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WATCH: Lou Dobbs Resigns from CNN Under Pressure

Under pressure from network executives, CNN host Lou Dobbs announced his immediate departure from his television home of the past 30 years. Dobbs show gradually became identified with anti-immigrant views and in recent months he has hosted anti-Obama birther conspiracists.

Dobbs was vague about his departure on-air but cited "strong winds of change" as forcing the decision. Says Media Matters, who took the lead role to pressure CNN to dump Dobbs: "This is a happy day."

Why do we get the feeling Dobbs will soon head to FOX News or run for office? Watch AFTER THE JUMP ...

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Lou Dobbs and Tobias Wolff Slam NOM's Maggie Gallagher on DOMA

CNN's Lou Dobbs thankfully veers away from birther madness and hosts an excellent debate featuring University of Pennsylvania law professor and former Obama LGBT chairman Tobias Wolff and National Organization for Marriage's self-righteous Maggie Gallagher. At issue was this week's Justice Department brief that acknowledges the Defense of Marriage Act is "discriminatory" and should be repealed—but says the Administration is obligated to defend it.

Dobbs asked Gallagher to explain how same-sex marriage is a "threat against heterosexual marriage." Gallagher stammered and repeated the usual right-wing talking points above "high divorce rates" etc.. Dobbs slams the anti-gay activist: "You're blaming homosexuals for an institution that's under assault from just about everyone but gays."

Watch it, WHEN YOU JUMP.

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Poll: Republicans Want More Media Coverage on Obama Citizenship

At the same time cable "news" networks MSNBC and CNN are accused of giving too much airtime to the fraudulent right-wing non-controvery over President Barack Obama's birth certificate, a new poll finds many Republicans want more so-called "birther" coverage.

The new poll from Pew Research finds "a plurality, 39 percent, of self-identified Republicans" believe there has been"too little" coverage of "allegations that President Obama was not born in the United States." 

A new poll also finds "only 53% of Virginians were sure that President Obama was born in the U.S." Obama, btw, carried Virginia in the 2008 election.

In related news: In a new 30-second television spot, Media Matters for America is attacking CNN's Lou Dobbs’ birther obsession. Media Matters previously booked a week’s worth of ad time on MSNBC, Fox, and CNN during Dobbs’ show. CNN, "the most trusted names in news", now refuses to run the ad and has been accused of pressuring cable operators against running the spot.

AFTER THE JUMP, watch the Media Matters ad attacking Lou Dobbs' birther obsession that "the most trusted name in news" refuses to broadcast.

Racist "Obama Waffles" Sold at "Value" Voters Summit

Over the weekend at the Values Voters Summit, conservative activists eagerly bought boxes of "Obama Waffles" that featured several racist caricatures of Sen. Barack Obama on the front, back and top flap. The Democratic presidential nominee is depicted with "popping eyes and big, thick lips" and another image depicts Obama wearing an Arab-like headdress on its top flap. "Point toward Mecca for tastier waffles!" reads the instructions.

The simpletons behind this are Tennessee freelance writers Mark Whitlock and Bob DeMoss—should we say aspiring Klansmen?—who claim the novelty was "political satire." The products were briskly sold for $10 a box from a booth at the event sponsored by the social conservative, anti-gay nutjobs at the Family Research Council. The same group is trying to use the discredited "ex-gay" myth as a wedge issue in black churches.

Speaking of right-wing extremists: CNN's Lou Dobbs stopped by the booth and laughed, "My wife will love this!" A photo shows Dobbs with a box of the racist waffle mix in his hand but was scrubbed from the Obama Waffles website after Think Progress reported the story.

In a video interview, the good old boys claim they were just "having a little fun during the election season" and denied the caricatures were racist or offensive. Whitlock sais, "'We had some people mention that to us, but you think of Newman's Own or Emeril's—there are tons and tons of personality-branded food products on the market."

Fools. Take a memo. Newman's Own features an image of Paul Newman, not someone else morphed into a racist caricature. At least this incident confirms what we have said many times: The so-called "family values" right wing believes racism is a "family value." It is not. Racial and ethnic intolerance are not American values.

Forum Sells Obama Waffles [NYT]
Obama Waffles Featuring Racist Images [Think Progress]

Some Background ...
TX Repubs Ban Vendor of Racist, Anti-Obama Button [R20]
Racially Charged, Stuffed Monkey "Sock Obama" Toy [R20]
TX GOP Convention Button: "If Obama is Elected President, Will We Still Call it the White House?" [R20]

Lou Dobbs Confronted on "NAFTA Superhighway": "I Reject You!"

