Rick Sanchez Out at CNN After Bashing Jon Stewart

By Jeralyn, Section Media
Posted on Fri Oct 01, 2010 at 08:45:33 PM EST
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CNN wasted no time in firing Rick Sanchez after he ran his mouth on Pete Dominick's Sirius radio show, calling Jon Stewart a "bigot" and suggesting CNN is run by Jews.

Dominick pointed out that as a Jew, Stewart was also a minority - to which Sanchez responded, snickering, "Please, what are you kidding?.. Yeah, a very powerless people."

"I'm telling you that everybody who runs CNN is a lot like Stewart, and a lot of people who run all the other networks are a lot like Stewart," Sanchez said. "To imply that somehow they, the people in this country who are Jewish, are an oppressed minority? Yeah."

[More...]

WaterTiger at Firedoglake weighs in.

My take: Sanchez's daytime talk show host manner always irked me. And he talks too much. He was never a good fit for a news station. I always changed channels if he was on. But I am surprised at the size of the chip on his shoulder.

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Rick Sanchez Out at CNN After Bashing Jon Stewart | 22 comments (22 topical)

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Hallelujah! (5.00 / 1) (#4)
by gyrfalcon on Fri Oct 01, 2010 at 11:07:48 PM EST

Thanks for bringing the good news. I've never been able to stand that guy, but I was open-mouthed in astonishment reading about his unbelievable rant. And boy, you'd think anybody over the age of 12 could come up with an anti-Semitic rant a little more original than "them Jews run all the media."

I'm extremely glad to see him go because his 2-hour block is usually the time of day I'd like to watch a little news, but I simply could not watch him for more than about 30 seconds without having to get away from him.

I'm also delighted that the new regime at CNN didn't tap dance around this but axed him immediately.

Ironic, too, that it was a fella named Jon Klein who elevated him from correspondent and gave him a two-hour show of his own, and a third showcase hour in primetime for months.

30 seconds of his hyperventilating (5.00 / 1) (#6)
by nycstray on Fri Oct 01, 2010 at 11:37:44 PM EST

was more than anyone should have had to endure, but 2 hrs? OY.

He made me want a drink, fast and often :)


Stewart actually said (5.00 / 4) (#9)
by gyrfalcon on Sat Oct 02, 2010 at 12:47:32 AM EST

he was like the guy at a party who's high on coke and backs you into a corner to rant about something. That's a little unfair, but only a little. He has always driven me nuts, and I'm just mean enough to be delighted that he basically ended up taking himself off the air.

Losing Sanchez and Rahm in the same day-- that's a good one.


: lol!~ (5.00 / 1) (#11)
by nycstray on Sat Oct 02, 2010 at 01:05:31 AM EST

have ta agree with Stewart there.
Didn't think about this, but agree also:

Losing Sanchez and Rahm in the same day-- that's a good one.

I used to suffer through (none / 0) (#14)
by Militarytracy on Sat Oct 02, 2010 at 08:17:48 AM EST

if I needed a news update, but when he started Ricks List it was pretty unoriginal after Keith Olberman's worst persons in the world list :)

He always lacked a certain balance though. I would only watch him if I were trying to get a news run down and he was on, but it seemed like he struggled to stay balanced and have the perspective that I needed from someone who was supposed to be just delivering me the news, and it would grate on me.

I am astonished though at this.


Really! (none / 0) (#17)
by gyrfalcon on Sat Oct 02, 2010 at 12:49:37 PM EST

The whole show was as if they'd sat down to figure out how to copy Olbermann's schtick as closely as possible. "The List U Don't Want to Be On" indeed!

If I wanted to see some news in the 3:00 PM hour, I'd actually voluntarily turn to Fox despite my antipathy for the outfit because that's Shep Smith and he really is good. But come 4:00 o'clock, what a total wasteland for news-- Sanchez versus Cavuto versus Ratigan. Yech. Rant City all the way.


