Tea Party Coalition Wants Sponsors to Pull Ads from ‘Hardball’

By Chris Ariens 

A coalition of Tea Party groups is calling on advertisers to pull their commercials from “Hardball” over host Chris Matthews’ new documentary “The Rise of the New Right.” The doc, which debuted last night at 7pmET and came in second in its timeslot (behind FNC) as well as being MSNBC’s second-most watched show of the night (behind Countdown), is being called a “left-wing propaganda hit piece” by the Tea Party groups, reports The Daily Caller.

“Chris Matthews and MSNBC have just delivered one of the most dishonest pieces of propaganda posing as journalism in American broadcast and cable television history,” said National Tea Party Coalition co-founder Michael Patrick Leahy.

Activists say Matthews selectively portrayed groups and individuals in the program in a bad light. “The Tea Party movement I know looks nothing like the one portrayed on MSNBC,” said FreedomWorks grassroots director Brendan Steinhauser. “It is made up of good, hardworking, honest, smart people who love their country. It is a movement that reflects the best in America.”

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Now, the National Tea Party Federation is calling for supporters to contact sponsors of “Hardball” and ask them to pull their ads.

As an interesting side note, The Daily Caller is run by Matthews’ former MSNBC colleague Tucker Carlson.

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