At AP, 'Waivers' Are For Sports, Not Health Care; NYT Saves Outrage fo
January 31st, 2011 10:53 AM
It would appear that if it weren't for the center-right blogosphere, Fox News, a few business dailies, a few conservative pundits, and talk radio, very few people would know about the hundreds of waivers granted by the Obama administration to companies, unions, not-for-profits, states, and other entities wishing to be spared the burdens of complying with Obamacare for at least another year.…
AP's 'Fact Check' of HHS Scare Stat Also Factually Challenged
January 29th, 2011 10:17 AM
Ten days ago, on the eve of the House vote to repeal ObamaCare, Kathleen Sebelius's Department or Health and Human Services issued a fearmongering press release saying that "129 million Americans with a pre-existing condition could be denied coverage without new health reform law."
Ten days later, on a Friday afternoon (naturally), the Associated Press's Ricardo Alonso-Zaldivar finally got…
Olbermann Signs Off from MSNBC’s Countdown for Last Time
January 21st, 2011 9:58 PM
On Friday’s Countdown show on MSNBC, host Keith Olbermann announced that the episode would be his last, and spent a few minutes near the end of the show saying goodbye. He mentioned a number of infamous and pivotal points in his show’s history when he went after the Bush administration:
The show gradually established its position as anti-establishment from the stagecraft of "Mission…
No, Yes, Whatever: Ed Schultz Contradicts Himself on Consecutive Days
January 21st, 2011 3:36 PM
Give the man credit, he's usually not this consistent.
Ed Schultz is so much more than host of his own MSNBC show and king of the anthill known as liberal radio. Schultz is also an expert on health care, to the extent that he can confidently dismiss as "garbage" when anyone complains about waivers from the health bill. Here's Schultz doing just that on Tuesday as he ends a two-minute…
Parker Defends Rep. Cohen: He Wasn't 'Necessarily' Comparing GOP to Na
January 21st, 2011 2:33 PM
On Thursday's Parker-Spitzer, CNN's Kathleen Parker acted as an apologist for Rep. Steve Cohen's uncivil comparison between Republicans and Nazi propagandist Joseph Goebbels: "He was talking about the saying that if you repeat a lie over and over and over again, it becomes the truth. I don't think he was necessarily saying Republicans are Nazis- come on!" (audio available here)
Parker and co…
Special 'Mega Edition' of 'Media Mash' Tackles Bill Maher, ObamaCare
January 21st, 2011 11:10 AM
The attempted assassination of Rep. Gabrielle Giffords could have been averted if America had government-run health care, according to left-wing comedian Bill Maher.
That's just the first instance of liberal media advocacy that NewsBusters publisher and Media Research Center president Brent Bozell touched in the January 20 "Media Mash" segment on FNC's "Hannity" program.
"This is the…
Couric Frets ‘Damage’ and ‘Threat’ to ObamaCare, Relies on Ex
January 21st, 2011 1:41 AM
In the guise of a status report on ObamaCare, Katie Couric on Thursday night derided Republican efforts to repeal it just as it’s “starting to kick in.” She pleaded for viewers to give it a chance as she rationalized “the law is vulnerable because of the complex way it tries to fold 30 million uninsured people into the system,” fretting “damage could be inflicted by choking off funding for…
Lawrence O'Donnell Blasts Boehner, Limbaugh But Gives Pass to Nazi-inv
January 20th, 2011 3:01 PM
NBC's failure to cover the Democratic congressman who compared Republicans to Nazis on the House floor trickled down to MSNBC yesterday, as anchor Lawrence O'Donnell neglected the story in favor of smearing House Speaker John Boehner and syndicated radio host Rush Limbaugh.
After spending more than six minutes railing against House Republicans for repealing Obama's health care overhaul in a…
CBS: GOP 'Vilified' ObamaCare; 'What's the Point' of Repeal Vote
January 20th, 2011 12:08 PM
On Wednesday's CBS Evening News, anchor Katie Couric was dismissive of a vote by House Republicans to repeal ObamaCare as she asked congressional correspondent Nancy Cordes: "There is no chance this repeal will succeed, it's a largely symbolic measure. So what's the point?" Cordes described it as "the first step in their long-term effort to wipe this health care law off the books."
Cordes…
ABC Trumpets Beneficiaries of ‘Popular’ ObamaCare Provisions for W
January 20th, 2011 9:15 AM
“The health care law may not be popular, but many of the provisions now in effect are,” ABC’s Jonathan Karl asserted in his Thursday night look at the House vote to repeal ObamaCare as he highlighted one beneficiary of it without a balancing opponent or list of detrimental provisions: “To Kris Cambra, whose four-year-old son has a heart condition, the law is a life changer, and repeal would be…
Race Card: Schultz Claims Republicans Have 'Pre-Civil Rights Attitude
January 19th, 2011 7:29 PM
If Barack Obama is going to win re-election, he's going to have to count on massive, overwhelming, support from his base. And what better way to gin up that base than by accusing Republicans of Jim Crow racism?
Rush Limbaugh played an amazing montage today of a series of Dems using the "discrimination" talking point in describing Republican opposition to ObamaCare. Ed Schultz took the…
CBS 'Early Show': GOP Plans to 'Dismantle Health Care Reform,' Which T
January 19th, 2011 6:08 PM
Wednesday's CBS Early Show adopted a hostile tone in its coverage of the upcoming vote by House Republicans to repeal ObamaCare, with co-host Chris Wragge proclaiming: "The battle over health care heats up again today. The House plans a vote on repealing the legislation. It fulfills a campaign promise for Republicans and begins a two-year effort to try to dismantle the law."
In the report…
George Stephanopoulos Frightens Viewers: Will GOP Put Americans at 'Ri
January 18th, 2011 4:35 PM
Good Morning America's George Stephanopoulos on Tuesday used ominous Democratic talking points and pressed Newt Gingrich as to whether Republicans are willing to put uninsured Americans at "risk" by repealing Obamacare.
The former Democratic operative turned journalist also offered this complaint about GOP efforts to overturn the 2010 health care law: "This repeal is likely to pass the House…
Health Care Cost Estimates Challenged, But Media Skip Criticism of 'No
January 17th, 2011 10:37 AM
- Since Obama took office, only 16 percent of health care stories mentioning the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) included any criticism of their accounting, despite criticism from many conservative and libertarian experts as well as the former head of CBO.
- Networks reporters and guests emphasized the CBO's integrity calling them "non-partisan," "independent" and the "referee" or "…