Monthly Archives: June 2011

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dan savage at white house pride reception: obama won’t support marriage before ’12 election, im not furious

Below is the official White House Press Pool Report from President Obama’s Pride reception at the White House.

In it you will see that Dan Savage thinks supporting gay marriage is being “out on the furthest limb” for Obama so he isn’t furious with him for his position.  Savage also predicts that Obama won’t ”evolve” on gay marriage until February, 2013 – after the next presidential election.  You will also see that union spokesman Gregory King thinks gays aren’t prioritizing marriage so Obama doesn’t need to either.  With supporters like these it’s no wonder Obama doesn’t feel pressure from the gay community.

From: Julie Mason
To: Finkenbinder, Benjamin N.
Cc: Hughes, Caroline E.
Sent: Wed Jun 29 18:43:29 2011
Subject: Pool Report #1 pride reception

No, he didn’t endorse gay marriage.

The East Room contained: a few hundred attendees, a full bar, a couple of small, round tables covered in shimmery purple cloth piled high with canapes and desserts: puff pastries, baby lamb chops, mini cupcakes, slices of cake and more. The centerpieces were oversized bouquets of roses in pink, orange, red and purple. A band played light jazz and R&B.

The crowd was mostly white and the men significantly outnumbered the women. Dan Savage was there — quotes from him after Obama.

Obama entered the room at 6 p.m. to huge cheers. Facing north, he assured the crowd that “Nothing ruins a party like a long speech from a politician” and promised to go short. He talked about his accomplishments so far — hospital visits, DADT, DOMA, etc.

He said he understands the frustration many in the gay community feel about the pace of accomplishments — “I know I can count on you to let me know,” he said. “This is not a shy group.”

The crowd interrupted him a few times with spontaneous cheers and applause — when he mentioned “spouses” (without endorsing the concept) and more.  Check the transcript. He spoke for about nine minutes.

Dan Savage, a columnist, author and gay activist was there with his husband (they married in Canada), Terry Miller. Dan was wearing a black and white plaid shirt with a small button that said, “evolve already.” Terry wore a white shirt with a hot pink bow tie.

“I believe the president should evolve,” Savage said. “He says he’s evolving, I believe him.” He added, “I want to hurry him along.”

Savage, a strong proponent for gay marriage, said his presence at the White House should not be construed as a surrender on the issue. “We can scream and yell and be dicks and wear buttons” and still eat Obama’s cupcakes and drink his champagne, Savage said.

He predicted Obama’s evolution on gay marriage would be complete in February, 2013. Savage called Obama’s politics “the art of the possible.”

“We need to keep the pressure on and take ‘yes’ for an answer,” Savage said.

“I’m not one of the gay activists furious at the president because he’s not out on the furthest limb” on gay marriage, Savage said.

Also in the room and willing to make eye contact with the pool: Gregory King, a spokesman for AFSCME and a former spokesman for the Human Rights Campaign Fund.
King said, “I think Obama has done more for the LGBT community than any president in history.”

“He’s been effective at bringing change and ending discrimination,” King said.

Regarding gay marriage, “I know many couples who wouldn’t place that at the top of the agenda,” King said.

Julie Mason
POLITICO

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bring home u.s. ambassador to syria robert ford

This week, United States Ambassador to Syria Robert Ford participated in a tour sponsored by Syrian President Bashar al-Assad’s government in the Northwest province of Idlib.  The propaganda tour was organized to show the devastation caused by what government officials described as “foreign outlaws” and “radical Islamists”.  The excursion included Syrian officials who explained to Ford that Islamic extremists were responsible for the more than 1,500 deaths that have occurred since anti-government protests began on March 15.  Government officials also told Ford that there have been no peaceful freedom marches, as has been reported by the international media, only foreign radicals looking to destabilize Syria.  Ambassador Ford dutifully attended the government’s tour but has since failed to respond or react.

