Alessandra Stanley, writing for the New York Times, says this on MSNBC’s newest broadcaster, bold my emphasis:

The Rev. Al Sharpton began his new career as an official MSNBC talk show host on Monday by telling viewers not to expect James Brown.

“I’m not going to be a robotic host reading the teleprompter like a robot,” he said. “Nor am I going to come in here and do the James Brown and do the ‘electric slide’ to prove to you that I’m not stiff,” he added, waving his arms in a rough approximation of a dance move. “I’m going to say what I mean and mean what I say.”

And that may be the problem with Mr. Sharpton’s cable news pulpit: what he means to say is in lockstep with every other MSNBC evening program, making the stretch between 6 p.m. and 11 p.m. a nonstop lecture on liberal values and what is wrong with the Republican Party.

[...]

And in the evening at least, MSNBC is less a news provider than a carousel of liberal opinion — potential conflicts of interest are swept aside in the swirl of excitable guests.

This is in the NYT. Kudos to Stanley for not pulling punches. She mentions the Tawana Brawley and Crown Heights, but seems to think that Eliot Spitzer somehow makes Sharpton’s past OK — and doesn’t mention the most recent of Sharpton’s stunts: Dunbar Village. A family was violated in unimaginable ways, especially a mother and her young son, and Sharpton and the NAACP defended the rapists and called them the “victims.” Outrage rang throughout the blogosphere across both sides of the political aisles.

And this man calls himself a “preacher?”

Not everyone who says to me, “Lord, Lord,” will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. Many will say to me on that day, “Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name and in your name drive out demons and in your name perform many miracles?” Then I will tell them plainly, “I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!”

Let me share one of my favorite hymns with Mr. Sharpton:


I suggest Mr. Sharpton crack open the Bible he so often stands on to bear false witness against his neighbor, incite riots, and exploit the suffering of the poor. This is a man of God? Not even the ladies of “The View” buy this, as they didn’t with the Duke Lacrosse case.

Watch out for false prophets. They come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ferocious wolves. By their fruit you will recognize them. Do people pick grapes from thornbushes, or figs from thistles? Likewise, every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit. A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, and a bad tree cannot bear good fruit.Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. Thus, by their fruit you will recognize them.

I’ll judge the tree of Sharpton by its fruit, thanks. I don’t mean to get all Ozark Southern Baptist on you, but there are impresarios, charlatans, and ministers. Using the wrong term for the wrong work is an insult to all three.

This latest from the NYT, combined with Scarborough’s angry observation on the state of mainstream media, and I’d say we almost have a trend.