On Monday, Fox News's Bret Baier referred to a NewsBusters piece concerning the coverage of the nationwide Tea Parties being staged to protest the profligate spending under President Obama's economic and housing recovery plans.
As NewsBusters reported Sunday, "with the exception of Fox News and CNN, no major television outlet has covered even one of these events except the original proposed by Santelli on February 19."
With this in mind, Baier began Monday's "Political Grapevine" segment (video embedded right, audio available here):
Police in Cincinnati say at least 4,000 people showed up Sunday for a grassroots protest of wasteful government spending in general, and President Obama's stimulus package and budget in particular.
It was one of many tea party protests around the country - inspired by the Revolutionary War era Boston Tea Party protesting British taxation. Protesters had signs reading "Give us liberty, not debt" and "Where's my bailout?"
One report states there are more than 150 tea parties scheduled across the nation in the upcoming months. The events so far have been largely ignored by the mainstream media, but several blogs are tracking them.
Noel Sheppard, associate editor for the conservative NewsBusters.org writes on the coverage so far: "Compare that to how these networks practically fell all over themselves to report war protests after the public's opinion changed concerning Iraq in late 2003."
