Why Doesn’t the Media Report the Facts on Where the Blame Belongs on Financial Crisis?

Since the current financial crisis is taking place under a Republican administration it is easy for people to automatically blame Republicans. The media have happily pushed this misconception too. Facts the media ignore are things such as the very groundwork for today’s problems being rooted in legislation created by Jimmy Carter , or that in 2003 President Bush proposed “the most significant regulatory overhaul in the housing finance industry since the savings and loan crisis that was blocked by Democrats on party lines. However, the media don’t report these very important and significant facts and so it is no wonder that the GOP takes the brunt of the blame in this recent CNN poll.

A new CNN/Opinion Research Corporation Poll suggests that by a 2-to-1 margin, Americans blame Republicans over Democrats for the financial crisis that has swept across the country the past few weeks — one factor that may have contributed to an apparent increase in Barack Obama’s edge over John McCain in the race for the White House.

In the new survey, released Monday afternoon, 47 percent of registered voters questioned say Republicans are more responsible for the problems currently facing financial institutions and the stock market, with 24 percent saying Democrats are more responsible. One in five of those polled blame both parties equally, and 8 percent say neither party is to blame.

Is it possible that these registered voters are basing their opinions without the full facts? Well, I’m sure the polls would not reflect so favorably for Barack Obama if the American people were properly informed that Fannie and Freddie co-opted over $120,000 to Barack Obama over less than four years.

Throughout his political career, Obama has gotten more than $125,000 in campaign contributions from employees and political action committees of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, second only to Dodd, the Senate Banking Committee chairman, who received more than $165,000.

Perhaps the polls wouldn’t reflect so negatively for Senator John McCain if the public were informed that during the same timeframe Obama was pocketing money from these corrupted institutions, John McCain was fighting to reform them.

For years I have been concerned about the regulatory structure that governs Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac–known as Government-sponsored entities or GSEs–and the sheer magnitude of these companies and the role they play in the housing market. OFHEO’s report this week does nothing to ease these concerns. In fact, the report does quite the contrary. OFHEO’s report solidifies my view that the GSEs need to be reformed without delay.

I join as a cosponsor of the Federal Housing Enterprise Regulatory Reform Act of 2005, S. 190, to underscore my support for quick passage of GSE regulatory reform legislation. If Congress does not act, American taxpayers will continue to be exposed to the enormous risk that Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac pose to the housing market, the overall financial system, and the economy as a whole.

Ed Morrissey explains why this is important, and why John McCain needs to push back against the way the media has painted this.

We can play blame games for the next several months and years, but what would be the point? In this case, there is a point, and it couldn’t be more clear or important. We have two candidates running for President who would bring much different styles to executive authority over regulatory responsibility. Barack Obama and his allies took the money and stayed on the sidelines rather than take proactive action to resolve the credit crisis. McCain and his co-sponsors of this bill had the right idea and instincts, but could not get any cooperation from Clinton, Schumer, or Obama.

In simple summary, Republicans including John McCain tried to prevent this crisis back in 2005, and Democrats like Barack Obama chose self interest over doing so. Can we expect the media to report these facts? Of course not. Pesky facts only get in the way of agendas.

(Original here)

The Double Standard Media

Only in America can we allow our mainstream media be so biased. I grieve, litterally, at their biasedness. It is no wonder that I stray so far and fervently from watching MSM anymore.

No, today is far from the watchdog and unbiased news that used to air. Back then, people tuned in to see the media uncover and unfurl any political blunder, regardless or what party that person belonged to. Today, media hosts and anchors (who are honored, followed, and idolized) area allowed to interject their own personal opinions, many times via logical fallacies and power-speaking.

Enter in the MTV Awards – the show that so many young people watch. And lets make any mistake about this, the young crowd is the new battleground for candidates and has proven extremely useful for Presidential hopeful Obama. So what happens during this show, the host, Russell Brand, interjects his very harsh and biased opinion of what it means to disagree and not vote for Obama. Below is his tirade.

BRAND: “Now, as a representative of the global community and a visitor from abroad, I don’t want to come across a little bit biased, but could I please ask of you people of America, to PLEASE ELECT BARACK OBAMA. Please! On behalf of the world. (Camera pans to singers Chris Brown and Britney Spears applauding and cheering.) Some people, I think they’re called racists, say that America is not ready for a black president. But I know America to be a forward-thinking country, right. Because, otherwise, you know, would you have let that retarded cowboy fellow be president for eight years?

