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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.

  • August 21, 2012

    Meghan McCain: "It's shockingly ignorant and insane comments like Todd Akin's that make me think the end of the world is really coming in 2012."....Piers Morgan on Akin: "A gutless little twerp."....Sen. Mitch McConnell on Akin comments: "Just flat wrong in addition to being wildly offensive to any victim of sexual abuse."....Elizabeth Warren: "I'm disgusted."....Scott Brown: "Outrageous, inappropriate, and wrong."....Mitt Romney: "Insulting, inexcusable, and, frankly, wrong."....Rep. Connie Mack: "Outrageous and offensive."....Sen. Ron Johnson: "Reprehensible and inexcusable."....Ann Coulter: "This is no time for another foot-in-the-mouth, Trent Lott Republican to be dominating the national political discussion."....Nancy Pelosi: "Another manifestation of the total disregard and disrespect of women by Republican leaders."....Rudy Giuliani on Joe Biden: "He's not a vice-president, he's a joke."....Hank Williams Jr. on Obama: "We've got a Muslim president who hates farming, hates the military, hates the U.S. -- and we hate him."....
  • August 20, 2012

    Mitt Romney on Obama: "The president's campaign is all about division and attack and hatred."....Mitt Romney on Obama: "The president seems to be running to hang on to power. I think he'll do anything in his power to try and get re-elected."....Mitt Romney on Obama: "Mr. President, take your campaign of division and anger and hate back to Chicago."....Mitt Romney on Obama: "This is what an angry and desperate presidency looks like."....Obama spokesman on Romney: “Governor Romney's comments tonight seemed unhinged."....
  • July 26, 2012

    NAACP's Hilary Shelton on Florida: "A testing ground for voter suppression techniques across the country. It's ground zero of this stuff."....Romney on Obama: "His whole philosophy is an upside-down philosophy that does not comport with the American experience."....Obama spokesman Ben LaBolt on Romney: "Cheap attacks."....Romney on Obama: "The consequence of American weakness is seen around us in the world."....Obama spokesman Jen Psaki on Romney: "A continuous fumbling of the foreign policy football."....Fox News analyst Bob Beckel on Romney: "A Ken doll with all the personality of a Ken doll...I'm in the business of trying to beat this punk."....Jed Lewison on Romney: "Sounds like Michele Bachmann with a Harvard education."....Ice-T on Rush Limbaugh: "A racist piece of sh**."....
  • July 24, 2012

    Bill Moyers on NRA: "The enabler of death -- paranoid, delusional, and as venomous as a scorpion."....Glenn Beck on reaction to Bachmann letter: "John McCain and all of the elephant media are falling right in line with the Muslim Brotherhood."....James Taranto on Matt Taibi: "Some commentators have a vicious streak: he is a vicious streak."....David Remnick on the Rolling Stones: "Have not written a great song since the disco era and come together only to pad their fortunes as their own cover band."....Tripp Palin on his aunt Willow: "Faggot!"....
  • July 20, 2012

    Rep. Michele Bachmann: "The influence today of the Muslim Brotherhood at the highest levels, from the White House, to the Pentagon, to the FBI, even to our United States military, truly is breathless, and people have to know about it."....Sen. John McCain on Bachmann: "Sinister accusations...An unwarranted and unfounded attack."....State Department spokesman Phillip Reine: "Vicious lies."....Former NM Gov. Bill Richardson: "Disgraceful and dishonorable."....former NJ Gov. Christine Todd Whitman: "McCarthyism...Dangerous and just plain wrong."....