Should Rachel Maddow have given up on the MSM? No decent argument can be made that we'd be better off without Rachel, Keith, Jon Stewart & Stephen Colbert (whose politics I'd call Progressive) out there making a case in the MSM. It legitimizes our perspective with those voters who don't have time to be policy wonks and consider themselves in the center.
Most importantly, even if he tried out for a week and they decide not to go with him, having Cenk out there changes the conversation.
In all likelihood ABC will go with someone they view as "in the middle." As it stands they have Matthew Dowd on the Right & Christiane Amanpour or someone on the Left. Just like Alan Grayson makes Al Franken a moderate in Glenn Beck's eyes, having strong support for Cenk out legitimizes someone less vocal but still decent.
Bring on the Tweet bomb! 8PM EST
No, Ms. Maddow shouldn't leave the MSM, but we already have her, steward and colbert, and they do some important work. But we don't need another soft-ball pitcher. We need someone to play hardball, and that's just not going to come from the corporate media. Corporate America will not undermine itself.
The problem with "in the middle" is that it's the middle of power and firmly in the right wing, not the middle of the population. I think that real change and momentum will have to come from outside the system, real grassroots stuff, which is what Cenk's doing right now.