Ford’s silence dramatically contrasts with his tough talk during his confirmation hearing in March 2010 when he told Senators, “Unfiltered straight talk with the Syrian government will be my mission priority.”  We can only hope Ford’s public silence means he has been giving it to Assad privately.  But unfortunately there are press reports
indicating that Ford hasn’t been able to schedule a private meeting with any senior government officials.  So the U.S. Ambassador to Syria just sits and waits.

Ford’s stiff upper lip seems exactly what President Obama and Secretary of State Clinton want.  While they cling to the idea that Assad may still yet be a reformer, the
Obama team misses the opportunity to topple the Syrian dictator and blunt Iran’s influence in the region.  A review of Ford’s Embassy website shows a similar silence from Ford on the Syrian crackdown of the last three months.  With foreign journalists not allowed inside Syria, you might think the U.S. Embassy staff would be working overtime to tell the world and specifically the U.S. taxpayer just what is happening inside Assad’s world.  Shouldn’t Ford be calling attention to and showing the violence coming from Assad’s government?  How about demanding that the IAEA come in to inspect the Israeli-bombed suspected nuclear site Al Kibar?  Now seems like a good time to take advantage of a distracted dictator.  But our U.S. Embassy’s website is embarrassingly outdated and irrelevant.  On the home page there is a link to the text of Obama’s speech Wednesday on Afghanistan, a June 17th news summary from Washington’s Information Bureau quoting an unidentified official on Syria and an op/ed from Secretary Clinton dated June 17.  A closer look and you can find links to statements dated June 8th, June 4th and May 31 on HIV/AIDS and the internet.  There are also stories on Iraq, Hurricane Katrina and former astronaut Marsha Ivins.  But there is nothing from Ford on his reaction to the Syrian propaganda tour or the violent government crackdowns.

It’s time to end this charade and show Assad what the American government thinks of his phony excuses of “64,000 outlaws” and a “revolution by the Muslim Brotherhood who are agents of America and the West”.  Surely Ford must know Assad is not telling the truth and that Americans are not responsible for Assad’s troubles.  With 10,500 Syrians having fled into Turkey, Assad’s problem has become an issue of international peace
and security.  If U.S. Ambassador to the UN Susan Rice can’t show regional instability and thus an urgency for UN action then it’s time the U.S. act in other ways.  With more promises of reforms, new committees and conspiracy charges from Assad’s Damascus University speech on Monday, the time to do more is now.  Opposition forces need to know that the U.S. stands with them.  It’s also a chance to show the Iranian people what is possible.  Ford and Clinton look foolish doing nothing.  While some may say that the U.S. has little it can do outside of military action, Obama can still squeeze the Assad regime and isolate it further with these actions:

1. Order Ford home immediately, and shut down the Embassy.

2. Publicly call upon Assad to resign and ask other countries to do the same.

3. Call upon the Europeans and others to pull their Ambassadors from Damascus too.

4. Restrict the movement of the Syrian Ambassador to Washington and the Syrian Ambassador to the UN to a small radius around their offices.

5. Ask European capitals to restrict the movement of Syrian Ambassadors in their countries too.

6. Force the UN resolution on Syria to a vote and dare the Russians to veto it.

7. Move USAid employees into southern Turkey to care for the Syrian refugees arriving daily.

8. Schedule an Al Jazeera TV interview with President Obama to explain our actions and why Assad must go.

9. Demand the IAEA inspect Al Kibar and offer an immediate UN resolution authorizing it.

One sure way to ruin American credibility in the Arab world is to sit silently in Damascus and look like your part of the Assad show.

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cnn and npr fail to question white house spin, repeat errors

When the White House released the erroneous fact that President Obama would be the first President since John F. Kennedy to visit Puerto Rico, CNN, NPR and others accepted it as fact and began reporting it.  Without checking the White House’s spin, many media organizations highlighted Obama’s visit and failed to find that the White House was wrong – President Gerald Ford had visited Puerto Rico in 1976 and was the last president to do so.  While many outlets reported the error, CNN and NPR repeated it and failed to correct the mistake while highlighting the trip.

