CBS Gives Slanted Take on Minnesota as Model of Possible Federal Shutdown
On Wednesday's CBS Evening News, Dean Reynolds highlighted sob stories surrounding the current shutdown of the Minnesota state government, providing a possible template of how the mainstream media would cover a potential federal government shutdown if the debt ceiling issue isn't resolved by August 2.
Before getting to Reynolds's report, substitute anchor Russ Mitchell played a clip from his colleague Scott Pelley's interview of President Obama, where the Democrat stated that "some courage and some tough choices" were needed to resolve the stalemate over the federal budget. Mitchell then used the President's own phrase as he introduced the situation in Minnesota: "They did not make those tough choices in Minnesota. As a result, the state government shut down two weeks ago. Like Washington, it's a budget deadlock between a Democratic chief executive and a Republican-controlled legislature. Dean Reynolds shows us what it looks like when lawmakers can't figure out how to keep a state running."
The CBS correspondent summarized the general dire circumstances in the state, where "state parks are closed. The lottery is idle. The highway rest stops are off-limits. And 22,000 workers have been laid off without pay." He then devoted the bulk of the segment to two Minnesota women who have been affected by the shutdown:
REYNOLDS: ...The effects of Minnesota's government shutdown have been even more profound at 304 Sixth Street in Waseca.
SHARON BORN: I'm mad, and I don't know if I can keep my temper.
REYNOLDS: Sharon Born runs a day care center here, and was worried for 13 days about whether she'll have her monthly state subsidy to keep her business running.
BORN: We're Minnesota- this is Minnesota. We don't turn our backs on our kids, and I'm scared to death of what's happening.
REYNOLDS: So is Angela Noble. She sends her two sons to Sharon every day, and is worried about what she'll do without the help. She's in training for a promising job, and without day care, her career path could run off the road.
ANGELA NOBLE: This is my chance here, that I finally got in. It's in jeopardy right now if I don't have somewhere to take my boys.
After noting that the day care funding issue is "all part of the chaotic mess Minnesota's shutdown has created...due to the stalemate between Democratic Governor Mark Dayton and the Republican-controlled legislature," Reynolds played a clip each from Gov. Dayton (who denounced the "extreme right wing" in his state) and Minnesota House Speaker Kurt Zellers, who criticized the Democrats' proposed tax hikes.
Near the end of his report, the CBS correspondent provided an update, as well as his own two cents, on the situation in Minnesota: "Late today, a judge ruled that the day care is an essential service and that funding should proceed, which is good news for day care providers, like Sharon Born. But a sign, Russ, that in this environment, Minnesota is just sort of making it up as it goes along."
The full transcript of Dean Reynolds's report, which aired 35 minutes into the 6 pm Eastern hour of Wednesday's CBS Evening News:
SCOTT PELLEY (from taped interview): Tell me about these meetings that you're having. Have there been raised voices, tense moments?
PRESIDENT BARACK OBAMA: You know, I think everybody has been professional and everybody has been polite. But I think that what we haven't seen is a recognition that, at a certain point, leave politics aside, you set aside what gives you a tactical advantage at any given moment, you leave out your ideological predispositions, and you just try to figure out a problem. And the question is, why wouldn't we try to solve it right now? And I think the vast majority of people across the country are looking to Washington to see if we can finally do something that we say is important, that people agree is important, but requires some courage and some tough choices.
RUSS MITCHELL (on-camera): They did not make those tough choices in Minnesota. As a result, the state government shut down two weeks ago. Like Washington, it's a budget deadlock between a Democratic chief executive and a Republican-controlled legislature.
Dean Reynolds shows us what it looks like when lawmakers can't figure out how to keep a state running.
DEAN REYNOLDS (voice-over): On day 13 of the shutdown, the state parks are closed. The lottery is idle. The highway rest stops are off-limits. And 22,000 workers have been laid off without pay. But the effects of Minnesota's government shutdown have been even more profound at 304 Sixth Street in Waseca.
SHARON BORN: I'm mad, and I don't know if I can keep my temper.
REYNOLDS: Sharon Born runs a day care center here, and was worried for 13 days about whether she'll have her monthly state subsidy to keep her business running.
BORN: We're Minnesota- this is Minnesota. We don't turn our backs on our kids, and I'm scared to death of what's happening.
REYNOLDS: So is Angela Noble. She sends her two sons to Sharon every day, and is worried about what she'll do without the help. She's in training for a promising job, and without day care, her career path could run off the road.
ANGELA NOBLE: This is my chance here, that I finally got in. It's in jeopardy right now if I don't have somewhere to take my boys.
REYNOLDS: Because day care had been ruled a nonessential service, funding was up in the air at Sharon's. It's all part of the chaotic mess Minnesota's shutdown has created, all due to the stalemate between Democratic Governor Mark Dayton and the Republican-controlled legislature.
MINNESOTA GOVERNOR MARK DAYTON: The extreme right wing is very intractable, and the old notion that you work out a compromise and you share power responsibly is just out the window.
REYNOLDS: To close the state's $5 billion budget deficit, the governor has agreed to big spending cuts. But his plan to also raise taxes on the rich has met stiff opposition, led by House Speaker Kurt Zellers.
KURT ZELLERS: Once they get done taxing the rich people, where are they going to come? And it's right here in middle class Minnesota, middle class America, because there's more of us in that group than there is in that bigger bracket.
