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CBS News is denying the charge leveled by GOP presidential candidate Michele Bachmann’s campaign that the network showed anti-conservative bias yesterday. At issue is a private email about coverage plans for last night’s CBS News/National Journal debate. Correspondent John Dickerson mistakenly cc’ed a Bachmann spokesperson in his response to a note from politics producer Caroline Horn, and the congresswoman posted the exchange on Facebook. In it, Dickerson urged the network not to firmly commit to an interview with Bachmann “in the hopes that we can get someone else” because “she’s not going to get many questions and she’s nearly off the charts.”
To Bachmann campaign manager Keith Nahigian, that’s “concrete evidence confirming what every conservative already knows — the liberal mainstream media elites are manipulating the Republican debates by purposely suppressing our conservative message and limiting Michele’s questions.” But a CBS spokesperson says that’s not true: “It was a candid exchange about the reality of the circumstances — Bachmann remains at 4% in the polls.”
Bachmann wasn’t the only candidate upset with CBS News: Ron Paul’s National Campaign Chairman Jesse Benton slammed the network for only giving Paul 90 seconds of speaking time during the hour. “CBS News, in their arrogance, may think they can choose the next president,” he said. “Fortunately, the people of Iowa, New Hampshire, and across America get to vote and not the media elites.”
Lest anyone forget, CBS News has ran afoul of the GOP during presidential races before. Republicans accused Katie Couric of sandbagging VP candidate Sarah Palin with those infamous interviews in the last election cycle, and felt Dan Rather did the same to President George W Bush in the 2004 election by using unverified documents to question the re-election candidate’s National Guard service.
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How is it anti-conservative bias when there are eight Republicans on stage? Her claims are simply absurd. Perhaps she’s looking to make some noise since she’s stuck at 4% in the polls and nobody’s talking about her anymore.
You have to understand that the GOP doesn’t really understand things like logic, facts, and reality.
You are right. And furthermore, these debates are not “official” in any capacity. They’re just TV shows.
One might actually confer to Bachmann that not covering her is good for conservative politics, as she is a trainwreck of a candidate.
Never in the history of our country has there been a more lamentable assemblage of idiots, loonbats and downright crazies than the Republican field of 2012.
Too true. Yet, one of them could actually get elected. Never underestimate the ability of American voters to make a truly bad choice.
Many of us feel that way about the current “loonbat” in office! God help us all if he is re-elected!!!
Yeah, it’s been horrible having an intelligent, reasonable centrists in office. Sure makes me miss the dumb screw-up from Texas!
Obama a centrist? Now, that is funny!
Right, like when he ordered the Osama bin Laden, got DADT repealed, turned a profit for the government on the auto bailout, passed sweeping consumer protections or made sure that kids with cancer could get health insurance? Soooo terrible.
On his worst day, Barack Obama is still a million times better than any of the people on that stage.
Bachmann is too looney to be in the PTA … but CBS handled the debate horribly on many levels. It all went down hill with … all those candidates in a 60 minute debate interrupted by commercials?
It was jnk, pure and simple.
Why is this news? The sky is blue, the grass is green & Bachmann is a nut-job. There are better candidates to focus on.
Not really…they’re all equally awful.
“Fortunately, the people of Iowa, New Hampshire, and across America get to vote and not the media elites.”
I think the media elites, whoever they may be, get to vote as well. That’s the way democracy works.
HAHA! Exactly. Why do they always use that line?
Gingrich and Cain are also far-right conservatives and they were given more time in the debate. As is fitting given they are in 2nd and 3rd place in many polls (behind Romney.) In that recent WSJ poll, Romney was at 32%, Cain at 27%, and Gingrich at 22%.
If Gingrich and Cain had been ignored and the most moderate candidate, Hunstman, had been given the lion’s share of the coverage than Bachmann would have an argument. But of course she doesn’t.
There is a bias toward the more popular candidates, but not toward the least conservative.
The bigger news story — or maybe not — should be that a majority of these candidates support the use of torture.
CBS has proven they can’t be trusted to deliver the message they are in business to do.
