Apr 15, 2015: Steve Benen: MSNBC: Forgetting the not-so-distant past
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June 12, 2014: Steve Benen: MSNBC: Crisis grips Iraq, spurring a familiar U.S. debate
Z-NEWS NOTES: Dec 30, 2013: .Steve Benen of MSNBC figured out all the politicos who've been on serious grownup important Sunday political talk shows more than 10 times in 2013. His colored chart points out that they're nearly all Republicans. But it holds some other conclusions he didn't highlight. Benen tallied appearances on "Meet the Press," "Face the Nation," "This Week," "State of the Union," and "Fox News Sunday," concluding that "Sunday shows love Republicans... 10 of the top 13 [guests] are Republicans, as are six of the top seven." The only thing that he doesn't make clear is how he decides who is "top.". (SOURCE: Steve Benen: MSNBC: "The Great 2013 Sunday Show Race")
On Jan 24, 2012, Benen announced in his Washington Monthly column: "I have some news to share: after three-and-a-half years at the Washington Monthly, I’m moving on. My last post will be tomorrow and I’ll start my new career at MSNBC on Monday morning. Working for the Monthly has been an amazing experience, but I’m thrilled about an extraordinary opportunity at MSNBC: I’m going to be a producer for “The Rachel Maddow Show” and an MSNBC contributor. Don’t worry, I’ll still be blogging; I’ll just be writing at a new online home." Benen started writing for Washington Monthly in August 2008.
On Dec 20, 2011: Politifact had announced that the life of the year went to the Democrats becasue a Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee released a Web ad that said seniors will have to pay $12,500 more for health care “because Republicans voted to end Medicare. Benen wrote about this in his column: "This is simply indefensible. Claims that are factually true shouldn’t be eligible for a Lie of the Year designation.Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee released a Web ad that said seniors will have to pay $12,500 more for health care “because Republicans voted to end Medicare. It’s unnerving that we have to explain this again, but since PolitiFact appears to be struggling with the relevant details, let’s set the record straight....Indeed, reading through PolitiFact’s defense of its dubious honor, the explanation is effectively a semantics argument — its Lie of the Year, the editors argue, didn’t include the caveats and context that would make it more accurate. But let’s not forget, there were actual, demonstrable, unambiguous lies among the finalists for Lie of the Year. PolitiFact overlooked all of them. When an outlet puts “fact” in its name, the standards for accuracy are especially high. When it’s selecting a Lie of the Year, standards dictate that the falsehood should be overwhelmingly obvious and offensive. Today, PolitiFact, which relies exclusively on its credibility to affect the political discourse, ought to be ashamed of itself."
Steve Benen (born May 15, 1973) is an American political writer and blogger, an MSNBC contributor, and a producer for The Rachel Maddow Show. From August 2008 to January 2012, Benen was the lead blogger for the Washington Monthly's "Political Animal" blog. He was the publisher of the political blog The Carpetbagger Report for five years and was the lead editor of Salon.com's Blog Report.
Benen's articles and op-eds have appeared in a variety of publications, including the Washington Monthly, The American Prospect, The Huffington Post, and the New York Daily News. He has been a contributor to Talking Points Memo, Crooks and Liars, The Guardian, AlterNet, Political Wire, and Seven Days. He has been a guest on several radio and television programs, including NPR’s Talk of the Nation, MSNBC’s The Rachel Maddow Show, MSNBC’s The Ed Show, MSNBC's Martin Bashir, MSNBC's Live with Thomas Roberts, Current TV's Countdown with Keith Olbermann, Air America Radio’s The Sam Seder Show, and XM Radio’s POTUS ‘08.
In July 2009, The Atlantic named Benen one of the top 50 most influential political commentators in the United States. In 2012, Benen wrote the introduction to the e-book, "Elephant in the Room: Washington in the Bush Years". Benen was born and raised in Miami, Florida, and received his B.A. in Political Science from Florida International University. He received a Master's degree in Political Management from the George Washington University, and was an intern in President Bill Clinton's White House Office of Speechwriting. In 1996, he was the communications director for an unsuccessful Democratic congressional campaign in Pennsylvania. From 1997 to 2002, Benen worked in the communications department at Americans United for the Separation of Church and State. "Digital Pamphleteer," a short film about Benen's work as a blogger, was created by Bill Simmon and won an award at the Vermont International Film Festival. in 2008.
Benen's articles and op-eds have appeared in a variety of publications, including the Washington Monthly, The American Prospect, The Huffington Post, and the New York Daily News. He has been a contributor to Talking Points Memo, Crooks and Liars, The Guardian, AlterNet, Political Wire, and Seven Days. He has been a guest on several radio and television programs, including NPR’s Talk of the Nation, MSNBC’s The Rachel Maddow Show, MSNBC’s The Ed Show, MSNBC's Martin Bashir, MSNBC's Live with Thomas Roberts, Current TV's Countdown with Keith Olbermann, Air America Radio’s The Sam Seder Show, and XM Radio’s POTUS ‘08.
In July 2009, The Atlantic named Benen one of the top 50 most influential political commentators in the United States. In 2012, Benen wrote the introduction to the e-book, "Elephant in the Room: Washington in the Bush Years". Benen was born and raised in Miami, Florida, and received his B.A. in Political Science from Florida International University. He received a Master's degree in Political Management from the George Washington University, and was an intern in President Bill Clinton's White House Office of Speechwriting. In 1996, he was the communications director for an unsuccessful Democratic congressional campaign in Pennsylvania. From 1997 to 2002, Benen worked in the communications department at Americans United for the Separation of Church and State. "Digital Pamphleteer," a short film about Benen's work as a blogger, was created by Bill Simmon and won an award at the Vermont International Film Festival. in 2008.
