BiasAlerts

Appearing as a guest on Thursday's PoliticsNation show on MSNBC, Washington Post columnist Dana Milbank mocked House Republicans for repeatedly holding unsuccessful votes to repeal ObamaCare as he suggested they should continue to "waste" time so "they'll be less of a harm to the country" because that way "they're not cutting food stamps." Milbank: But maybe we should not be criticizing the House Republicans for doing this because every day they waste trying to repeal ObamaCare, they're not cutting food stamps, so perhaps we should encourage them to spend the taxpayers' money doing this. They'll be of less harm to... continue reading

On Thursday's NBC Nightly News , after proclaiming President Obama to be "on the offensive" amid growing scandals, anchor Brian Williams hinted at those controversies being only temporary setbacks for Obama: "And some folks are already calling the President's problems the curse of the second term. And yet it's tough to know the staying power of any given scandal in the making , along with the effect any of this might have on his overall planned agenda." [ Listen to the audio ] This is the same Brian Williams who in February quipped that Florida Senator Marco Rubio taking a... continue reading

In the latest instance of liberal journalists thinking alike, Charlie Rose asked practically the same question on Friday's CBS This Morning that ABC's George Stephanopoulos did on Good Morning America . Rose wondered if congressional Republicans " may overplay their hand and somehow squander what they think is opportunit y" on the three scandals currently surrounding the Obama White House. The CBS anchor proposed this question not even four minutes after Stephanopoulos asked ABC correspondent Jonathan Karl, " Are some of [the GOP] leaders worried that some of the Republicans may be overplaying their hand? " Rose and co-anchor Norah... continue reading

On Thursday's The Last Word with Lawrence O'Donnell , MSNBC contributor Joy Reid claimed that Republicans are going after Obama administration scandals because "the only thing that really unites conservatives and Republicans at this point is hatred of Barack Obama. So they're going to play it for all it's worth." Host Lawrence O'Donnell had begun the discussion by reading from a National Review article cautioning Republicans against depending too much on scandal for electoral victory rather than pushing an agenda. O'Donnell suggested going after corruption in the Obama administration would hurt Republicans politically: The parallels are being drawn to, look,... continue reading

On Wednesday night, the journalists at Nightline allowed a mere 31 seconds to the exploding scandal involving the Internal Revenue Service targeting conservatives. This was after anchor Terry Moran introduced stories on O.J. Simpson's latest trial, one on determining your "Klout score" and the new reality TV show Ice Cold Cold . On Thursday night, the program focused on pop singer Demi Lovato's problems and clowns. The disinterest Nightline is showing towards Barack Obama's scandals, including the IRS, the AP controversy and Benghazi, contrasts to how the show's journalists viewed scandal when Ronald Reagan was in the White House. On... continue reading

On Friday's NBC Today , co-host Matt Lauer described how President Obama was "trying to move past" the scandals plaguing his administration. In the report that followed, chief White House correspondent Chuck Todd began by parroting the President's attempts to downplay the political firestorm: "Aides say the President's keeping things in perspective and believes this is just a blip, he'll bounce back." [ Listen to the audio ] After playing clips of Obama's Thursday news conference, including Reuters reporter Jeff Mason asking about comparisons to Nixon, Todd promoted more White House spin: "In the end, aides say Mr. Obama does... continue reading

The reporters at Good Morning America on Friday continued White House damage control efforts on the growing scandal involving the Internal Revenue Service targeting conservative groups. Former Democratic operative turned journalist George Stephanopoulos insisted that Barack Obama is "trying to turn the corner after a tough week fending off controversy." Talking to Jon Karl, he wondered, " Are some of [the GOP] leaders worried that some of the Republicans may be overplaying their hand?" [MP3 audio here .] Karl lectured, "There's real concern about this." The journalist added that certain Republicans are talking about "impeachment." Instead of focusing on political... continue reading

CNN's senior legal analyst thinks there's too much "hysteria" over the IRS scandal and that it really may not have been that big of a story to begin with. He argued thus on the 11 a.m. ET hour of Thursday's Newsroom . CNN's Jeffrey Toobin's spin went as follows: " The IRS is required by law to investigate these organizations ," and " it's not clear that there were liberal organizations applying, certainly, in the numbers that the Tea Party were, " and "A lot of these organizations that are complaining wound up getting approved for 501(c)(4) status. So what... continue reading

On Wednesday's All In show, MSNBC host Chris Hayes boosted the efforts of convicted felon Tim DeChristopher as he interviewed the environmental activist who served two years in prison for making illegal bids in an oil lease auction that he had no way of honoring. Hayes gave the activist a forum to encourage more law-breaking as part of the environmental movement as DeChristopher suggested that only "civil disobedience" would be effective. The MSNBC host portrayed the Bush administration as the "corrupt" party as he referred to the auctions from December 2008 as "rigged" and of being a "giveway" for "big... continue reading

Thursday's CBS This Morning did its best to shift blame away from President Obama on the IRS, Justice Department, and Benghazi scandals currently surrounding his administration. Bob Schieffer shot down comparisons to the Watergate scandal that led to former President Richard Nixon's resignation: " This is not the Nixon administration, where you had burglars and people talking about blowing up the Brookings Institution. This is more of a case – is anybody home? " [audio available here ; video below ] Anchor Charlie Rose seconded Schieffer's assessment, asserting that the President " seems like a bystander in his own government... continue reading