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.

  • July 30, 2013

    Sally Quinn on Anthony Weiner: "I just thought [he] was a grandiose, narcisstic, entitled creep. Now it is clear he must be mentally ill as well."....David Axelrod on Weiner: "Wasting time and space. It's time for him to go away."....Rep. Peter King on Weiner: "Not psychologically qualified to be mayor of the city of New York."....Sexting partner Sydney Leathers on Weiner: "A little too busy jacking off to do anything for the city."....Michael Savage on Sean Hannity: "Using race to gin up his ratings."....Sean Hannity on Joe Scarborough: "Has kind of sold his soul...Is used as a prop by his insider Washington pals to attack conservatives."....Sharon Osbourne on Kanye West: "An average looking man with an average talent."....
  • July 22, 2013

    Tavis Smiley on Obama's speech about race: "Weak as pre-sweetened Kool-Aid."....Fox's Todd Starnes: "Obama is now our Race-Baiter in Chief."....Sean Hannity: "Is that the president admitting that I guess because, what, he was part of the Choom Gang and he smoked pot and he did a little blow?"....MSNBC's Melissa Harris-Perry on Hannity: "Way to both completely miss the president's point and prove it at the same damn time."....Jimmy Carter on America: "Does not at the moment have a functioning democracy."....
  • July 3, 2013

    Texas Gov. Rick Perry on state Sen. Wendy Davis: "Hijacking of the democratic process."....Davis on Perry: "Small words that reflect a dark and negative point of view."....Texas state Sen. Bill Zedler on Davis and supporters: "Terrorists."....Westboro Baptist Church on Taylor Swift: "The poster child for the young whores of doomed America."....Bill Maher: "These Supreme Court dudes, they don't live in the real world."....Ann Coulter on Chris Christie: "Dead to me."....London Daily Mail on Rolling Stones performance: "Night of the living dead."....
  • June 26, 2013

    Justice Scalia on majority reasoning in DOMA case: "Legalistic argle-bargle."....Al Sharpton on VRA ruling: "Reprehensible...Has virtually canceled Dr. King's dream."....Rep. John Lewis: "Stuck a dagger into the heart of the Voting Rights Act of 1965, one of the most effective pieces of legislation Congress has passed in the last 50 years."....John Oliver: "The VRA...has a hole in it the exact shape of John Roberts' middle finger."....President Obama on climate change skeptics: "We don't have time for a meeting of the Flat Earth Society."....Jeb Bush on Obama: "An utter and complete failure."....Oliver North: "Everybody knows that Barack Obama doesn't mean anything he says...Jimmy Carter on steroids."....Paula Deen: "There is someone evil out there that saw what I worked for, and they wanted it."....
  • June 21, 2013

    Gov. Bobby Jindal on the GOP: "It's time to stop the bedwetting...Put on your big boy pants."....Edward Snowden: "Being called a traitor by Dick Cheney is the highest honor you can give an American...If they had taught a class on how to be the kind of citizen Dick Cheney worries about, I would have finished high school."....Bill Ayers: "Every president in this century should be put on trial. Every one of them goes into office dripping with blood and then adds to it."....