House votes to end NPR funding

The House of Representatives today voted 228-192 to end funding for NPR and its affiliate stations. The bill, sponsored by Rep. Doug Lamborn, R-Colo., is likely to stall in the Senate, but is likely to be used as pressure to carve out public broadcasting funds in a larger budget bill.

Meantime, Meghan Daum at the LA Times tells NPR to get a backbone.

(Disclosure: I work for KCRW, an NPR-affiliate station.)

Fox News and the impartial partisans

Want to see what happens when a news operation drops impartiality as the framework for gathering and disseminating information? Look at how Fox News decided to frame the health care debate. Howard Kurtz has the report at the Daily Beast - the piece starts with Republican pollster Frank Luntz coaching Fox host Sean Hannity on the right words to use:

“If you call it a public option, the American people are split,” [Luntz] explained. “If you call it the government option, the public is overwhelmingly against it."

“A great point,” Hannity declared. “And from now on, I'm going to call it the government option, because that's what it is.”

On Oct. 27, the day after Senate Democrats introduced a bill with a public insurance option from which states could opt out, Bill Sammon, a Fox News vice president and Washington managing editor, sent the staff a memo. Sammon is a former Washington Times reporter.

“Please use the term ‘government-run health insurance,’ or, when brevity is a concern, ‘government option,’ whenever possible,” the memo said.

Sammon acknowledged that the phrase "public option" was “firmly ensconced in the nation’s lexicon,” so when it was necessary to use it, he wrote, add the qualifier “so-called,” as in “the so-called public option.” And “here’s another way to phrase it: ‘The public option, which is the government-run plan.’”

Advocacy organizations like Fox News deny their partisan framing all the while claiming to be impartial, and blaming all the media that isn't conservative-leaning of having a liberal bias. In this case, "public option" is also a partisan framing preferred by supporters of the plan. Had Fox health care reporters come up with a way to describe the plan based on their own reporting, they might have called it "government-run." Instead, they borrowed the phrase most favorable to the Republican position. That's what happens when journalists claim the mantle of impartiality without actually practicing impartiality.

(found via LA Observed)

Scarborough suspended*

MSNBC proves to be fair and balanced when it comes to handing out suspensions for violating its campaign contribution policy. Joe Scarborough, a former Republican congressman and host of "Morning Joe," got suspended today for unreported donations to Florida GOP candidates. It's the same violation that turned Keith Olbermann redder than normal.

*Rick Newman at US News has a solution: "MSNBC could solve its donation problem by employing ordinary journalists. They can't afford donations."

39 percent of Americans want to cut off NPR

A majority of registered Republicans and 39 percent of Americans overall want to see the federal government pull its funding to NPR, a new survey found. Only 45 percent of those surveyed want to keep the funding the vanquisher of Juan Williams.

From the survey summary:

In partisan terms, Republicans favored ending U.S. funding 54-28 percent, while Democrats wanted the funding to continue 58-25 percent. NPR funding was favored by independents 49-38 percent.

Broken down by ages, the 18-29 group supported continued taxpayer subsidies 62-30 percent. The 30-44 group narrowly sided with halting the funding 42-39 percent, and older groups were almost evenly split on the idea.

Men backed NPR’s federal funding 50-40 percent, but women were not so decisive. They supported continued funding 40-37 percent, with another 23 percent undecided. Support hovered around 50 percent among all ethnic groups in the survey – whites, blacks, Latinos and others.

Rep. Loretta Sanchez catches foot-in-mouth

Rep. Loretta Sanchez, D-Garden Grove, told Univision that the "Vietnamese and the Republicans" are trying to steal her seat away to the detriment of the Latino community. Here's the story and here's the video.

Tax day for Tea Parties

As tea party rallies spontaneously spring up around the state to protest tax day, the New York Times provides details about who supports the movement:

Tea Party supporters are wealthier and more well-educated than the general public, and are no more or less afraid of falling into a lower socioeconomic class, according to the latest New York Times/CBS News poll. ...

Tea Party supporters’ fierce animosity toward Washington, and the president in particular, is rooted in deep pessimism about the direction of the country and the conviction that the policies of the Obama administration are disproportionately directed at helping the poor rather than the middle class or the rich.

In addition, they're generally more angry than the average Republican, they support Medicare and Social Security even though they want to shrink the federal government, and a plurality think Sarah Palin is unqualified to be president.

The full story is here.

ABC News pollster Gary Langer has more on the Tea Party movement and why polls differ in gauging their support for the still fuzzy goals of the movement.

In related news, Politico's Ken Vogel found a link between Sacramento-based Russo Marsh + Rogers, a Republican political consultancy firm, and the Tea Party Express. The story confirms that some GOP operatives see the tea parties as a cash cow.

