MSNBC has suspended star anchor Keith Olbermann following the news that he had donated to three Democratic candidates this election cycle.
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Politico reported Friday that Olbermann had donated $2,400 each to Reps. Raul Grijalva and Gabrielle Giffords of Arizona, and to Kentucky Senate contender Jack Conway. While NBC News policy does not prohibit employees from donating to political candidates, it requires them to obtain prior approval from NBC News executives before doing so.
In a statement earlier Friday, Olbermann defended his donation, saying, "I did not privately or publicly encourage anyone else to donate to these campaigns nor to any others in this election or any previous ones, nor have I previously donated to any political campaign at any level."
Griffin's statement underscores that it was Olbermann's failure to obtain approval, and not the actual political donations, that prompted the suspension.
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I like Keith. He's the fire and brimstone to Maddow's calm sanity. Sure, he's 50% show and rhetoric, but what he says is at least based on facts. What pisses me off the most is Fox's parent company donated millions of dollars to Republicans and nobody raised a fuss, but this guy is fired for donating less than $10,000. Oh, and no fewer than 30 Fox News personalities "endorsed, raised money, or campaigned for Republican candidates or organizations" during the elections. I'd understand this if he was a reporter, but he's not a reporter. He's a pundit. I'd be surprised if he didn't give money. I'm really curious to see how conservatives are going to explain this with their liberal media conspiracy delusions.
The only way MSNBC can redeem itself in my eyes is if they have Cenk Uygur replace him, who's filled in for Keith before. He has Maddow's intelligence and Olbermann's passion. He would be perfect.
Olbermann made MSNBC, and he deserves better. I'm really going to miss his Special Comments. Here's a few of my favorites.
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