The budget agreement worked out between Republican Paul Ryan and Democrat Patty Murray is being covered mostly as an encouraging sign of bipartisanship. To the extent that much criticism is allowed, most of it comes from those on the right, who wish that there were deeper spending cuts.
There’s plenty of criticism from the left, though. Robert Borosage of the Campaign for America’s Future (12/12/13) pointed out that the deal cuts benefits for the long-term unemployed. The Nation‘s John Nichols (12/10/13) noted that the cuts in pension benefits for military and federal workers means they “will be required to take what is effectively a pay cut in order to pay more for their retirement benefits.” These decisions were made because Republicans refuse to consider any tax increases on the wealthy.
Interesting, then, to see what the budget deal debate looked like on the December 12 PBS NewsHour. On the one side was Wall Street Democrat Steven Rattner, who has worked for most of the big banks and currently runs his own investment firm. He was mostly supportive, though he did note that “we need to address the issue of spending on Medicare and Social Security.”
From the right, viewers got Douglas Holtz-Eakin of the American Action Forum, which anchor Judy Woodruff called a “policy think tank.” Holtz-Eakin was a McCain economics adviser whose think tank is involved in, among other things, helping corporations lobby against tax hikes.
But someone at PBS thought viewers needed one more voice from the right: Romina Boccia of the Heritage Foundation. So the spectrum of debate was right, righter and Wall Street Democrat.
A New York Times editorial today (12/12/13) notes that “the details of the agreement show that Republican loathing of taxes and domestic spending continue to dominate the budget debate.” Indeed–even on public television, which, after all, was created to expand the parameters of public discussion.
I’d say that the ACA’s woes will have a greater political impact on Dear Misleader’s “legacy” than the Iraq War has had on Dear Leader’s.
“Obamacare”‘s sideline has never been filled with corpress cheerleaders as Iraq’s invasion and occupation was.
I think Bush’s political fortunes were much more heavily influenced by economic factors than those related to the Iraq War not going according to script.
(For the US. For Iraqis [and more broadly, Afghans, Pakistanis and other folks in the crosshairs of empire building], it went precisely as planned – death and destruction.)
But that said, who creates the conditions for “political fallout”?
The same elite media that pontificates on who is a victim of it, who are the gatekeepers of “conventional wisdom”.
Of course, the ACA *is* largely a piece of shit. I’m saying that as someone who’s having to deal with it. It leaves millions uninsured and underinsured or overcharged, it’s a profit funnel for the “health” industry, and its sins will make the struggle for true universal healthcare that much more difficult through its association with “gummint-run healthcare” in much of the public mind, aided and abetted by those self same MSMers.
But imagine the bile spewed its way if it actually was what we need, and have a right to?
And PBS’ use of Ruth Marcus to substitute for Mark Shields along
with David Brooks hardly gives us anything but another right conservative opinion.
What’s with this bogus distinction: Two Right wingers and a Wall Street Democrat.
Three Right Wingers. Period.
But then there would be no story to tell, would there?
The Wall Street and the Federal Reserve are two institutions which unite the parasites in both US main political parties. Was anyone surprised when David Brooks called the Occupy Wall Street protests “antisemitic”?
http://rehmat1.com/2011/10/16/is-occupy-wall-street-movement-anti-jewish/
But then there would be no story to tell, would there?
You have hit the nail squarely on the head; without the ‘false balance’ the public would be quickly aware of the fact that there was in fact none. They have given up any pretense of Fair and Balanced, but the keep the shills in order to allow the Moron Troll legions to bellow that the media is really ‘totally left leaning’. Not unlike the trick of putting the dead king in the saddle strapped to his horse with his the flag of state tied to his hand, and then sending him out on the field. The Right wingers see the flag and continue the fight, even though they have actually lost the battle, the war and any chance of believability
Obviously my comment above was intended for the succeeding post.
Would whomever’s responsible for culling comments deep six this one at this location?
Much obliged
Please indicate that a left-leaning budget view would have the entire national debt paid off by recovering tens of trillions of dollars in corporate fraud. We appreciate the nod to neo-liberals making the public pay down that debt from corporate fraud….but we need to be clear it is not the republicans causing the problem….it is the neo-liberals failing to reinstate Rule of Law and recover the money! THIS IS THE LEFT-LEANING BUDGET VIEW!
It would be nice if this story had ended with an e mail aaddress, or a regular snail mail address to which a letter of protest to PBS could be sent.
I would have been happy to send an e mail to PBS executives complaining about the lack of a TRUE liberal on the discussion panel.
Ditto to Joe O’Brien.
This is why I no longer contribute to PBS.
And why we are the only “civilized” country in the world not to have a form of single payer health insurance for everyone staggers the mind.
PBS, you are getting a lump of coal in your stocking this Christmas for your lack of true balance and churning of propaganda for the right. Don’t come knocking at my door for any donations.
I’m so sick and tired of seeing nothing but right wing guttersnipes everywhere I look on TV. I guess that’s why they call it the “idiot box”. Very appropriate.
I gave up on the Propagandahour years ago, and recently cancelled my membership in my local “public television” station. They didn’t even ask why, which was interesting. We increased our donation to our community radio station which has far better news programming, national and local.
PBS is a huge threat to the ruling elite. That’s why it has to infiltrated, watered-down, and shrunk until it can be drowned in a bath tub.
We stopped giving to PBS. But we still enjoy watching Bill Moyers and Democracy Now on our PBS station in LA!