offensive language.”

“You fired Don Imus for offensive language in describing the Rutgers University Women’s Basketball team, you suspended Alec Baldwin, and yet nothing has happened to Mr. Bashir,” the letter reads. “Are we to assume then, that disciplinary procedures at your network take place based on the target of the remarks rather than the remarks themselves?”

Last week, MNSBC suspended Alec Baldwin’s show, Up With Alec Baldwin, for two weeks after Baldwin was caught on camera using anti-gay slurs at a photographer on the streets of New York.

The letter notes that “Mr. Baldwin’s anti-gay slur was not uttered while he was on the air on your network, but Mr. Bashir’s violent rhetoric was.”

The letter concludes by saying, “Americans deserve to know that your network doesn’t condone violent and hateful rhetoric directed at anyone, regardless of gender, sexual orientation, or political persuasion.”

RATM concurs utterly with this – the target of this attack is irrelevant; violent and hateful rhetoric is not to be tolerated from someone entrusted to deliver the news.  And from Newsbuster’s Noel Sheppard, we have this:

Let’s take a look at some of Bashir’s recent acts of “political discourse” to see how “elevated” they were.

Last month, Bashir equated Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Tx.) to cult leader David Koresh.

Earlier that month, he said Republicans care more for War Memorials than kids with cancer.

In August, he and his crew deceptively edited a video of New York City mayor Michael Bloomberg to radically change the meaning of his words.

In July, he and a guest compared Republicans to drunks and chain smokers.

Earlier that month, he said Fox commentators and Rush Limbaugh were “a sewer of absolute crap.”

A week earlier he suggested that Congressman Darrell Issa (R-Calif.) was “the most repugnant politician in the history of American politics.”

In June, he selectively edited 1981 remarks by a Reagan aide to make Republicans look racist.

Earlier that month, he said the Republican investigation into the IRS scandal was an attack on the “black man in the White House.”

In April, he wondered if Republican senators needed to have a family member killed to prevent a filibuster on gun control legislation.

Earlier that month, he totally trashed former British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher on the day of her death.

In January, Bashir ran a deceptively edited video of a father of a slain Sandy Hook child supposedly being heckled in order to smear gun rights supporters.

Earlier that month, he compared the NRA to Adolf Hitler.

A week earlier, he compared a Republican governor to the former murderous dictator Nicolae Ceausescu.

Readers are advised that these are just vile comments made by Bashir this year, which means that Friday was not an isolated incident. Though none of these likely rise to the disgraceful level of his comments about Palin, they certainly aren’t elevating the political discourse, and thereby show a propensity on Bashir’s part to make highly offensive comments about folks he disagrees with.

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Seriously?  An apology? 
 
WHAT WE DO, and how you can help
 
We do our best to empower citizen activists to fight this kind of outrageous and damaging abuse of journalistic power.  And RATM finds that a multi-pronged approach works best to bring about results.  For specific tactics, click here; Participate in any of these you’re comfortable with.
 

This apology isn’t enough.  #FireBashirNow .