NPR's David Greene made sure to tell us that Democrats are to blame for the shutdown

[Orrex]

And that the shutdown--which was the Democrats' fault, remember--didn't have any positive result.

The GOP, famous advocates for immigrants and non-white people in general, was going to address DACA anyway, so this whole Democratic charade (again, it was the Democrats' fault) accomplished nothing.

Greene somehow managed to exclude any reference to CHIP, which Democrats saved for six years and thereby preserved health coverage for millions of children. He made sure to tell us that Democrats caused the shutdown, though. Over DACA.

I was driving, and the transcript isn't yet available online. Here's the even-handed treatment by the famously "Liberal" NPR:

Did Senate Democrats Help Or Hurt Themselves During The Shutdown?

[oberliner]

1. CHIP was part of the Friday bill

Democrats could have voted for its passage then.

[sharedvalues]

7. This is a right-wing talking point. Dems got exposure for DREAM act by holding out. n/m

[oberliner]

10. No, it's not

It's just a fact. CHIP was in the Friday bill.

If the goal was to get exposure for DREAM Act then I would agree that the goal was achieved.

The OP was talking about CHIP, though, which was part of the Friday bill that Democrats could have voted for.

[sharedvalues]

11. It's both. Here's the *RNC* website repeating that talking point

Yes - stay positive. Don't worry about people criticizing Dems. Real fight is in three weeks. And we all need to work on messaging before then.

https://www.gop.gov/democrats-are-blocking-chip-funding/

[oberliner]

28. That's a completely different point

The Republican talking point is that Democrats were voting against CHIP by voting against the Friday CR.

My point is that there was no difference with respect to CHIP between the Friday and Monday resolutions - so, obviously, that was not the reason for the opposition - nor did we actually gain anything on that front.

[delisen]

29. Agree

[Joediss]

31. Yes

And bigest fight is the mid - terms election , will any of this matter by the midterms . I say no , we will be discussing a total different scandal about trump, and who in the fuck are the people on the left going to vote for , somebody like Jill stein , well if they do , we are all fucked , I guess , and I am more concerned about the right stealing our election, than who fucking won or lost.

[Cha]

38. It's not only the rnc talking point..

I've seen it repeated ad nauseam by others.

I trust those who are making the point that the Dems saved CHIPs on Monday.

Link to tweet

Link to tweet

It sounds pretty good for those who don't have the numbers to get All that they actually want.

Link to tweet

[uponit7771]

13. Yes it is a RWTP and it wasn't a clean bill on CHIP, dems GOT a clean CHIP agreement

[oberliner]

27. No, it's not

It's a fact. We should not be afraid of facts.

What exactly are you saying the difference is with respect to CHIP between the Friday and Monday resolutions?

[sharedvalues]

35. Three days of additional coverage of issues that a lot of independents don't often hear about

Healthcare for poor kids, and hardworking immigrants who want to live the American Dream.

[Cha]

39. Thank you, uponit.. I trust those

who say CHIPS was saved on Monday..

Link to tweet

Link to tweet

It sounds pretty good for those who don't have the numbers to get All that they actually want.

Link to tweet

[Demsrule86]

16. so was the wall and Military spending...both were excluded from the CR that passed.

We needed to get CHIP funded. The GOP could have taken it off the table anytime...what 9 million hostages released and we can see where we end up with...the shut it down forever meme may be popular with the left left but it would destroy our electoral chances and cause serious harm to Americans.

[TCJ70]

2. Since CHIP funding for 6 years was in the CR from Friday...

...BEFORE the shutdown, he’s not really wrong. We didn’t get anything except McConnels word for the shutdown. We should all know how much that’s worth. The GOP already “addressed” DACA by deciding to let it lapse. At this point there’s very little chance of a positive outcome for it.

[Orrex]

4. My thought about that...

Until yesterday afternoon, I couldn't find a single article confirming that CHIP's funding was restored/protected, or that it was likely to be so.

After the deal to end the shutdown, that detail started appearing online.

Regardless, Greene laid blame squarely on Democrats, when he should have explained Republicans' part in causing it, or Republicans' refusal to pass an actual budget, or Republicans' cruel tactic of pitting CHIP recipients against DACA's Dreamers.


No, according to Greene, the important thing to know is that Democrats are to blame for the shutdown.

[oberliner]

5. One of the primary arguments Republicans were making was that Democrats were voting against CHIP

But not voting for the resolution on Friday.

That was why they included it - to be able to make that argument.

[sharedvalues]

8. No. Right-wing talking point. Dems raised awareness of DREAMers

They also are going to be in a much better place messaging-wise in a few weeks. They'll say McConnell promised a DREAM vote. He broke his previous promises, but now more people are watching.

Also this:

Link to tweet

Dems did the right thing. This was a victory.

[uponit7771]

14. It was NOT a clean bill on CHIP and you know that !!!

[Orrex]

19. Thank you.

You stated it better (and more succinctly) than I've been able to do.

[TCJ70]

22. Doesn't change the fact that it was in there Friday. It wasn't something we "got" as a...

...result of the shutdown.

[uponit7771]

24. We GOT a CHIP ... WITHOUT ... wall funding that's better than the Friday deal ! So is it your positi

... position that wall funding with CHIP would've been better than wall funding without CHIP?!

Thx in advance

[TCJ70]

25. Wall funding will most likely end up in whatever immigration bill McConnel allows for a vote...

...if he follows through on his "promise". All I'm saying, is CHIP was already resolved. Don't try to frame that as something that happened as a result of the shutdown. That's revisionist history.

