According to the three major networks, the granting of numerous waivers
to Barack Obama's health care law, including 38 in April alone to
wealthy, entertainment businesses in Nancy Pelosi's San Francisco
district, isn't of much interest. ABC and CBS have completely ignored
waivers, while NBC only included a general mention from a Republican
senator.
As the Daily Caller's Matthew Boyle [1]
reported, 1300 waivers have been granted and while that information is
online, "it has not made public which companies and other entities have
been denied waivers and why they were denied." 20 percent went to
Pelosi's district.
Appearing
on the January 2, 2011 Meet the Press, Senator Lindsey Graham pointed
out, "...But the Obama health care is a real burden to small businesses
and large businesses. There's been 200 and something waivers." Chuck
Todd made a reference to a future waiver program on May 1. Those two
were the only instances of waivers even being referred to on NBC.
However, while ABC ignored waivers, Good Morning America, for example,
found time to promote the obstacle course game show Wipeout and other
pressing topics.
Here's what the networks haven't been telling you about waivers in general, as explained by conservative columnist Michelle Malkin [2]:
Seattle-based REI. The trendy Pacific Northwest outdoor equipment retailer's progressive CEO and Democratic campaign donor, Sally Jewell, appeared with President Obama in 2009 to tout White House health care reform initiatives. Two years later, REI snagged a waiver to protect the health benefits of a whopping 1,180 workers from the very tentacles of the big government bureaucrats Jewell embraced at Obama's roundtable.
The Daily Caller's Boyle also noted [3],
"Of the 204 new Obamacare waivers President Barack Obama's
administration approved in April, 38 are for fancy eateries, hip
nightclubs and decadent hotels in House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi's
Northern California district."
The New York Times covered waivers only in relation to comments made by Mitt Romney that he would grant them for all 50 states.
- Scott Whitlock is the senior news analyst for the Media Research Center. Click here [4] to follow him on Twitter.