MediaWatch: January 1997
Table of Contents:
15 Years of Liberal Advocacy
Gumbel's Legacy
After 15 years NBC's Today no longer provides a platform for Bryant Gumbel to spout his liberalism and attack conservatives. He retired from the show on January 3. USA Today noted that "conservatives dislike Gumbel so much that he's a regular in the Media Research Center's bi-weekly Notable Quotables."
Gumbel told the January 2 edition of the newspaper: "I don't know if I have a liberal bent...But it is fair to say it's very difficult for a black man in this country to be of a conservative bent. That's a fair statement. It's very difficult to be an African-American male, and have an African-American son who is going to be 18 years of age, and hear things like cops want to crack down and send more to prison, to hear calls for tougher statutes, less welfare, less programs for the poor, and less things for people of color. If that says I'm not conservative, so be it."
Yes it does. Take a look:
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July 17, 1989: "Largely as a result of the policies and priorities of the Reagan administration, more people are becoming poor and staying poor in this country than at any time since World War II."
January 31, 1990: "It is certain the President won't mention the T word, and yet taxes are very much at the heart of what all our potential solutions are. How long can both sides pretend that a hike's not needed?"
April 20, 1990: "The missteps, poor efforts, and setbacks brought on by the Reagan years have made this a more sober Earth Day. The task seems larger now."
March 17, 1993, to a budget expert: "It's early yet, but for at least trying to address the deficit in a more serious fashion than anyone in 12 years, what kind of early marks do you give Bill Clinton?"
March 31, 1993: "In the greedy excesses of the Reagan years, the mean income of the average physician nearly doubled, from $88,000 to $170,000. Was that warranted?"
May 10, 1994: "We've got an awful lot to talk about this week, including the sexual harassment suit against the President. Of course, in that one, it's a little tough to figure out who's really being harassed."
January 4, 1995, to Democratic Leader Dick Gephardt: "You called Gingrich and his ilk, your words, `trickle-down terrorists who base their agenda on division, exclusion, and fear.' Do you think middle class Americans are in need of protection from that group?"
April 25, 1995, after the Oklahoma City bombing: "Right-wing talk show hosts like Rush Limbaugh, Bob Grant, Oliver North, G. Gordon Liddy, Michael Reagan, and others take to the air every day with basically the same format: detail a problem, blame the government or a group, and invite invective from like-minded people. Never do most of the radio hosts encourage outright violence, but the extent to which their attitudes may embolden and encourage some extremists has clearly become an issue."
January 18, 1996, to Steve Forbes: "Isn't this a souped-up version of the same kind of trickle-down Reaganomics that we saw through already? Lower taxes were supposed to spur growth. Instead we got record deficits."
November 18, 1996, to Jimmy Carter: "You write that you prayed more during your four years in office than basically at any time in your life and yet I think it's fair to say...you are consistently viewed as one of the more ineffective Presidents of modern times....What do you think, if anything, that says about the power of prayer?"
