Why I Like Chris Hayes

I think it's quite clear to me now that All In Chris Hayes is the best program on MSNBC. Although at the end of the day, the entire network is just corporate media with an obvious Democrat slant (and of course more objective and factual than Fox or any conservative talk radio), which means often featuring Obama apologists and liberals with Stockholm syndrome for the Democrats, MSNBC is still more open to ideas beyond the confines of the two-party system in the US. In order to arrive at the superiority of All In, let's go through some of the other MSNBC shows and hosts.

1. Alex Wagner: She seems like a run of the mill left liberal with an interest in environmentalism. I have enjoyed her subbing for Lawrence O'Donnell this week, but she lacks 'oomph.' Sure, I guess she's cute, and she's generally on point in her political commentary (if by on point we refer mostly to her criticism of the right), but she, like too many other MSNBC hosts (despite the pseudo-progressive "Lean Forward" commercials) seemingly has a crush on Obama or something. Sure, the Republicans are destroying this country, but so are the Democrats! So, yes, I applaud MSNBC for at least being more factual and rightfully critical of the far Reich (far right), but this almost blind faith and loyalty to the Democrats is partly responsible for keeping this country mired in the problematic two-party state. Yes, I know, it's corporate media and therefore I shouldn't be surprised, but Jesus Christ, get it together, MSNBC!

2. Al Sharpton: I must admit, I was shocked when I first discovered Rev. Sharpton has a show on MSNBC. Predictably, he often centers the show on race, and also makes himself the center. I will never understand why he bothers to have guests on the show when he often talks more than they do on whatever issue is at hand! He's not as bad as O'Donnell or Fox News or anything, but he speaks slowly (the black reverend diction, I suppose), too, which I find annoying since his pace should be a little faster to cover more news and say more substantive things. I don't know, I think Al's penchant for being the center of attention and enjoying the spotlight kind of ruined Politics Nation for me. I do commend his show for always covering the Trayvon Martin and George Zimmerman case, however. But he too succumbs to the Democrats-as-the-best and pro-Obama illusions of black advancement under the 'Muslim socialist anti-white food stamp president,' to quote the right-wingers on Obama.

3. Rachel Maddow: I like her. I really like her. She's got style, can be brutal and scathing in her commentary, follows stories that sometimes had little traction in the national and international news cycle, and she has an emotive face with a nice smile. Indeed, just watching her giggle and mock Republicans (such as Newt Gingrich yesterday on the latter's causing a government shutdown during the Clinton years because he was not allowed to exit a plane through the front door like President Clinton) is infectious, since her glee spreads to her viewers like wildfire. However, she can be very hawkish and surprisingly pro-war, pro-military (her "Lean Forward" commercial on the network standing by Ground Zero struck me as pro-military and too nationalistic for my taste) and she also seems like she has a crush on Obama (yes, I know she's a lesbian). I first watched her show in Los Angeles, while visiting my half-brother and his father. Even then, I was drawn to her vitriol regarding the GOP, but that's where her show seems to end. Incessant criticism of the GOP and standing by her 'man,' Obama, is not enough to hold my interest sometimes. Also, where was she on coverage of the Zimmerman trial? She was strangely silent on the matter, but on the 50th Anniversary of the March on Washington, did more than the other MSNBC shows I watched to commemorate its legacy and that of the Martin Luther King. Overall, she's my number 2 on MSNBC, but sometimes she's a little too much or cannot escape her love for Obama and the Democrats. So, watch The Rachel Maddow Show, but don't expect much in terms of critical lens on the Obama administration. Also, she was surprisingly quite restrained and appeared unsupportive of US missile strikes in Syria when that was all over the news, but I bet that would have changed had Obama stuck with the original goal of airstrikes.

4. Chris Mathews: I don't like this guy. I'll admit it, I dislike his voice. But I also dislike his attitude, demeanor, and ego. His commercial on MSNBC plays on his long experience in politics and witnessing much of US political history as a journalist and insider, but he can be condescending toward guests and mostly bores me. Get this old white man off my TV, ha! He means well, but at the end of the day, seems like another plain, white bread liberal (yet also a moderate).

5. Martin Bashir: I have not watched enough of him to leave more informed commentary, but I suppose he gets points for his accent and for being one of the few brown faces on the network. He seems liberal enough, perhaps left-liberal or progressive, but, unfortunately, is never on the air in the evening, my preferred time to watch the news (though most of my news, thank God, is not derived from the traditional corporate media, but devoured through leftist blogs, sites, and communities). If only this man could get an evening shift, now that would be something.

