National media focus on small gun-control protest, miss massive March for Life
posted at 1:51 pm on January 28, 2013 by Ed Morrissey
Nearly a half-million people gathered in the nation’s capital in a political protest on Friday. What did the nation’s news media consider more newsworthy than the March for Life, which opposes abortion? Well, a crowd that amounted to 1/500th of the size of the March For Life, and the scandal of the 11-inch foot long. Newsbusters breaks it down:
The annual pro-life march, this year marking the 40th anniversary of the Supreme Court’s Roe v Wade decision, drew tens of thousands to Washington, DC on Friday, but didn’t garner a syllable of coverage on Friday’s World News on ABC nor the CBS Evening News. Yet on Saturday night, both newscasts highlighted a pro-gun control protest in DC which CBS anchor Jim Axelrod pegged at drawing “close to a thousand people.”
The NBC Nightly News noted both protests and on Friday night also reported how a federal appeals court unanimously decided that President Obama violated the Constitution when he made recess appointments to the National Labor Relations Board, a rebuke neither ABC nor CBS found newsworthy.
This 15 seconds from Brian Williams was the totality of broadcast network evening newscast coverage of the pro-life march: “In Washington today, thousands of anti-abortion demonstrators marched to the steps of the Supreme Court, protesting the landmark decision that legalized abortion. Annual ‘March for Life,’ as it’s called, this year coincides with the 40th anniversary of the Roe versus Wade decision.”
Heck, even NPR did better than that:
Organizers say today’s March for Life rally in the nation’s capital may bring more anti-abortion activists to the streets than last year’s estimated 400,000. By midday, a large crowd was gathered in the National Mall, listening to speeches from former GOP presidential contender Rick Santorum and others and preparing to march toward the Capitol and the Supreme Court.
“We’ve seen lots of markers that would show that,” Jeanne Monahan, president of the March for Life Education and Defense Fund, tells NBC Washington. “Our hotel block sold out a month in advance of what it’s ever sold out, and we’ve had more media requests than ever before, so we expect really record-breaking crowds.”
Fox News says the crowd was “considerably larger” than last year, based on an estimate from the National Park Service:
Undaunted by bitterly cold temperatures and a forecast for snow, pro-life marchers came to Washington for the March for Life — as they have for four decades — determined, they say, to instill a culture of life in a nation that has seen 55 million abortions since the landmark Roe v. Wade decision.
The National Park Service no longer does crowd size estimates, but organizers believed the crowd Friday to be considerably larger than last year’s 400,000 people.
So a march “considerably larger” than 400,000 people opposing abortion draws no notice from the national news media — but one of less than a thousand does? Color me shocked, shocked at this expression of bias.
On the other hand, this is truly a national emergency:
While ABC on Friday night didn’t find time for either the pro-life march or the court ruling, anchor Diane Sawyer made time for an update on the supposed controversy over complaints Subway’s “foot-long” subs are sometimes only eleven inches long. Horrors. Sawyer allocated 28 seconds to this:
And now at the top of our Instant Index tonight is that apology from Subway. Fans of the foot-long sandwich, you may recall, reported that some of those sandwiches are falling short by one inch. 11 inches, not 12 inches long. Well today, Subway said they are sorry. And they’re redoubling their efforts to assure consistency and correct length in every sandwich they serve. And patrons will still be getting out their rulers.
I have no issue with highlighting the appellate court’s ruling on recess appointments over a DC protest march. That’s real news, and it’s stunning that ABC didn’t even bother to report it on their Friday night newscast. We led with it on the Hugh Hewitt Show, which airs before ABC’s national news broadcast. That ruling has far-reaching consequences not just for future presidencies, but also would negate an entire year’s worth of work in two key agencies. That’s a little more important than an apology from a sandwich shop over the length of their buns.
Meanwhile, if after all the media hype and Obama administration hysteria over gun control can’t even get 1,000 people to turn out for a rally in Washington DC, what does that say about the issue? Maybe people are more interested in sandwich control than gun control.
Update: The networks aren’t the only media outlets mailing it in, either. Mollie Hemingway catches the New York Times republishing PR releases as news, although she gives the Gray Lady high marks for reporting on the March for Life at all (via Deacon Greg):
I want to point out that the Times also ran a straight news story covering the march and, unlike any year I can recall, it actually ran in the print edition and not just as a brief mention on a blog post. The story that has outraged so many folks is the primary story on the march that ran in a more prominent position than the straight story. In fact, it ran above the fold of the national news section, headlined “In Fight Over Life, a New Call by Catholics.” …
Believe it or not, this is basically just a press release from the same savvy, highly funded PR firm that has been rolling reporters for the last year. One is beginning to think they enjoy the ride.