Fire the management would be a good start. I’d prefer to see them tarred and feathered but that’s just my opinion.
Oh yes, you’re another compassionate conservative…
Uh huh. Exactly what has CBS failed to do? There is no law that says they have to give any time to these morons. That said, Bachmann is the worst of them all and wouldn’t even be in the field if she wasn’t a darling of Fox News.
Yes, Michelle, we’ve already heard your sentiments.
GOP candidates should have their debates on FOX which is the only fair and balanced news station. Conservatives don’t watch liberal stations like CBS, NBC or ABC anyway so why pander to the opposition?
OK Sarah, whatever you say.
It seems that Bachmann is trying to jump on the anti-liberal media bandwagon that Herman Cain is currently riding to help her flailing campaign, but in her case it won’t work. For one, her argument would only make sense if it was a Democrat vs. Republican debate. Clearly, CBS would focus more on candidates that actually have a shot at winning the nomination, not those who are polling at 5% or less. Either way I would agree that the debate was a mess with only one hour, eight candidates and far too many commercials.
When CBS judges that most candidates have no shot at winning the nomination, then keeps them off the air based on that judgment, they therefore have less chance of winning the nomination because of CBS.
This is not the first week of the race and the first debate. CBS understands that any candidate with 4% support at this point is unlikely to suddenly catch fire with the electorate. They are under no legal obligation to give equal time (not sure if that was covered under the Fairness Doctrine, but the Republicans made sure it’s long gone in any case.) Of course the candidates could refuse to take part in the debates unless they are each given equal time, but that would only cause the lower ones to drop out completely as the top people would stay in.
It’s not a fair system. But the bias has nothing to do with Bachmann being a conservative, and just her being wildly unpopular.
I’m sure Bachmann isn’t trying to create controversy and attention towards her sad campaign. Not Bachmann.
Is anyone who watched the debate really surprised? CBS, NBC and ABC no longer act in the public interest. They are simply political operatives for the DNC and the Obama administration. I’m just glad Gingrich successfully “Newtered” Scott Pelley when he arrogantly argued with the former Speaker of the House about the “rule of law” concerning killing American born terrorists overseas. It was a priceless moment as the smug look melted away from Pelley’s face amidst the audience’s cheers of approval.
The Republican Party needs to seize control of these debates and dictate who will moderate the discussions or take the discussion elsewhere. Political hacks like Scott Pelley, NBC’s David Gregory, George Stephanopoulos and MSNBC’s Chris Matthews should not be moderating Republican debates. These people are not journalists and have no right moderating the Republican Party’s quest to determine its political leadership. It would be like the Democrats allowing Rush Limbaugh, Sean Hannity, Mark Levin, Neil Boortz Hugh Hewitt Michael Medved or Pat Buchanan to moderate their debates. It makes no damn sense.
According to a recent Gallup poll, When asked, “How would you describe your political views, very conservative, conservative, moderate, liberal or very liberal, 41% self-identified themselves as conservative, 36% as moderate, and just 21% as liberal. And a much higher proportion of Republicans call themselves “very conservative” or “conservative” (71%) than Democrats call themselves “very liberal” or “liberal” (38%). The conservative movement needs a leader to exploit this rather potent political clout.
It doesn’t sound like many identified themselves as ‘very conservative’ and there isn’t a big gap between conservative and moderate. I’m not sure a Tea Party-led GOP can develop a leader to exploit that ‘rather political clout.’
*rather potent political clout*
The reason is because many in your country seems to like to demonize anyone who disagrees with their point of view, and thus have made terms like “liberal” a bad word, akin to communism. What people call themselves is not always what they actually are. Half your country votes Democratic, so don’t pretend it’s a small minority.
It amazes me that your country is in real trouble and all you do about it is try and vilify anyone who doesn’t share your viewpoint. The truth is, neither one side nor the other is going to save you from oblivion. Whether you like it or not, your country is populated by people of many beliefs and views and until you actually figure out how to work together, you’re screwed.
