For the second day in a row, MSNBC's Chris Matthews excoriated the Tea Party, trashing them as supporting cuts in Medicaid because that's a program for "poor people." On Thursday's Hardball, however, he added a new attack, asserting that Tea Partiers don't like Medicaid because it's used by "minorities." Talking to Newsweek's Richard Wolffe, Matthews cited a Marist poll showing little appetite for cuts to the program. After noticing that the highest level of support for reductions comes from self-identified Tea Partiers, the host smeared, " And the only one the Tea Party people want to cut is Medicaid because... continue reading
On Thursday's All Things Considered, NPR's Robert Siegel used violent imagery to underline the supposed extreme nature of Arizona's SB 1070 law targeting illegal immigration: "It has been of one year since the state legislature dropped a bomb into the national debate over immigration." Siegel led the introduction for correspondent Ted Robbins's report on the controversial law with his explosive phrase. He continued that "the get-tough bill , known as SB 1070, was later signed into law by Governor Jan Brewer." After playing a clip from Governor Brewer, the host noted that "some of SB 1070's key components are on... continue reading
Deval Patrick appeared on the April 21 Today show to promote his new book but NBC's Matt Lauer wasted no time in prodding the Democratic Governor of Massachusetts about making a run against Republican Senator Scott Brown as he pressed: "I know there's pressure on you right now. Some people want you to take on Scott Brown for the Senate seat in Massachusetts, once held by Ted Kennedy. Are you running?" For his part Patrick initially ducked the question, insisting he had no interest in a Senate run but this didn't dissuade Lauer from forcing the issue as he repeatedly... continue reading
According to MSNBC's Chris Matthews, " the only cuts that [Tea Partiers] seem to want are the cuts for the poor people ." The Hardball host smeared the conservative protesters on Thursday while discussing planned reforms to Medicare and Medicaid. Guest Jonathan Alter laughed at Matthews' attack, prompting the anchor to mock, "You're laughing because you know how right-wingers think." Citing a Washington Post poll showing 52 percent of Tea Partiers support cutting Medicaid, he prompted the former Newsweek editor, "...Strong, zealous Tea Party people have brought themselves to willingness to cut poor people. That doesn't surprise me, but your... continue reading
Good Morning America's George Stephanopoulos on Wednesday continued to obsess over the birther issue, foisting Barack Obama's certificate of live birth onto guest Michele Bachmann. Holding up a copy, the co-host lectured, "It's certified. It has got a certification number. It has got the registrar of the state signed. It has got a seal on it." After Bachmann replied that the document "settles" things, an anxious Stephanopoulos followed-up, "So, it's over? This story is over." The last time the Republican congresswoman appeared on GMA, February 17, 2011 , the co-anchor insisted on similar declarations from Bachmann: "Can you just state... continue reading
New York Times' chief economics writer David Leonhardt has won the 2011 Pulitzer Prize for commentary. The prize committee praised Leonhardt for "his graceful penetration of America's complicated economics questions." The White House and congressional Democrats are huge fans as well, emailing around his previous defenses of programs like Obama's stimulus. However, the paper's Public Editor chided the Times in January for placing Leonhardt's neo-liberal commentaries promoting Obama-care on the front page, which gives them the imprimatur of objective news. As documented by Times Watch, that "graceful penetration" generally involves digging into citizen's wallets for more federal tax money. In... continue reading
George Stephanopoulos on Tuesday lectured potential Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump, indignantly telling him that he was only after "the facts." Four years ago, however, Good Morning America had few tough questions for the 2008 Democratic contenders. At one point during the nine minute interview, Stephanopoulos pressed Trump 16 straight times on the so-called birther issue. The host demanded, "You said that you sent investigators to Hawaii and you said quote, 'They cannot believe what they're finding.' What have they found?" The ABC journalist repeated this particular question four times. Stephanopoulos did hit Trump from the right a number of... continue reading
On Saturday's NBC Nightly News, anchor Lester Holt marked the 50th anniversary of the failed Bay of Pigs invasion as "one of the most infamous events in American history." In the report that followed, correspondent Mark Potter proclaimed: "This weekend Cuba is remembering a critical moment in history still felt today. Huge crowds have come out to celebrate in ways not seen here for years." Sounding like he was reading a press release about the celebration, Potter declared: "In the Plaza of the Revolution, a massive display of military might and a celebration of Cuba's victory 50 years ago at... continue reading
A day after a CBS News Sunday Morning story fretted that the wealthy aren't paying a high-enough income tax rate without bothering to note how a significant portion of the population avoids paying anything, on Monday's CBS Evening News reporter Bill Plante pointed out: "The day of reckoning with Uncle Sam is less painful for some than for others" since "45 percent of Americans don't owe the government anything today, but they're not the super-rich." Plante, however, repeated the usual media mantra about how the wealthy are paying less without noting how they pay a disproportionate share. Plante asserted: "The... continue reading
Appearing on Sunday's Today show on NBC, Meet the Press host David Gregory seemed to lump people who think President Obama is "the worst President" or who "don't like the President" in with "extremists" as he explained real estate developer Donald Trump's appeal among some Republican voters as a potential presidential candidate. After co-anchor Natalie Morales cited poll numbers showing Trump topping other potential Republican candidates, Gregory gave his explanation for the support: Part of that, he's got name recognition, he's got money, and he's out there talking in a way that is attention-seeking and attention-grabbing, whether he's talking about... continue reading