Open Thread on Olbermann

So, as you may have heard, Keith Olbermann has been suspended from MSNBC indefinitely without pay because he made three campaign contributions to Democratic candidates.

There is a shit-ton of coverage at Memeoradum, and I've been retweeting a lot of good stuff worth checking out.

Frankly, I don't give a fuck about Keith Olbermann on a personal level, but the principle of this thing is ridiculous. FAIR rightly asks:

A journalist donating money to a political candidate raises obvious conflict of interest questions; at a minimum, such contributions should be disclosed on air. But if supporting politicians with money is a threat to journalistic independence, what are the standards for Olbermann's bosses at NBC, and at NBC's parent company General Electric?

According to the Center for Responsive Politics, GE made over $2 million in political contributions in the 2010 election cycle (most coming from the company's political action committee). The top recipient was Republican Senate candidate Rob Portman from Ohio. The company has also spent $32 million on lobbying this year, and contributed over $1 million to the successful "No on 24" campaign against a California ballot initiative aimed at eliminating tax loopholes for major corporations (New York Times, 11/1/10).

Here's the thing: Keith Olbermann doesn't pretend to be objective, nor is he required to be. So who gives a fuck if he makes campaign contributions? No one was busily thinking Keith Olbermann wasn't liberal. He isn't an anchor on the evening news. I don't give a fuck if Glenn Beck is making contributions to SarahPAC, either.

Meanwhile, Boehlert amusingly notes: "Note there are no [asinine] cries that Olbermann has been 'censored.' (Cuz one side is smarter than the other.)" Heh.