You bring up a good point, and one that not enough Americans recognize. Until we break out of this sports team “my party is better than your party. We’re not compromising on anything!” partisan politics mentality, we’ll just be digging ourselves deeper and deeper into this mess.
Lol. You have a choice of eight voter-chosen conservative idiots to lead you to the promised land.
Aaron- would you just go away already. The RNC can’t “seize” control of airtime on CBS, CNN, NBC, etc. These debates are offered by the networks as infotainment- and mostly free advertising for these lesser known candidates. Do you honestly think Newt the Lying Hypocrite Pig Face would even be getting any attention if it weren’t for these debates? He’s broke, nobody is giving him money, his campaign staff deserted him months ago, etc. So the RNC and these candidates are loving the chance to go on ANY network that will give them free airtime.
As for the rest of your so-called stats on the breakdown of the country- just so much more BS. The only poll that counts is the one held on election day. Last presidential election- Obama 53%, McCain 46%, Obama 365 Electoral College votes, McCain 173.
Are you kidding me? The media is largely conservative – not liberal. They certainly do not do Obama’s bidding.
The most “anti-conservative” thing they could do is give her unfettered coverage. I’m surprised we haven’t heard more wailing and gnashing of teeth from the frothing Drudge “always angry” brigade that this onslaught of debates in’t some mainstream librul media plot to make all them good GOP people look bad, ’cause that’s all these debates have done.
Romney/Gingrich. Book it, done.
So Bachman and her team are upset that CBS is using the free market to dictate who they interview? So even though Bachman is not a popular choice among even her own party, and so not likely to get the ratings others could, CBS should ignore this? Interesting.
Sadly, as a die-hard democrat and a fan of CBS…I’ve had enough. Tomorrow, I change my party affiliation to Independent. No network has the right or arrogance to attempt to influence an election. CBS is no longer a respected journalistic institution as it once was….and I feel sorry for them.Every candidate should have equal time so, we the people, can make our own decisions. Their manipulation didn’t work.
No candidate is guaranteed a “right” to equal time. There is no such right. As all Americans do, they have a right to freely express themselves, but no one has to listen and no one to give them special access. To call this manipulation is laughable. And frankly a little sad on your part.
What are you talking about. Conservatives don’t want the fairness doctrine back. They fight against it. The real question is how much time does she get on Fox? At this point my guess is not much. Her campaign is over. She’s running maybe for vice-president if the nominee gets desperate.
Oh Please. That’s the most contrived comment I’ve ever heard. No self-respecting Democrat would think that CBS is trying to help them by NOT reporting on Loony Bachman.
It’s way past time to thin that heard of marionettes. Cut it off at 10% and drop the dreamers already.
LOL at …as a die-hard democrat and a fan of CBS… Do you really think anyone is buying that? Pretending to be a liberal who takes issue with something like this is classic Conservative trolling. At least your punctuation isn’t too horrible, even though some of your spacing is off.
What this story is REALLY about is whether the media should choose the candidates on behalf of the people.
Throughout the nomination process this year, candidates like Gary Johnson and Buddy Roemer (and others) have been disenfranchised because the media has argued they don’t have a chance.
Naturally, it is hard to do well in polls with low name recognition and no media attention, thus it is hard to raise money to get your message out. A catch-22.
While the media, as private businesses, certainly have the right to decide who to include in the debates and who to cover, it is hypocritical when they cloak themselves in the cloth of ‘fairness’ and ‘journalistic integrity’.
This has nothing to do with whether one like Bachmann or even the GOP, this all about the role of the media and discerning the difference between the role it pretends to play versus the role it really plays.
The MSM and it’s defenders hate it when THEY’RE investigated.
Um, by my “conservative” estimate, then, that still means 59 percent do not self-identify as conservative.
“An email from a CBS producer who predicted that Bachmann would not receive many questions from moderators Scott Pelley and Major Garrett.”
The email is not a “supposed smoking gun” It proves that CBS intended their anti-Bachmann bias to do what they in fact did: ask Bachmann fewer (60%) questions than asked of Romney and Gingrich.
When you predict what in fact you do, then it shows intent, in this case intent of bias.
