On the November 17th episode of All Things Considered host Robert Siegel allowed undersecretary of state for arms control and international security Ellen Taushcher to make the case for President Barack Obama’s New START treaty including this exchange:

SIEGEL: Is it a valid political objection to say some things shouldn’t be done when we can see the new Senate? They’re waiting outside the doors. They’re going to come in another couple of months, something this big should be left to them.

Ms. TAUSCHER: No. Because it’s this Senate that has had the 18 hearings, and it’s this Senate that had the

… Continue Reading

NPR’s Julie Rovner found two Republicans who caution House Republicans that their efforts to investigate Obamacare could “backfire.” Rovner reported on November 4th:

But all those hearings could also have the opposite effect — giving the administration a chance to make its case in favor of the law, a case that often got drowned out during the election campaign.

“The next round of this, while there will continue to be the broad sloganeering on both sides, will presumably get a little bit more into the detail,” says Martin Corry, a health care lobbyist and former official at the

… Continue Reading

The October 28th NPR story by Julie Rovner, “Health Law Hardly At Fault For Rising Premiums,” was much fairer than its headline (and the sub-heads, if that’s what we call them). Obamacare is “hardly at fault for rising premiums?” Really? The story quotes an insurance-industry flack who well establishes what the Obama administration’s own regulations confirm: Obamacare will be a major driver of premium increases for some health plans.

A sub-head calls such claims “misinformation.” Really? The article does more to bolster … Continue Reading

On August 2 in NPR, David Welna writes on the scaled-back energy bill in the Senate proposed by Senator Harry Reid (D-NV). Welna’s description of the bill is mostly accurate but his report has two fundamental flaws. First, when noting that Reid’s bill does not contain a system to price carbon dioxide, he wrongly asserts that businesses responded negatively towards proposals like cap and trade. He writes, “It’s been more than a year since the House narrowly passed its energy bill. That was a tough vote for a lot of Democrats because the bill included … Continue Reading

NPR’s Alan Greenblatt filed a story April 26th, How Cap And Trade Was ‘Trashed’, reporting on on the history and political divide of cap and trade in the United States. Part of the story includes the origins of cap and trade, in which he says, “The term cap and trade didn’t exist until the mid-1990s, but by that time the idea had already served as the centerpiece of a landmark environmental law. It had turned out to be the solution for acid rain.”

But cap and trade was not the solution for acid rain. Laurie Wiliams and … Continue Reading

National Public Radio’s Chris Arnold covered the Tax Day Tea Party protest in Boston last week, and challenged one of the organizers by repeating the White House talking point that the president had cut taxes for a majority of the country. Here’s a part of the transcript:

The Greater Boston Tea Party is planning a modern-day demonstration. The president of the group, Christen Varley, says that a year ago she was a housewife who decided to get involved in politics….

When it comes to taxes, the Obama administration has actually cut taxes for 95 percent of Americans through a federal income

… Continue Reading