Citing Drudge headline, MSNBC's Brewer suggested Latinos would react negatively to Clinton campaign change

Summary: While discussing the news that Sen. Hillary Clinton had replaced her campaign manager, MSNBC's Contessa Brewer asked Kathleen Kennedy Townsend: "[T]he Drudge Report has a headline that reads, quote, 'Adiós: Clinton's Top Latina Sidelined.' Are you concerned at all about the way Hispanic voters might interpret this shakeup heading into Texas?" Neither the Drudge Report nor MSNBC offered any reason why Solis Doyle's replacement as campaign manager might have anything to do with her being Latina or any reason why Latino voters might react in any way to the staff change.

During the February 11 edition of MSNBC Live, while discussing Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton's (D-NY) recent decision to replace Patti Solis Doyle as campaign manager with longtime Clinton aide Maggie Williams, anchor Contessa Brewer asked Clinton supporter and former Maryland Lt. Gov. Kathleen Kennedy Townsend: "Today, the Drudge Report has a headline that reads, quote, 'Adiós: Clinton's Top Latina Sidelined.' Are you concerned at all about the way Hispanic voters might interpret this shakeup heading into Texas?" Neither the Drudge Report nor MSNBC offered any reason why Solis Doyle's replacement as campaign manager might have anything to do with her being Latina or any reason why Latino voters might react in any way to the staff change.

On February 10 and 11, the Drudge Report prominently featured the following:

As blogger Greg Sargent noted in a February 11 post at The Horse's Mouth, a February 11 New York Times article on Solis Doyle's replacement also cited the Drudge headline. From the Times article:

Some Clinton advisers rued the timing, noting that Matt Drudge referred to the switch on his Web site as the departure of the campaign's "top Latina" -- an emphasis on Ms. Doyle's ethnicity that Mrs. Clinton does not need as she heads toward a Texas primary on March 4 and tries to court the state's large Hispanic vote.

From the 1 p.m. ET hour of the February 11 edition of MSNBC Live:

BREWER: Hillary Clinton is campaigning in Virginia this afternoon. She's trying to round up support ahead of tomorrow's primary there. How will her strategy be different with a new campaign manager? Joining us now -- Kathleen Kennedy Townsend, daughter of the late Senator Robert F. Kennedy and a former Maryland lieutenant governor. She is a supporter of Hillary Clinton. It's nice to see you today, Kathleen.

TOWNSEND: Hey, it's great to be with you.

BREWER: OK, so, this weekend, the Clinton campaign announced manager Patti Solis Doyle would step aside and Maggie Williams would now take the helm of the campaign. Is there any concern about the timing?

TOWNSEND: You know, Maggie and Patti have been good friends for a long time. Patti's going to go and stay with Senator Clinton. It's good to have a pal when you're campaigning so hard across the country, and Patti's been that wonderful friend for many, many years. And Maggie will take over the hands of the campaign. I think she'll do a very good job. We've got a really good team in place. And we've got important primaries coming up in the next few weeks.

BREWER: But Kathleen, no concern about the timing of the change?

TOWNSEND: I think it's, you know, there's never a good time for any of those kinds of changes. But the fact is, this is really more about helping Patti spend a little bit more time with her family and also spending more time with Senator Clinton, who really wants her at her side.

BREWER: Today, the Drudge Report has a headline that reads, quote, "Adiós: Clinton's top Latina sidelined." Are you concerned at all about the way Hispanic voters might interpret this shakeup heading into Texas?

TOWNSEND: As I said, she -- Patti's going to be traveling with Senator Clinton. She'll be with her as she goes from state to state. I think it's -- I think it's much ado about nothing.

—S.P.