On Thursday's The Last Word , MSNBC's Lawerence O'Donnell hosted an all liberal panel to complain about Republican efforts to curtail abortion in Texas and Ohio, with O'Donnell trumpeting that Texas State Senator Wendy Davis "rocketed to political stardom" via her famous 11-hour filibuster. Guest Ana Marie Cox of the Guardian mocked the GOP's "re-branding" effort and observed that the Texas legislature was "dominated by white men" who were "trying to put down the women in front of them." She went on call Republican behavior "reprehensible" and Texas Governor Rick Perry "ignorant." Cox: I think we can say a lot... continue reading
Since Wednesday, ABC, CBS, and NBC's morning and evening newscasts have all played up the social media frenzy over Texas State Senator Wendy Davis' multi-hour filibuster on Tuesday against a pro-life bill. On Friday's Today , NBC's Tamron Hall claimed that the Davis story is " another example of how social media can turn a story into a whole other stratosphere . I think without Twitter and Facebook, this would have been a big story, but not to this magnitude." By contrast, during the trial of abortionist Kermit Gosnell earlier in 2013, ABC and NBC completely ignored the widespread outrage... continue reading
In the wake of her filibuster in the Texas state senate on Tuesday, NBC, ABC, and CBS all expressed their outrage at Texas Governor Rick Perry daring to criticize their anointed abortion "folk hero" Wendy Davis. On Friday, Today co-host Matt Lauer announced: "The battle over abortion gets very personal as Governor Rick Perry takes on a female senator whose filibuster helped block a controversial bill." [ Listen to the audio ] On Thursday's ABC World News , anchor Diane Sawyer attached the "folk hero" label to Davis as she fretted over "Perry creating a kind of high noon between... continue reading
CNN once again hyped a Texas legislator's stand against a pro-life bill, this time highlighting the "very personal war of words" between the "rising star" and Republican Governor Rick Perry. "Cheered on by supporters, the mother of two and her now-famous pink shoes filibustered her way onto the world stage this week ," touted correspondent Athena Jones who anointed Senator Wendy Davis a " rising star in the state's Democratic Party ." [Video below. Audio here .] CNN has already hailed Davis' filibuster and asked her if she would do it again. The networks have also gushed over Davis, calling... continue reading
ABC and NBC on Thursday night and Friday morning ignored an announcement by the Internal Revenue Service inspector general that liberal organizations were not forced to endure the same invasive investigations as conservative, Tea Party groups. Only CBS This Morning covered the development. This contradicted earlier claims by the IRS. This Morning co-anchor Norah O'Donnell explained, "The IRS said this week that conservative and progressive groups were both given extra scrutiny." Reporter Anthony Mason added, "But a Treasury Department official said yesterday he found fewer liberal groups were targeted." According to O'Donnell, this was an example of conservatives "lashing out"... continue reading
In the ongoing controversy of the IRS targeting Tea Party groups, CNN jumped all over breaking news that helped the Democratic narrative but was silent when developments occurred that boosted the Republican criticism of the agency. When news broke Tuesday that liberal groups, not just conservative groups, were flagged by the IRS for potential scrutiny, CNN hammered the story and proclaimed it a "new wave of controversy" that was "rocking Capitol Hill." The network repeatedly quoted Democrat Rep. Sandy Levin (Mich.) slamming the inspector general for previously claiming that the agency unfairly targeted Tea Party groups. However, the very next... continue reading
The Big Three (ABC, CBS, NBC) networks were so excited by Democratic Texas state senator Wendy Davis’s filibuster they failed to notice she is on the losing side of the abortion debate. Anchors like NBC’s Brian Williams and ABC’s Diane Sawyer were so busy hailing Davis’s “epic” filibuster and her rise to “folk hero” status that they failed to report the findings of a National Journal poll showing her extremist pro-abortion stance is an unpopular one. According to the latest United Technologies/National Journal poll , Americans favor a bill banning all abortions after 20 weeks by a 48 to 44... continue reading
On Thursday's All In show, MSNBC host Chris Hayes suggested that Texas Governor Rick Perry should feel a "burden" because he has presided over the execution of more death row inmates than any other governor in modern history, and then seemed to mock the Texas Republican for being both pro-life and pro-capital punishment as he noted that Perry had addressed the National Right to Life Conference after pushing a "draconian" law against abortion. Hayes began the show on a cheerful note by playing up the possibility of a resurgence of the Texas Democratic Party. After teasing the show, the MSNBC... continue reading
The journalists at Good Morning America on Friday worried that "inhospitable" Republicans in the House would leave the Senate immigration bill as "half-made history." Reporters Dan Harris and Jim Avila offered little in the way of explanation as to why a GOP Congress member might possibly oppose such a bill. Avila lectured, " ...History has been half-made. Now, the big question, will the euphoric momentum in the Senate halls push the GOP-controlled House into passing a similar immigration reform bill? " [MP3 audio here .] Dan Harris lamented, "The issue is about to move to the inhospitable Republican-controlled House." Avila... continue reading
Thursday's CBS This Morning heralded pro-abortion Texas State Senator Wendy Davis as a " new star in Democratic politics " for her " marathon filibuster that went viral ". Charlie Rose and Norah O'Donnell tossed softball questions at Davis, and wondered if she would "run for governor or for national office now" because of her "new role in the national spotlight". [audio available here ; video below ] Correspondent Manuel Bojorquez hyped how the filibuster supposedly has turned Davis into a " national political star ", and ballyhooed how "some political analysts are comparing it to the 1988 Democratic convention... continue reading