CBS on Monday night tried to corroborate the case for the position on protesting Wisconsin state union workers, claiming without citing any source that they earn less than comparable private sector works, while FNC put the union workers in a less oppressed light, showing how "apparent doctors" were "handing out doctor's notes for sick days. Our undercover producer got a medical excuse, no illness necessary." CBS's Cynthia Bowers touted "high school history teacher Amanda Bazan, of Deerfield Wisconsin," who "took a personal day to get her students to the protests." Bazan insisted: "They were learning about democracy firsthand." Bowers relayed... continue reading
For about seven minutes on Monday's "Morning Joe," Chris Matthews celebrated his President's Day fawning over former President Clinton. Matthews had nothing but praise for the nation's 42nd president in anticipation of the documentary "President of the World" - apparently Clinton's new title - airing at 10 p.m. EST Monday on MSNBC. "You know, Churchill's huge in this country and he's 70-30 back in England, and Nixon is probably 20-80 here, but in France he's about 60-40. You know, he's 100-0 around the world, Bill Clinton," Matthews remarked. Apparently Clinton is more liked around the globe than Churchill. "He is,... continue reading
In the midst of outcry that Wisconsin teachers were skipping school to protest the governor's new budget bill and demand collective bargaining rights, NBC's Norah O'Donnell on Friday provided the teachers' motives as an argument for their side. She failed, however, to mention why Wisconsin Gov. Walker cut into their benefits in the first place. Covering the story on MSNBC's "Andrea Mitchell Reports," O'Donnell remarked that "I know there are some that think this is a travesty for the schoolchildren of that state." She added, however, "But these teachers are talking about their pensions, and they're worried about having to... continue reading
NBC's Kelly O'Donnell, on Monday's Today show, lumped the Wisconsin and federal budget fights together and depicted the Republicans, in both cases, as being on the defensive. Starting in Wisconsin O'Donnell reported that over the weekend "Protesters backing union workers vented anger" but didn't mention the Tea Party had a counter-protest. Then O'Donnell, moving to the budget struggle on Capitol Hill, passed along Democratic talking points as she reported: "Democrats claim Republicans are too stubborn and their budget cuts too severe" and advanced: "The '90s government shutdown, with empty offices and closed national parks, left the Republican majority then with... continue reading
A buoyant Chris Matthews popped into the Today show studio, on Monday morning, to hype his MSNBC documentary on Bill Clinton's post-presidency and he didn't spare a platitude as he claimed that Clinton is "bigger than the host country president" wherever he goes, is as active as the "Energizer Bunny" and unapologetically offered: "It's right to do a good story about a good guy." To her credit substitute host Savannah Guthrie, who conducted the interview, actually did poke Matthews a bit when she pressed: "So a lot of people are asking has Chris Matthews gone soft on President Clinton?" To... continue reading
In an interview with the Democratic minority leader of the Wisconsin state senate on Monday's CBS Early Show, co-host Erica Hill proposed a solution to the political stalemate over curbing benefits for public union workers in the state, suggesting Democrats "work together" with "more moderate Republicans" to "come to some sort of agreement that could then put pressure on the Governor." Minority Leader Mark Miller eagerly agreed: "Absolutely. I think cooler heads need to prevail....There is such a thing as compromise. The Governor needs to be part of that." Earlier, Hill had explained that: "There's been a proposal put forth... continue reading
In a segment totaling just two and a half minutes on Monday, Good Morning America's Bob Woodruff managed to feature eight clips of pro-union protesters in Wisconsin and only two supporting Scott Walker, the state's Republican governor. Covering the ongoing battle over whether or not the state will limit collective bargaining for public sector employees, Woodruff appeared quite impressed by the scope of the rallies: "There's going to be protesters coming out here today for the seventh day in a row. It's an amazing weekend. About 70,000 actually showed under here." The GMA correspondent repeatedly highlighted those on the side... continue reading
Discussing the union protests in Wisconsin with political analyst John Dickerson on Monday's CBS Early Show, co-host Chris Wragge noted: "You talk about this being a potential Tea Party movement for the Left." In response, Dickerson proclaimed: "...this is the energizing moment on the Left, progressives and unions have always been together....It's about the threat to their benefits." It's interesting that Dickerson made a positive comparison to the Tea Party, given that last year he appeared on the Early Show and described how Democrats hoped the conservative movement would "overreach" and become "a stain on the Republican Party." On Monday,... continue reading
Last October, ABC's Christiane Amanpour characterized the Tea Party as "extreme ," declaring "people are looking at the Tea Party and saying this is not conservatism as we knew it but it's extreme." On Sunday, however, with "People Power" plastered on screen over video of union members in Wisconsin, she saw only a genuine "populist" outpouring of "people power" in Madison. "This week" she announced in conflating the union grievance in Madison with protests against Arab dictators, "people power making history. A revolt in the Midwest and a revolution sweeping across the Middle East." She touted how "populist frustration is... continue reading
"On the broadcast tonight, the uprising at home," teased NBC Nightly News anchor Brian Williams, touting "another day of fury in Wisconsin. Workers angry about what they call a plan to balance the budget on their backs." Williams set up his Friday newscast by equating the left-wing protests with those against Arab dictatorships: "From the Mideast to the American Midwest tonight, people are rising up. Citizens uprisings are changing the world," he championed, citing what "we've witnessed from Tunisia to Egypt" and now Wisconsin where "the state capitol has been taken over by the people." Without ever mentioning the involvement... continue reading