Fwd: MRC Alert: Calls to 'Rein in the Federal Government' Are 'Not Very Rational,' Al Hunt Declares on ABC

 

A daily compilation edited by Brent H. Baker, CyberAlert items are drawn from daily BiasAlert posts and distributed by the Media Research Center's News Analysis Division, the leader since 1987 in documenting, exposing and neutralizing liberal media bias.

 

Tracking Liberal Media Bias Since 1996
Tuesday July 06, 2010 @ 10:59 AM EDT

1. Calls to 'Rein in the Federal Government' Are 'Not Very Rational,' Al Hunt Declares on ABC
"The side that talks about the need to rein in the federal government" is "not very rational," yet "is winning" the debate over whether to pass another "stimulus" bill, Al Hunt regretted on Sunday's This Week on ABC. Hunt's assessment came in reaction to an outnumbered Dan Senor, the lone voice on the panel against additional government spending to spur the economy and who warned of a Greece in our future. New York Times columnist Paul Krugman charged the 2009 stimulus bill wasn't big enough and proposed that in the face of a likely $20 trillion debt in ten years, "whether we borrow another $500 billion now" is "really trivial," Cynthia Tucker of the Atlanta Constitution yearned for a new "robust stimulus" and Jorge Ramos of Univision declared: "We need more government intervention."

2. On Independence Day, CBS Frets Congress Becoming 'Paralyzed' Over 'Fear of the Deficit'
West coast viewers got to see a July 4 CBS Evening News on Sunday, and those who tuned in saw CBS's interim "report card" on Congress's performance so far. Under the headline of "unfinished business," correspondent Wyatt Andrews and his sole expert, Politico's Jonathan Allen, both fretted how Congress is now "paralyzed" due to a "growing fear of the deficit."

3. CBS's Chip Reid Rails Against Failure to Extend Unemployment Benefits: 'Senate Republicans Are to Blame'
CBS's Chip Reid on Thursday railed against the Senate for failing to extend unemployment benefits. The Evening News reporter opined, "So who's fault is that? On the surface, it appears Senate Republicans are to blame. Led by Mitch McConnell, they killed the bill with a filibuster." Anchor Scott Pelley began the program by indignantly announcing, "We have decided to start with the 1.3 million Americans whose unemployment benefits have run out, stopped cold, in the last 30 days. And we're starting there because the U.S. Senate went on vacation today without solving the problem."

4. CBS 'Early Show' Follows ABC's Lead, Touts Kagan's SNL-Worthy Humor
During the 'Early Wrap' segment on Friday's CBS Early Show, co-host Harry Smith discussed the confirmation hearings for Supreme Court nominee Elena Kagan with a panel of media pundits: "The almost unknown, practically under the radar, the Supreme Court nominee, Elena Kagan, before committees this week being funny. She was downright funny." GQ Magazine's Washington correspondent Ana Marie Cox agreed with Smith and added: "...a Saturday Night Live skit made live..."

5. George Stephanopoulos Lashes Out at Republican Carly Fiorina: Are You Running for the Wrong Job?
Former Democratic operative George Stephanopoulos on Thursday attacked Republican Carly Fiorina for opposing the current unemployment plan in the Senate. The Good Morning America host derided, "And are you running for the wrong job? How do you create jobs in the Senate if you don't pass legislation?"

6. MSNBC's Ratigan: American's Don't 'Give A Damn' About Iraq and Afghan Wars; Calls for Draft
On Thursday's The Dylan Ratigan Show, MSNBC host Dylan Ratigan went after the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, and complained about the lack opposition to the conflicts: "Why isn't there an alarm that we've been perpetrating this war?...there aren't enough people in this country that honestly give a damn. No one really cares." His solution to the supposed apathy? A draft. Ratigan later proposed: "...we have to raise the stakes on this to decide whether we get out or keep going. And the only way I can see to do that is to return the draft." He further declared: "Maybe if the sons and daughters of more Americans families, like those of our politicians, were either being killed in combat or facing the stresses of endless repeat deployment, our policymakers would start questioning why we're still there..."

7. Today Show Marks One Year Anniversary of Palin's Decision to 'Cash In'
To mark the one year anniversary of Sarah Palin stepping down from her duties as governor of Alaska, NBC's Norah O'Donnell, on Friday's Today show, recounted for viewers what the former vice presidential candidate is doing, namely "cashing in." Accompanied by a "cha-ching" sound effect O'Donnell ran down Palin's various TV and book deals. And while O'Donnell also noted Palin has been very effective stumping for GOP candidates in the primaries she was careful to note that the "polarizing" Palin had "limits to her appeal," as she cited an NBC News/Wall Street Journal poll saying 52 percent view her political endorsements negatively.

8. MSNBC's Joe Scarborough Slams Boehner Work Ethic, Lauded Obama's Golfing as Trips to 'Happy Places'
MSNBC host Joe Scarborough on Thursday slammed John Boehner's work ethic, chiding the House Minority Leader for going to bars. This verbal assault came just ten days after the Morning Joe host defended Barack Obama's golf outing, asserting that he wants the President to have a "happy place to go to."

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