The group that put out the letter is … drum roll please …
… Faith in Public Life. Yes, that Faith in Public Life! They’re the ones who came up with the highly successful “Nuns on the Bus” tour that got embarrassingly uncritical coverage for an anti-Paul Ryan campaign featuring not one, not two, but as many asthree to four nuns. We’re talking front-page coverage in major media outlets, gushy broadcasts, the works.
You couldn’t pay for coverage this nice. Except, I guess, that George Soros and his fellow donors do pay for this coverage. But you know what I mean.
But do they pay for an 11-inch foot long sandwich? That’s the question the news media wants to ask!
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rob verdi on May 16, 2013 at 4:37 PM
IIRC, the court decisions will limit recess appointments to those positions which become vacant prior to, but, not during Congressional sessions. I may not have that exactly right, but I recall it does limit future recess appointment procedures.
a capella on May 16, 2013 at 4:41 PM
Ha! I thought O was a Constitutional Law Scholar or something?
JAM on May 16, 2013 at 4:42 PM
The Chief Justice will declare the recess a “tax.”
aunursa on May 16, 2013 at 4:42 PM
And when we finally get his birth certificate and show Obama was ineligible, then all the crap for the past 8 years can be nullified as well.
txdoc on May 16, 2013 at 4:43 PM
NRLB-free is the way to be. To the rest of America, sucks to be you.
blammm on May 16, 2013 at 4:43 PM
I know it doesn’t make any sense. But then neither does Obamacare.
aunursa on May 16, 2013 at 4:43 PM
More like “something”.
HiJack on May 16, 2013 at 4:45 PM
There are new mortgage rules that will go into affect on January 10, 2014. Corday’s was the person that approved those rules. I wonder what does it mean for those rules.
Oil Can on May 16, 2013 at 4:46 PM
Article I, Section 5, Clause 4:
The House of Representatives NEVER consented to a recess in December 2011; thus, the Senate could NOT be in recess.
Furthermore, the Senate, itself, had not declared itself in recess and was in pro forma session. If the administration and its apologists want to argue that pro forma sessions don’t really count because ‘Congress isn’t really conducting any business,’ then please explain how the Senate passed the payroll holiday extension during one of those recesses in December 2011.
Additionally, the appointments to the NLRB had not even submitted all of their paperwork nor had Harry Reid scheduled any votes. Two were nominated and then ‘recess-appointed’ in 3 weeks.
Finally, this is a separation of powers issue. While the President can convene extraordinary sessions of one or both Houses of Congress or adjourn Congress, if the two Houses cannot agree on a date for adjournment under Article II, Section 3, Clause 3, pursuant to Article I, Section 5, Clause 2, ‘each House can determine its own Rules.’ The President of the United States cannot define recess or decide when the Senate is or is not in recess.
Resist We Much on May 16, 2013 at 4:48 PM
Get over it. He made a mistake. He’s also made some excellent rulings. No one is perfect.
jawkneemusic on May 16, 2013 at 4:49 PM
The original court decision said that the recess appointment power only applied when the vacancy actually occurred during the recess itself. In other words, you can’t use the recess appointment power to appoint someone that the Senate has already had the opportunity to consider and has either rejected or refused to vote on.
In modern times, there is virtually no need for recess appointments what-so-ever. Congress is now a full-time body, out of session for very small periods of time. And should there be a vacancy so urgent as to require an immediate decision, modern communication and transportation means that the Senate could re-assemble within 24 hours to consider it.
Shump on May 16, 2013 at 4:49 PM
So which agency will leak personal confidential info on the judge to the press and call it a unexpected hack…
IRS
FBI
HHS
EEOC
Hmmmmm….
workingclass artist on May 16, 2013 at 4:49 PM
Obama Zod bleeds.
VorDaj on May 16, 2013 at 4:50 PM
will they ever run out of exploding cigars?
DanMan on May 16, 2013 at 4:50 PM
Most lawless President ever. America’s Hugo Chavez.
VorDaj on May 16, 2013 at 4:51 PM
“No wonder he called in the Marines (to hold his umbrella today)” — Akzed
Schadenfreude on May 16, 2013 at 4:51 PM
Nero Baracki Obamus
Oil Can on May 16, 2013 at 4:51 PM
OT – The TEA party was to hold a presser today. Did it take place, yet?
Schadenfreude on May 16, 2013 at 4:52 PM
Which new law will Obama talk about now?
Whom will he blame?
Who is accountable?
