Shutdown: Media SHOULD Play the Blame Game
Media like to dismiss the partisan “blame game,” but in cases like this placing blame is something that journalism ought to do.
Is John Boehner a Labor Economist?
Republican leader John Boehner must have some expertise when it comes to labor economics. Either that, or the New York Times is allowing him to make misleading claims without being challenged.
John Boehner–Philosopher?
Are John Boehner’s ideas about tax cuts evidence of his “philosophy”? Or are they just misleading?
The Brave World of Boehner/Obama Bipartisanship
Media love the “middle” in politics–where leaders of the two major parties come together to find common ground, renew the national spirit and/or live up to the ideals of the Founders. Time magazine (7/14/11) has a soppy piece about Barack Obama and Republican leader John Boehner‘s attempt to reach a budget deal. Those efforts–some of […]
The Missing Economic Context of Budget Impasse Reports
In coverage of the budget negotiations in Washington, which have largely revolved around how much money will be cut from the federal budget, it’s rarely acknowledged that the standard economic assumption is that reducing government spending at a time of diminished economic activity will destroy jobs. As a rule of thumb, every $1 billion in […]
USA Today’s ‘Nonpartisan Experts’ Agree: Obama Not Tough Enough on Elderly, Poor
The subhead sums up the point of USA Today‘s lead story today (2/14/11) about Barack Obama’s budget proposal: Obama Proposes Cuts to Trim Deficit; GOP, Others Want More The piece by Richard Wolf and Mimi Hall begins, “President Obama will send Congress a 2012 budget today that would trim the budget deficit by $1.1 trillion […]
David Gregory’s Social Security Challenge
From his Meetthe Press interview withHouse Speaker John Boehner (2/13/11): On entitlements, like Social Security, you said the retirement age should be raised, but you said you don’t want to get into negotiating how that happens just now until the problem is better defined. Again, when it comes to leadership, when it comes to the […]
Did We Say Job-Killing? We Meant Job-DESTROYING: The New ‘Civil’ DC
Under the headline “Lawmakers Aiming to Increase Civility,” the New York Times (1/17/11) reports from the front lines of the improved, post-Tucson political climate: And the House speaker, John A. Boehner, used the phrase ”job-destroying” instead of “job-killing” in reference to the Democrats’ healthcare overhaul in a speech to colleagues on Saturday–a subtle but pointed […]
Bob Schieffer and the Eloquence of John Boehner
On CBS‘s Face the Nation (1/9/11), host Bob Schieffer declared: Democracy’s arguments have never been pretty, but technology has changed the American dialogue because we can now know of problems instantly. We expect answers immediately and when we don’t get them, we let everyone know in no uncertain terms. We scream and shout, hurl charges […]
Liberal Media Slams Boehner!
The Washington Post‘s account(1/6/11) of John Boehner’s first day as Speaker of the House could have been a press release from Boehner’s office. The headline was “A Modest Boehner Takes Congress’s Most Powerful Office.” Post readers learned that”Boehner tends to shun big moments such as these. He’s more at home on the golf course with […]
Facts Irrelevant in NYT Tax Coverage
There’s a simple way of looking at the debate over the Bush tax cuts. The White House and most Democrats say they want to extend them for the vast majority of the population, but keep higher rates in place for families making over $250,000 a year. Republicans seem to know that “Keep Taxes Rates Low […]
Illegally Obtained Info Is a Big Scoop—or a Non-Story
The New York Times‘ reporter on the climate beat, Andrew Revkin, had a front-page story this weekend (11/20/09) detailing the contents of climate scientists’ private emails discussing global warming. Predictably, the emails are being taken out of context by climate change deniers—but more interesting to me is the fact that the focus is on the […]
Krugman Debunks Bogus Stimulus Critics
New York Times columnist Paul Krugman helpfully debunks (1/26/09) some of the more tendentious and misleading criticisms of the White House’s economic stimulus package. Here’s one such trope: First, there’s the bogus talking point that the Obama plan will cost $275,000 per job created. Why is it bogus? Because it involves taking the cost of […]