National Public Radio used the erroneous statistic to develop a stand-alone story, highlight its significance for Puerto Rican Americans and give President Obama accolades for his commitment to the island.  NPR host Melissa Block introduced the piece titled, “Why is Obama Going to Puerto Rico”, by stressing “what Obama’s visit means to a growing Puerto Rican population — and his re-election efforts.”  Block interviewed Frances Robles, correspondent with the Miami Herald, from Puerto Rico who also emphasized the historic visit.  When Robles confronted the White House and NPR’s error at the top of her interview, Block failed to acknowledge it.  Block never corrected
NPR’s error even when challenged.  In subsequent news updates, NPR repeated the White House’s factual blunder despite online fact checkers highlighting it.

CNN also failed to investigate the White House’s claim and even ignored a plethora of online corrections from various reporters and fact-checkers who caught the White House spin early on.  Shortly after the White House press release highlighting the President’s trip, bloggers found that not only had President Ford visited Puerto Rico in 1976, but President Lyndon B. Johnson visited the island in 1968.  The White House had failed to notice.

And so did CNN.  For 24 hours after the White House’s false claim, CNN failed to question it.  CNN took Obama’s arrival in Puerto Rico live with the headline “Obama in Puerto Rico.  First presidential visit since JFK 50 years ago”.  Host Suzanne Malveaux hyped the trip with pronouncements like, “(Obama) fulfilled his promise to come back” and “There’s a lot of excitement about the trip” and “more than 4 million Puerto Ricans live on the mainland” and “This is an historic trip for Obama”.  All pitches built around an error that CNN failed to check or correct.  The mistake could have been chalked up to one big error if “the best political team on television” wasn’t so Johnny on the spot with fact-checking Palin, Boehner, Bush, Romney, Ryan, Gingrich, etc.  For example, shortly after her Puerto Rico error, Malveaux interviewed Angie Holan
from The St. Petersburg Times in a segment titled “Checking The Truth-O-Meter” where the two questioned the accuracy of claims made by Republicans at the presidential debate in New Hampshire last night.

While it’s reasonable to conclude that a simple mistake was made by the White House in its initial announcement of Obama’s trip, it’s disturbing to see staffers not correct their error.  It’s more troubling to see media outlets like NPR and CNN not only fail to fact-check, but ignore the truth when confronted with it.  Both NPR and CNN should correct their mistake and come clean as to how it happened.

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imagine if karl rove replaced matt lauer

ABC News and George Stephanopoulos have a credibility problem with conservatives and middle America.  And it seems to be getting worse.

It’s not just that ABC News hired former President Clinton’s White House spokesman and counselor George Stephanopoulos as a journalist; it’s that
the pack mentality at ABC News doesn’t see it as a problem.

“The planning meetings (at ABC News) have little political diversity.  Everyone is left of center and at ease with their liberal ideals. The other viewpoint is rarely raised and never fully represented,” a current ABC News producer told me last week.

And this week is a perfect example of the problem.  Stephanopoulos opened Good Morning America’s show the morning after Congressman Anthony Weiner’s press conference clearly feeling sorry for Weiner and dismissing the negative media coverage.  Stephanopoulos went on to interview Democratic activist and close friend James Carville on Weiner’s Twitter troubles and asked “what’s illegal, if anything?”  Carville responded to his friend in agreement.  While NBC’s Today Show and CBS’s Early Show interviewed Andrew Breitbart, the man who broke the Weiner story, Stephanopoulos’ team at Good Morning America never reached out to the conservative to request an interview.

But this week’s bias is certainly not unique for ABC News.  Stephanopoulos currently has an ABCNews.com story running where he interviews his buddy and Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel and gives this prediction: “After serving in two administrations and becoming a top Democrat in the House, if Emanuel does a good job as mayor Democrats will talk about him for a 2016 presidential run.”  Stephanopoulos also interviewed Emanual last week and titled the article “Rahm Emanuel: President Obama ‘Consistent’ on Israel”.