Schadenfreude on May 16, 2013 at 4:53 PM
Too bad they couldn’t afford to hire more rogue employees at the IRS thanks to sequestration. Clearly, there were more people who needed a little persuasion to see things the
rightcorrect way.Lily on May 16, 2013 at 4:54 PM
Thanks.
a capella on May 16, 2013 at 4:56 PM
Of all the pictures of Choomboy, that cover photo for this post is one of my favorites. Why does that Bowie/Queen song “Pressure” keep running through my head?
SailorMark on May 16, 2013 at 4:58 PM
Call me cynical but, with a man like Holder as the top cop in a “land of laws,” why does any of this matter?
—sorry to be such an off-topic downer…
mjbrooks3 on May 16, 2013 at 4:59 PM
The Captain of the Titanic made a lot of great decisions too.
Chriscom on May 16, 2013 at 4:59 PM
I see a Presidential resignation coming.
And I’m not kidding. I don’t think he wants to do it. I don’t think he likes it. His fantasy about being president bears no relation to the reality of it.
I really think one day he’s gonna wake up and say “F**k it, I’m done”
BobMbx on May 16, 2013 at 5:00 PM
Heheheheh.
annoyinglittletwerp on May 16, 2013 at 5:01 PM
Barack is a constipational scatological scholar.
SparkPlug on May 16, 2013 at 5:01 PM
Breaking – 2nd guy leaving the IRS “to retire in June”.
How cool, they all retire, with the best of bennies.
You, the fools who sustain them, are audited and harrassed by them.
What a county, No Drama, Obama!!!
It couldn’t be made up in fiction, never.
Schadenfreude on May 16, 2013 at 5:02 PM
Bwaa haa haaa.
Obama’s failure horn is sounding all over the US.
portlandon on May 16, 2013 at 5:02 PM
O_o <–evil laugh inserted by Alt.
SparkPlug on May 16, 2013 at 5:05 PM
After the initial Circuit Court of Appeals ruling that the appointment was invalid, that the NLRB therefore did not have a quorum, and therefore all its rulings were invalid; Obama told the courts to FOAD. And at his order, they still operated. Now we have a second ruling. Given what we have learned from their own mouths this week about the absolute abhorrence the administration has for operating under the law and Constitution; what good will a second ruling do?
Obama will ignore the Constitution, the law and the courts. Again.
Somebody explain again the concept of governmental legitimacy as applied to the United States, please.
Subotai Bahadur on May 16, 2013 at 5:05 PM
I dunno… Fast And Furious would have done in any other President…
PointnClick on May 16, 2013 at 5:08 PM
Activist Republican Judges!
Del Dolemonte on May 16, 2013 at 5:08 PM
Can anyone here hack into King Obama’s Mr. Teleprompter at just the right time … … like real soon??!! Before he even realizes what he is saying, we may be free, free at last, thank God Almighty, free at last!!
Good afternoon subjects. I mean, um, ah, my fellow Muslims. I mean, um, ah, my fellow Americans. I am hereby resigning from the office of your God, I mean, um, ah your Supreme Ruler. I mean the, um, ah, Presidency. I will spend some of my remaining time on Earth trying to forgive myself for making Kenya, I mean, um, ah, Venezuela, I mean, um, ah, America worse off when I could have made, um, ah, America better off with the same effort and I will spend the rest of my life living in a hut with my half-brother whats-his-name in Kenya studying the Holy Qur’an. I mean, um, ah, studying golf, I mean, um, ah, studying horticulture. Allah willing. I mean, um, ah, God damn you. I mean, um, ah, um, ah, um, ah, um, God bless you.
VorDaj on May 16, 2013 at 5:10 PM
I look at that ruling the way I look at RoeVWade.
Roberts put 0bama care just where it belonged, in the hands of the voters. The Burger court, didn’t.
cozmo on May 16, 2013 at 5:11 PM
‘Toons of the Day: Be Not Afraid Of Big Government…Or Else…
Resist We Much on May 16, 2013 at 5:13 PM
Sorry, it don’t work.
Evil laugh and bunny suit just don’t go together. Even when the bunny is packin’.
cozmo on May 16, 2013 at 5:15 PM
He’s a very lazy man, but he can’t do better. He can pick his own hours, eat like a Persian King, vacation all over the world whenever he wants, and summon Hollywood performers to the royal court twice a week.
