Fox News Runs Interference For GOP Obstructionism On 9-11 First Responders Bill

For his sake, I hope Fox News anchor Dave Briggs still has a job in 2011.

The reason I'm not sure Briggs is long for the Fox News world is because during his report this weekend about the fate of the 9-11 first responders bill, which Republicans recently blocked in a naked bout of obstructionism, Briggs committed an unspeakable sin: He told the truth.

Specifically, Briggs actually pointed out that filibustering Republicans purposefully stood in the way of the James Zadroga 9/11 Health and Compensation Act of 2010, designed to aid and compensate first responders who have suffered from respiratory disease following their heroic efforts on the morning of the September 11. (The bill passed the House by more than 100 votes in September.)

Here was Briggs on Sunday morning, interviewing an actual first responder [emphasis added]:

How maddening has it been watching this -- watching the, in particular, the Senate Republicans recently holding up a vote that would give health coverage to thousands of your peers?

Paging Fox News' Bill Sammon: We have an internal messaging problem!

It's simply not acceptable for Fox News anchors or reporters to spell out in such clear detail the callous work of partisan Republicans in terms of denying 9-11 first responders access to the health care they desperately need. It's simply not acceptable during the Christmas season to report accurately that Republicans helped kill the bill. And good Lord, no! You're not supposed to lash out at them. (Perhaps Briggs' only saving grace was that his truth-telling comment aired at 6:45 a.m.)

See, Republican senators made a Faustian bargain when they signed a pledge in November vowing not to vote on any piece of legislation if it wasn't the one and only bill they wanted -- to extend tax cuts for the very wealthy. Republicans took an unprecedented obstructionist stand and were generally rewarded for it by the Beltway press corps. But Republicans also ran the risk of looking like heels for playing politics with 9-11 and denying benefits to the first responders who need them.

Coming to the GOP's aid, Fox News has fashioned together a way out of that bind by simply playing dumb, on an epic scale, and forgetting to tell viewers Republicans filibustered the Zadroga bill.

How exactly are Fox News staffers supposed to report on the bill, which may again be called up for a vote, if they're not supposed to mention that, you know, Republicans uniformly -- unanimously -- opposed it?

Answer: Very carefully. (Or, very deceitfully or disingenuously.)

Read the entire Media Matters column, here.

 

 

 

Follow Eric Boehlert on Twitter: www.twitter.com/EricBoehlert

Comments

[Larry Motuz]

06:55 PM on 12/22/2010

Fox News. Well, aside for the 'news' part, they accurately name themselves:

To fox means to: flim-flam, play a joke on, play tricks, trick, fob, fox, pull a fast one on, play a trick on
deceive, lead on, delude in some way; or, to confuse, befuddle, fuddle, bedevil, confound, or discombobulate.

All of which Fox "news' is very good at.

[scottpot]

02:09 PM on 12/22/2010

Media Matters should spend time on the other Liars in the media besides Faux News.For starters--
The NYT or NPR refusal to call waterboarding torture is a place to start. Another one is the lack of reportage on the truth of the "Surge Strategy'. It was not Bush*s bold plan to "surge'' brave Americans into Iraq during the summer of 2007 that slowed the violence that America created ,but rather ,Shite cleric Muqtada Al-Sadr in June 2007, calling for a end to Iraqis killing Iraqis.
Media Matters is a lame joke of an organization.

[Huntingtonbeachboy]

08:02 AM on 12/22/2010

Its wonderful to watch "Sammon" swimming up steam, against the natural flow of the river.

[ThermoChemist]

09:55 PM on 12/21/2010

"How exactly are Fox News staffers supposed to report on the bill, which may again be called up for a vote, if they're not supposed to mention that, you know, Republicans uniformly -- unanimously -- opposed it?

Answer: Very carefully. (Or, very deceitfully or disingenuously.)"
=========

Indeed!

[1] They will either do some creative editing of video/audio...

-- FOX News says: It's not editing, it's 'Selective Factivity'.
http://www.smirkingchimp.com/thread/21616

-- Glenn Beck edits Obama speech
http://mediamatters.org/blog/200909180020

[2] ...or just choose to "mis-label" Repub politicians...

-- 11/2006; FOX News chyron beneath video of Senator Lamar Alexander (R-TN) presented him to viewers as a DEMOCRAT.
http://www.newshounds.us/2006/11/14/fox_misidentifies_lamar_alexander_as_democrat.php

-- FOX News chyron identified disgraced Republican Rep. Mark Foley of Florida as "D" -- a "mistake" never acknowledged / corrected by Fox News.
http://www.newshounds.us/2006/10/03/fox_uses_subliminal_ploy_on_foley_head_shot.php

-- 02/2008; FOX News chyron labels John McCain a Democrat.
http://www.crooksandliars.com/2008/02/07/fox-news-labels-john-mccain-a-democrat/

-- In REPUBLICAN Senator Larry Craig’s scandal, instead of assigning him to the bad, naughty, nasty Democratic party, FOX chose to completely leave out his political affiliation altogether.

: (

[Larry Motuz]

06:56 PM on 12/22/2010

Befriended.

[ThermoChemist]

07:38 PM on 12/22/2010

: )

Thx...!!!

[Patchdee]

04:22 AM on 12/26/2010

Thanks for the great links. I was aware of most of these Fox stunts, but appreciated having the links! Friended

[CAMBEL]

05:11 PM on 12/21/2010

Fox is trying to avoid looking complicit in this. Sheppard Smith just took the GOP to task for this also. Somebody up the chain figured it was better to start reporting on it than get called out again the way John Stewart did to them.

[Grada3784]

03:36 PM on 12/20/2010

With someone from Media Matters defending him, Briggs is toast at Fox. You just gave the guy the kiss of death.

[BlueBulletBill]

02:49 PM on 12/20/2010

Huh. I normally see right through the games being played by Media Matters, but I'm not sure what you're up to this time. As someone who (unlike anyone who works at Media Matters, or is a fan of them) actually watches Fox News, I see them call out Republicans all the time. They were reading off names of politicians who opposed DADT repeal, for instance. So why are you now choosing to give a case where Fox was right? The only strategy that comes to mind is an attempted high-road grab. That would actually make a lot of sense, what with a Media Matters fan shooting up a school board. Hmm. Tricky.

[pecosdog]

04:22 PM on 12/20/2010

This is the duplicitous post of the day. Of course they show the repukes who are against DADT, that is red meat for the brain-dead conservotard audience of fox. The repukes wear their "no votes" like a badge of honor on that one. The guy didn't shoot up the school board either. Not one was hit and that was his choosing. And Media Matters did not influence him to pull his stupid stunt either the way beck influenced the Tides-attacker whackjob. He was upset at a personal level by the actions of the board. Did fox tell you that he was a Media Matters fan? They didn't tell you the guy going after the Tides Foundation and "shooting up a bunch of cops on the freeway" was a beck fan, did they?

[Patchdee]

04:25 AM on 12/26/2010

Snap! Bingo! Word! How many other ways can I say, "you nailed it!"

[westbygod]

05:46 PM on 12/20/2010

Just how many Fox viewers wouldn't see a nay vote on DADT as a good thing? It's all about the narrative, and that fits right in.

[kahalaman]

01:55 PM on 12/20/2010

Keep up the good work Mr. Boehlert. It's nice to see someone other than Jon Stewart or MSNBC consistently pushing back on Fox's propaganda.

[booker52]

01:15 PM on 12/20/2010

Truth and Fox don't have a relationship.

[Justine Luckey]

12:17 PM on 12/20/2010

It's really sad that when Fox News tells the truth, that it is considered news-worthy! I'm not surprised though...