As Barack Obama wrapped up a speech from the White House on Tuesday, reporter Jon Karl of ABC actually shouted a tough question at the President, wondering, "... If you won't negotiate, how can you get a solution? How can you bring an end to this if you won't talk to the congressional leaders? " [MP3 audio here .] Anchor George Stephanopoulos noted that "Obama ignor[ed] a question from our own Jon Karl." Karl's network, on World News and Good Morning America , ignored it as well. NBC and CBS blamed the Republicans. Instead of repeating his question on World... continue reading
On Tuesday's NBC Nightly News , anchor Brian Williams sneered that the government shutdown was "being driven by a committed core of Republican members of Congress who are all but assured of re-election in their districts, and just can't be conservative enough for many of the folks back home." [ Listen to the audio ] In the report that followed, chief White House correspondent Chuck Todd joined Williams in blaming the GOP for the budget showdown: "You know, these Tea Party conservatives helped propel Republicans to take control of the House in 2010. And these conservatives, they are the engine... continue reading
Monday night’s edition of ABC World News delivered a double dose of advocacy as Diane Sawyer and her team essentially served as a mouthpiece for President Obama’s position on the government shutdown and his health care law. Sawyer led the broadcast with the government shutdown, which was then only a few hours away. She stated President Obama’s perspective on the matter: “ The President expressed outrage that one faction in one house of Congress is ready to bring the entire federal government to a halt. ” But rather than follow that up with a Republican viewpoint, Sawyer threw to chief... continue reading
On CNN Tuesday, Politico 's Roger Simon slammed the "extreme right-wing" for using "food as a political weapon," for taking the GOP "hostage," and for denying "health care to eleven million people" in favor of a shutdown. " The extreme right-wing of the Republican Party has taken that party hostage, at least in the House of Representatives ," Simon ranted. He summarized their current position on the shutdown: "[W]e would rather shut down the government than extend health care to 11 million people." [Video below. Audio here .] In his tirade, he claimed that Congress is also okay with "800,000... continue reading
CNN hosts, anchors, and reporters all joined in slamming Republicans for Tuesday's government shutdown, ripping Tea Party Republicans as a "suicide caucus" that was "hurting families" by shutting down the government. On Tuesday's New Day, co-host Chris Cuomo lectured Rep. Darrell Issa (R-Calif.), "[Y]ou did shut down the government. It is hurting families, many of whom live on the margins and you know that. He added, "And I want to ask you if you think that that was wrong." Issa called him out for asking the classic "have you stopped beating your wife" trap question. "Well, you can't accuse me... continue reading
On Tuesday's NBC Today , co-host Carson Daly turned to a woman on the Today show plaza for her reaction to the government shutdown. "Judy from Chicago" proceeded to bash Republicans and praise President Obama: "I think all of this amounts to is the Republicans are against President Obama. They don't want the President to be successful. I think he is the best President we have had in a very long time." [ Listen to the audio ] She continued: "I think they need to work together. They knew for a long time this was coming to this. How about... continue reading
All three networks on Tuesday morning hyped the partial government shutdown with reports from closed museums in Washington D.C. and live shots of the Statue of Liberty. The journalists of ABC's Good Morning America informed Americans that Republicans would probably "blink first" in the stand-off with the White House and congressional Democrats. NBC's Peter Alexander checked in live from Washington, touting the "4200 workers at the Smithsonian museums and the National Zoo." He narrated, "We're now here in front of the National Air and Space Museum. They tell me last week they had 88,000 visitors come here. Today it'll be... continue reading
ABC reporter Jeff Zeleny on Tuesday afternoon excitedly told viewers that "cracks" are "emerging" in the Republican opposition to the government shutdown. His example of this? A GOP congressman already on record opposing a shutdown . Following live coverage of Barack Obama's speech, the journalist related, "But a couple cracks emerging, including a congressman from Virginia, a military district, Scott Rigell. He says, 'enough is enough. It's time to move on with this.'" However, on the September 20 World News , Zeleny reported, " We caught up with Congressman Scott Rigell of Virginia, the only Republican to go against his... continue reading
On the Monday, September 30, The Last Word with Lawrence O'Donnell , substitute host Alex Wagner read a tweet written by guest Bruce Bartlett in which the former George H.W. Bush administration official expressed hope that the Tea Party would soon "die a well-deserved death." After Bartlett referred to "Tea Party clowns" as he hoped that Republican leaders would manage to "put them down or limit their influence," Wagner expresed her approval of her guest calling Tea Party Republicans "clowns" as she began her response: "Bruce refers to the 'Tea Party clowns,' and I think a lot of people would... continue reading
Appearing on Tuesday's NBC Today , MSNBC Hardball host Chris Matthews dismissed Republican attempts to delay ObamaCare as a futile effort: "The President was elected – reelected again. He won this fight over health care....the President will not give up his baby , and I think they know that. That's why this is a scary fight. They've gone to ask Obama to give them something he can't give them, which is his health care bill." [ Listen to the audio ] Matthews also ranted about Republican members of Congress having strong political support in their districts: "230 congressional districts are... continue reading