All he really has to do that might kind of look like work is sign whatever Valerie puts in front of him and do occasional fundraisers. If we can really make his life hell with investigations he might lose interest, but the terrible trio of Mooch, Val and the Mother in Law would never let him leave.
slickwillie2001 on May 16, 2013 at 5:18 PM
Thanks, Del. Sometimes we have to pinch-hit for our trolls.
notropis on May 16, 2013 at 5:18 PM
Biden’s fantasy.
meci on May 16, 2013 at 5:19 PM
Wait, wait – people still think Obama will give a crap and change course or something?
Midas on May 16, 2013 at 5:20 PM
Roberts’ reasoning for siding with Team SCOAMT again – the two Houses of Congress didn’t agree on a date of adjournment, so Obama stepped in with his Constitutional authority to adjourn them (Article II, Section 3), and thus he can do recess appointments.
Steve Eggleston on May 16, 2013 at 5:21 PM
So which low-level rogue employee decided the Senate was in recess and accidentally appointed people when it wasn’t totally legit?
C’mon people we need to know who’s ass to kick here.
Lily on May 16, 2013 at 5:21 PM
More likely, he’ll try to stay on past 11:59 am EST 1/20/2017.
Steve Eggleston on May 16, 2013 at 5:22 PM
Or, perhaps he will say “F**k it, I’m King” and simply formalize his behavior.
Midas on May 16, 2013 at 5:27 PM
They didn’t disagree?
cptacek on May 16, 2013 at 5:30 PM
Since the President was elected (and most likely, re-elected) through illegal means, why wouldn’t his appointments be of the same manner?
C’mon, this is the reign of Barack-I -
Show some respect!
Another Drew on May 16, 2013 at 5:34 PM
I hope the Judge’s taxes are in order, the audit letter is in the mail.
rjoco1 on May 16, 2013 at 5:35 PM
Ok, seriously. What was wrong with the 1 in this case? It’s about as cut-and-dried as you get that the NLRB had no standing at this point.
There Goes the Neighborhood on May 16, 2013 at 5:37 PM
I wish, but I doubt it. Even though he clearly doesn’t like doing presidential work (as opposed to being president)his ego is just too massive.
exliberal on May 16, 2013 at 5:37 PM
It’s all in the semantics. In Roberts’/SCOAMT’s world, a lack of agreement is a disagreement, even if there was an agreement.
Steve Eggleston on May 16, 2013 at 5:42 PM
Joseph Greenaway got onto a district bench under Clinton and owes his appellate bench to Teh SCOAMT. That explains everything.
Steve Eggleston on May 16, 2013 at 5:48 PM
Same thing that’s wrong with ‘the 4′ on the SC.
Midas on May 16, 2013 at 5:54 PM
ESAD liveenslavedthendie, HAL, and your fellow race-baiters:
Who’s The Racist? The Most Racist Countries In The World And The Answers Will Surprise Only The Race-Mongers
Resist We Much on May 16, 2013 at 6:02 PM
Scooter’s having one Hell of a week.
LOL.
I sincerely hope to the God of Just Desserts it continues for months to come.
BigWyo on May 16, 2013 at 6:03 PM
Hold the phone there legal beagle.
I was surprised at where Japan fell on that list.
cozmo on May 16, 2013 at 6:14 PM
It continues to be a very bad week for the White House.
Bob's Kid on May 16, 2013 at 6:18 PM
Richard Trumka is a paranoid conspiracist.
Dusty on May 16, 2013 at 6:39 PM
.
Yeah, sure, he’ll resign in favor or “King” or “Emperor” or “White House Squatter for Life.” No way will he give up power willingly just because.
ExpressoBold on May 16, 2013 at 6:48 PM
This is not merely a matter of a nomination being invalid but of an outrageous abuse of power and violation of the Constitution by the Dog-Eater occupooping the White House. This is beyond impeachable. This is orange jumpsuit material. And hard labor.
Oh well … just add it to the third volume of outrageous, impeachable, criminal acts committed by the 84 IQ Indonesian Dog-Eating America-Hater. The 4th volume is set to be started soon …
ThePrimordialOrderedPair on May 16, 2013 at 6:52 PM
No way. They’ll have to drag him out kicking and screaming the whole way. It’s going to take another two or three of those Umbrella Marines just to separate the Mooch from the White House lobster locker.
trigon on May 16, 2013 at 6:52 PM
No way. They’ll have to drag him out kicking and screaming the whole way. It’s going to take another two or three of those Umbrella Marines just to separate the Mooch from the White House lobster locker.
trigon on May 16, 2013 at 6:52 PM
Yup. Think of Barky’s leftist tin-foil buddy, Zelaya, and what it took to get him out of Honduras after his failed coup attempt. Barky defended Zelaya saying that he was popularly elected and that overrode any Constitutional considerations. Yes, he certainly did. Good times to look forward to, here. I wonder if Costa Rica will take the Dog-Eating Retard.
