NPR - Radio for conservatives:

Here is how the first 30 minutes of the second hour of NPR's Weekend Edition Sunday played out:

• BLUE DOGS
  Weekend Edition Sunday, November 12, 2006 · Guest host Andrea Seabrook speaks with Utah Congressman Jim Matheson, co-chair of the Blue Dog Coalition, a group of conservative Democrats. These centrists helped bring the Democrats to power in last week's elections and will influence the agenda as the new Congress takes the reigns. (5:48)
• CONSERVATIVES
  Weekend Edition Sunday, November 12, 2006 · Host Andrea Seabrook speaks with Arizona Congressman Jeff Flake, a conservative Republican. Over the last few years, Flake has criticized the party's leadership, especially its handling of recent GOP scandals and an explosion in congressional earmarks. (5:13)
• SCHORR
  Weekend Edition Sunday, November 12, 2006 · NPR Senior News Analyst Daniel Schorr discusses the elections and what they mean for the Republicans. (2:41)
• UTAH
  Weekend Edition Sunday, November 12, 2006 · While the rest of the nation elected a new batch of politicians, Utah remained largely the same. Host Andrea Seabrook takes a brief look at the Beehive State. (1:22)

(The audio will be available at the NPR website by about mid-day today.)

Here is the lead-in commentary before the twin interviews with Matheson and Flake:

SEABROOK: Now that the balance of power has shifted in Congress, politicians from both parties are vowing to work together to get things done. And with moderate to conservative Democrats picking up a number of seats in the House, and many Republicans fed up with the direction of the party, there is at least a chance of bipartisan cooperation. With that in mind, I spoke with two prominent congressmen, one from each party.

You had to hear the NPR reports to believe them. Andrea Seabrook chatting it up with the co-chair of the Blue Dog Coalition. She said:

I'm reminded of the fact that Nancy Pelosi's majority is, in fact going to be a majority, in part because of so many new Blue Dog Democrats.

One of the criticism that moderates of both parties have had in recent years of the Congress is that the leaders of both sides, Nancy Pelosi, Tom DeLay, are to the far extremes of their party.

How do you see Blue Dogs, moderate to conservative, pro defense, pro fiscal conservatism, these Democrats - how do see yourselves being led by a Nancy Pelosi from San Francisco? Many say she's the most liberal member of Congress, leading the Democrats.

There will be forty-four Blue Dogs, is that correct? The forty-four Blue Dogs could, in fact, swing the majority in the House of Representatives. Would the Blue Dogs consider voting with the Republicans - Republican bloc on a bill?

The interviewee, Utah Congressman Jim Matheson, helpfully noted that in his opinion:

The Blue Dogs are all Democrats. ... In terms of wearing the Democratic label, I think they're the true Democrats. ... I characterize Blue Dogs as true Democrats.

That was followed by an interview with a conservative Republican. After Dan Schorr's commentary, the fourth story was a pean to Utah's unchanging conservative politics! From the Utah segment:

SEABROOK: The Democratic tide that drenched America last week left one state as dry as an island in the stream. Utah. The beehive state. Whose politics after the midterms remain as red as the rock monuments in its national parks. ... What does this say about Utah? Not easily swayed by peer pressure? ... Whatever the reason, Utah politics remain rock-solid, and about as likely to go blue as thos same red rock monuments. And perhaps the rest of the nation should take heed. After all the lyrics to Utah's state song say "Utah getting bigger and better. Utah, always leading the way."

But that's not all! In the first half hour of Weekend Edition Sunday, what do we find?

• NEO-CON VIEWPOINT
  Weekend Edition Sunday, November 12, 2006 · The Wednesday announcement of Rumsfeld's resignation may represent the first step in a new approach to the Iraq War. Host Andrea Seabrook speaks with Richard Perle, who has served as chairman of the Defense Department's Defense Policy Board during this administration and is seen as one of the architects of the Iraq War. (5:21)

There was this lovely exchange:

PERLE: I don't believe it's correct to say that his [Saddam's] ties to terrorists have been discredited. There were numerous links between Iraqi intelligence and various terrorist organizations including al Qaeda. Those have been documented, and I frequently hear people say there's no evidence. It's simply wrong. I've seen the evidence.

SEABROOK: But much of that evidence that I've heard other analysts say, on both sides of the aisle, from several different policy views, has in fact been discredited. That most people are saying now that Saddam Hussein didn't have any serious connections with terrorists.

PERLE: Well I simply think that's wrong. I've looked at the evidence and come to a different conclusion.

Was there any time for a non-conservative viewpoint? Yes. One.

• DEMOCRATS
  Weekend Edition Sunday, November 12, 2006 · To get the specifics on the Democrats' agenda, Weekend Edition's Andrea Seabrook spoke to Democratic Congressman George Miller of California - the man tapped by Nancy Pelosi to head up some of the party's most important policy initiatives. (4:15)

That's your NPR. In the weekend after the Democrats win both houses of Congress with an anti-war and progressive economic message, four conservative profiles, and one liberal one.

ADDENDUM: Who is Andrea Seabrook? She sounded like a complete idiot. Do NPR weekend anchors write their own script? Whoever set up the stories and the narrative was, literally, out of touch with reality. It sounded almost as if NPR had been taken over by Fox News Channel.


posted by Quiddity at 11/12/2006 07:11:00 AM