Archive

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.

  • June 27, 2014

    North Korean official on Seth Rogan's 'The Interview': "Reckless U.S. provocative insanity...A most wanton act of terror and act of war."........Michele Bachmann on President Obama: “Trying to establish lawlessness in the United States.”….Neil Cavuto on Bachmann: "Democrats would be in their right minds to laugh you out."....House Speaker John Boehner on Obama: "Not only does the president regularly ignore the law, he brags about it...Arrogance and incompetence right down the line."....Walter Russell Mead on Obama foreign policy: "Six years of continual failure."....Sen. Harry Reid on U.S. invasion of Iraq: "The biggest foreign policy blunder in the history of the country."....Dick and Liz Cheney on Obama: "Rarely has a U.S. president been so wrong about so much at the expense of so many."....Sen. Barbara Boxer on Cheney remarks: "Sick."....Bill Clinton on Dick Cheney: "Attacking the administration for not doing an adequate job of cleaning up the mess that he made."....Tom Toles on Iraq War architects and public: "We certainly followed their song and dance right over the cliff."....Ann Coulter on soccer: "There are no heroes, no losers, no accountability, and no child's fragile self-esteem is bruised...Do they even have MVPs?"....
  • June 18, 2014

    Dick and Liz Cheney on Obama: "Determined to leave office ensuring he has taken America down a notch."....former Rep. Allen West on Benghazi suspect: "Conveniently captured to deflect attention from all the other nightmares."....Concerned Vets CEO and Fox contributor Pete Hegseth: "It's all too neat and it's too cute."....Sen. Harry Reid on arrest critics: "They've lost touch with reality. It's really pathetic."....Sen. John Cornyn: "It took nearly 4,500 American lives to win freedom for Iraq. It took one president to lose it."....Mitt Romney on Obama Administration: "Has not taken the action necessary to prevent bad things from happening."....opponent Mary Burke on WI Gov. Scott Walker's jobs plan: "Frankly, I've seen eighth grade term papers that have more work put into them."....
  • June 12, 2014

    Dog the Bounty Hunter on stand-your-ground laws: "Bullcrap."....House Speaker John Boehner on Iraq: "What's the president doing? He's taking a nap."....Sen. John McCain: "Everybody in his national security team, including the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, ought to be replaced. It's a colossal failure of American security policy."....Gen. Barry McCaffrey on Iraq: "A dreadful place."....Allen West on Bob Bergdahl: "Sanctified the White House and claimed it for Islam."....Jezebel's Erin Loria Ryan on George Will rape column: "Ladies Love Being Rape Victims, Says A**hole."....Michelle Malkin on Will critics: "The Left can't handle truth-tellers exposing hype and agenda of White House and femme-a-gogues."....Michael Tomasky on Fox's Bergdahl coverage: "The typical evidence-free allegation, oxygenated by rife speculation from the usual suspects, who have no knowledge of anything but just want to get a meme started."....Tucker Carlson on the U.S.: "What a whiny country this is...You can never say what's true."....
  • June 6, 2014

    Fox News analyst Lt. Col. Ralph Peters on Bergdahl release: "Benghazi 2.0."....Rep. Duncan Hunter: "A botched foreign policy move."....Gov. Rick Perry: "Was this done to take the VA off the front pages?"....Bill O'Reilly on Bergdahl's father: "Looks like a Muslim."....Fox News A-Team member Keith Ablow on Obama: "Doesn't affiliate with patriotism...Does not have...Americanism in his soul."....Max Hastings on Obama: "Giving the world a convincing impersonation of a marshmallow."....Dick Cheney on Obama: "A very weak president...Doesn't understand his obligations."....Paul Begala: "If Barack Obama cured cancer, Republicans would attack him for putting oncologists out of work."....Evan Gahr on Dr. Ben Carson's ideas: "A noxious mix of ignorance and certitude -- a dead-serious version of Stephen Colbert."....Maureen Dowd on Monica Lewinsky: "Like a Golden Oldie tour of a band you didn't want to hear in the first place."....
  • May 25, 2014

    Sen. Dianne Feinstein on House Benghazi committee: "A hunting mission for a lynch mob."....Richard Cohen on GOP Benghazi obsession: "It is rude. It is crude. It is disrespectful and it is downright nuts."....Michael Tomasky on Karl Rove's 'brain damage' comments: "Just one more act of dishonesty and desperation by a man who has been, really, a loser for several years now.".... Meghan McCain: "I hate Karl Rove."....Brazilian sailing legend Lars Grael on bay to be used for sailing in 2016 Olympics: "Dark, brown and stinking."....Biologist Mario Moscatelli: "A latrine."....German sailing team: "Welcome to the dump that is Rio."....A.O. Scott on 'Blended': "Sheer audience-insulting incompetence...It will make your children stupid."....