6. Melissa Harris-Perry: Oh, how the mighty hath fallen. Despite her reputation as a 'progressive' with a 'black feminist slant' and writing in The Nation (it's important here to remember Ishmael Reed's criticism of the media for it's segregation, since even liberal and lefty outlets are often segregated or lacking people of color, which might explain why the few black folks we get on TV, such as Lemon, the gay black CNN anchor who appeals to white theories of black pathology to explain what is really the result of racism and inequality), is just as much in love with Obama as her other colleages. Indeed, one of my favor sources of news, Black Agenda Report, featuring news and commentary from the real black left, has torn her apart more than once. Indeed, in one piece they go as far to allege that her love for Obama stems from their shared biracial identities, a harsh point even I would not declare! I gotta agree with my people at BAR, Harris-Perry plays around with the progressive label, reminding me of some of the pseudo-progressive whites I have interacted with in Madison, WI. It's all fun and games until the shit hits the fan, and they reveal their true colors. As BAR says, in her 'letter' to Snowden, Harris-Perry revealed her Obamaphilia, inconsistency, and hypocrisy, in her own letter referring tot he barbarity and abuses of the American prison industrial complex yet calling for Snowden to submit himself to 'justice' and undergo that inhumane system.

That said, I still catch her show every once in the while on weekend mornings, though I do prefer my news at night. She has also been unfairly treated by black male progressives and leftists in dismissive and sexist ways, such as facing criticism from Bruce Dixon because of her coverage of black women's hair politics (which is not as insignificant or silly as Dixon made it seem). Also, the way she was spoken to and about by folks like Cornel West spoke more to the latter's arrogance and the role of male privilege and sexism than just her Obamaphilia. Who knows, perhaps I am being a little hard on her when she's just like her colleagues on MSNBC. Why should a black liberal/progressive be held to a higher standard than her white counterparts of the same persuasion? The "Fear of a Black President" article from The Atlantic by Coates as well as a piece by Ishmael Reed on white progressive 'abandonment; of Obama make it quite clear Obama is no different for the most part from Clinton and other white Dems and liberal Dems specifically who sell out their 'progressive' base very soon in the world of American politics.

7. I dislike Lawrence O'Donnell's show, Last Word. He parades as a progressive liberal (I think he once referred to himself as socialist or some other far left term, which at once made me laugh uncontrollably since his character on TV is very different) but engages in too much 'mansplaining,' is very condescending toward guests, particularly if they're women (in my viewing experience, that is, such as the woman from the Olympic agency on the question of gay athletes at the Winter Olympics game in Russia and their rights), and is not above petty and Fox News-like argumentative and aggressive discourse. Sure, some people think that the left in America must adopt some manners or approaches of conservative talk radio and Fox News, perhaps the militancy in their beliefs, aggression, and loudness, but to me it is puerile, imitative, uncomfortable, and inhibiting open dialogue and honest, free exchange. Don't get me wrong, sometimes I will watch Last Word and enjoy it, but O'Donnell can be an 'ass' and still succumbs to the stereotypical liberal stuck on what Herman Cain refers to as the "Democrat plantation."

With the aforementioned points made clear, I believe it will be a little easier to see why Chris Hayes is the 'most' progressive and independent thinker on MSNBC. First of all, I like his style: nerdy, glasses, youthful but not immature, energetic, connected to popular culture on the web, and willing to hear people out. He has Republicans on his show, something I rarely see on Maddow's show (okay, it happens more frequently than I think) and is actually more respectful and willing to let conservatives and libertarians openly state their nonsensical and contradictory beliefs, such as a House GOP Congressman on the government shutdown. He also has a segment of his show covering what's hot on the internet, engages with his Facebook and internet audience and followers (Sharpton does it too, with his "Friend or foe, I wanna know" bit taking questions from those who watch his show, though they are always positive or neutral, never 'foes'), and presents a more open-minded 'liberal' or liberal progressive take on the news. Sure, he is usually supportive of the Dems (though his own preference for the leftist and progressive Dems like Tammy Baldwin put him to the left), but he also engages 'everyday people' and issues, such as his interviews with two low-wage fast food workers in New York participating in the marches and walk outs, demanding pay increases and union rights. I don't know why, but this moment stuck with more for more than any of the 'working-class and middle-class populism' of The Ed Show.

There is still much I don't know about the ideological and political beliefs of Hayes, such as more specifically his views on race (beyond the black punditocracy corporate media throws around, such as Joy Ann Reid), but I do recall him referring to people of color as such instead of the less useful and accurate term, 'minority.' In addition, his laudable white person thing to do of calling out 'white culture' in response to a super-racist rant from Bill O'Reilly, makes him stand out from much of his corporate media brothers and sisters. Check out this video, too, which reminds me of "White Criminal of the Week" from We Are Respectable Negroes! But even this is something Melissa Harris-Perry and Rachel Maddow have done to mock the right. To make things worse, Hayes overestimates the link between white conservatism and racism by ignoring white liberal racism, something I would like to see more coverage of in his show. But overall, I am liking the course of the show so far and hope to see him comment on more international events. Alas, MSNBC is too America-focused.