On Wednesday, Media Matters published a fantastic report and video which found that cable news hosts Lou Dobbs, Bill O’Reilly, and Glenn Beck regularly "serve up a steady diet of fear, anger, and resentment on the topic of illegal immigration.

Last night on CNN, an obviously irritated Lou Dobbs hosted Media Matters fellow Paul Waldman to debate the findings. Waldman pressed Dobbs to provide evidence of one of the major myths promoted by his popular show—that there is a "secret plan" to build a "NAFTA Superhighway" from Mexico to Canada. Dobbs could provide no evidence and angrily said, "You’re charging nonsense ... I reject it, I reject you, and I reject your position." Dobbs also called Waldman and Media Matters "ideologues" and "a left-wing hack." YouTube and transcript via Think Progress:

WALDMAN: So the question is, do you have — do you have actual evidence that there — that there is a plan that is going to take this all the way from Mexico to Canada? What is the evidence there? […]
DOBBS: The evidence is straightforward. … We haven’t enough time for this. … You are a left-wing advocacy group. You’re charging nonsense … I reject it, I reject you, and I reject your position!"

Dobbs has often broadcast erroneous immigration stories, such as claiming "illegal immigrants" were at risk for leprosy and aired a report saying the "invasion of illegal aliens is threatening the health of many Americans." When CBS News' 60 Minutes confronted Dobbs and told him the claim was false, Dobbs simply replied, “If we reported it, its a fact.”

Indiana and North Carolina Primary Live Blog

UPDATE: Having problems with connection

The first polls are closing in Indiana. Live blog begins.

The AP publishes the first exit polls.

CNN's Bill Schneider with exit polls on voters who say economy is important. In Indiana, Clinton leads with those voters 54% to 45%. In North Carolina, Obama leads with those voters, 52% to 44%.

18:15 CNN has first raw vote totals. Only 1% of the vote, Clinton leading by a hair, 64% to 36%, or 4048 to 2073, but no idea where these votes are from.

18:30 Live results from the Indiana Secretary of State.

Wolf Blitzer introduces "the best political team on TV," Jack Cafferty, Gloria Borger and Jeff Toobin. On the back bench, Republican strategist and gambling junkie Bill Bennett and "neutral" political analysts Donna Brazile and Roland Martin. This should be a fun night.

18:57 38,076 to 25,447 for Clinton. The polls are closing in Indiana Central Time counties. This includes NW Indiana, which is where Obama will have strong support.

Lou Dobbs now talking to "the best political team on tv." Roland Martin and Gloria Borger are discussing "the math" and "the rules."

19:15 Brazile: "If Obama survives tonight, he has weathered the storm," Brazille suggests. "If he can survive at least one state, he still wins." Martin also says that although Indiana is adjacent to Illinos, it is "overwhelmingly" and "white and blue collar" so an Obama loss is expected. Interesting,

19:32 No surprise. CNN PROJECTS OBAMA WINS NORTH CAROLINA

20:40 UPDATE NC Obama leads 63%, 330,000 to 194,000

20:45 63% of Indiana pcts. Clinton leads 419,000 to 360,000.

21:00 CBS NEWS PROJECTS CLINTON WINS INDIANA

21:08 Lake County (Gary, Hammond, etc) and Porter (Valpo) are not in yet. CBS has called IN for Clinton, and the returns are tightening (53-47), but these counties will probably have big totals for Obama. That might be a problem.

21:10 Barack and Michelle Obama walking into rally in Raleigh.

School Bus Driver Gets a Free Pass

Remember two weeks ago when a Louisiana school bus driver was accused of forcing 9-black students to sit in the back of her bus? Here is the latest: The Red River Parish School District has allowed Deloris Davis to retire with full benefits—as opposed to investigating the students' complaints that racial slurs were used and the initials "KKK" were scrawled across the bus.

The school board says that Davis' was merely confused on the first week of a new route. They also say that she has nearly 25-years of service without a blemish on her personnel record.

More on the "hearing." The meeting was deliberately held in a small room as opposed to a larger auditorium, thus preventing many from attending—even the town's mayor. The final vote was 4 to 3. CNN's Lou Dobbs Tonight, which has been covering the case for two weeks, said that three white school board members and one black voted "yes", two black members and one white said "no."

Reportedly after the vote, all of the board members were seen "sneaking out of the back entrance." We believe that.

Spectators Kept from School Meeting (Shreveport Times)

Back-of-Bus Scandal "Not Over" (KSLA)

Previously:

Red River Parish Bus Driver (Rod 2.0)