Well, well, well.  Via Romenesko, we learn that one of our favorite fact-free Righty screechers has gotten herself permanently locked out in the yard over at The News Hour with Jim Lehrer.  The clip in question is posted above, and frankly, for Morgan (whose rancor and biliousness are all the way off the charts on a good day), I think it's pretty mild.  All she did was serially interrupt and talk over Iraq War veteran John Soltz to accuse him undermining the troops and call him a cheerleader for Al Qaeda.  Is that such a crime?

Let's go to the transcript:

JON SOLTZ: Well, we are the troops. And there was nothing worse than when I was in combat in Iraq and a soldier that I sent on a convoy was killed, and I had to hear my president, the man who never had the courage to serve in Vietnam, entice my enemy with words like, "Bring it on."

MELANIE MORGAN: Oh, please!

The Bush Dead-Enders hate when you mention that, because it points out the central, incurable contradiction at the core of their movement.  The only people left who support the war are the people who won't be called on to fight it, have never seen combat, and never will.  That's why Morgana hisses like a vampire splashed with holy water there.  Soltz just pressed her Big Red Button.  And as we know from Meningitis Markdown's other talk show appearances, she's never met an opposing point too important for her to interrupt and talk over or a reputation too sterling to spit on.

JON SOLTZ: So this is a very important thing. This week, VoteVets.org is launching a major massive campaign component, or not campaign, but an education of sorts, where we're running commercials across the country. And we're not just using Iraq war veterans. We're having General Batiste, the commander of the First Infantry Division in Iraq.

Of course, President Bush says he listens to the commanders on the ground, but General Batiste, going in to four different states, where there's four different senators, and House districts across the entire country, saying, "Mr. President, you don't listen to the commanders in the field. You've put our Army and our Marine Corps in peril."

And it's up to these senators to protect America, and not George Bush. And that's what this is about. This is about victory against al-Qaida.

MELANIE MORGAN: No, this is exactly what it's about, Mr. Soltz.

JON SOLTZ: We are a pro-troop organization. We fought for this country…

MELANIE MORGAN: We are a pro-troop organization, as well.

Except of course, when it comes to bringing them home, providing them with adequate medical care and other support services, and really, anything other than marching them off to the twin meat-grinders that are the failed actions in Iraq and Afghanistan and ensuring that they'll be pinned down there indefinitely.

JON SOLTZ: … and we do not support — excuse me, ma'am. Excuse me.

MELANIE MORGAN: What it is about for you is political games.

Right, of course, the totally tired Bushie Talking Point about "political theater", which TBogg neatly dispensed with ages ago.

None of this is out of the ordinary for Manichea Morass.  The last few months have more than adequately demonstrated that there is no limit to how low she will stoop in her efforts to demonize any and all Americans who are advocating a rational, practical approach to Preznint Grabby Baby's Endless War. 

What's different this time, it appears, is the venue.  The News Hour is widely regarded as a sort of higher ground than cesspools like Hannity, Meet the Press, and John Gibson's daily spew.

Back to Romenesko:

Here are a few e-mails that PBS ombud Michael Getler received after Melanie Morgan (left) appeared on "The NewsHour with Jim Lehrer": "'The NewsHour' is where I go to get away from screaming heads. Melanie Morgan was a disgrace to the program." …"The yelling, interrupting and repeated rudeness by the talk show woman is exactly the kind of thing that keeps me from watching other news/talk shows." …"We finally pushed the mute button on our remote." The show's producer promises "you will never see that person on our program again." (Morgan once said that Times executive editor Bill Keller should be jailed for treason.)

Posted at 2:25:46 PM
And there's plenty more where that came from. 
To have included Melanie Morgan to discuss the Iraq mess was a distinct dilution of the integrity that I believe PBS generally represents. Her qualifications to speak are questionable and her interruptive manner not in keeping with your standards. Landisville, PA
 
I'm disturbed by the NewsHour's new low; providing a television platform for an extreme right-wing attack demagogue, spewing abuse and jingoistic vitriol. Of course I'm referring to Melanie Morgan's demeaning and disparaging ad hominem attacks on your other guest, along with a slanderous impugning of the patriotism and motives of any and all non-like-minded folks. Jerry Swingle, Durango, CO
 
Please let The NewsHour with Jim Lehrer know that some viewers were aghast at tonight's broadcast when Judy Woodruff let Melanie Morgan of Move Forward America repeatedly interrupt Judy and the other interviewee. Rudeness and a lack of civility are characteristic of some other so-called news programs, but not The NewsHour! We finally pushed the mute button on our remote. Carolyn Fox, Mount Angel, OR
 
This evening (May 8) The NewsHour carried a piece that purported to be an interview of two grassroots organizations on the course of the Iraq war. On the Bush side was "Move America Forward." The spokesperson sounded much more like a Republican front organization than a genuine grassroots one. There is nobody with an impressive resume on their web page. I would hope that PBS would check the funding and principles before putting someone like that on the air. Ben Ansbacher, Burlington, NC
Goddamn big city liberals and their intolerance.  They think they're so smart there in their coastal, urbanite enclaves in North Carolina, Pennsylvania, and Colorado.  How dare they presume to speak for Heartland America!  Don't they know that Meltdown Malaprop is ten times the patriot they'll ever be?  Why, I feel bad for questioning her positions on anything.
 
But I don't feel bad about questioning what the hell is wrong with her face in that clip. Her new hairstyle only serves to highlight that fact that the sole part of her visage that moves is her freshly inflated lower lip.  And check the dark trenches under her eyes.  Get thee to a Merle Norman at once, Miserybags!  Your hideous choice of a life avocation may mean that you don't get to sleep at night, but does that mean the rest of us have to pay for it?  
 
Says News Hour representative Linda Winslow:
Since the program is produced live, we can't do much to eliminate rude guests from your television screen once the segment has begun; what we can do is guarantee you will never see that person on our program again.
Well, halleluia!  Oh, and Melanie, don't let that screen door bang on your way out, darlin'.
 
You don't need those PBS punks, anyhow.  Why there's a million street corners, subway platforms, and cable access shows in this country where you can slap on your sandwich board and march up and down all day, loudly braying that Nancy Pelosi is the Anti-Christ and that the end is nigh, and do it with complete impunity.  Break a nail, sweetheart!  I get the feeling that you're going to need all the luck you can get.
 
To commend the News Hour for their decision, you can write to them here.  Considering that Moreghastly will doubtless be sending out her waves of flying monkeys to accuse PBS of being in bed with Osama Bin Laden, of advocating censorship, and suppressing free speech, the ombudsman might enjoy hearing from a few of us whose frontal lobes are still intact and functioning, thank you very much. 
 
Tell 'em Firedoglake sent ya!

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