ABC’s Tapper Boasts Of Giving Anti-Shutdown Talking Point To Red Barry

Tracking Liberal Media Bias Since 1996
Friday April 08, 2011 @ 09:23 AM EDT

1. ABC’s Tapper Boasts of Giving Anti-Shutdown Talking Point to Red Barry

Instead of being embarrassed by how their story generated a talking point for the President to use in a partisan political battle, ABC on Thursday night boasted of how President Obama cited Jake Tapper’s coverage to boost his argument. Anchor Diane Sawyer touted how “the President, last night, well, he noticed what Jake was saying.” Tapper recalled: “Last night on World News, we told you the story of Louisville, Kentucky's. J.T. Henderson, his wife and their adopted son, worried about not receiving the family's desperately needed tax refund because of the possible shutdown....And at least one negotiator was watching.”

2. ABC Locates Victims of Shutdown That Hasn't Happened Yet, Pleases False Messiah

An ABC report that preemptively identified possible victims of a government shutdown was so close to White House spin that Barack Obama touted it at a news conference, Wednesday. The President focused on J.T. Henderson, an American whose tax refund could be delayed, a story first highlighted on ABC, April 6. Good Morning America's Jon Karl on Thursday proudly recounted, "President Obama saw Henderson's story on World News With Diane Sawyer and singled him out last night." An ABC graphic trumpeted, "Obama Singles Out Father: Kentucky man Counting on Refund." The President on Wednesday night quoted from Henderson on World News.

3. Media Dust Off 1995 Shutdown Playbook of Cliches to Cover Current Budget Fight

As a potential government shutdown looms the liberal media are filling their programs with stories about dire consequences of deep cuts that will lead to troops not getting paid, closed national parks, and late tax refunds. However, a review of MRC's coverage of the 1995 budget fight reveals the media are simply rerunning their tired old arguments from the last shutdown.

4. ABC Grills Boehner, a 'Hostage' to the Tea Party, on Whether He Can Avoid the 'Fate' of Gingrich

According to World News' Diane Sawyer, House Speaker John Boehner is being "held hostage" by the Tea Party. Over two days and two shows, Sawyer and interviewer George Stephanopoulos hit the Republican as captive to an unreasonable base who want to shut down the government. On Thursday's Good Morning America, after Boehner asserted that taxpayer dollars shouldn't fund abortions, Stephanopoulos chided, "If you hold on to that, the White House and Democrats have been very clear, there's no deal. The government is going to shut down."

5. MSNBCCCP's Brewer Denounces GOP Bill to Fund Military Paychecks

As the prospect of a government shutdown continued to make headlines on Thursday, MSNBCCCP's Contessa Brewer accused Republicans of exploiting servicemen's paychecks for political gain, even though the House approved legislation to fund the Pentagon in the event of a shutdown and President Barack Obama threatened to veto such a measure should it reach his desk. Interviewing Rep. Linda Sanchez (D-Calif.), the daytime anchor spun the debate over the 2011 budget as a false choice between paying the troops or defunding Planned Parenthood.

6. NPR Leans Toward Democrats 7-3 on Federal Budget Showdown

NPR's Ari Shapiro slanted towards President Obama and two of his Democrat allies in Congress on Thursday's Morning Edition on the continuing battle over the federal budget, playing seven soundbites from them versus only three from Republican House Speaker John Boehner. Shapiro highlighted the late night negotiations over the budget on Wednesday during his report, playing three clips from the President and one from Senator Harry Reid before even getting to his first one from Speaker Boehner.