Morning Shows Skip Obamacare Repeal Vote; Evening Newscasts Whine About 'Cost'

All three morning shows on Thursday ignored the House vote to repeal Obamacare. Despite finding time for such important topics as women who are addicted to tanning, Good Morning America, as well as Today and CBS This Morning, skipped the latest on the President's unpopular legislation.

In contrast, all three evening newscasts on Wednesday did cover the story. Both CBS and ABC whined about Republicans holding yet another vote on Obamacare. World News anchor Diane Sawyer complained, "As ever, the vote now goes to the Senate, where it will almost certainly, once again, be voted down if it is even voted on at all." On the CBS Evening News, Scott Pelley lamented "how much it cost taxpayers for the House to repeal the law again and again."

The Media Research Center's Brent Baker wrote:

Pelley relayed how “the Congressional Research Service tells us that the House of Representatives costs us $24 million a week. So with two weeks spent repealing the law, that comes to a little under $50 million.”

What a meaningless point. As if that $50 million wouldn’t have been spent in any event since the cost of operating the House would not have disappeared from federal outlays if the body dealt with other issues.   

All three evening newscasts ignored a key fact. The vote to repeal Obamacare was bipartisan. Five Democrats opted to overturn the law. Yet, Sawyer simply noted the vote "was mainly on partisan lines."

On NBC's Nightly News, Kelly O'Donnell reminded, "Well, Brian, this was the 33rd time that the House voted to repeal or cut funding for the President's health care law."

Transcripts of the July 11 Nightly News and World News coverage can be found below:          

Nightly News

7:07pm

BRIAN WILLIAMS: In Congress, specifically the House of Representatives, there's been another vote to repeal President Obama's health care law. Kelly O'Donnell, our correspondent on the hill covering it all for us. Kelly, what's going on there?

KELLY O'DONNELL: Well, Brian, this was the 33rd time that the House voted to repeal or cut funding for the President's health care law. But, this is key. It was the first time since the Supreme Court upheld the law as constitutional but did say that the individual mandate, the requirement everyone buy insurance is a tax. And that word "tax" gave new political fuel to House Republicans who wanted to compel Democrats to vote on this issue, to be on the record. Would they support this new health care tax as defined by the court? Now, this will play out in all of their campaigns. And it's a big issue for the fall, but the practical affect, Brian, is, of course, the Senate is controlled by Democrats and it won't go anywhere there. It's about taking a stand and both parties did that today.

World News
7/11/12
6:40pm

DIANE SAWYER:  And we have one more note have Washington today. For the 33rd time, the House of Representatives voted to repeal the President's health care law. It was mainly on partisan lines. Of course, it's the law upheld by the Supreme Court two weeks ago. As ever, the vote now goes to the Senate, where it will almost certainly, once again, be voted down if it is even voted on at all.