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Mudline Archive

STICKS, STONES, BROKEN BONES

During the 2000 Bush-Gore presidential race, we began collecting negative soundbites and posting them weekly on a MUDLINE ticker, as a temporary election feature. But in the aftermath of that tumultuous contest we realized that the tone of public discourse was unlikely to improve, and elected to continue the feature. Unfortunately, we were right; two decades later, incivility is hotter than ever. If you just can’t get enough snark on social media, this mud’s for you.

  • October 20, 2011

    Bryant Gumbel on NBA commissioner David Stern: "Has always seemed eager to be viewed as some kind of modern plantation overseer treating NBA men as if they were his boys."....Michele Bachmann: "President Obama's plan has been a plan for destruction of this economy and failure."....Perry on Romney: "The height of hypocrisy."....David Axelrod on Romney: "You get the feeling that there is no principle too large for him to throw over in pursuit of political office."....Martin Bashir on GOP hopefuls: "Not one of these candidates has said anything sensible about Libya in six months."....Bill O'Reilly on OWS: "Loons."....Stephanie Madoff Mack on her father-in-law: "I'd spit in his face."....
  • October 13, 2011

    James Carville on list of GOP candidates: "A joke."....Perry ad on Romney: "Even the richest man can't buy back his past."....Romney on Obama: "If you do not want America to be the strongest nation on earth, I'm not your president. You have that president today."....Nancy Pelosi on Scott Brown: "Clueless."....Keith Olbermann on Bill O'Reilly: "Psychopath with a comb-over."....Shannon Tweed on Gene Simmons, just before accepting his proposal: "Who'd want to marry an a**hole like you? You're so stupid!"....
  • October 6, 2011

    Glenn Beck on Occupy Wall Street: "They will come for you and drag you into the streets and kill you."....Sean Hannity on OWS: "They really don't like freedom."....Rush Limbaugh on OWS: "A parade of human debris."....Rich Lowry on OWS: "Toxic and pathetic...A juvenile rabble, a woolly-headed horde."....Ann Coulter on OWS: "Directionless losers...Tattooed, body-pierced, sunken-chested 19-year-olds getting in fights with the police for fun."....Herman Cain on OWS: "Don't blame Wall Street, don't blame the big banks, if you don't have a job and you're not rich, blame yourself!"....Mitt Romney on OSW: "Class warfare."....WSJ on OWS: "A collection of ne'er-do-wells."....CNN's Alison Koski on OWS: "The list of whines is too long already."....
  • September 30, 2011

    Chris Christie on Obama: “A bystander in the Oval Office.”….Fidel Castro on Obama UN speech: “Gibberish.”….Roger Simon on Perry: “George Bush without the brains.”….Herman Cain on black voters: “Have been brainwashed into not being open-minded, not even considering a conservative point of view.”….Pat Buchanan: “What [Cain is] saying is they bought a lot of liberal propaganda on the liberal plantation and I think he’s right!”….
  • September 26, 2011

    Brit Hume on Perry in debate: “Really did throw up all over himself.”….James Taranto on Romney and Perry: “Like watching Donny Osmond dominate John Wayne.”….Italian prime minister Silvio Berlusconi on Italy: “This shitty country makes me sick.”….Michael Moore: “I ask all Americans with a conscience to shun anything and everything to do with the murderous state of Georgia.”….GA governor spokesman Brian Robinson on Moore: “We think it’s cute that he thinks anyone in Georgia would buy his book.”….Roger Ailes: “One out of every 25 people in America is a psychopath.”….