NBC and CBS Tout Prank Call on Gov. Walker as 'Evidence' He Wants to
On Wednesday's NBC Nightly News, correspondent Michael Isikoff claimed a prank phone call on Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker "provided his critics with evidence that his real motivation is what they've been saying all along, to crush public unions." On Thursday's CBS Early Show, co-host Erica Hill declared the "embarrassing" call revealed Walker's "plan for putting pressure on the big unions…
NYT: 'Pugnacious and Boastful' Gov. Christie Left NJ Education System
New York Times reporter David Halbfinger filed from Trenton, N.J., Wednesday on Gov. Chris Christie’s recently unveiled budget proposal (“Christie Declares ‘New Normal’ in Proposing Tight Budget”) and again displayed a pro-Democrat double standard.
Only last week Halbfinger penned a favorable profile of Connecticut’s Democrat Gov. Dannel Malloy, who devoted half the interview to running down…
Networks Stand with Wisconsin Unions, Ignore $1-3 Trillion Pension Def
For roughly a week, a battle has been raging in Madison, Wis. Evening news programs on the three broadcast networks framed these as "citizen uprisings" over pay cuts and "eliminating unions' collective bargaining powers to negotiate wages and benefits."
Reporters also portrayed this as a national union issue, but mostly failed to point out the national problem of pension underfunding…
MSNBC's Brzezinski Hits Gov. Walker From Left, Wonders Why He's Not Ra
"Morning Joe" co-host Mika Brzezinski and regular guest John Heilemann both pulled the class warfare card and pressured Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker (R) Tuesday on why he did not raise taxes on the wealthy to cover the state's budget shortfall, rather than pushing to require union members pay into their pensions.
"You're receiving a lot of criticism for only asking the other side to give,…
Bob Schieffer Wonders if Union Protests Make Wisconsin 'The Tunisia of
On CBS's Face the Nation on Sunday, host Bob Schieffer interviewed Wisconsin Republican Congressman Paul Ryan and compared union protests in that state to the democracy movements spreading across the Middle East: "There are also reports that this could spread to at least nine other states....Is Madison, Wisconsin, Congressman, the Tunisia of American politics now?"
At the top of the…
Behar: Pro-Lifers are 'Evil and Immoral and Unethical and Stupid
Joy Behar ripped the House of Representatives on her program on Monday for their recent defunding of Planned Parenthood. Behar, focusing on the organization's birth control services, criticized the move as "illogical...because if you are not going to help people with birth control, you're going to have more abortions. So, besides being evil and immoral and unethical, they're also stupid" (audio…
WaPo's Robinson: 'Standoff in Wisconsin Nothing to do With Balancing B
"Let's be clear: The high-stakes standoff in Wisconsin has nothing to do with balancing the state's budget."
So began Washington Post columnist Eugene Robinson's not surprisingly one-sided piece Tuesday:
CNN's Carol Costello Warns 'Corporate America is About to Win' in Wisc
On the February 22 edition of "American Morning," CNN's Carol Costello framed the ongoing budget debate in Wisconsin as a struggle between embattled middle class workers and corporatist Republicans with ulterior motives, parroting SEIU President Mary Kay Henry to warn viewers that "corporate America is about to win big time."
"Henry says corporate America save themselves money in wages by…
CBS's Wragge Frets: 'Should Unions Be on Alert All Around the Country
In an interview with former Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee on Tuesday's CBS Early Show, co-host Chris Wragge worried about the fallout from budget cutting in Wisconsin: "It seems to look like this governor [Scott Walker] is trying to basically break unions and that other states may then follow suit. Is this – should unions be on alert all around the country?"
Huckabee pointed out: "I think…
CBS Decides Wisconsin State Workers Underpaid, FNC Shows Doctor’s No
CBS on Monday night tried to corroborate the case for the position on protesting Wisconsin state union workers, claiming without citing any source that they earn less than comparable private sector works, while FNC put the union workers in a less oppressed light, showing how “apparent doctors” were “handing out doctor’s notes for sick days. Our undercover producer got a medical excuse, no…
NYT's Adam Nagourney Recycles Favorite Theme: Republicans Overreach, F
Adam Nagourney, now Los Angeles bureau chief for the New York Times, returned to his old political beat for Monday’s off-lead story co-written with David Herszenhorn. The theme is one of Nagourney’s favorites; Republicans overplaying their hand and risking citizen backlash: “As Republicans See A Mandate, Others See Risk – Echo Of ‘08 Democrats – Backlash Could Loom on Cuts to Budget and Union…
CBS's Erica Hill Suggests Political Strategy to 'Put Pressure' on Wisc
In an interview with the Democratic minority leader of the Wisconsin state senate on Monday's CBS Early Show, co-host Erica Hill proposed a solution to the political stalemate over curbing benefits for public union workers in the state, suggesting Democrats "work together" with "more moderate Republicans" to "come to some sort of agreement that could then put pressure on the Governor."…
CBS Declares Wisconsin Union Protests 'Tea Party Movement for the Left
Discussing the union protests in Wisconsin with political analyst John Dickerson on Monday's CBS Early Show, co-host Chris Wragge noted: "You talk about this being a potential Tea Party movement for the Left." In response, Dickerson proclaimed: "...this is the energizing moment on the Left, progressives and unions have always been together....It's about the threat to their benefits."
It's…
Tea Party ‘Extreme’ to Amanpour, But Union Protesters a ‘Populis
Last October, ABC’s Christiane Amanpour characterized the Tea Party as “extreme,” declaring “people are looking at the Tea Party and saying this is not conservatism as we knew it but it's extreme.” On Sunday, however, with “People Power” plastered on screen over video of union members in Wisconsin, she saw only a genuine “populist” outpouring of “people power” in Madison.
“This week” she…
