MSM Highlight GOP 'Defections', Ignore Dems Voting Against Their Own

NewsBusters.org ^ | 7/13/07 | Warner Todd Huston

[Mobile Vulgus]

We are seeing all over the MSM the reports highlighting the Republicans in the House and Senate who are turning away from the Party line and voting against -- or at least seeming to vote against -- the President's Iraq war policies. The MSM is presenting this revolt as a momentous thing, unprecedented and presenting it as a loss for the President's ideas. Yet, even as a small number of Republicans have, indeed, voted against the Party line, an even larger number of Democrats are voting against their Party, too. Yet, somehow, we are not hearing this being brought up by the tongue waggers and controversy-mongers in the MSM.

In a July 12th vote in the House of Representatives to mandate a certain date to pull out of Iraq, for instance, the fact that four Republicans broke ranks is treated as a stampede of GOP defectors. Yet, in that same vote, 10 Democrats did not vote with their Party -- in effect "defecting" to the GOP side of the argument. Of this fact, the MSM seem strangely quite.

Why is it that four Republican votes against the President's plans is some sort of landslide, yet 10 Democrat votes against their Party line is ignored?

Here are just a few reports that take pains to highlight the GOP defectors and either never mention the Democrat votes, or they do not much focus on them.

(Reuters) REPUBLICANS BREAKING RANKS

The White House report is being sent to Congress after several prominent Republicans have broken ranks with Bush on Iraq, adding momentum to Democratic-led efforts to try to force a scaling-back of troop levels more than four years after the U.S.-led invasion that toppled Saddam Hussein.

New York Times

For now, at least, Mr. Bush has rejected the advice of those who have urged him to hint at a timeline for withdrawal, concluding that to follow that course would only have emboldened Republican rebels and others in Congress to go even further in trying to reshape his strategy.

The San Francisco Chronicle

(San Francisco Chronicle) Republican congressional support for President Bush's Iraq war policy may be splintering, but enough GOP senators remained united with the president Wednesday to sidetrack legislation that would have made it harder to return military units to the war zone.

About the only more in depth story I could find that gives the actual vote totals, was on on the AP.

House OKs Plan to Withdraw US Troops

The vote generally followed party lines: 219 Democrats and four Republicans in favor, and 191 Republicans and 10 Democrats opposed.

But, this is the only mention I have seen of the Democrat votes against their Party being so much higher than the GOP "defectors" votes.

So, once again, we have the troubles of the GOP spotlighted as if nothing like this has ever happened, yet the even larger Democrat "defectors" is ignored as not worthy of discussion!

Once again we see the MSM at work, folks. At work smoothing the waters for the Democrat Party.

Read more at NewsBusters.org

[Mobile Vulgus]

We can't even expect the MSM to be able to count simple numbers anymore!

[cripplecreek]

It’s like the amnesty bill. They were happy to give the democrats credit until the crapstorm hit. Then it was the Bush bill.

[BMC1]

The democrats’ new strategy of cut and run from Iraq besides blaming President Bush is to blame the Iraqi governments’ inability to reach OUR Congress’ bench marks. Iraq’s government is technically a little over a year old and is just learning how to be a democratic type government.
The United States has had government for over 200 years and our politicians still can’t get anything right. The democrats gained power 8 months ago, so what has our inept congress accomplished? They raised the minimum wage had a bunch of hearings that are going nowhere and several votes to cut and run from Iraq with a pullout date of April fool’s day 2008.
The Iraqi’s have completed 8 of the 18 benchmarks. Our congress only accomplished 1.
What people in the country don’t understand is politics in the Middle-East move at a different pace. While they are trying to figure out how to move to a democratic type government, our politicians are trying to move this country to socialism. They want total power and the ability to control free speech in order to make all Americans as STUPID and their democrat voters in order to keep power forever.

[nuconvert]

“10 Democrats did not vote with their Party — in effect “defecting” to the GOP side of the argument. Of this fact, the MSM seem strangely quite. “

I noticed that yesterday too

[bilhosty]

I am thinking that the Dem defectors are planned to keep the war alive so the Dem’s can benefit from it in the next election. They are really working for the mediacrats.

[popdonnelly]

I don’t trust the MSM to do anything, except act like a branch of the Democratic Party. Boycott them.

[bolobaby]

Nope - no bias there.

And now back to our regularly scheduled programming...

[Tanniker Smith]

Always the case.
If you'll recall Clinton's impeachment, the meme was that it was a "lame-duck Congress" and Kookie Roberts was quick to point-out that Clinton impeachment was within the 5-vote margin of seats that would turn over into Democrat hands with the New Year.

What she failed to point out was that five Democrats had voted for that charge of impeachment and without those votes, the charge would not have passed.