Seeing no problems with it, CBS and NBC on Monday blithely touted Democratic obstructionism, promoting Chuck Schumer’s plans to block a new FBI director to replace James Comey. In comparison, these same networks (and others) routinely railed against Republican efforts to impede the agenda of Barack Obama.
CBS This Morning used this graphic with no hint of judgement: "Blocking the Vote? Democrats May Hold Up Nominee Over Russia Probe.” Co-host Norah O’Donnell casually repeated, “Democrats in Congress are threatening to vote against any FBI nominee unless a special prosecutor is appointed to take over the Russia investigations.”
With that, O’Donnell and reporter Major Garrett turned to other angles related to the firing of James Comey. On NBC’s Today, Peter Alexander explained that a majority of Americans support an independent commission to handle the Russia investigation.
He noted that included the “Senate's top Democrat, Chuck Schumer, saying he would back an effort to block any FBI nominee until a special prosecutor is named.”
CNN.com hyped, “Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer said Sunday that the Senate should refuse to confirm a new FBI director until the Department of Justice appoints a special counsel to lead a probe into allegations of collusion between the Trump campaign and Russia.”
In contrast, in 2009, CBS’s Maggie Rodriguez pleaded to then-Republican leader Eric Cantor, “Where’s the bipartisanship? Are you afraid of being seen as obstructionist?”
Liberal journalists felt Obama’s pain in dealing with Republicans:
"You campaigned to change the culture in Washington, to change the politics-as-usual culture here. Are you frustrated? Do you think it is much, much harder to do that than you ever anticipated?”
— CBS’s Katie Couric to Obama in an interview shown on the February 3, 2009 Evening News.“You lost two nominees, two appointments today. Did that make you angry, I imagine?...How do you prevent the lesson from being that, no matter how lofty the goals of the new guy coming in, Washington wins, in the end?”
— NBC’s Brian Williams in an interview with President Obama shown on the February 3, 2009 Nightly News.
What a difference eight years make. Now, journalists see no problem with obstructionism.
A transcript of the CBS This Morning brief is below:
CBS This Morning
5/15/17
7:15amCBS Graphic: “Blocking the Vote?” Democrats May Hold Up Nominee Over Russia Probe
NORAH O’DONNELL: Democrats in Congress are threatening to vote against any FBI nominee unless a special prosecutor is appointed to take over the Russia investigations. And lawmakers from both parties are asking President Trump to hand over any recording of his conversations with James Comey, if they exist.