REYNOLDS (on-camera): Late today, a judge ruled that the day care is an essential service and that funding should proceed, which is good news for day care providers, like Sharon Born. But a sign, Russ, that in this environment, Minnesota is just sort of making it up as it goes along.
MITCHELL: Dean Reynolds in St. Paul, Minnesota, thank you very much.
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Comments
Lawmakers shut down state
Submitted by wingnut55 on Thu, 07/14/2011 - 7:21pm.
The Lawmakers passed a bill to keep the state going, but the Governor vetoed it and the state was shut down. The latest story is that the Governor caved and agreed to sign the bill and the state will be up and running soon. Maybe the U.S. House needs to pass the bill and send it on to the Senate and let them take the heat. Why meet with the President since he will not agree to not raise taxes since it will kill his election chances. If the Republicans cave then he can say "I stood in the gap and they caved". Just pass the bill and leave it to those who can't stand the heat.
That's right
Submitted by Galvanic on Fri, 07/15/2011 - 8:47am.
Dayton ended the shut down when he capitulated. It was Dayton who single-handedly stopped his state's government for two weeks, not the Republicans.
If I were the Republicans, I'd make a 30 second spot ad for TV and radio about what their proposed bill includes and why. Then I'd pass it and send it over to the Senate. The White House will pressure Reid to squash it so that Obama doesn't look like the fool.
If Reid does put it to a vote, McCaskill and other so-called 'moderate Democrats' who come up for re-election in 2012 will be faced with another dilemma -- voting No to support Obama could cost them their seats next year, while voting Yes and pushing it through to the White House puts Obama on the hot seat.
Reporter or Shill?
Submitted by Jerry Mack on Thu, 07/14/2011 - 7:23pm.
REYNOLDS: Sharon Born runs a day care center here, and was worried for 13 days about whether she'll have her monthly state subsidy to keep her business running.
Uh, Just why is a state government subsidising a day care center. Seems to me that this would be used as an example by a competent reporter of why the state is broke.
REYNOLDS: So is Angela Noble. She sends her two sons to Sharon every day, and is worried about what she'll do without the help. She's in training for a promising job, and without day care, her career path could run off the road.
Hmm, Is this training being paid for by the state. A good reporter would have asked.
Exactly
Submitted by Wineguy13 on Thu, 07/14/2011 - 11:34pm.
I seem to recall writing checks to the daycare to watch my kids. It was a fair amount too. Ms. Noble should look into it. Or better yet, ask her neighbors to pony up a little stipend, cut out the state middlemen. Something makes me think she would be embarrassed to do that, but she is a plunderer plain and simple
While this is an obvious
Submitted by jdhawk on Thu, 07/14/2011 - 8:56pm.
While this is an obvious attempt on the liberals to pull at our heart strings. I am not buying it. Even if it is a poor mother and her children just trying to make ends meet and better hersefl (snuffles, cough, choke, tears welling up, etc.)
And, you might ask, why I am so hard hearted - a scrooge. Well, here is the varietable corncopia of benefits that this woman and her children are eligible for (I am sure this is only a partial list and it doesn't list at all any county and city government credits, grants, and subsidies).
Federal Benefits:
Earned Income Tax Credit
Federal Child Tax Credit
Federal Child and Dependant Care Tax Credit
Dependant Care Assistance Plan
Earned Income Tax Credit
Head Start
Minnesota Benefits:
Minnesota Working Family Credit
Minnesota Child and Dependant Care Credit
Basic Sliding Fee Tuition/Child Care Assistance Program
Grants and Scholarships for Parents
Parenting Education
Anybody's heart strings being tugged at still? Still think that I am a scrooge?
Jeez, why work at all? Just let the magnanimous federal, state, and local governments provide whatever your hearts desire. And, if they get any guff from the actual providers of said largesse, the taxpayers, just get a judge to order that they are, "essential services."
No wonder every level of government is bankrupt with no end in sight. Not only are people dependent on government, but each level of government has layer upon layer upon layer of dependencies.
Bottom Line...
Submitted by packman on Thu, 07/14/2011 - 9:58pm.
The democratic governor blinked and sent a letter of capitulation to the Republican legislature....If we could only clone this Minnesota backbone and implant it in Boehner's spine....hey, a man can dream, can't he?
"...Were we directed from Washington when to sow and when to reap, we should soon want bread..." ~Thomas Jefferson
there was a shutdown?
Submitted by merly1 on Thu, 07/14/2011 - 11:28pm.
Few of us knew it. Gov Fife also learned that on his MN tour yesterday, and quickly retreated and settled.
Go GOP Congress, you guys are next in line!
The lawmakers figured out how
Submitted by eaglewingz08 on Fri, 07/15/2011 - 1:18pm.
The lawmakers figured out how to keep the government running with increases at twice the rate of inflation, but it was the democrap Gov. who doesn't know his duties and responsibilities and wanted to raid the fisc and destroy future generations' prosperity with an astronomical 24 percent increase over two years. Now the public has bitten Dayton back, and have not penalized the republicans (contrary to the meme being generated by democraps and their RINO colleagues such as McConnell). He called the legislature bak into session and will sign the 6 percent increase in budget the Legislature passed two months ago.
The lamestream reportage of this is so deficient and biased, it is outrageous.