"Pimping" Chelsea? Whoa, Says NOW (updated)

NOW-NYS President Marcia Pappas fired back at critics of Chelsea Clinton’s phone work for her mother, zeroing in on David Shuster of MSNBC, who called it “a little bit unseemly” and question whether “Chelsea’s sort of being pimped out in some weird sort of way?”

Pappas, who earlier caused a stir when she took Sen. Ted Kennedy to task for endorsing Barack Obama, questioned what the problem is with a daughter promoting her mother’s candidacy, and likened Shuster to a wife beater.

“Hillary is PIMPING her daughter? Why would a daughter’s support in this historic, glass-ceiling-shattering presidential race, be characterized as “PIMPING?”

“This awful name-calling is nothing short of abusive. When male abusers feel they are failing to reach their spouses, they often go after their children. Every day across the country battered women and their children suffer at the hands of abusers.”

Here’s the full release.

MediaBistroÂ reports that Shuster’s been suspended from appearing on all NBC News broadcasts, and that he extended an apology to the Clintons. The news came via a statement from NBC News President Steve Capus. (hat tip to Liz for that and the following clip…)

You can see the original statement andÂ Shuster’s reponse, which isÂ not so much an apology as a “sorryÂ to anybody who misunderstood me,” here:

  1. silverbrunogate2008 says:

    this from the woman who gave us….


    and YES the comment was unprofessional in indicitive of the lack of polish and intelligence coming over the TV waves…

    and to tie it child and spousal abuse is beyond the realm of reality…

    Who would disagree that in today’s vernacular pimp = schill = stump

    She is pathetic or at least sounds very much so.

  2. RHINO Chaser says:

    If NOW is mad about this, I can’t wait to see what they think of McCain.

  3. TUReader says:

    NOW should support McCain-an American Hero!

    NOW should support McCain-an American Hero!

    NOW should support McCain-an American Hero!

  4. Upstate's Finest says:

    I am no fan of MSNBC or David Shuster, but this was truly blown WAY out of proportion.

  5. JiggsMalone says:

    What an infantile remark to use to slander and defame someone!? Electronic media and broadcast news. Setting new lows. Tracking the “dumbing down” demographic as it plunges to newer depths.

    A better line of investigative reporting would be along the lines of:
    Why does Chelsea Clinton spend most of her time in Europe?

    Is is to monitor and keep track of the deposits made to secret bank account(s) of both of her parents? Saving them the trouble and possible embarrassment? Of being caught tending to these same accounts themselves? Is how the Clintons became multi-millionaires? While serving in public office? Enabling Hillary Clinton to loan $5 millions to her own Presidential campaign?

    Questions which could be asked and need to be answered by every prominent elected public official. In the U.S..

    Speaking for myself and, I suspect, many others as well: I am worn-out by the 28 consecutive year (1981-2009) juggernaut of the White House being occupied by 1st degree relatives or members of the same 2 families. That would be Reagan(Bush #-41), Bush #-41, Clinton #-42 and Bush #-43. Now we must contemplate Clinton #-44, Bush #-45, Clinton #-46, etc. Will this nonsense ever end? And when?

    The entire matter makes me sick. Just to think about it.0

    Has there been “change”? Has this same “change” resulted in improvement for daily life in the U.S.?

    What has really been done? Tax-cuts for the rich! Followed by: Tax increases for everyone! Followed by: Tax-cuts for the rich! Followed by: Tax increases for everyone!, etc. Can a pattern be discerned here?

    Are America’s borders more or less secure? Is the U.S. Military sufficiently well-prepared for what is being demanded of it?

    Just a few things for all of us to give some thought. Hopefully, soon! Before it may be too late. For the most timely and intelligent decisions to be made so that all necessary steps can be taken for the U.S. to survive.

  6. gecannonphd says:

    I have caught Shuster talking a couple of times. He is uninformed,smug and arrogant. So is Tucker, and his bowties look ridiculous.

    Shuster’s comments related to Chelsea calling superdelegates. It was Will Rogers that said, “I don’t belong to any organized party, I’m a Democrat.” Right now, he’s got that right.

    Dr. Gary Hart believes the Denver convention will be similar to his run in ’84. Both he and Mondale came into it with equal number of delegates. It was the supers that determined the outcome.

    The Ds are heading for disaster at the Denver convention in August. Neither Hillary or Barack will have a delegate majority. The 800 or so superdelegates will decide. Michigan and Florida Ds are now disenfranchised.