[uponit7771]

26. Then it didn't need to be tied to CHIP, the Schumer deal was cleaner than Friday's Bill and that's

... a win in my book

CHIP was NOT already resolved if Red Don was insisting on wall funding to be included in the bill that extended it!!!

That's a RWTP straight from the GOP website !!

We should not spread those here.

[Demsrule86]

17. The military and wall spending are not in the CR that passed.

[TCJ70]

23. And there's more tax cuts in what did go through. I also fully expect wall funding...

...to be in whatever immigration/DACA bill McConnel allows to go forward to a vote.

[Demsrule86]

30. It won't be good...but the CHIP kids are off the table and let's see how it plays out.

[sharedvalues]

36. We got three days of additional coverage in the media, raising awareness.

And made McConnell make a public stand.

This was a good move, in my book. Three weeks from now will be the real battle

[TreasonousBastard]

3. Everybody shares the blame-- Trump started this nonsense...

and the rest of them scampered to see who could get the best press out of it.

And what did anyone get out of this?

Empty promises and the gummint lives on petty cash for a few more months...

[sharedvalues]

9. Not shared. It's GOP's fault. They held kids' healthcare hostage.

And Dems are in a better messaging position about DREAM act now.

[uponit7771]

20. NO ... Trump insisted wall funding was in Fridays bill !!!

[sharedvalues]

6. NPR has unintentional right-wing bias - so afraid of the right that they overcorrect.

REAL journalists speak the truth and don't just repeat what the GOP says.

[Orrex]

12. Yes indeed

More than anything, they fear the "Liberal Media" label, and they go to great lengths to reassure Conservative snowflakes that the NPR is a well-behaved servant.

Actually, they probably fear losing their funding from Koch Enterprises, Walmart & the Ray Kroc foundation most of all.

[Nitram]

15. Three points in response.

1. The focus of the interviewed was on DACA, not CHIP.

2. The person being interviewed, Georgetown University's Mo Elleithe, a former strategist for the Democratic Party, is a Democrat. It is his job to bring up CHIP, not the interviewer's job. If the interviewee was a Republican, there would be more incentive for Greene to bring up CHIP.

3. Republicans accuse NPR of being too liberal. As a daily listener, I consider NPR to be the fairest, most objective news source out there. Their job is not to be liberal, it is to present both sides factually. The fact that the interviewer did not bring up CHIP is clearly not an example of right-wing bias for the two reasons I give above.

[Orrex]

18. That's a fair response

1. Although that's strictly accurate, Greene made it seem as though Democrats gained nothing from this. That's simply not true, and his deliberate failure to omit a major win (CHIP) serves to discredit Dems. He also specifically name-dropped a number of prominent Democrats with presidential aspirations (Warren, Harris, Gillibrand, and Sanders(I)) in an apparent attempt to link them to the disastrous shutdown (that's entirely the Democrats' fault, remember).

2. Maybe, but I've heard a great many interviews over the decades in which NPR's obedient commentators (particularly Greene) are happy to pitch softballs to Republicans and then sit back as the interviewee freely spews propaganda for several minutes. Yes, the commentators will sometimes call out extremely egregious bullshit, but that's a rare exception. Most of the time it's open-mic-nite for Republicans, with the commentator doing little more than introducing the piece and closing it out at the end.

3. Well, we'll just have to agree to disagree on that. FAIR.org has done an extensive analysis that clearly shows NPR's long history of favoring Republicans, in terms of guest-selection, topics covered, and follow-ups asked or not asked. In addition, NPR also has an obvious (and daily visible) pro-wealth bias.

I'm chiefly talking about the flagship programs Morning Edition and All Things Considered. Other programs do offer a more centrist view, but I find it impossible to deny the pro-Right bias of the primary news broadcasts. During the 2016 campaign they repeatedly chanted the "Clinton is unlikable and untrustworthy" mantra, while they smiled and downplayed Trump's laundry list of catastrophic and career-ending traits.

How many times have they called him out as a liar, by the way? Not by referring vaguely to "misstatements" or "exaggerations" or "statements at odds with fact." How many times have the fair and objective Morning Edition and ATC explicitly called Trump a liar or called his statements lies? Is that number more than five? Is it more than zero?

Their ongoing failure to do so is undeniable pro-Right bias and a failure of journalistic responsibility.

[haele]

33. Green has always been comfortable with establishment Republicans.

It seems to be more of a class and culture preference - on the radio, he always sounds like he's at a gentlemen's club chatting on about beltway politics and drinking spiked coffee with the scions of old money.
Morning Edition is particularly bad about the genteel gamesmanship and "whataboutisms" - and the few times they actually go into policies, implying there's a wastefulness of programs that (by implication) apparently rewards the inherent laziness and ignorance of the lower classes.

Haele

[Nitram]

41. Greene allows his interviewees to express their opinions. As any credible news organization

should. NPR is not into shouting down Republican interviewees in the middle of their response to a question. Greene, does ask hard questions, repeats them when they are not answered, and asks good follow-up questions. I get the feeling that those who are biased against NPR want them to be more like a liberal Fox News. I find them to be fair and balanced, and I turn down the sound when a particularly loathsome Republican is spouting their opinion and I can't take it anymore.

[uponit7771]

21. NPR ... COULD ... demand accuracy no matter who is speaking and they don't.

[SharonClark]

32. They also seem to interview more republicans than Democrats.

[cutroot]

34. Either way they lost their journalistic integrity

I removed them from my play list when they began to stump for romney.

[Baconator]

37. It's fair to talk about the perception and who came out on top...

It's unrealistic to assume that everyone will side with whatever you want or that they are malicious for it.

[Orrex]

40. Thank goodness I'm making no such assumption, then!

I'm glad to hear that you and I are on the same page.