Sen. Ashburn says he's gay

State Sen. Ray Ashburn, R-Bakersfield, told a conservative radio host today that he is gay. The Sacramento Bee reports:

Ashburn's announcement follows reports that Ashburn was leaving a gay club before he was arrested for driving under the influence last week.

The Bakersfield Republican, who has consistently voted against gay-rights measures, said his votes were a reflection of how the majority of voters in his conservative district would have wanted him to vote.

Earlier, the Bee reported that Ashburn was already in trouble with conservatives over a budget vote that included tax increases:

State GOP activist Jon Fleischman, who runs the conservative Flash Report Web site, said Ashburn's career in politics was already damaged because he angered GOP loyalists by voting for a tax increase last year.

"That puts you in a coffin," Fleischman said. If Ashburn is gay, he said, "it's like hammering nails into it."

In the news

Sarah Palin enjoys bashing the media. She railed against liberal bias, swatted at the attack-dog mentality, accused journalists for making things up and faulted them for reporting on things they didn't witness firsthand.

Her fixation on the media was such that when she formally stepped down as governor of Alaska she started her speech with a put down of the media.

All of which should have told us that there was nothing she coveted more than the chance to become a media pundit. And today we learn that she's done just that, signing a contract to become a regular commentator on Fox News. Here's her statement:

I am thrilled to be joining the great talent and management team at Fox News. It’s wonderful to be part of a place that so values fair and balanced news.

Fair and balanced is one goal, but as the Associated Press found when it checked her book, "Going Rogue," there's something to be said for getting your facts straight, too.

GOP fashion statement

The Orange County Register snapped a shot of Irvine Councilman and Assembly candidate Steven Choi wearing a picture of Nancy Pelosi as Joseph Stalin on his back. The indecorous decoration angered liberal blogger Dan Chmielewski:

To portray Pelosi as Stalin, a mass murderer of millions during his reign of power, is nothing short of outrageous. Choi owes the Speaker an apology. He owes his fellow city council members an apology. He owes the residents of this city an apology for his embarrassing antics.

But Choi is comfortable with his use of tea party-esque agitprop. He told the Register:

I'm a Republican Party member and went there to express my disapproval of her policies ... I have big concerns with what is going on with the government pushing down the mandated health issues ... As a small businessman it would impact me.

Irony

As the one-year anniversary of Tribune Co.'s Chapter 11 bankruptcy filing approaches, company owner Sam Zell has some advice for the government about debt.

From CNBC:

The US government will have to cut down on borrowing by giving up on some publicly-financed programs or face inflation in one or two years, Sam Zell, chairman of Equity Group Investment, told CNBC Tuesday.

"I do believe that the current administration is insensitive to the risks of the scale of debt we're creating," Zell told "Squawk Box."

If things do not change, it is "very hard to imagine" that the US is not going to be confronted with inflation in one or two years, he said.

Arnold and Abel

Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger has selected state Sen. Abel Maldonado, R-Santa Maria, to take over as lieutenant governor, a post left vacant when Democrat John Garamendi won a seat in Congress. Maldonado is one of the few centrist Republicans in the California Legislature. His selection will have to be affirmed by Assembly and Senate votes.

They can't recall

Organizers of a recall attempt against Rep. Anthony Adams, R-Claremont, learned today that they failed to gather enough valid signatures to call an election. Adams was targeted because he supported a budget bill that included tax increases. Recall backers needed 35,825 valid signatures but collected only 24,579, according to the secretary of state.

From Capitol Weekly:

Backers of the recall effort, which reportedly raised more than $100,000, included Michael Schroeder, an Orange County attorney and former state Republican Party leader, and talk-show hosts John Kobylt and Ken Champou of the "John and Ken Show," a political chat radio program in Southern California. Other recall backers included the Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Association.

The failure to even get the signatures to put the recall on the ballot could give spine to some moderate Republicans who might want to compromise on budget issues next year, when the state Legislature will be faced with another massive budget deficit, but who in the past feared retribution from the right-wing of the party.

Noteworthy: New American Foundation fellow Joe Mathews predicted back in August that the recall attempt would fail.

Health reform passes House

The House of Representatives just passed the Democratic health care reform bill by a vote of 220 to 215 -- 39 Democrats voted against the bill and one Republican, Rep. Joseph Cao of Louisiana, voted for it. The bill needed 218 votes to pass.

I can't stay mad at you

The Republican effort to recall Republican Assemblyman Anthony Adams of Claremont for supporting a budget that included temporary tax increases appears to be losing steam. Proponents have gathered about 20,000 signatures, roughly half of what they need to assure the measure gets on the ballot, Joe Mathews reports at his Blockbuster Democracy Blog.

Mathews writes:

Fearless prediction: this recall won't make the ballot. We've already had another budget agreement since the February deal. And voters effectively have said their piece through the May special election, when five of the six measures that were part of the February deal were rejected. For conservatives still angry with Adams (who represents a rare swing district in California), a primary challenge might be a better strategy. Assembly terms, after all, are only two years long.