We were very impressed. It was nice of you to let him have a go. Because in England, George Bush wouldn’t be trusted with a pair of scissors.

I am obliged by broadcasting law to show some balance in this situation, which means, uh, the Republicans might be alright. Sarah Palin. She’s a VILF! A vice president I’d like to…fumble, fondle, I dunno. I do feel a little bit sorry for her daughter, getting pregnant, poor kid. Is it a boy? Is it a girl? It’s a P.R. stunt. Come on. Be honest.

And I feel most sorry for that poor teenaged father. Boy. One minute, he’s just a teenaged lad in Alaska having joyful, unprotected sex. And the next minute: Get to the Republican convention. I think that is the best safe sex message of all time. Use a condom or become Republican! …That boy will spend the rest of his life masturbating while wearing a condom…

…New music, new president, and brand new America. And you people deserve it after eight years of Bush. I promise you, you deserve it… (emphasis mine)

This is dispicable in my opinion. It is OK to have your opinion.  But really, I could care less what you care about you stupid Brit – you can’t even vote here so buzz off. Now, this is wrong and disgusting because this is what he really said.

“Vote for Obama. Obama is a black man, and if you can’t vote for a black man, you are a racist. After all, half of you voted for a monkey, so you are just as retarded as him. Oh, and don’t mind that all of your senators voted for war, and many of them, including Obama voted to continue to fund the war they hated so much.

But Palin, well, she is just hot. She should remain that way, just some woman that has babies. There is no place for a woman in these politics. Oh and by the way, her baby isn’t real, Palin just made up a human to gain sympathy.”

I know I over exaggerated on my “reading between the lines” up there, but damn… Bullshit. I guarantee that if any right leaning station said that, they would be vilified for talking about his skin color and they would have ended their career. Look, many people don’t like Obama, not because they don’t like his skin color, but because they disagree with his policies. Let’s put it this way, if my own brother or father was running on the same political platform as Obama, I wouldn’t vote for him AND I would campaign against him. Me not liking Obama has absolutely nothing to do with his skin color and I am sure that many other people not voting for Obama are in the same boat. But forget that, we are just racist. Bullshit. And what is up with all this Palin talk and how she should just “stay home” and take care of her kids bullshit? The feminist movement strives to make is so that women do not have to choose between children and a career. So Palin comes along and says that she can raise kids, one being born with DS, and be a Vice-President at the same time. How is that not the best thing that can ever happen to feminist movement? Sheesh…. Instead we belittle her and call her child a “PR Stunt.” Again, bullshit.

I seriously don’t know how anyone can flip on the TV and say, with honesty, that the media does not lick Obama’s hairy ass and they pounce on every chance they get to slam McCain. This is bias, folks! The figure I found a week ago (but can’t refind it) is that McCain to Obama negative stories are covered by a ratio of 200:1. Holy crap… Furthermore, you see the stations always covering all the pop stars and their endorsement for Obama. It is like an Obama-orgy out there. I can’t even honestly say that I’ve seen any celeberties interviewed to endorse McCain (and I’m sure they are out there, its just that the media is cherry-picking the Obama supporters).

Edit: I found 4 celebrities that have endorsed McCain: Heidi Montag, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Sylvester Stallone, and pitcher Curt Schilling. This is dwarfed by some of the heavy hitters such as Oprah Winfrey*, George Clooney, George Lucas, and the list goes on and on.

*Oprah alone probably overshadows all of McCain’s endoresements combined.

Media Leans Left

According to this survey here by the Pew Research Center… the media has some issues. Here are some of the results.

46% thinks the media is moral, 32% think they are immoral
44% thinks the media protects democracy, 36% thinks it hurts democracy
39% thinks the media gets facts straight, 53% think they are inaccurate
31% think that the media is unbiased, 55% think they are biased

84% of Democrats approve of the TV media, with 56% of Republicans
86% of Democrats approve of the daily newspaper, with 68% of Republicans
79% of Democrats approve of the national newspapers, with 41% of Republicans

But what I think is the most interesting is that 55% of all 1,500 people surveyed believe that the media is biased towards the left (75% of Republicans, 37% of Democrats)!