A New York Times news report completely misrepresents Manchin’s opposition to H.R. 1.
Welcome back to “Forgotten Fact-Checks,” a weekly column produced by National Review’s News Desk. This week we have contrived shock at Joe Manchin’s reiteration of his stance on the filibuster, Brian Stelter beseeching the Biden White house for advice on how to do his job, and more media misses.
Mean Joe Manchin
Since President Biden took the oath of office in January, ceaseless media speculation over whether West Virginia Democrat Joe Manchin will vote to get rid of the Senate filibuster has joined death and taxes as one of life’s certainties. So too has Manchin’s answer: No.
Still, the hive mind outrage machine powered up when, in a guest column for the Charleston Gazette-Mail, Manchin wrote down what he’s been saying all along. Reminding his Democratic colleagues of how much they valued the filibuster during the Trump years, Manchin chided them for “demoniz[ing]” it.
Manchin also poured cold water on the idea that the Democrats’ For the People Act constitutes a good-faith effort at expanding voting rights and ensuring that Americans are guaranteed free and fair elections. “I believe that partisan voting legislation will destroy the already weakening binds of our democracy, and for that reason, I will vote against the For the People Act” he explained.
The New York Times reacted by tweeting out what was billed as a straight news article with the summarizing caption “Senator Joe Manchin of West Virginia said he will not vote for the Democrats’ far-reaching bill to combat voter suppression and restore ethical controls on the presidency shattered by Donald Trump.”
So, more of an angry progressive press release than a dispassionate description of the bill and Manchin’s arguments against it, which focus on the dangers associated with initiating a federal take over of state election procedures and the importance of securing bipartisan support before making drastic alterations to the foundations of American democracy.
Moreover, while the Times claims that Manchin has no substantive criticisms of the For the People Act, he notes in his column that Republicans have legitimate reasons to oppose the bill and, let us repeat the line for those in the back, asserts that its passage would “destroy the already weakening binds of our democracy.” It seems fair to assume that he might have a quibble or two.
At the Washington Post, “conservative blogger” turned “pro-democracy opinion writer” Jennifer Rubin complained that Manchin “prefers stalemate to taking hard votes” and insisted that “the status quo leaves him with latitude to make holier-than-thou pronouncements to decry both sides.” Of course, because Manchin has received next-to-no criticism for his decision! Rubin appears to have made a (characteristic) category error; she’s not upset that Manchin hasn’t made a choice, she’s upset with the choice he’s made.
The irony of the anger at Manchin is that while he is making legitimate efforts at crafting passable legislation, those backing the For the People Act know that it never had a chance of being enacted as law. Insider’s Josh Barro put it best: “This bill has never been written in a way that is designed to seek even 50 votes in the senate. The weird thing is how many people are not in on the joke.”
That would seem to include most of those paid to inform the public about such things.
For Whom Does Brian Stelter Work?
The short answer is CNN, but a recent interview with White House press secretary Jen Psaki would suggest that Stelter’s allegiances are not only to his employer, but also the Biden administration and Democratic Party writ large.
With the chyron “PSAKI ON HER RELATIONSHIP WITH RIGHT-WING MEDIA” below him, Stelter asked the chief spokeswoman for the most powerful man in the world her expectations for the job meshed with its reality. When Psaki replied by decrying questions based on “false premises,” Stelter had a tough follow-up at the ready.
“Why do you call on Fox News and Newsmax?”
What else?
On an inaugural-address promise: “Any progress with that — defeating the lies?”
On a dearth of formal press conferences and interviews with the president: “Is that part of an attempt to lower the temperature, to be less visible, to be boring?”
On her time as a CNN contributor: “What did you learn here?”
And then there’s the coup de grâce: “What does the press get wrong when covering Biden’s agenda?”
Truth to power, and all that.
A Round of Applause: From Biden to Biden
Biden is still patting himself on the back for the economy’s recent growth: “In my first four months in office, more than two million jobs have been created,” Biden wrote in a tweet. “That’s more than double the rate of my predecessor, and more than eight times the rate of President Reagan.”
In my first four months in office, more than two million jobs have been created.
That's more than double the rate of my predecessor, and more than eight times the rate of President Reagan. pic.twitter.com/kINv4ZwOaP
— President Biden (@POTUS) June 4, 2021
After Biden first began to claim this spring that he had created “more jobs in the first 100 days than any president on record,” the Associated Press noted that hiring has accelerated “as vaccinations have picked up, states and cities ease business restrictions, and Americans have started to venture out more.” While the $1.9 trillion COVID-response package approved in March may have helped, the economy would be on the rise in any case given the low benchmark set by last year’s severe COVID contraction.
Headline Fail of the Week
This week’s headline fail goes to Buzzfeed for its article, “Anthony Fauci’s Emails Reveal The Pressure That Fell On One Man.” Honorable mention goes to the Washington Post for the headline “Anthony Fauci’s pandemic emails: ‘All is well despite some crazy people in this world.’ The outlets surely deserve credit for obtaining Fauci’s email through a Freedom of Information Act request, but their use of the resulting treasure trove of documents seemed to squander a great journalistic opportunity.
On the subject of Fauci’s emails, CNN didn’t fare well either, writing: “Thousands of emails from and to Dr. Fauci reveal the weight that came with his role as a rare source of frank honesty within the Trump administration’s Covid-19 task force.”
As NR’s Jim Geraghty notes, Fauci has been “venerated to the point of prayer candle merchandising.” The mainstream media has clearly been guilty of joining in on the Fauci worship.
However, perhaps no media outlet is as guilty as ABC News. Emails show reporter Kyra Phillips wrote to Fauci in February 2020, “I want you to know that I respect that and would never put you in a situation with my correspondence that would jeopardize you in anyway [sic].”
Yet the emails show Fauci brushed off a message warning of Chinese disinformation regarding the coronavirus pandemic, and present evidence of the NIAID director’s flip flopping on mask-wearing, among other revelations.
Media Misses
–Vox’s Zack Beauchamp asks “What’s behind the anti-semitism surge in the U.S.?” and answers “we don’t know.” While he observes that increase in attacks on Jews coincided with the flare-up in hostilities between Israel and Hamas, Beauchamp remained reticent to blame the attacks on the rhetoric of progressives like Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, who tweeted that “Apartheid states aren’t democracies” while Hamas lobbed rockets at the world’s only Jewish state. More likely, he supposes, is that it’s a continuation of anti-Semitism brought on by the election of Donald Trump in 2016.
Beauchamp also wonders how accurate it even is to speak of a surge of anti-Semitism, calling a sign calling for the abolishment of Israel “only dubiously anti-Semitic.”
-Michael Hiltzik at the Los Angeles Times says the lab-leak theory is “garbage” and submits that it will inhibit cooperation between China and international health authorities moving forward. This same tactful columnist once accused Florida governor Ron DeSantis of “dereliction of duty.”