Once a candidate to be President Obama's surgeon general – and thus the mouthpiece for ObamaCare – Dr. Sanjay Gupta touted the benefits of ObamaCare throughout the day on Thursday, after the Supreme Court upheld the law. CNN's own medical correspondent was essentially defending the law by explaining its benefits to different guests. Two health care activists were among the guests who came to Gupta and defended the bill. CNN didn't identify them as pro-ObamaCare, however, even though their respective organizations supported the law. One of the guests from Doctors for America, born out of the group "Doctors for Obama"... continue reading
It didn't take long after ObamaCare was upheld by the Supreme Court for CNN to browbeat Republicans about accepting defeat and getting behind the law. Anchor Brooke Baldwin asked Sen. Roy Blunt (R-Mo.) on Thursday afternoon why he was still fighting a law opposed by a majority of Americans. "You lost in 2010 when this law was passed, you lost again today. Yet you are still pushing for the repeal of this law. Doesn't that make you look kind of like a sore loser?" Baldwin obnoxiously asked. Perhaps Baldwin forgot that according to her network's own poll , a majority... continue reading
Uniquely among the broadcast network evening newscasts Thursday night, the NBC Nightly News , not only ran a full report on the House of Representatives vote to hold Attorney General Eric Holder in contempt of Congress, but the network also noted that some Democrats joined Republicans on the vote. By contrast, ABC's World News and the CBS Evening News only mentioned the dozens of Democrats who walked out of the Capitol in protest as they devoted only about half a minute each to the story. Even though it took NBC more than 20 minutes to get to the report, anchor... continue reading
On the eve of the Supreme Court's monumental decision Thursday morning, New York Times reporter Ethan Bronner chides Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia for politicizing the bench in " A Dissent By Scalia Is Criticized As Political ." But when liberal Justices get political, they are "'passionate and pointed" and finding their own voice. When Justice Antonin Scalia read aloud from his dissent in the Arizona immigration case on Monday, including an attack on President Obama’s recent decision not to deport many illegal immigrants who arrived here as children, it raised some eyebrows. Mr. Obama’s policy was announced two months... continue reading
Chief Justice John Roberts may have angered conservatives with his decisive vote in favor of ObamaCare, but he was, in CBS anchor Scott Pelley’s words, the “man of the hour” on all three network evening newscasts Thursday night. ABC’s Terry Moran complimented Roberts’ lurch to the left, saying it “did give heart to many Court watchers,” who were worried the Court “was at risk of becoming just another hyper-partisan place... By joining the liberals, Chief Justice Roberts seemed to have stopped that.” CBS’s Wyatt Andrews also had warm words for Roberts: “Yesterday, he was widely seen as another partisan on... continue reading
On Thursday's CBS This Morning , Norah O'Donnell played up President Obama's experience as a lecturer in constitutional law just hours before the Supreme Court upheld his health care law. O'Donnell trumpeted how the President apparently " paid so close attention to this - not only reading the opinions, but going back and actually listening to them on tape ." The correspondent also forwarded the White House's talking points on ObamaCare before and after the Court's decision came down: " This is something the President fought hard for, to equip some 30 million more people - have them get health... continue reading
After comparing John Roberts to a Civil War-era Supreme Court judge who upheld the Dred Scott slave act, Wednesday, Chris Matthews reversed himself, Thursday, and praised the "bold," "defiant" "hero" who upheld ObamaCare. Lapsing into self-parody, the Hardball anchor mocked the opponents of the health care law: " All the drum beating, all the horrors floated up from the right-wing fever swamps are, as of today, simply the hate vapors of the perennial rejectionists to progress ." Matthews, who earlier this week speculated that the chief justice would have voted to uphold segregation, revised, "Today's hero, Chief Justice John Roberts,... continue reading
During NBC's noon et hour special coverage of the ObamaCare Supreme Court ruling, Nightly News anchor Brian Williams declared that Chief Justice John Roberts sided with liberals on the Court in upholding the unpopular law in order "to be on the side of history." Legal analyst Savannah Guthrie praised Roberts for having the wisdom of King Solomon: "I guess you'd call it a Solomonic decision." [ Listen to the audio ] During special coverage on ABC, correspondent Terry Moran touted the ruling as "a clever piece of lawyering by the Chief Justice," explaining: "...the government can tax you if you... continue reading
In live coverage right after the Supreme Court upheld ObamaCare, ABC's anchors and reporters praised Chief Justice John Roberts for siding with the liberals. George Stephanopoulos insisted that the judge proved he really was an "umpire." Barely restraining himself, Terry Moran fawned, "Sometimes discretion is the better part of valor for the court. Sometimes letting the politics of the thing play out preserves its authority for the next big case so that you don't have half of America hating them ." (Doesn't half of America hate the court now?) [MP3 audio below .] Stephanopoulos theorized, "...When he was going for... continue reading
Meet the Press host David Gregory displayed a stunning double standard throughout NBC's Thursday morning coverage of the Supreme Court ruling on ObamaCare. Prior to the decision, he warned of a "nightmare scenario" if the law was struck down. Hours later, following the Court upholding the law, Gregory cheered Chief Justice John Roberts for taking "a big step here" to keep the Court from being "too polarized." [ Listen to the audio ] Early the 7 a.m. et hour of Today , Gregory melodramatically fretted over the possibility of ObamaCare being ruled unconstitutional: "What happens if it is struck down... continue reading