WaPo Hails Obama Budget Blueprint, Slams GOP Plan as 'Drastic' and 'Pa
"Obama budget makes deep cuts, cautious trades," blared the February 15 print edition headline for Washington Post staffer Lori Montgomery's page A1 story on President Obama's 2012 budget plan. "[The] Focus [is]on education, energy and research," a subheadline approvingly added.
In the lead paragraph, Montgomery hailed Obama's spending blueprint as "full of surgical cuts and cautious trade-…
CBS Follows NBC's Lead, Claims a 'Tough Week for House Republicans
Discussing the state of the Republican Party with political analyst John Dickerson on Saturday's CBS Evening News, anchor Russ Mitchell concluded: "...it has been a tough week for House Republicans." On Friday's NBC Today, co-host Meredith Vieira made an identical observation, declaring : "It has been a rough, rough week for the Republicans, to say the very least."
Mitchell explained his…
ABC Relays Claims Obama & Dems Will ‘Protect’ GOP from ‘Less Tha
On the February 12 World News Saturday, ABC correspondent David Kerley highlighted claims by Bob Greenstein of the left-leaning Center on Budget and Policy that the Democratic-controlled Senate and President Obama would block Tea Party-backed cuts from this year’s federal budget, thus protecting Republicans from their "less than responsible actions."
After Kerley began his piece by…
Networks Continue Chris Lee Scandal Coverage, Gave Little to Disgraced
While NBC, ABC, and CBS all pushed the scandal involving New York Republican Congressman Christopher Lee into a second day of coverage, the networks made little or no mention of Florida Democratic Congressman Tim Mahoney admitting to numerous affairs in 2008.
The scant coverage of Mahoney was particularly stunning given that he replaced Republican Mark Foley, who was caught sending…
CBS Touts Bad News: 'GOP Power Struggle' in Congress and 'Infighting
During a report on Friday's CBS Early Show, congressional correspondent Nancy Cordes emphasized division in the new Republican Congress: "The prospect of a mutiny had sent Republican leaders scrambling to craft an even leaner budget, and make good on their promises to the Tea Party....Just this week, small groups of conservatives defeated two of their own party's measures on the House floor…
Ratigan Unhinged: GOP's 'Moronically Small' Cuts 'Truly a Flea on a Do
Civility was in short supply yesterday on "The Dylan Ratigan Show," as the MSNBC anchor after which the show is named used words and phrases such as "moronic" and "dog's ass" to demagogue the GOP's proposal to trim the federal budget.
"How can you be serious about cutting spending when your spending proposals are truly a flea on a dog's ass?" howled Ratigan, who went on to demonize…
Media Paint Retiring Liberal Rep. Jane Harman (D-Calif.) As Centrist
Say you're a journalist and you're writing a story on the retirement of an 9-term congresswoman with:
'Spin Meter' Out of Control; AP Claims Almost All Unspent Stimulus Mon
According to Brett J. Blackledge at the Associated Press, when it comes to unspent stimulus money, cue the MC Hammer ("U Can't Touch This") and go away.
In a Friday "analysis" in the wire service's "Spin Meter" category (HT Sweetness & Light), Blackledge, using words which clearly communicate which side he's on, in essence tells those whose goal it is to reduce federal spending to a more…
In Brewing ObamaCare Contempt Showdown, Mark Levin Rips Into Press
On Wednesday, the inarguably correct Mark Levin, aided by flashbacks to monologues earlier in the week, laid out in detail the rule of law standoff the Obama administration has created in choosing to defy Monday's federal court decision declaring Obamacare null and void and continuing its implementation as if the ruling doesn't exist.
In the process, he also ripped in to the clear…
MSNBC's Mitchell Chides Obama for 'Not One Word' on Gun Control in Sta
In a pre-taped interview with gun control advocate New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg, aired during Wednesday's 1PM ET hour on MSNBC, host Andrea Mitchell browbeat President Obama for having "absolutely nothing, not one word....not even a sentence" about gun control in his State of the Union address.
Prior to the interview, Mitchell touted Bloomberg's anti-gun crusade: "Michael Bloomberg…
Why Not Freeze Foreign Spending Too
Last week, in his State of the Union address, President Barack Obama was adamant about freezing U.S. government domestic spending over the next five years. But why not do the same for U.S. spending abroad?
The president said: "So tonight, I am proposing that starting this year, we freeze annual domestic spending for the next five years. Now, this would reduce the deficit by more than $400…
CBS Sees ‘Conservatives’ Wanting to Restrict Abortion, But No ‘L
Catching up on an item from last Thursday’s CBS Evening News, after recounting for the second time the case of Philadelphia abortion Dr. Kermit Gosnell’s horrific practice, anchor Katie Couric introduced a piece devoted to upcoming political fights over abortion. During the report, opponents of abortion were twice labeled as "conservatives," while the word "liberals" was never used to refer to…
ABC Pushes for Tax Hike on Capital Gains, Ignores Likelihood of Tax Re
On Friday’s World News, and again on Saturday morning’s Good Morning America, ABC ran reports highlighting hedge fund manager John Paulson’s "jaw-dropping" 2010 income from capital gains, fretting that he will not pay as high a tax rate as many regular income earners, and referring to Paulson’s lower tax rate as a "loophole" or a "tax break." GMA co-anchor Dan Harris even relayed complaints…
CBS's Cordes: Tea Party Causing 'Heartburn' for GOP
Reporting on the creation of a Senate Tea Party Caucus on Thursday's CBS Evening News, congressional correspondent Nancy Cordes declared that while "Conservative crusader Jim Demint, and the freshmen Senators he worked to elect, planted their Tea Party flag," the movement's "assertiveness has caused some heartburn for GOP leaders."
As evidence of the supposed indigestion, Cordes cited…
