Brian Williams Demands of Mitch McConnell: 'Why Shouldn't Rich Folks Pay More?'

Tracking Liberal Media Bias Since 1996
Friday July 29, 2011 @ 08:27 AM ET

1. Brian Williams Demands of Mitch McConnell: 'Why Shouldn't Rich Folks Pay More?'
Running a brief excerpt from his Sunday night Dateline special, “Taking the Hill: Inside Congress,” Brian Williams on Thursday evening showcased one and only one question he posed to Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell. He demanded: “Why shouldn't rich folks pay more?” Williams insisted on NBC Nightly News that’s “a hot topic, no tax increase in any of these plans being discussed” in “what has become a big charge from the left that in any of these debt ceiling deals the poor are likely to get hit while the rich are likely to get a pass.” McConnell countered, in the interview conducted on Wednesday, with the fact the wealthy “do” indeed already pay more, explaining: “They pay an extraordinary amount more, and in fact about half of Americans don't pay any income taxes at all.”

2. Fear-Mongering Schieffer Claims Social Security Checks Can't Go Out Without Debt Resolution
On three occasions between July 22 and July 26, CBS's Bob Schieffer carried water for President Obama when he echoed the Democrat's inaccurate claim about Social Security: "Millions of Americans...may not get their next [Social Security] check if the debt ceiling crisis is not resolved." In reality, there is enough federal revenues and authorized expenditures to pay for the program. Schieffer gave a preview of the CBS Evening News nine minutes into the 8 am Eastern hour of the July 22 Early Show with his dire warning about Social Security: "Every month, millions of Americans depend on Social Security to support their families and make ends meet. But now, they may not get their next check, if the debt ceiling crisis is not resolved."

3. CNN Incorrectly Hypes Seniors' Fears of Social Security Default
Even Socialist Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) believes the government can still pay out social security checks if the debt ceiling is not raised, but CNN highlighted disgruntled seniors Thursday who fear the opposite. CNN correspondent Sandra Endo reported live from a senior center and emphasized that the citizens were "scared," "worried," and "angry" about possibly not receiving their Social Security and Medicare payments. However, as the Weekly Standard reported recently, the Bipartisan Policy Center (BPC) believes that if the debt ceiling is not raised on time, U.S. has enough revenue in August to pay off entitlement obligations as well as interest on the debt, among other things. Senator Bernie Sanders told MSNBC's Ed Schultz July 13, "I think, in fact, we can pay Social Security."

4. Anderson Cooper Cherry Picks Poll Info to Disgrace Republicans
In a critical "Keeping Them Honest" segment Wednesday night, CNN's Anderson Cooper selectively reported findings from his network's own poll to bolster his argument that Republicans are out-of-touch with the wishes of the American people in the debt ceiling debate. This came even after the Democratic Senate Majority Leader, supported by the president, produced a plan including no tax increases in an effort to garner Republican support. Yet Cooper still peddled a CNN poll showing public support for a plan including increased tax revenues, and framed Republicans as dishonest for claiming Americans want no more taxes. Cooper ignored an equally important finding in his network's own poll – that two-thirds of respondents favored a "Cut, Cap, and Balance" plan that was championed by House Republicans.

5. Martin Bashir All But Tells John Boehner to 'Go the F*** to Sleep'
MSNBC's Martin Bashir not-so-subtly suggested Wednesday that House Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) is a "baby" who should "go the f*** to sleep" and let Democrats deal with the debt ceiling issue. Anchoring the afternoon program that bears his name, Bashir excoriated Boehner's latest deficit-reduction proposal, which he dubbed a "ludicrous lullaby," blaming the Ohio Republican for "this ridiculously prolonged, tortuous, and confused attempt to raise the debt ceiling."

6. ABC Rips Into CNN's Piers Morgan, Gloats That Hacking Scandal Could 'Wipe the Smile from His Face'
Good Morning America's Nick Watt on Thursday launched into a mocking attack on CNN host Piers Morgan and his role in the British hacking scandal. With barely restrained glee, Watt gloated, "The tide of scandal is now lapping into the well-pressed pant cuffs of the man who took Larry King's chair and the America's Got Talent self-proclaimed loud mouth." Watt played an audio clip from a 2009 interview in which a BBC reporter casually asked Morgan about his 11 years as editor of British tabloids and having to tap phones and take secret photos.

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