CNN Poll Finds Media on Wrong Side of 'Cut, Cap and Balance

July 21st, 2011 5:24 PM
In the past week, you couldn't swing a debt cat without hitting a press report about how irresponsible the "Cut, Cap and Balance" bill passed by House Republicans is. A new CNN/ORC poll released a few hours ago finds the media very much on the wrong side of public opinion concerning this issue:

ABC Notes Dem Refusal to Budge on Medicare, CBS Gives Impression Dems

July 16th, 2011 5:12 AM
 On Friday’s World News on ABC, correspondent Jonathan Karl took a moment to go beyond the budget debate between House Republicans and President Obama with the GOP unwilling to support a tax increase, and noted that House Democrats have also been just as resistant to voting for cutting the growth of Medicare spending. But the same night's CBS Evening News focused on Republican reluctance to…

NBC Washington's Vance Treats Obama to Softball Interview

July 15th, 2011 4:22 PM
Kicking off the NBC4 11 o'clock news last night, veteran Washington, D.C. anchor Jim Vance touted an exclusive interview he had earlier that day with President Barack Obama. Vance then aired an excerpt of the interview, comprised of two softball questions. Afterwards, he informed viewers they could find the full interview at the station's website, nbcwashington.com. Unfortunately, the rest…

CBS’s Cordes: ‘Ambitious’ Eric Cantor ‘Has Given His Opponents

July 15th, 2011 6:32 AM
 On Thursday’s CBS Evening News, correspondent Nancy Cordes filed a report on House Majority Leader Eric Cantor as a "lightning rod" for sharp criticism from Democrats because of his role in budget negotiations with President Obama. After beginning the report with a clip of Democratic Senator Chuck Schumer asserting that Cantor "has yet to make a constructive contribution," and after recounting…

MSNBC's Martin Bashir: Obama Didn't Walk Out of Debt Talks, 'Childish

July 14th, 2011 6:14 PM
It has been widely reported that President Barack Obama walked out of Wednesday night's debt limit meeting, but MSNBC's Martin Bashir on Thursday was in complete denial that the Democratic president, who's merely "exasperated by Republicans playing this dangerous game," would conduct himself in such a way. During his daily "Clear the Air" segment, Bashir offered mounds of incredulity but not…

Open Thread: Why Did Obama Walk Out on Debt Negotiations

July 14th, 2011 10:20 AM
Two days after Anderson Cooper described President Barack Obama as the "adult" in a room of unruly Republicans, Obama reportedly stormed out of a heated discussion on debt negotiations yesterday due to his frustration with House Majority Leader Eric Cantor. Also yesterday came a stern reminder from House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi that the president has repeatedly listened to the concerns…

Time Makes Out Rep. Cantor As Villain in Budget Talks

July 12th, 2011 1:11 PM
Wannabe liberal reporters in J-school could use Alex Altman's July 11 Swampland blog post at Time.com as a template for biased coverage of the federal budget battle. House Majority Leader Eric Cantor (R-Va.) is a "hard-line" conservative aligned with House Republican freshmen "who would rather risk economic catastrophe than give ideological ground" by agreeing to tax increases, Altman…

NYT: Debt Ceiling Woes Caused By Bush Tax Cuts and GOP Refusal to Rais

July 8th, 2011 9:53 AM
The New York Times on Friday once again proved itself to have absolutely no clue how budgets work. In its editorial "Negotiating the Debt Ceiling on a Knife's Edge," the Times - like so many other math-challenged "news" organizations in America today - blamed the current debt ceiling woes on the Bush tax cuts and Republican refusal to raise revenues:

David Gregory's Obama-Spin of the Day: If Democrats Make the Hard Choi

July 7th, 2011 1:02 PM
NBC's David Gregory challenged House Majority Leader Eric Cantor on Thursday's Today show, insinuating that Republican efforts to include tax cuts along with closing tax loopholes is not an effective compromise if Democrats are willing to cut entitlement spending. Gregory seemed to frame the debate around whether Republicans would make the "tough" choice of not cutting taxes, since Democrats…

Harry Smith Lets DNC Chair Dodge Question 'Do Democrats Have Plan to S

May 29th, 2011 8:19 PM
Harry Smith asked Democratic National Committee chairwoman Debbie Wasserman Schultz (D-Fla.) a spectacular question on Sunday's "Face the Nation." Unfortunately, when he asked his guest if the Democrats have a plan to save Medicare, the substitute host let her completely dodge it (video follows with transcript and commentary):

WaPo: Will Boehner Be Dumped by 'Feverish' Tea Party Hotheads

May 22nd, 2011 7:04 AM
Sunday’s Washington Post Magazine features House Speaker John Boehner on the cover, and next to his face are the words "While the SPEAKER battles against the Democrats, is his BIGGEST THREAT from his own party?" (All the words are capitalized, actually, but "Speaker" and "biggest threat" are much larger.) Post reporter Michael Leahy spent several pages wondering if the "Young Guns" directly…

Ed Schultz Again Calls Republicans Liars Before Lying Himself

April 20th, 2011 8:39 AM
For the second night in a row Tuesday, MSNBC's Ed Schultz called Republicans liars. Also for the second night in a row, he did so moments before lying himself (video follows with transcript and commentary):

Bill Maher Jokes About a Wall Collapsing on Eric Cantor and Michele Ba

April 16th, 2011 1:38 AM
Remember all that talk a few months ago about toning down the violent rhetoric on the airwaves in the wake of the tragic shootings in Tucson? On HBO's "Real Time" Friday night, Bill Maher actually joked about a wall collapsing on Congressman Eric Cantor (R-Va.) and Congresswoman Michele Bachmann (R-Minn.) (video follows with transcript and commentary):

Daily Kos Loves Rep. Cohen Comparing GOP to Nazis

January 25th, 2011 7:16 AM
On Monday at the Daily Kos, H. Scott Prosterman slammed House Minority Leader Eric Cantor as he praised Rep. Steve Cohen, the man who suggested the Republican argument on health care used the "Big Lie," just like Nazi propaganda specialist Josef Goebbels enabled the Holocaust. Cohen earned a few brickbats from media liberals, but kept up the Nazi analogies on MSNBC even as he insincerely…