When Joe Biden announces his new Supreme Court nominee in February, you can probably be sure of one thing: Media outlets will call this person a “moderate.”
The network newscasts are pushing that same (false) talking point on Stephen Breyer after he announced his retirement from the Court. From the evening of January 26 through the January 27th morning shows, every single newscast pushed some variation of calling the deeply liberal justice a “centrist,” “pragmatist” or “moderate.”
On Wednesday’s World News Tonight, Terry Moran insisted, “On the Court, Breyer has been a centrist and a pragmatic justice, seeking ways to bridge the ideological divides and focusing on the real world consequences of the Court's rulings.”
On that same show, anchor David Muir rewrote the ardently pro-abortion, anti-gun control Breyer’s legacy: “Justice Breyer nominated by President Bill Clinton in 1994, confirmed by a vote of 87-9. He was known as a consensus seeker with a pragmatic vision of compromise.”
On Wednesday’s CBS Evening News, Supreme Court reporter Jan Crawford allowed that Breyer is a “liberal,” but still offered the “pragmatic” label: “Breyer has been a pragmatic justice, a defender of civil rights and a staunch opponent of the death penalty.”
Where did this pragmatism manifest itself? Certainly not on abortion. Breyer was a reliable vote against any pro-life legislation. On guns, he was in the minority on the historic 2008 Heller vs. D.C. decision establishing the Second Amendment as an individual right. On economic issues, the Justice allowed eminent domain to go wild as the key fifth vote in 2005's Kelo v. City of New London.
In reality, according to the New York Times back in 2014, Breyer agreed with the very liberal Ruth Bader Ginsburg 88 percent of the time. Sonia Sotomayor? They also concurred 88 percent of the time. According to Ballotpedia, he is the second most liberal justice currently on the Court, behind only Sotomayor. Moderate? Centrist? Hardly.
On Thursday’s Today, longtime Justice correspondent Pete Williams tried to have it both ways, calling Breyer a “moderate-to-liberal justice.” Yet all the examples he cited were... liberal:
Nominated by President Bill Clinton, Stephen Breyer has served on the Supreme Court for nearly 28 years as a moderate-to-liberal justice. He's been a supporter of abortion rights, affirmative action and other civil rights measures and for the past six years he's been a consistent opponent of the death penalty.
The night before, he did it again on the NBC Nightly News. Williams called Breyer a “moderate liberal.” But again, here are the examples listed. Do they sound moderate?
He wrote the court's opinion striking down a state law that bans some late-term abortions. He supported affirmative action and other civil rights measures. And in a widely noted dissent in 2015, he said the death penalty in America had become so arbitrary that it was probably unconstitutional.
Stephen Breyer is a deeply liberal Supreme Court justice. Any other definition is simply lying to the American people. But get ready for more lies in February when Biden announces his new nominee. This person is sure to be “moderate,” but in name only.
The rewriting of history on CBS was sponsored by Allstate, on ABC by Fidelity and on NBC by Liberty Mutual. Click on the links to let them know what you think.
Partial transcripts are below. Click “expand” to read more.
NBC Nightly News
01/26/2022
7:00 p.m. Easetrn [TEASE]LESTER HOLT: NBC News the first to report liberal justice Stephen Breyer, the court's oldest member, is stepping down, giving President Biden his first nomination to the bench.
(....)
7:03 p.m. Eastern
PETE WILLIAMS: [Ruth Bader Ginsburg’s] death allowed President Trump to appoint Amy Coney Barrett, giving the Court a super solid 6-3 conservative majority.
WILLIAMS: Bill Clinton nominated Breyer, then a federal judge in Boston, to the Supreme Court in 1994. He was confirmed 87-9. Breyer quickly established himself as one of the supreme court's moderate liberals, who believed that interpreting the Constitution must be practical, changing with the times.
(....)
7:04 p.m. Eastern
WILLIAMS: He wrote the court's opinion striking down a state law that bans some late-term abortions. He supported affirmative action and other civil rights measures. And in a widely noted dissent in 2015, he said the death penalty in America had become so arbitrary that it was probably unconstitutional.
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ABC's World News Tonight
01/26/2022
6:32 p.m. EasternDAVID MUIR: We await official word from the justice himself, who at 83 is the oldest supreme court justice, the most senior member of the liberal wing, long a staunch defender of a non-partisan court.
MUIR: Justice Breyer nominated by president Bill Clinton in 1994, confirmed by a vote of 87-9. He was known as a consensus seeker with a pragmatic vision of compromise.
(....)
6:34 p.m. Eastern
MORAN: Justice Breyer is 83 years old and served on the court for 27 years, nominated in 1994 by President Bill Clinton. On the court, Breyer has been a centrist and a pragmatic justice, seeking ways to bridge the ideological divides and focusing on the real world consequences of the court's rulings.
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CBS Evening News
01/26/2022
6:33 p.m. EasternJAN CRAWFORD: The court's most-senior liberal, Justice Stephen Breyer, made the decision that was widely expected, giving President Biden his first Supreme Court nomination and the chance to fulfill a campaign pledge.
CRAWFORD: Nominated in 1994 by President Clinton, Breyer has been a pragmatic justice, a defender of civil rights and a staunch opponent of the death penalty.
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NBC's Today
01/27/2022PETE WILLIAMS: Nominated by President Bill Clinton, Stephen Breyer has served on the Supreme Court for nearly 28 years as a moderate to liberal justice. He's been a supporter of abortion rights, affirmative action and other civil rights measures and for the past six years he's been a consistent opponent of the death penalty.
