Topic: Media Research Center
The Media Research Center lashed out at anyone who said nice things about President Biden's State of the Union address, but it was really incensed that Biden called out Republicans who wanted to cut Social Security and Medicare, insisting it was a lie despite ample on-the-record evidence of Republicans desiring to do exactly that. Alex Christy spent a Feb. 8 post spinning on behalf of Republicans, demanding that you ignore all that evidence and believe instead that Biden "cynically lied":
Wednesday’s CNN Newsroom did not directly say that President Biden lied during his State of the Union address when he claimed that Republicans want to cut Social Security and Medicare, but they strongly implied it wasn’t true. Still, the Republican reaction to that claim garnered more condemnation from the assorted cast than the claim itself with co-host Jim Sciutto go so far as to wonder “what lesson it teaches to our children about how to respond to points that they disagree with.”
After playing a clip of Speaker Kevin McCarthy on Fox recalling that he told Biden himself Social Security and Medicare cuts are off the table, Congressional Correspondent Jessica Dean reporter, “The president appeared to be referring to a proposal by Florida Senator Rick Scott that would sunset all federal legislation including Medicare and Social Security, that is something that the House Speaker has said will not be included in these cuts.”
Nicholas Fondacaro similarly whined:
The cackling coven of ABC’s The View was giddy Wednesday morning following President Biden’s divisive and fact-free State of the Union address the previous night. They were obsessed with Biden’s raucous exchange with some Republicans after he spewed disinformation to a national, televised audience about the caucus supposedly clamoring to sunset Social Security. The ladies of The View called the BIG LIE “brilliant” and “masterful,” including the supposed Republican.
[...]
And when it came to the Republican outrage at Biden’s BIG LIE, the cackling coven condemned the right for daring to push back. “You owe him the respect! He is the president!” Goldberg screamed, arguing that Republicans were “indulging in really what is despicable behavior.” Hostin shouted about how Georgia Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene should be forced to apologize to Biden.
Despite repeatedly putting "BIG LIE" in all caps, Fondacaro offered no evidence to show that it wa. A couple hours later, Fondacaro was still ranting about it:
While CBS News was busy clutching their pearls into diamonds over Republican opposition to President Biden’s lies about them in his divisive State of the Union address Tuesday night, ABC News analysts admitted that his comments about Republicans wanting to abolish Social Security were “over the top.” But they were fine with it because “he did it with a smile.”
Chief anchor David Muir clutched his pearls over how Republicans dared to push back on the President’s lies. “Their behavior was on full display tonight,” he chided. “You heard Marjorie Taylor Greene yell ‘liar’ when it came to Medicare and Social Security, but then -- this was an interesting scene we watched unfold.”
Again, he offered no proof Biden lied.
Kevin Tober complained that Biden "said untrue things about them wanting to gut Social Security and Medicare which he knew would get a negative response." Tim Graham's Feb. 8 podcast groused that "Biden was a trash-talking partisan, uncorking lies about Republicans phasing out Social Security and so on. Anchors considered it rude that Republicans would loudly object to being accused of trying to kill Social Security."
The next day, Christy complained that NBC's Seth Meyers served up some of that actual evidence using the actual words of Republican Sen. Mike Lee, declaring it to be irrelevant:
Despite all the proclamations from Republican leaders saying cuts to Social Security and Medicare are not on the table, NBC Late Night host Seth Meyers reacted to President Biden’s State of the Union address on Wednesday by defending him against allegations he lied about GOP intentions to do just that.
[...]
In an attempt Biden was correct, Meyers had to reach back 13 years, “In-- in Mike Lee's case, it would be true because he campaigned on eliminating Medicare and Social Security when he first ran for Senate back in 2010.”
The video clearly shows Lee saying his purpose for running is to eventually eliminate Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid. However, that was 13 years ago, he clearly hasn’t made any progress, and he is just one out of 49 Republicans.
Christy followed up with more lingustic gymnastics:
After mimicking Lee’s facial expression, Meyers then claimed he wasn’t the only one, “Senators Rick Scott and Ron Johnson both floated plans that would sunset Social Security and Medicare by putting them up for periodic votes that would subject them to cuts and Georgia Republican Congressman Rick Allen said he would raise the retirement age, because he claims people come up to him and say they want to work longer.”
Raising the retirement age is not a cut and Republican leadership has consistently distanced itself from Scott’s plan. The only ones pretending that they have a non-zero percent chance of being enacted are Biden and his defends like Seth Meyers.
Raising the retirement age is, in fact, a cut in benefits since one must work longer to receive them and, thus, will receive less money over the course of their retirement.
The MRC was still whining about this days later. A Feb. 14 post by P.J. Gladnick tried to play gotcha by hyping a video from Bernie Sanders -- yes the one the MRC loves to bash as a socialist -- promoting old statements by Biden about cutting Social Security. Graham, meanwhile, complained in a Feb. 19 post that a guest on NPR "shamelessly touted Biden's lies about Republicans wanting to 'sunset' Social Security and Medicare" without offering evidence they were the lies he insisted they were.
There was no MRC post dedicated to proving Biden wrong about Republicans wanting to cut Social Security and Medicare -- perhaps because they know it's true.
