#NerdsUnite for Keith Olbermann
#TalkNerdyToMeLover's Erin P. Capuano
As a self-proclaimed nerd I feel I am bound by some type of an honor code to support and stand by my fellow nerds in their time of crisis. These are crazy times we live in and while we are struggling with two wars, a slow economy, growing animosity towards immigrants, severely damaged Healthcare system, failing educational system and a society which still deems homosexuals as second class citizens we have little voices of support in the media. Keith Olbermann host of Countdown with Keith Olbermann on MSNBC is one of our Liberal voices and makes no bones about leaning left but he also isn't afraid to go against his own party in order to keep the facts real. Fox News known for its clearly partisan extreme Right Wing views and lack of respect for the facts has long supported candidates even plugging their events and helping them raise money on their shows. Commentators like Sean Hannity have made no secret of their own personal donations to candidates within the Right Wing party. While MSNBC has its own set of rules for its commentators the suspension of Keith Olbermann for his three donations to Democratic candidates last week was neither, warranted or fair.
Last week it was released that Keith Olbermann had made three donations of the maximum allowed $2,400 to three different candidates in tight races against Right Wing opponents. Each commentator at MSNBC must sign a contract that states they will not make any donations to a particular political party without prior approval or notification from the network and because Keith did not disclose these donations prior he was, "suspended indefinitely" last week from his show. Immediately his suspension sparked outrage within the political community and support came from some unlikely places including some on the Right. While the rule was put in place to keep the network from seeming a little too much like Fox News it does ride a fine line between who is a journalist and who is a political commentator, there is a difference. We look to certain figures like Anderson Cooper for in the middle journalism but when we want someone to go out on a limb to take a stand and tell it like it is we look to the opinion makers like Keith Olbermann, contrary to MSNBC's belief, the American public is neither stupid nor naïve we can tell the difference.
Keith has made his Liberal stance very clear since coming to MSNBC and has never marked himself as a bipartisan journalist however he is very fair in his reporting making sure to call out both parties on their hypocrisies and lies making sure everyone is held accountable Keith is a man of the people not a political party. Since coming to the cable news network Keith Olbermann has brought a whole new generation to politics and brought some outrageous ratings in the meantime. He is single handedly responsible for bringing Rachel Maddow and Lawrence O'Donnell to the network and has raised enormous amounts of money for mobile health care fairs. These fairs have now visited two states giving free health screenings and some procedures to people who do not have insurance.
Keith Olbermann is known for going head to head with Right Wing commentators such as Bill O'Reily, Rush Limbaugh and Glenn Beck calling them out on what he calls their dangerous rhetoric and constant need to try and insight violence against the U.S. Government. Not a stranger to confrontation he always manages to do it with a bit of humor. Recently John Stewart and Stephen Colbert had their Rally to Restore Sanity and/or Fear in Washington D.C. and their message was both sides need to calm down with the negative rhetoric and think of how to work together rather than tear apart. Keith was one of the only on air commentators who took this message to heart and decided to remove his segment called Worst Persons which for the most part consisted of Right Wing public figures.
A running joke within the Twitter community is that if Keith Olbermann and Rachel Maddow had a baby it would be a global super power and eventually rule the world, while we know this will never happen since Rachel is a Lesbian we can dream. Two strong, intelligent, Liberals in one place at the same time can make for some serious fireworks especially when they are changing the face of how we get our news day by day. I know that I will never go to Katie Couric for my news because lets face it if I wanted someone to throw softball questions to political figures simply for ratings I'd watch Good Morning America. I want someone who is going to tell the truth even if it hurts my Liberal feelings and Keith isn't afraid to do that. I've come to expect that snarky facial expression when some Senator or Congressman says something absolutely outrageous and Keith dedicates a segment to it pointing it out when no one else is talking about it. His signature paper throw at the camera and his nightly "Good night and good luck" statement that sends me off with fuzzy feelings knowing someone out there cares.
For eight years Keith got me through some down times with George W. Bush in office seeing my rights slowly being taken away, watching us invade a country we had no business in, listening to lie after lie, abuse of power after abuse of power and our reputation going down the toilet all over the world. It was truly a sad and stressful time for many and finding Keith Olbermann in a sea of journalists who just didn't want to ask the tough questions who didn't want to call the President out on his lies and war crimes was a breath of fresh air. He spoke to us the people who knew we were getting the shaft we knew the GOP wasn't listening they didn't care and to them we were just a means to an end they had their power and no longer needed us. It was because of that not because of Keith Olbermann, Rachel Maddow or Ed Schultz that I became anti-Republican it was because of their lack of empathy, their need for greed, their love affair with large corporations, their need to shove religion down my throat take my reproductive rights away and say I can't marry my partner simply because she's also a woman. We can sit back and try to place blame in all the wrong places but the truth still remains this country has yet again made a major mistake we've voted a Republican majority into the House and now we will see two more years of George W. Bush policies of greed, lies, and everything in between.
We need Keith Olbermann now more than ever we need the healthy dose of truth that comes with his position of power we need his intelligence his wit and his undeniable commitment to the truth above and beyond everything else. Whether we like him or not agree or disagree with him one thing cannot be disputed he only uses facts, his opinions are backed up with facts and his criticisms are backed up by facts as far as I'm concerned that’s a true patriot. So I say welcome back Keith Olbermann I look forward to tuning in on Tuesday November 9th to see your smiling face and waiting to hear what you will say about the suspension. Over 300,000 signatures on a petition to bring you back, truly NERDS UNITING!
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#NerdsUnite