I can't watch Fox at all (none / 0) (#20)
by Militarytracy on Sat Oct 02, 2010 at 06:13:16 PM EST

A lot of the people that work around my spouse watch it, and he will come home trying to catch coverage of something that was talked about but I'm always asking for it to be turned off. I just can't do it.


Me either. (none / 0) (#21)
by desertswine on Sat Oct 02, 2010 at 08:09:02 PM EST

I just can't do it. It makes me angry.


Worse (none / 0) (#22)
by Ga6thDem on Sat Oct 02, 2010 at 08:21:55 PM EST

than that for me. It creeps me out.


: Good to know what (none / 0) (#23)
by gyrfalcon on Mon Oct 04, 2010 at 07:51:36 AM EST

your enemy is doing, especially since Fox has such an enormous influence on a particularly dangerous and quite large subset of voters.
Most of it I can't tolerate for 30 seconds-- Hannity and that incredible harpy Megyn Kelly in particular. Nor do I see Beck very often, though the one time I did watch for a while, it was like visiting another planet, absolutely bizarro-world. And yet this guy has a huge audience and enormous influence. Truly scary.
However, Shepard Smith is about as un-Fox as it's possible to get. How he manages the balancing act he has to do at that network is hard to imagine, but I guess his popularity with viewers gives him some insulation.
Now that Sanchez is gone, I will likely flee less often to Smith, but he does run an interesting and quietly quirky news program that's frequently very enjoyable and largely free of Fox's GOP-TV agenda.

Yes- he never seemed real bright (none / 0) (#1)
by ruffian on Fri Oct 01, 2010 at 09:05:18 PM EST

but he did not seem nasty. I'm surprised about the chip also.

The problem with this sort of mindset (none / 0) (#2)
by Cream City on Fri Oct 01, 2010 at 09:34:09 PM EST

is that Sanchez now will see his firing as evidence in support of exactly his "Elders of Zion" mindset.

: Sure, regardless of the fact (none / 0) (#5)
by gyrfalcon on Fri Oct 01, 2010 at 11:08:39 PM EST

that it was a Jew who gave him his two hours of airtime and a non-Jew who then fired him.

you want a laugh (none / 0) (#7)
by kmblue on Fri Oct 01, 2010 at 11:39:02 PM EST

look up Sanchez being tazed on camera for a story.
It's gotta be on Youtube somewhere.

: "It hurts" (none / 0) (#16)
by Yman on Sat Oct 02, 2010 at 10:54:47 AM EST

... in slow motion, as narrated by Jon Stewart.

must add (none / 0) (#8)
by kmblue on Fri Oct 01, 2010 at 11:39:53 PM EST

I used to work at CNN, and I'm surprised they did the right thing and let Sanchez go--and quickly.

New management there (none / 0) (#10)
by gyrfalcon on Sat Oct 02, 2010 at 12:48:30 AM EST

It's certainly a very promising sign.


Remember how there used to be (5.00 / 3) (#12)
by andgarden on Sat Oct 02, 2010 at 01:05:54 AM EST

music on MTV? I think we'll soon say the same about CNN and news. Though honestly, given how bad they are most of the time at supposedly attempting to cover the news, it might be a relief if they just go to full celebrity gossip.


: I agree with you (5.00 / 1) (#13)
by ding7777 on Sat Oct 02, 2010 at 08:15:55 AM EST

I think CNN lost its way when it starting to imitate FOX News

My husband wants to know (none / 0) (#15)
by Militarytracy on Sat Oct 02, 2010 at 08:45:34 AM EST

Did Rick make his own list?

The taser moment is also a fav (none / 0) (#18)
by DFLer on Sat Oct 02, 2010 at 01:56:10 PM EST

: It's a fave with guess who? (none / 0) (#19)
by Cream City on Sat Oct 02, 2010 at 04:39:12 PM EST

Anderson Cooper. Showed it over and over, long later, but still laughing.