Election 2010
December 13, 2011
Hannity Makes A Big Deal Out Of Christine “Not A Witch” O’Donnell’s Endorsement Of Mitt Romney
If there’s a doubt in anyone’s mind that Fox News will cheerlead almost any Republican, no matter how foolish or inconsequential, check out tonight's Hannity segment that trumpeted Christine "I'm not a witch" O’Donnell’s endorsement for the 2012 Republican primary. The thought crossed my mind that the whole thing was a sneaky way of making Romney look bad. But even if Hannity’s praise of O'Donnell didn't seem quite sincere, he sure did a good job of looking like his good wishes for her and Romney were.
Continue reading >>November 17, 2011
Sean Hannity And Fox News Help Thwart The Scott Walker Recall
In a segment Fox News called “Wisconsin Union Wars,” Sean Hannity trotted out Governor Scott Walker for a pep talk about why Wisconsin voters should not recall him. Predictably, there was no discussion about any of the questionable tactics the Wisconsin Republicans are using to fight the recall. Nor was there any mention of how Walker celebrated recalls before he was against them. There was time, however, to run what Hannity described as “a powerful new internet ad” touting Walker’s record of “positive progress.” At the end, Hannity gushed over Walker’s “great act of political courage” initiating the measures that have prompted the recall efforts. Fair and balanced? Don’t make me laugh - or cry.
Continue reading >>October 24, 2011
Marco Rubio Visits The O’Reilly Factor For Some Republican Rehab
As I posted last week, Florida’s Republican Senator Marco Rubio got in political hot water when it was found he had embellished facts about his family’s emigration from Cuba. Rubio has since hit back with statements on his Facebook page and to Politico. He also went – where else? – to Fox News. In an interview recorded last week, Bill O’Reilly discussed the Post story tonight, questioned whether Rubio was the victim of a political hit job and spent a lot of time talking up his future as a possible VP or Presidential candidate. The only problem? Since the interview was recorded, more embellishments by Rubio have surfaced. There are also other lingering questions about his credibility that O’Reilly chose to ignore while gushing, instead, over Rubio’s future prospects. As for Rubio, he indicated he'd rather be a Fox News host.
Continue reading >>October 21, 2011
You Know Marco Rubio's In Trouble When...
...A post about Rubio having "embellished" the truth about his family's emigration from Cuba is the top story on Fox Nation. Of course, there are two refutations immediately underneath it. UPDATED with more trouble for Rubio.
Continue reading >>September 14, 2011
Mediaite Profiles Fox’s Spin Meister Frank Luntz
Long-time readers of News Hounds are well familiar with Frank Luntz, the so-called “pollster” who appears regularly on the so-called “news network.” Real pollsters try to get a candid snapshot of the public mood at any given time. On the other hand: Luntz poses the components in his snapshots to create the appearance of a public mood in order to push GOP talking points for Fox “News.” He is documented in these pages stacking focus groups to get more favorable responses on several occasions. He has also been caught haranguing his focus groups until they finally give him the answer he’s looking for. Luntz has also used his, err, talents to help the Republican Party fine-tune its message into easily digestible sound-bites, which don’t have to be true to be effective: “death tax” instead of “estate tax” or “tax relief” instead of “tax cuts.” His formulation “government takeover” of health care was Politifact’s Lie of the Year. That’s why it was so refreshing to see Mediaite tackle the problem that is Frank Luntz. Philip Bump writes:
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