Thursday was day six of the partial government shutdown and President Trump took a swipe at Congressional Democrats in a tweet by asking: “Do the Dems realize that most of the people not getting paid are Democrats?” It was a statement many in the liberal media claimed was said with no evidence. But during the CBS Evening News, when they were reading tweets from furloughed folks angry with Trump, those cited were all Democrats.
“Twenty-five percent of the federal government has been shut down. 380,000 workers have been told to stay home without pay. 420,000 others, include TSA screeners, members of the Coast Guard, and Border Patrol officers, must work without pay,” mourned CBS correspondent Chip Reid with no mention of the fact that Congress had allowed for back payments after previous shutdowns.
Reid teed up the tweets by noting how Trump had kicked up the hornets’ nest. “President Trump said many of the unpaid workers want him to keep fighting for the wall, which prompted a storm of angry tweets,” he touted as he proceeded to read a couple of them. He didn't present them as partisan.
A tweet by @Csboughn read: “I’ve worked for the Federal Govt.for 35 years as an air traffic controller. Army veteran, father of 3. Now working for a promise of a future paycheck. I’ve got a mortgage, bills and school to pay for. And I’m being held hostage for a stupid wall.”
The next tweet, by @aletaann, read: “I am a federal worker who is working without pay. And yes, we live paycheck to paycheck. Who will pay my mortgage January 1st? You?”
Both accounts were riddled with Democratic and anti-Trump propaganda. @Csboughn had retweeted numerous posts by radicals on the left such as Democratic Congressman Ted Lieu (CA) and actor George Takei. He also favored never-Trumpers like Bill Kristol from the now-shuttered Weekly Standard and commentator Ana Navarro. Digging back into 2017, he shared an image mocking Trump for practicing the “art of the fail.”
As for @aletaann, her bio openly declares she’s a “Mom, Lib Dem, Support Obama, HRC” and describes herself as a gun control advocate. She too has shared numerous posts by Congressman Lieu and other liberal politicians. As of the posting of this piece, her latest retweet mocked Trump’s hair. And in one tweet from shortly after the 2016 election, she declared her “truth” was that Hillary Clinton was the 45th president.
After touting those tweets, Reid spoke with furloughed government contractor Maggie McGary. Though her employer and job description were never disclosed, Reid claimed she was “getting hit” by the government shutdown.
But the local CBS affiliate in the Washington, DC area, WUSA9, also spoke with her. It turned out that there were a few details Reid omitted from his national report. According to WUSA reporter John Henry, “Maggie McGary started her contract work as a communications specialist only two weeks ago.”
While McGary’s twitter account seemed devoid of partisan political posts, it showed why her employment was deemed “non-essential” and furloughed. According to her bio, she’s a “social media strategist”.
Given the Media Research Center’s findings for how the liberal media spun Obama’s shutdown in his favor, it’s unlikely CBS would champion tweets attacking him.
The transcript is below, click "expand" to read:
CBS Evening News
December 27, 2018
6:39:06 p.m. EasternJAMES BROWN: On day six of the partial government shutdown, Congress was back in session today, but there were no signs of a breakthrough to end the funding stalemate. Chip Reid has the latest from Washington.
[Cuts to video]
CHIP REID: The Senate came in and almost immediately left until next week. And so did the House. Capitol hallways are empty because until President Trump and Senate Democrats reach a deal on ending the shutdown, there's nothing to vote on, and so far, neither side is budging.
REP. MARK MEADOWS (R): Compromise doesn't seem to be a word that the Democrats are willing to engage in.
REID: Democrats are refusing to give the President the $5 billion he wants for his wall, and he says he'll accept nothing less. Today, he taunted Democrats tweeting, “do the Dems realize that most people not getting paid are Democrats?"
REP. JIM MCGOVERN (D): The one thing that we should all want to do, no matter what our political philosophy may be, is to keep the lights on.
REID: 25 percent of the federal government has been shut down. 380,000 workers have been told to stay home without pay. 420,000 others, include TSA screeners, members of the Coast Guard, and Border Patrol officers, must work without pay.
President Trump said many of the unpaid workers want him to keep fighting for the wall, which prompted a storm of angry tweets. "I've got a mortgage, bills, and school to pay for, and I'm being held hostage for a stupid wall," one said. Another wrote, "We live paycheck to paycheck. Who will pay my mortgage January 1st? You?" Many federal contractors, like Maggie McGary, are getting hit, too.
MAGGIE MCGARY: Not only do I not get back pay, nor I do have any certainty about when I might be able to start back up again and start making that money. I also am kind of stuck in a holding pattern in terms of being able to do something in the meantime.
[Cuts back to live]
REID: It now appears likely that finding a way to end this shutdown will be pushed into 2019 when Nancy Pelosi will be the Democratic Speaker of the House and relations between the President and Congress could be even more contentious than they are now.
