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May 15, 2015 8:00 am - NewsBehavingBadly.com

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It was never a secret that George Stephanopoulos was close to the Clintons after having worked for them, and it should have been no surprise that he contributed to their foundation. As Matt Wilstein writes:

Conservatives smell blood in the water at ABC News after George Stephanopoulos apologized for not disclosing $75,000 in donations to the Clinton Foundation and then said he never should have made the donations in the first place. After Sen. Rand Paul’s requested it, he even recused himself from moderating 2016 presidential debates for ABC. Many conservatives now appear to be hoping to take it a step further by trying to turn Stephanopoulos into the “next Brian Williams,” except this time with a damning connection to Hillary Clinton…

In a statement, ABC News said, “He’s admitted to an honest mistake and apologized for that omission. We stand behind him.” By taking himself off of the 2016 debates, Stephanopoulos may have mitigated the damage and preserved his place as host of Good Morning America and This Week.

Whereas Williams lost his credibility among a diverse group of viewers by exaggerating his experience on a largely non-partisan issue, Stephanopoulos has provided ammunition to conservatives, who, based on his history as a senior adviser to Bill Clinton, probably were not his biggest fans in the first place.

Conservative pundits can try to turn him into the “next Brian Williams,” but the comparison — while politically enticing — probably won’t resonate outside the conservative media bubble.

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D.B. Hirsch
D.B. Hirsch is a political activist, news junkie, and retired ad copy writer and spin doctor. He lives in Brooklyn, New York.

13 responses to Conservatives Try To Turn Stephanopoulos Into Brian Williams

  1. Suzanne McFly May 15th, 2015 at 9:04 am

    Amazing how their news outlet is consumed with lies and fake journalists and they have the nerve to question another’s charitable donations?

  2. lynchie May 15th, 2015 at 9:25 am

    George is suddenly running from making the donation. Why? He should have nothing to be ashamed of. There is no one who thinks the media is not biased one way or the other and in fact I would say Stephanopolus has hardly been left leaning with ABC. Who did Hannity give to (his own charity which doesn’t divulge what they do), O’Reilly, Scarboro, etc. etc.

  3. Carla Akins May 15th, 2015 at 9:59 am

    Although, I personally have no issue with his donation (it was to a charity, not a candidate) it blurs the line – and journalists are not supposed to give donate to campaigns per their contracts, the comparison is exaggerated.

  4. illinoisboy1977 May 15th, 2015 at 11:45 am

    Mr. Stephanopulos has always struck me as an honest and honorable man. The Republicans are trying to score political points by dragging his character through the mud. This makes them look desperate and Stephanopulos look even more respectable. They should stop, before they embarrass themselves any further. He made a mistake and owned up to it. That’s the mark of a good man, in my experience.

    • arc99 May 15th, 2015 at 1:52 pm

      Taken to its logical conclusion, then anyone who has ever donated to a cause sponsored by a political candidate or for that matter voted, would be considered ineligible to moderate a debate. I suspect that covers the majority of adult citizens in this country.

      Your common sense opinion on this is welcome.

      • John Tarter May 16th, 2015 at 1:19 am

        Did you see how he defended Hillary when he interviewed the guy that wrote the book about the Clinton’s recent shenanigans? The guy is a Clinton hack, through and through.

        • OldLefty May 16th, 2015 at 7:30 am

          Did YOU see how he grilled Obama on such inane issues as flag pins, the Reverend Wright and now Bill Ayers in 2008… a question that came out of rightwing talk radio and Sean Hannity on TV?

          He is a right wing hack through and through.

          Then… did you see how NewsMax defended Hillary?
          These guys are Clinton hacks, through and through!

    • John Tarter May 16th, 2015 at 1:17 am

      Okay, now when will he resign? He has no impartial credibility left.

      • OldLefty May 16th, 2015 at 7:31 am

        When NewsMax and Rupert Murdoch and the entire Fox News staff resigns?

  5. Guy Lauten May 15th, 2015 at 3:20 pm

    I wonder just how much light Faux can stand on this issue. Should the GOPster talking heads continue with this line, I strongly suggest someone like David Corn take a close look at the political donations of both the Faux Noos organization and its employees. We know how well they came out when Billo started his BS about Brian Williams; let’s see where this takes us.

  6. ExPFCWintergreen May 15th, 2015 at 4:11 pm

    At what point did George become a “journalist?” He was a political operative who became a television interviewer by virtue of his White House position. He got an undergrad degree in political science and a grad degree in theology. As far as I know, his only “journalism” experience was working on the college radio station. There’s no “compromise” of his “journalistic objectivity” here — he’s not a journalist, so only a fool would expect him to be “objective.” It’s a measure of the low state of American journalism that this is even a thing.

  7. starskeptic May 15th, 2015 at 8:33 pm

    “…outside the conservative media bubble…”

    Judy Garland sang of such a place once-upon-a-time.

  8. John Tarter May 16th, 2015 at 1:16 am

    George is Hillary’s man at ABC. The main stream “press” is nothing but a lapdog for the liberal cabal in this country.