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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.

  • January 24, 2011

    Parents Television Council on ‘Skins’: The most dangerous program that has ever been foisted on your children.”….Ron Reagan on America: “Doesn’t take mental health seriously and is awash in guns and obsessed with violence.”….Palin aide Rebecca Mansour on mainstream media: “Dishonest, unprofessional, biased, manipulative ideologues who make stuff up.”….Joan Rivers: “I think Sarah Palin is an amazing woman. I think she represents everything strong a woman can be, and I think she should go someplace – to another planet, to show them, and get out of our face.”….
  • January 20, 2011

    Andrea Peyser on John Boehner’s weeping: “An extroverted piece of slobberrying, nose-dripping, three-hanky theater…Boo freakin’ hoo…Get over yourself.”….. Bob Cesca on Sarah Palin: ”Nincompoopery and fumbly ignorance…A Palin campaign for president would be one long ‘Hee-Haw’ sketch.”…. Rep. Dana Rohrabacher on China’s government: “A gangster regime that murders its own people.”…. Rep. Steve Cohen on GOP: “They say it's a government takeover of health care, a big lie just like Goebbels.”….Tom Junod on Fox News: “An experiment in propaganda.”….Howard Stern on Leno: "Jay is insane. And Jay is a crook...He steals a tremendous amount of material.”….
  • January 13, 2011

    Chicago Mayor Richard M. Daley on America: “A killing machine.”….Pima County Sheriff Clarence Dupnik on Arizona: “The Mecca for prejudice and bigotry.”…. Bill Maher on NRA: “Should just change their name to 'The Assassin's Lobby.'”….Rush Limbaugh on Dems: “They're accusing a majority of Americans of being accomplices to murder.”….
  • January 6, 2011

    Rep. Steny Hoyer: “There are a whole lot of people in the Tea Party that I see in these polls who don't want any compromise. My presumption is they have unhappy families.”….Ann Coulter on Cenk Uygur: “Retarded.”….Alex Pareene on Newsmax: “A goofy right-wing magazine where conservatives you've never heard of (and John Stossel, apparently) report, constantly, that Barack Obama is bad and unpopular."….George Will on Bret Favre: “The world’s first intergalactic bore.”…. Stuart Rothenberg on Michele Bachmann: "She's been floated for every possible office except Queen of England.”….Dave Barry on 2010: “This was, in fact, the worst year ever.”….
  • December 30, 2010

    Keith Olbermann on Fox News: “100% bullshit."….Christine O’Donnell on federal probe: “Thug-politic tactic.”…. Charles Krauthammer on Obama tax-cut deal: “The swindle of the year.”…. Glenn Greenwald on Wired not publishing full Manning-Lamo logs: “One of the worst journalistic disgraces of the year.”….Wired eds on Greenwald: “A breathtaking mix of sophistry, hypocrisy and journalistic laziness.”….Joe Klein on Glenn Beck: “A tele-charlatan.”….Cal Thomas on future coverage: “The lapdog big media will predictably question everything the new Republican House attempts to do, characterizing it as 'insensitive,' pro-rich and even inhuman.”….