The National Republican Congressional Committee fundraising dinner is next month and who did they choose to deliver the keynote address? None other than Fox News‘ Sean Hannity. The reason? According to NRCC Chairman Rep. Pete Sessions (R-TX), it’s Hannity’s fighting for conservative values.

Last year’s fundraising dinner was headlined by Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal (R) and a NRCC dinner last June was headlined by Newt Gingrich (replaced Sarah Palin). The NRCC has moved from Republican governors and a former House Speaker to a Fox News personality (formerly a general contractor and bartender)… Did the GOP run out of their own qualified voices?

Original Story

Arianna Huffington asked Fox News president Roger Ailes why Fox News was the only cable news network to cut away from President Obama’s questions and answers session with House Republicans.

HUFFINGTON: Roger, you clearly are in ratings, but if you are in ratings, can you explain to me why FOX went away from the meeting the president was having in — why did you go away, 20 minutes before the end?

AILES: Because we’re the most trusted name in news.

Ailes’ response may be somewhat honest, but only if you consider who is placing their trust in Fox News and what, exactly, they are trusting… It certainly isn’t the truth. But, any rational person knows that you cannot be a trusted name in news if you don’t actually provide news.

Here’s what Paul Krugman had to say about the subject, after the interview:

HUFFINGTON: Their framing of the President is that he’s radical, that he’s taking us down a dark, fascist or Bolshevik future — depending on the day. And there he was, rational, charming, and in full command of his facts. So the narrative fell apart and so the cameras stopped showing what was happening.

KRUGMAN: Yeah, I mean it’s — I thought it was actually quite funny except it has real consequences. There you have Roger Ailes, with this powerful, popular news network, whining about how the media are unfair to Republicans. I mean, he is a powerful person in the media — and of course, you know, “Fair and Balanced” is truly Orwellian and we know that. So it’s clear that Fox — I felt like yelling to him, “you can’t handle the truth,” because that was what was actually happening on the Fox coverage.

Original Story

President Obama held a Q & A session with the Republican members of Congress at the GOP House Issues Conference, during which he addressed many falsehoods related to health care, the budget, taxes, etc. All cable news networks covered the session, but Fox News was the only channel to cut it off with 20 minutes left. Apparently The Live Desk co-host Trace Gallagher thought Obama was “at times being a little bit combative” and that “there was a little bit of lecturing there.”

House Minority Leader Rep. John Boehner (R-OH), Rep. Mike Pence (R-IN), and Rep. Eric Cantor (R-VA) held a “Republican Response” press conference after the question and answer session with Obama. Not surprising, Fox News Channel covered the entire thing, including Karl Rove’s commentary prior to the press conference.

Original Story

Fox & Friends questions whether Senators Chris Dodd (D-CT) and Byron Dorgan (D-ND) are defecting to the Republican party. They are retiring, Plain and simple. Only Rep. Parker Griffith (AL) has announced that he is switching parties.

This is another example of Fox News taking an obvious falsehood and putting a question mark after it to give it an air of plausibility, which is then believed to be the “truth” by their flock viewers. This is similar to the question, “Did Glenn Beck rape and murder a girl in 1990?“

It may also be important to note that in the House, 14 GOP incumbents have decided not to seek re-election, while 10 Democratic incumbents have made the same announcement. And, in the Senate, six Republican incumbents have decided not to seek re-election, while two Democratic incumbents have made the same announcement.

Original Story

In what may be a Freudian Slip, author Robert G. Kaufman, makes the following statement regarding what the Republican party should do “when Obama fails” (his words).

“If I had to recommend one single thing that the Republicans should be doing to help articulate the message, it is to acquire another television network so that there is not just FOX, but multiple sources of alternative information that will do a much better job than we did in 2008 to keep things honest. “

Obviously, this isn’t a revelation about the GOP owning Fox News, but rather the fact that Fox News is responsible to the right. This further proves that Fox News is neither fair nor balanced.

Original Story