ThePrimordialOrderedPair on May 16, 2013 at 7:00 PM
Hey, Barry, dweebocraps, and libbabies:
Oh, the tears of unfathomable sadness are yummy…
Watch them all swirl down the toilet, your opium dreams of socialist conquest. Even if he doesn’t willingly vacate office, Barry is such a wounded duck, you might as well stuff him with rice, and call him done.
Keep defending him, keep following orders, libbabies. You’re cute when you ball your little fists and scream your incoherent talking points, spit up your discredited dialectic, and smear your fetid rhetoric all over yourselves.
No, I don’t like any of you. No, I don’t feel like engaging any of you. No, I will not forgive your political excesses.
Enjoy your tears of despair.
creekspecter on May 16, 2013 at 7:05 PM
Now consider for a moment the effect of Obama being ineligible to hold the office of President.
Obama has never publicly released any documentation that is acceptable for a Form I-9, Employment Eligibility Verification, which he is LEGALLY REQUIRED to produce, to prove his eligibility to not only work in the United States but also hold the office of President. The only document that is both acceptable for a Form I-9 and could prove birth location and identity of parents (relevant to prove natural born citizenship) is a HARDCOPY Birth Certificate. A URL to a PDF (which an official Sheriff’s investigation said is “UNDOUBTEDLY A FRAUD”) is NOT ACCEPTABLE DOCUMENTATION for the LEGALLY REQUIRED Form I-9.
If the “Obama birth narrative” is 100% true, then he was born on U.S. soil to an underage mother and British subject father. By both Natural Law and British Law, he was born a natural born subject of the British crown… exactly the kind of person our Founders did not want commanding our military. Being a “citizen” is sufficient for a House Representative or a Senator, but unless you were a citizen when the Constitution was ratified, that is not sufficient for a President or Vice-President… the higher standard of “natural born citizen” applies. Not “citizen”, not “born citizen”, but “natural born citizen”. The Supreme Court in Minor V. Happersett construed “natural born citizen” as “born in a country of parents who were its citizens”. The same Court said
The Court acknowledged that there were doubts about whether or not children born within the jurisdiction without reference to the citizenship of their parents should be considered citizens. But the Court did not have to resolve those doubts in the case of Minor. (And addressed those doubts in the case of Wong Kim Ark, but that Court ruled that Wong was a citizen and never called him a “natural born citizen”).
The Minor Court said that natural born citizens do not need the 14th Amendment in order to be considered citizens.
The contrapositive is that anyone who needs the 14th Amendment in order to be considered a citizen is not a natural born citizen.
And Obama’s own campaign web site in 2008 said:
That was later scrubbed, presumably when the Obama campaign realized that the Minor court said that natural born citizens don’t need the 14th Amenmdent, and if Obama admitted that his citizenship claims were based on the 14th Amendment, then that is an admission that he’s not a natural born citizen… just like the later admission that he was born a British subject because his father was a British subject.
If the “Obama birth narrative” is 100% true, then he is not a natural born citizen of the United States. Under that scenario, he could be a citizen, but not a natural born citizen.
And if the “Obama birth narrative” is NOT 100% true, for example if his true father was Frank Marshall Davis, then he could be a natural born citizen of the United States, but he would be guilty of forgery, fraud, perjury, obstruction of justice, etc.
EITHER WAY, he should not be holding the office of President.
I return to where I started:
Imagine if EVERY appointment Obama made, and EVERY bill he signed were invalidated becuase he usurped the office and power of the Presidency.
Obamacare? Invalid.
Two Supreme Court nominations? Invalid.
ETC.
ITguy on May 16, 2013 at 7:26 PM
Yeah and sometimes it rains anvils.
eyesky on May 16, 2013 at 8:58 PM
He studied constitutional law from a Living Constitution perspective, which says the constitution means not what it’s authors meant, but “whatever I think it ought to mean in today’s society”.
netster007x on May 16, 2013 at 10:33 PM
It wasn’t a mistake. It was a deliberate act.
Either he was threatened or he was paid off.
fossten on May 16, 2013 at 11:07 PM
More evidence that Obama has nothing but contempt for our Constitution.
He aspires to be the dictator in charge…after he turns the once-great USA into a bankrupt third-world country.
landlines on May 17, 2013 at 1:24 AM
As I recall he claimed merely to have been a Constitutional Law professor. He never claimed to be a Constitutional scholar.
UnrepentantCurmudgeon on May 19, 2013 at 2:22 AM