Just after NBC News called Nevada for incumbent Democratic Senator Harry
Reid, Meet the Press host David Gregory credited his victory to how "Tea
Party-backed" Sharron Angle disrespected journalists, citing how she
"made some very unwise decisions, namely, saying things like 'I'm not
going to give any interviews until after I'm elected.'" Gregory
contended: "I don't think that inspires a great deal of confidence in
independent voters, or any voter for that matter."
Later in the 1:00 AM EDT hour, anchor Brian Williams asked NBC News
Washington Bureau Chief Mark Whitaker to explain "what's wrong" with the
promise by Republican candidates to cut spending? Whitaker
channeled a liberal argument in favor of hiking taxes, declaring "the
fact is right now the Republican numbers do not add up" since
House Republicans want to roll back "spending to 2008 levels, which gets
you about a $100 billion, but extending all the tax cuts. And the
Congressional Budget Office has said that ends up adding $270 billion,
at least, to the deficit."
Earlier: "NBC's Brokaw & Williams Throw a Wet Blanket on Tea Party: They're About to Bump Into Reality [1]"
From the 1:00 AM EDT hour of NBC's Decision 2010 coverage on Tuesday night November 2/Wednesday morning November 3:
DAVID GREGORY, ON REID:
He was up against a Tea Party-backed candidate who made some very unwise decisions, namely, saying things like 'I'm not going to give any interviews until after I'm elected.' I don't think that inspires a great deal of confidence in independent voters, or any voter for that matter. So, this is a big one here."
....
BRIAN WILLIAMS: We've heard guest after guest tonight, and winner after winner, saying we're going to go to Washington and cut spending. What's the problem with that?
MARK WHITAKER: Well, you know, we've been talking about the role of independents and independents, after the economy and after jobs, the thing that they really care about is the deficit and debt and the fact is right now the
Republican numbers do not add up on this. The Pledge to America that Boehner and the Young Guns ran on basically calls for rolling back spending to 2008 levels, which gets you about a $100 billion, but extending all the tax cuts. And the Congressional Budget Office has said that ends up adding $270 billion, at least, to the deficit. So, I think what we're going to see, starting with the press conference tomorrow that President Obama's going to give, is challenging the Republicans to say what are you going cut not only in terms of programs, but what else are you going to put on the table? Are you cutting further than you're talking about? Are you talking about Social Security? Are you talking about Medicare? Put the ball in their court and I think that's where the battle begins.
- Brent Baker is Vice President for Research and Publications at the Media Research Center. Click here [2] to follow him on Twitter.