We're More Diverse Than MSNBC: Tea Party to Olbermann

CNN, MSNBC, and Fox say they won't air his response

(NEWSER) - If you're hoping to watch Herman Cain deliver the Tea Party response to President Obama's State of the Union Address tonight, you're going to have to do it online , because none of the three major cable news networks tell the Atlantic Wire they plan to carry it. "We don't plan on taking it," an MSNBC spokesman says, and a CNN spokesman says much the same. Even conservative bastion Fox News says it won't broadcast the speech live, though it will stream it on FoxNews.com. More»

Tea Party favorite not always on Norquist's good side

(NEWSER) - He may be an anti-tax champion now, but Rick Perry has supported billions of dollars in tax hikes throughout his political career—among them the biggest increase that ever occurred in Texas history, the Texas Tribune reports. Just weeks ago, the governor signed an online sales tax provision aimed at raising $60 million over five years. Grover Norquist’s Americans for Tax Reform slapped the move with a “new tax” label. And Perry voted for more than 12 tax increases during his six-year stint in the Texas House. More»

Left vs. right debate includes some charged rhetoric

(NEWSER) - Today's big left-right debate falls under the Tea-Partiers-are-terrorists meme, and two of the more buzzed-about columns hit the main points:

• Joe Nocera, New York Times : He blames the debt ceiling mess on the "jihad" waged by Tea Partiers willing to ruin the country. And they're still not happy with the deal despite all the cuts, he complains. "For now, the Tea Party Republicans can put aside their suicide vests. But rest assured: They’ll have them on again soon enough. After all, they’ve gotten so much encouragement."

Lawrence O'Donnell gets more viewers in key demographic

(NEWSER) - Keith Olbermann's new Countdown debut didn’t exactly come with a ratings blastoff. Current TV hasn’t announced the complete numbers for Monday's show, but it said the program managed 179,000 viewers in the all-important 25-to-54 demographic advertisers crave. Current is happy with the rating, but Mediaite notes that it’s a fair step below the 237,000 Lawrence O’Donnell scored in Olbermann’s old slot on MSNBC. More»

And reveals who he's hired away from his former network

(NEWSER) - Keith Olbermann isn’t talking to Rachel Maddow, he’s pulling down a fortune at Current TV, and he’s plucked suspended MSNBC anchor David Shuster to be his fill-in host there. Those are just some of the revelations in a characteristically candid interview Olbermann gave the Hollywood Reporter . Some highlights: More»