Specter breaks with GOP

Pennsylvania Sen. Arlen Specter announced this morning that he's leaving the Republican Party to become a Democrat. Specter faced a tough challenge from the right in the 2010 senate primary race, so this gives him a chance of winning re-election. In his statement, however, Specter blames the switch on a "schism" that opened when he voted in support of President Barack Obama's stimulus plan. Specter's switch gives Democrats 59 seats in the U.S. Senate - and 60 if Al Franken gets the seat in Minnesota (which he will). Sixty, of course, is the magic number for ending filibusters.

Circular firing squad*,**

Five Republican lawmakers so far have become targets for recall in the wake of the recent state budget deal.

Assemblyman Anthony Adams of Claremont and state Sens. Abel Maldonado and Roy Ashburn have all been targeted because they voted for the budget package, which includes tax increases (a package that voters still have to approve before it takes effect - if they vote yes, will we have to recall them?).

Assemblymen Jeff Miller and Jim Silva have been targeted because they didn't support a failed coup against Assembly Minority Leader Mike Villines, who negotiated and supported the budget deal. Villines counterpart in the Senate, Sen. Dave Cogdill, was sacked and replaced with a more conservative conservative.

*Updated March 12, 3:38 p.m.: Ashburn dodged a first bullet. Turns out the recall effort failed to gather the 40 valid signatures needed to get the process going, although the man driving the recall effort pledged to try again.

**Updated March 12, 9:01 p.m.: The P-E reports that the man leading the recall effort against Adams is the chief financial officer of JohnsonClark Associates, the same Sacramento campaign consultant that will run Adams' anti-recall campaign. (h/t Capitol Alert)

Budget breakdown and the GOP*

The Sacramento Bee reported earlier today that budget negotiations had broken down between Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger and Republican leaders, with Republican legislators blaming the Republican governor for compromising the process.

It seems GOP leaders were enraged in anticipation of this Los Angeles Times report that says Assembly Republican Leader Mike Villines had considered a tax increase as a way to close a $14 billion budget gap - California Republicans are duty bound to oppose all thoughts of tax increases.

This leak to the Times could also explain why Villines struck such a cocky posture earlier this week in a visit to the Bee's Capitol Bureau, where he demanded Democrats accede to a host of GOP demands before his caucus would even begin to consider any Democratic proposals for solving the budget crisis.

*UPDATED: Apparently yesterday's leak about Villines wasn't what got Republicans angry at the governor. Instead, it seems to be the big ticking clocks on the governor's website and in the Capitol that are tallying by day and by dollar the Legislature's "Failure to Act." However, the idea that Republicans might have to swallow new taxes remains the reason for the split between the governor and GOP lawmakers. As for Villines and the Bee Capitol Bureau, that appears to be his normal swagger.

Who's your daddy?

Modern-day Republicans would like to trace their roots to conservative icon Barry Goldwater. Author Neal Gabler argues that a clear-eyed analysis of GOP political campaigns since Goldwater lost proves he isn't the real father. Instead, he says it's the guy they thought of as their crazy uncle, the late junior senator from Wisconsin, Joe McCarthy.

Gabler writes:

Republicans continue to push the idea that this is a center-right country and that Americans have swooned for GOP anti-government posturing all these years, but the real electoral bait has been anger, recrimination and scapegoating. That's why John McCain kept describing Barack Obama as some sort of alien and why Palin, taking a page right out of the McCarthy playbook, kept pushing Obama's relationship with onetime radical William Ayers.

And that is also why the Republican Party, despite the recent failure of McCarthyism, is likely to keep moving rightward, appeasing its more extreme elements and stoking their grievances for some time to come. There may be assorted intellectuals and ideologues in the party, maybe even a few centrists, but there is no longer an intellectual or even ideological wing. The party belongs to McCarthy and his heirs -- Rush Limbaugh, Sean Hannity, Bill O'Reilly and Palin. It's in the genes.

Is it really just in their genes? Or in our genes? After all, the tactics get repeated because they work.

Who Sarah Palin is

Newsweek summarizes what we know about Sarah Palin's political career:

In Juneau, Palin has given jobs to friends and appointed lobbyists to oversee industries they used to represent. There's nothing illegal about it—that's business as usual in politics. But part of Palin's appeal is that she markets herself as a reformer who fights against cronyism, when in fact her record shows her to be, in many ways, a typical politician who rewards her friends and punishes her enemies.

Also, Timothy Egan at the New York Times tells us about Palin's Alaska.

Hockey politics

According to Sean Quinn at FiveThirtyEight.com, Sarah Palin is an agitator. She throws an elbow, her home team loves it; the opposing side loses its cool, throws an elbow in return and ends up in the penalty box.