MSNBC's Joe Scarborough's Lame Apology to Unite Blue

Not Accepted Joe by this Republican Longtime Unite Blue Member who Supports Democrats in 2014.  The fringe is in the Republican Party not Unite Blue!

Will someone explain to me why Joe Scarborough brought up the union movement and then Unite Blue as there is no correlation between the two?  Many of us in Unite Blue are current Republicans supporting Democrats in 2014 as GOP went too hard right embracing the hard right ideology, former Republicans especially women and veterans who have had it with the hard right attacks on both, independents, and Democrats who the GOP counts hard left but most I have met are not hard left yet we're all counted fringe by Joe Scarborough?   Who is feeding him that garbage about Unite Blue?

We come from all walks of life -- met a lot of former Republicans and also Republicans supporting Democrats, military, veterans, consultants, writers, senior citizens, young people, middle age, doctors, lawyers, and the list goes on and on as Unite Blue is a cross-section of America.  We come from all states including Red States who are joined together to try and bring some common sense back to Government because the GOP today has so little common sense it is hard to find.  Want stupid comments?  Look no further than the GOP and their candidates.

Former Congressman Scarborough's comments make zero sense to me and if this is an apology, I am missing something.  Scarborough talks about hateful remarks from Unite Blue people or unions but what about the hateful remarks about veterans, women, LBGT, poor and the list goes on from the right. When is the last time he went after the hard right for their nasty remarks?  Got news for Joe, the hard right was going after him long time before Unite Blue even came on the radar.  Did he say anything then?

This morning(Tuesday) Joe Scarborough attempted to explain his recent demeaning comments that offended so many passionate UniteBlue members.

"I brought it up on Friday... I brought up UniteBlue, and I could find people in UniteBlue who said some terrible things about me over the past two, three, four years, but that doesn't mean there aren't great people in the union movement, that doesn't mean there aren't great vets and great people in UniteBlue... Don't we at some point realize that there are some people who will try to associate them self [sic] with a bigger group and say hateful things that shouldn't be associated with the labor movement or UniteBlue?"

Joe Scarborough on Morning Joe, 5/27/2014.

From Unite Blue:  

While this was not the full-throated apology that thousands requested, this display of respect is a promising first step, and we will continue to call Joe Scarborough out when his commentary devolves into divisive and disparaging attacks.  ******

From Unite Blue:  This morning (Monday) UniteBlue delivered the following letter to MSNBC's president Phil Griffin and 15 executives directly responsible for Morning Joe. After giving them time to respond, we are releasing our request as an open letter:

Mr. Phil Griffin
President, MSNBC
30 Rockefeller Plaza
New York, NY

May 26, 2014 

Dear Mr. Griffin: 

Last Friday May 23, Joe Scarborough insulted thousands of honest, hardworking Americans who choose to organize under the banner of #UniteBlue, falsely alleging on MSNBC's Morning Joe show that "these people are on the fringes; they're freaks; they're hate mongers." 

Mr. Scarborough owes an apology to the mothers, fathers, retirees, veterans, soldiers, activists, professionals and all members of UniteBlue. Calling tens of thousands of good, decent people 'freaks' is a sweeping condemnation and makes him a hate monger. 

Half a million Tweets use #UniteBlue each month, more than #GOP or #TeaParty. Many of us are MSNBC viewers who were personally offended by these demeaning words and petty attacks. In response to the unprecedented outrage that resulted, Mr. Scarborough decided to double down instead of apologizing. This time he called each of us 'extremists,' and it's really deeply offensive. Your entire network is being poisoned thanks to this behavior. 

At this time, we are considering a number of petitions that have arisen calling for boycotts of Morning Joe and its sponsors. We have stood firmly against the promotion of hatred on the airwaves from others such as Rush Limbaugh, and cannot find any attempt on behalf of Joe Scarborough to move the political conversation forward meaningfully. 

We respectfully request that Mr. Scarborough personally and publicly apologize for his comments on air and offer the opportunity for a UniteBlue representative to explain who we are; real people who want a voice in our democracy.

That apology that links unions and Unite Blue together is not good enough for me.  I am not fringe and neither are the people I have met from Unite Blue.  In fact I left the fringe which has become the Republican Party of today.  The Republican Party I grew up with wouldn't have mounted a war against women over contraceptives.  Today's GOP disapproves of contraceptives and abortions but Viagara and pills like that are just fine for men.  Blame the rape victim when a woman gets raped and deny a morning after pill or an abortion as it was the woman's fault -- heard that a lot out of the hard right in Oklahoma and now nationwide.  How about domestic violence against spouses?  Simple explanation it's the woman's fault for not doing what her husband wants in their small minds.

Today's GOP attacks veterans refusing to pass the Veterans Job Bill while cutting the VA budget but expects veterans to line up to support them?  Not happening.  Cong Ryan's draconian budget cuts decimate social security and Medicare treating both like an entitlement when workers pay into social security and Medicare.  The list goes on and on of the hard right attacks on regular Americans including the school lunch program where they only want the summer lunch program in rural areas not cities.

Yet, the the same GOP in Congress and in States will bend over backwards for the wealthy.  They treat the poor like it is their fault they are poor.  How would the GOP and Scarborough like to work two jobs and still be below the poverty level with children they have a hard time feeding and keeping a roof over their heads because the minimum wage is so low yet Republicans in Congress refuse to raise the minimum wage.  GOP continues to give subsidies to farmers while cutting the SNAP program that feeds veterans, the poor, and children.

Then there is Oklahoma where the State Legislature passed and Governor signed into law that our cities are not allowed to have a higher minimum wage or give more sick and leave days.  That's Republican State Government at work while on the flip side their just gave another tax break to oil and gas when three of them -- Devon, Chesapeake, and Howard Hamm threw a hissy fit threatening to leave the state if they didn't get a 5% tax cut for three years on vertical drilling and agreeing to raise horizontal from 1% to 2% when it was to go back to 7% in 2015.  Once again Oklahoma residents got the shaft from the Republican dominated Government in favor of big oil because that is what the Chamber and ALEC wanted.

Mr. Scarborough I appreciate what your office did in 2000 to help us with the overseas military ballots that were tossed in Florida to get the information on who the military were -- then I went to the military locator thanks to a very good friend to find their location so they knew their ballots were tossed by county election officials like in Hillsborough County.

Today you have defamed me along with others who just want the best for all Americans not just the wealthy which separates us from today's Republican Party who are bought and paid for by the wealthy donors starting with the Koch's and Adelson plus the Karl Rove PACs including a dark money one who no one knows the donors.  Do you think it is right for people to keep their donating anonymous so no one knows where the money being spent in campaigns is from or that businesses are people? Defense Industry has had PACs for years for their workers so the Citizens United ruling makes no sense even today.  Why should the wealthy be able to give millions to buy elections because that is what the Koch's, Rove, and Adelson are doing?

Mr. Scarborough you have insulted our intelligence and that lame apology is a joke!  Think about who the extremists are today and you are going to find them in your own party.  If you cannot see it, take off the blinders!

Note:  Will be switching my registration to Democrat following the Oklahoma Primary -- want one last chance to vote against some Republicans running in the primary like State School Superintendent Janet Barrisi and Senator Jim Inhofe.