The week before Stephanopoulos “interviewed” Democratic National Committee Chairwoman Debbie Wasserman Schultz and gave her nothing but softball questions.   He didn’t even give her one follow up question after she dismissed the criticism over rapper Common’s White House invite.

But the bias at ABC News doesn’t stop with just political activist turned “journalist” Stephanopoulos.  Obama White House Spokesman Jay Carney is married to ABC News reporter Claire Shipman.  Shipman regularly reports for ABC World News Tonight and Good Morning America on political issues with no mention to the viewers that she is married to the Obama White House Spokesman.  The morning after the memorial service for Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords, Shipman criticized Sarah Palin on Good Morning America for comments interpreted by the left as inciting and encouraging violence.  Shipman produced former Clinton White House strategist and Democratic activist Paul Begala to weigh in on the controversy and then showed a Keith Olberman attack video (her husband was Vice President Biden’s Spokesman at the time).  Perhaps more troubling, the ABC News’ website currently erroneously claims that Carney doesn’t work at the White House.  Shipman’s bio reads: “Shipman, a Columbus, Ohio, native, now resides in Washington, D.C. with her husband, Time magazine White House correspondent Jay Carney.” Not disclosing their reporters’ relationships with Obama Administration officials is clearly not an issue for ABC News.

There is also Christiane Amanpour, host of ABC News’ ‘This Week’ Sunday Show who is married to former Clinton State Department spokesman and Democratic activist Jamie Rubin. There is also no mention of Rubin on Amanpour’s ABC News’ website bio.

And there is former ABC News Congressional Reporter Linda Douglass who was the 2008 Obama campaign spokeswoman and now works in the Obama Administration.

And there’s former ABC News reporters Geoff Morrell and David Ensor who currently work in the Obama Administration as spokespeople.

And ABC News reporter Chris Cuomo, who’s brother is New York Democratic
Governor Andrew Cuomo – again, no mention in Cuomo’s bio.

ABC News also has as its Political Director an out-and-proud partisan liberal named Amy Walters. Walters’ bias is legendary and her associates don’t even challenge the claim that she is a partisan liberal Democrat. “She actually owns it, there is no pretense,” said one ABC News producer.

While the hiring of George Stephanopoulos as a legitimate and impartial journalist was laughable in itself, ABC News top brass actually think they have a balanced team.  One current ABC News employee said to me last week, “George was seen by David and Diane as unbiased and Ben has accepted that premise.  Nobody talks about Claire’s conflicts of interest and Chris has been here long enough that nobody cares.”  The employee was referring to former ABC News President David Westin, Diane Sawyer and current President Ben Sherwood.  “Ben needs to look no further than George’s Bottom Line (on ABCNews.com) to understand the enormity of our morning problem,” she added.

But imagine the rage from liberals and the main stream media if NBC hired Karl Rove to replace Matt Lauer?

While some outsiders expected early on that new executive Ben Sherwood would make the necessary corrections to ABC News’ bias trouble, Sherwood has been criticized internally with making the situation worse by avoiding the bias issue altogether.

It’s telling how Stephanopoulos is consistently compelled to defend Democrats rather than ask probing questions that are fair and balanced.  Instead of asking follow up questions to understand the issue, as normal journalists do, he makes statements.  And his statements always defend the Democrats.  Always.  And why not?  He is, after all, a Democratic political operative that has for years worked to elect liberals to elective office. He now gets to do it from the perch of the Good Morning America anchor chair surrounded by ABC News producers and reporters who don’t question his journalistic integrity or his bias.

ABC News and Sherwood must make changes to the ABC News team if they are ever going to convince conservatives that both sides of issues are well represented on their network.  At the very least, Sherwood needs to fire Amy Walters, stop Stephanopoulos from interviewing his friends, bar Shipman from reporting on any political issues, be transparent and honest about reporters’ connections to Democratic political operatives and hire conservatives to balance their coverage.  Sherwood, by the way, has a sister, Elizabeth Sherwood-Randall, who works for Obama at the White House too.

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