After President Barack Obama finished his State of the Union address, on NBC Andrea Mitchell set to work to convince viewers of how he had discredited Mitt Romney's campaign trail criticisms of him. As to how 'this President apologizes for America,' she countered: 'Any viewer watching this...would look at this speech and it would be very hard to say that he is apologizing for America. This was resoundingly positive and optimistic in every way.' Mitchell soon saw such an 'exquisite contrast' between Obama's call for 'a minimum tax of 30 percent' on millionaires on the very day Romney 'finally did... continue reading
Hours before President Barack Obama's third State of the Union address in which he will push higher tax rates on the wealthiest under the guise of 'fairness,' pivoting off the poster woman for higher rates, Warren Buffett's secretary who supposedly pays a higher income tax rate than her boss, ABC and NBC advanced the narrative which confuses tax brackets with effective tax rates. In fact, Romney pays at a much higher rate than most Americans and most people at Romney's wealth level pay a significantly higher rate. 'Mitt's millions,' ABC anchor Diane Sawyer teased, 'What Mitt Romney's taxes really show... continue reading
On Tuesday's CBS This Morning, Erica Hill played up the "overwhelming majority" that apparently support raising taxes on the rich, and urged Rep. Paul Ryan to consider supporting such a tax hike: " 68% of people support raising ... taxes on incomes of $250,000 and higher. Is that something that you could, perhaps, at least have a conversation about? " Co-anchor Charlie Rose also suggested that Ryan and congressional Republicans had refused to work with President Obama, and that the Democrat needed to try to bring them on board. Rose asked White House advisor David Plouffe, " What can the... continue reading
ABC's George Stephanopoulos, who makes $8 million a year , pounced on the release of Mitt Romney's tax returns, sneering on Tuesday, " So, just how rich is Mitt Romney and is he paying his fair share of taxes ?" [MP3 audio here .] The Good Morning America co-host excitedly told viewers, "Breaking overnight, the long-awaited tax returns from Mitt Romney finally revealed. Our team [is] poring over the numbers." The answer is that Romney's earning was taxed at a corporate level and then again as it was distributed to him as a capital gains tax. Correspondent John Berman spun... continue reading
CNN's Soledad O'Brien would not brand Saul Alinsky as a leftist radical, and neither would she say President Obama was influenced by his writings – but she had no problem tying Alinsky's controversial beliefs to the Tea Party movement on Monday's Starting Line. As a community organizer in Chicago, Barack Obama mirrored the tactics Alinsky laid out in his book "Rules for Radicals" – which featured a tribute to the devil Lucifer, "the very first radical." GOP candidate Newt Gingrich has recently connected Obama's beliefs with Alinsky's, sparking a media debate over the matter. O'Brien wanted to set the story... continue reading
In an uncharacteristically challenging interview with Obama advisor David Plouffe on Tuesday's NBC Today, co-host Ann Curry actually defended Mitt Romney's wealth and questioned why Democrats would criticize his success: "Now, what's wrong with that?...is that not the American dream?" Her question became even more pointed as she pressed: "...isn't making a lot of hay over how much money he's earned and how much money he's paid in taxes, you know, really not just fanning the flames of this sort of idea of politics of envy?" Plouffe predictably responded: "Warren Buffett famously said he should not be paying less taxes,... continue reading
Former Democratic operative George Stephanopoulos on Tuesday recited an e-mail from the Democratic National Committee to an adviser for a Democratic president. The host interviewed David Plouffe and began, "[I] got this e-mail from [the] Democratic National Committee...saying Mitt Romney's tax returns release raises more questions than it answers." [MP3 audio here .] Talking to Barack Obama's top political strategist, Stephanopoulos tossed this softball: "What more do voters need to know about Mitt Romney's taxes and his wealth?" Stephanopoulos continued, "So, you think it's wrong that Mitt Romney only pays about 15 percent of his income in taxes?" Citing an... continue reading
After eagerly awaiting the release of Mitt Romney's tax returns, on Tuesday's NBC Today, co-host Matt Lauer immediately wondered how the new information could hurt the Republican presidential candidate, asking chief White House correspondent Chuck Todd: "Do you see any surprises in here, anything that will give his rivals more ammunition?" Todd wasted no time in reciting liberal talking points bashing Romney: "I think there is certainly some fodder for some of his Democratic opponents. Things like having a Swiss bank account. You know, that's not something a lot of ordinary Americans have....it certainly paints a picture of something that... continue reading
In their weekend evening news broadcasts, the three major networks (ABC, CBS, NBC) all ignored a Friday mandate from the Obama administration forcing non-profit religious employers to provide for contraception in their health insurance for employees. Critics had condemned the rule as a violation of religious liberty. The networks ignored the story in their respective evening news shows on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday. Not one report aired concerning the mandate from the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). However, NBC had made sure to report that Congress was mulling defunding of Planned Parenthood back on the April 14, 2011... continue reading
Charles Blow's Saturday column for the New York Times, ' Newt's Southern Strategy ,' tastelessly conflated GOP candidate Newt Gingrich's (imagined) racism with conservatives who believe the media have a liberal bias, while Blow called the former House Speaker a "vile, reptilian, hatemonger" on his Twitter feed. Up with Newt. Down with dignity. That's the way it goes. Newt Gingrich is surging in South Carolina and has a good chance to win that state's primary on Saturday. But, as he rises, so grows the dark shadow that he casts over his party and the grievous damage he does to its... continue reading