A recent SmartPolitics analysis found that former Massachusetts governor and front-runner for the nomination Mitt Romney has spoken for over 73 minutes in the last 5 debates, more than any other candidate. Texas Governor Rick Perry came in second in terms of speaking time at 54 minutes, followed by Bachmann at 41.
So Bachmann has been getting a third of the air time so far, but is still at only 4% in the polls? Sounds like she’s already had a very fair crack of the whip, but hasn’t gotten the foothold she would have wanted. Your information actually supports CBS’s decision.
Romney is the most difficult candidate on the stage for Obama to beat (maybe Huntsman but he can’t get Republicans to back him.)
How is it in the “liberal media’s” advantage to help him out by giving him more coverage if they want Obama to get re-elected?
Just like the idea that liberals were destroying Cain and not his fellow conservatives (cough cough Rick Perry cough cough.) Obama would much rather run against an ultra conservative than a moderate one.
Let me get this straight:
Bachmann, in the debate, says the United States should try to be more like China. But she’s the true conservative and the CBS is all the enemy of what is true and good.
Uh, huh….Next you’ll be telling me the the US military is all for waterboarding.
I swear, the more those clowns open their mouths in those debates, the more I can’t wait fo 2016 when we might get some sane folks running for President from the right.
Of course the one major network that tries to be objective and reasonable is hated by conservatives.
Dont understand the need to cut off the debate and toss it to their websites. It was a Saturday night, not as if CBS had some huge show they wanted to get you..
The allegations from Bachman’s camp are trivial, but the fact that CBS only gave Ron Paul 90 secs of airtime demands complaint. I honestly feel like Paul has a shot in the election and know many Conservatives who, while not in total agreement with his views, feel the same. The man is reasonable and intelligent when answering questions, no matter how few and brief. He’s the only candidate who is vocal about ending the nation’s exhausted occupations abroad and has the courage to stand up to the Bernake cronies. The only candidate who dared bring up that waterboarding is, in fact, illegal under U.S. law, and also immoral and ineffective. Cain has a real problem at bypassing legality in his opinions.
Say what you will about Bachman, but Paul’s camp has a point. When he wins a Fox or CNBC poll online, the results are scrubbed or never mentioned again. When CBS showed him polling third on their read-outs, the host neglects to mention him, switching to another state where Cain was third and discussing that rank instead. It’s not so much bias as self-censoring on behalf of journalists. Why? I have no idea, but whether you agree with Paul or not, you cannot admit the man has gotten a fair shake thus far in the debates.
Romney/Gingrich book it? Really… Can a Mormon run with a Catholic — is that kosher?
I’ve wondered about this everyone gets air time. Now I don’t have an issue with some variety. The Dems and Republicans both answer to Big Finance. But if I announce I’m running, do I get air time too ?
What’s the bar because neither Bachman nor Paul have a snowball’s chance in hell of being President. Neither did Reverend Al in case you think I’m biased against Republican joke candidates. Every election cycle we waste time with joke candidates : Dennis Kucinich anyone, Trump who was no more running than you or I. And now the two clowns Bachman and Paul. Well Bachman is a clown and Paul is just not going anywhere.
By the way, barring a thermonuclear war or a total collapse of the economy we’re stuck with Obama again. It’s very hard to beat an incumbent and the mannequin that looks likely to get the Republican nomination at this point lost to BO before BO was President. There is no reason to think he will beat BO on the second go around.
I don’t like the idea of the Media telling us who can or can’t win. There is no chance she’ll win but the way the media treated her and other candidates was wrong.
People who actually watch these debates must be crazy too!
Agreed. It seems like they have 2 or 3 of these debates each week… it feels like this is all some big reality show where the favorite gets to host a show on Fox News. If she’s worried that she didn’t get to talk enough, then she will probably get a chance to talk in the next 6 debates this month.
None of the people in these debates look presidential and regardless of the state of Obama’s presidency, the 2004 election showed that you can’t just throw whoever the hell you want out there and expect to win just because the incumbent is unpopular.