So Alec Bladwin's new show on MSNBC premiered on Friday night with a great first guest:
http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/...
Alec Baldwin's foray as an MSNBC late night host began with jazzy intro music and a friendly chat with New York City mayoral candidate Bill de Blasio on a set that resembled that an old-time diner.
Up Late With Alec Baldwin debuted on Friday at 10 p.m. ET, slotted in the same one hour frame as Real Time With Bill Maher. But unlike HBO's political talk show, Baldwin mostly refrained from slinging barbs in favor of offering an earnest but fast-moving discussion about policy issues.
"I was an early supporter of de Blasio's," Baldwin noted in his introduction. He went on to pepper the Democratic mayoral candidate with questions about job creation, income inequality and how de Blasio has dealt with New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo. - The Hollywood Report, 10/11/13
Baldwin and de Blasio touched upon several issues including Wall Street vs. Main street and stop-and-frisk. They also took a moment to touch upon taxes and de Blasio's son, Dante:
http://www.nydailynews.com/...
“Do you think those videos would’ve played as well as they did if your son wasn’t half African-American?” Baldwin asked de Blasio.
De Blasio, who is white, said the ads — which some credit with helping him win the primary — resonated with people because they stressed family. He also said they may be an “indicator of a society that may be healing.”
“It would be glorious one day to have a post-racial society,” de Blasio said.
When asked about whether his plans to tax the rich will pass in Albany, de Blasio said he was confident they would.
“A striking number of independents, a striking number of Republicans agree with some of the ideas I’m putting forward,” he said. - New York Daily News, 10/12/13
But here is one issue I hope de Blasio will get better on when he's in office:
http://politicker.com/...
The two chatted about Mr. de Blasio’s tax plan, stop-and-frisk and his “broken home” growing up, but when it came to pot, Mr. de Blasio again said he is in favor of decriminalizing the public possession of small amounts of marijuana–but stopped short of supporting complete legalization of the drug. Police Commissioner Ray Kelly issued a memo in 2011 instructing officers not to arrest individuals who display the drug when told by police officers to empty their pockets, but critics charge it still nonetheless happens.
“But if like many people you’re in favor of legalizing marijuana, a) because it’s a victim-less crime but is it also because–” Mr. Baldwin asked before being cut off by Mr. de Blasio.
“I want to be clear, sorry to interrupt. I’m saying legalizing the display of a small amount to stop the contradiction of a lot of young people being saddled with a charge over something very small,” the Democrat explained.
“Stopping the contradiction [is] your only concern?” Mr. Baldwin, a prominent de Blasio endorser, shot back.
“Well that’s my first concern …”
As for medical marijuana?
“Medical marijuana is something I do not know enough about,” responded Mr, de Blasio. “I think that’s a serious, serious area of public policy that needs to be looked at, an area where I have some sympathy because there’s a lot of people suffering.”
One of Mr. de Blasio’s rivals in the Democratic primary, Comptroller John Liu, was in favor of the full legalization of marijuana. His Republican opponent in the general election, Joe Lhota, also supports the idea.
“I think what I’m saying to you is I understand the argument for medical marijuana legalization with proper controls more than I understand the argument for full legalization … Where I am, personally, the only thing I know I fully support is that legislation in Albany decriminalizing the display of small amounts,” Mr. de Blasio added. - Politicker, 10/12/13
You can watch Baldwin's interview with de Blasio here:
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Visit NBCNews.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy
By the way, de Blasio will be debating Joe Lhota (R) on Tuesday night if any of you are interested in holding a debate party:
On Tuesday night, Bill takes the stage in the first major TV debate of the general election. The debate starts at 7:00 p.m. and airs live on WABC-TV.
Team de Blasio supporters are organizing their own watch parties across the City. These watch parties are a great chance for you to get together with friends and neighbors, cheer on our guy, and plan the final push to November 5th.
Can you host a watch party? Click on the image below to find out more:
http://my.billdeblasio.com/...
Election Day is just 3 weeks away -- and we've come too far to let up now.
If you can't host a watch party on Tuesday, you can still make the difference when it matters most by making a donation of $10 or whatever you can afford. Use the link below to contribute:
http://billdeblasio.com/...
Thanks for all you're doing,
Harold
Field Director
New Yorkers for de Blasio
You can click here to sign up for a debate party:
http://my.billdeblasio.com/...