    The supers are the party Establishment. If they move to Hillary, the Barack supporters may go into the Denver streets. It could make the ’68 Chicago convention look like a picnic.

    We can blame George McGovern, a good and decent man. The McGovern reformers pushed for primary proportional delegate votes, instead of winner take all. The conservative D establishment fought back after 1972 and pushed for superdelegates. These supers would be a firewall against radical reform and radical candidates.

    Now the supers will reign. How should they vote? Hillary won Mass. Should Sens. Kennedy and Kerry be forced to support Hillary? Both senators in Wash. support Hillary. If Barack wins Wash. this weekend, should they be forced to support Barack?

    As this disaster unfolds, The Mad Hatter, John McCain, is laughing.

    Wash. Post’s Paul Kane explains the coming disaster:

    There are 3,253 pledged delegates, those doled out based on actual voting in primaries and caucuses. And you need 2,025 to win the nomination. To date, about 55% of those 3,253 delegates have been pledged in the voting process — with Clinton and Obama roughly splitting them at about 900 delegates a piece. That means there are now only about 1,400 delegates left up for grabs in the remaining states and territories voting.

    So, do the math. If they both have about 900 pledged delegates so far, they need to win more than 1,100 of the remaining 1,400 delegates to win the nomination through actual voting. Ain’t gonna happen, barring a stunning scandal or some new crazy revelation. So, they’ll keep fighting this thing out, each accumulating their chunk of delegates, one of them holding a slight edge and both finishing the voting process with 1,600 or so delegates.

  7. pastorsteve says:

    Question (honestly just that) — did NOW react this strongly when Bill Clinton was denying his relationship with “that woman?”

  8. devtob says:

    Shuster’s spontaneous comment is a lot less outrageous than this prepared “joke” delivered by St. John McCain at a Republican dinner in 1998, and largely unmentioned and unremembered by St. John’s media groupies.

    Here’s what McCain thinks is funny: “Why is Chelsea Clinton so ugly? Because her father is Janet Reno.”

    I wonder if anyone besides Will Bunch at Attytood will mention this telling glimpse of McCain nastiness.

  9. Mike says:

    why does gecannotpud hate the democratic (small d) process?

  10. sammy says:

    re: #3:
    McCain- anti-American WARMONGER Corrupt Corporate Crony!
    McCain- anti-American WARMONGER Corrupt Corporate Crony!
    McCain- anti-American WARMONGER Corrupt Corporate Crony!
    Good for NOW for standing up against these disgusting attacks on Clinton. If Obama become the Dem candidate, watch for even more disgusting low blows from the RepubliCriminals.

  11. NYPDIrish says:

    RE: The Clinton campaign is taking MSNBC to war over comments by a host about Chelsea

    BOGUS REASON……This was done to “Deflect” the bigger news that came out at the very same time…..

    Polls now show Obama would be the better candidate and chance of beating the Republican….

    Fact…This was a Deflecting Clinton News Story…

    Jim Kelly – NY Conservative Campaigns

  12. gunga dan says:

    “I wonder if anyone besides Will Bunch at Attytood will mention this telling glimpse of McCain nastiness.”

    The 10 Stupidest Things Hillary Clinton Has Ever Said

    10. “I have to confess that it’s crossed my mind that you could not be a Republican and a Christian.”

    9. “God bless the America we are trying to create.”

    8. “We have a lot of kids who don’t know what works means. They think work is a four-letter word.”

    7. â€œHe ran a gas station down in St. Louis… No, Mahatma Gandhi was a great leader of the 20th century.â€ â€“introducing a quote by Mahatma Gandhi

    6. â€œWho is going to find out? These women are trash. Nobodyâ€™s going to believe them.â€ â€“on Bill Clintonâ€™s bimbo eruptions

    5. â€œIf I didnâ€™t kick his ass every day, he wouldnâ€™t be worth anything.â€ â€“on Bill Clinton


    3. “We are going to take things away from you on behalf of the common good.”

    2. “I have said that I’m not running and I’m having a great time being pres â€” being a first-term senator.” â€”on her presidential ambitions

    1. “I’m not going to have some reporters pawing through our papers.
    We are the president.”

    “We just can’t trust the American people to make those types of choices … Government has to make those choices for people”

    “I’ve Always Been A Yankee Fan”

    Finally, there’s always the quote about the Jewish illegitimate child:


  13. jakester says:

    Odd that whenever Hillarys campaign is faltering something like crying or something of this nature, defending your kids, comes up… could it possibly be more Clinton “plants”?

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