Liberal radio host Ed Schultz is fed up with denizens of mainstream media and their skepticism about yet another federal bailout, this one for Big Three automakers.
Here's what Schultz said on his nationally syndicated show Dec. 3, prior to Democrats in Congress announcing a "rescue package" for Detroit --
"Folks, why are you being such a hard ass on the Big Three? And I'm asking the question of the networks, I'm asking it right up, where's the cheerleading?!"
Lest anyone get the impression Schultz was kidding, he hammered away at this later in the show while speaking with a caller --
SCHULTZ: Look, we're either going to pull together and get this thing done, but to vilify an industry when it has such a ripple effect if they fail, I just think is the wrong way to go.
CALLER: But we need to call the networks.
SCHULTZ: Yeah, they're not, they're not, they should be cheerleading! They should! Forget all this journalistic crap! I'm serious!
(click here for audio)
You know, like you did for Obama during the campaign!
Speaking of the campaign, Schultz provided an example of what he expects of media "cheerleading" on Sept. 18 when he spoke with Alaska state senator Bill Wielchowski about the first "Troopergate" probe and investigator Steve Branchflower. As Schultz demonstrates, "cheerleading" can take the form of not asking follow-up questions that could hardly be more obvious but, if asked, might mean a setback for "the team" (click here for audio) --
Wielchowski initially refers to Republican criticism of the Alaskan legislature's investigation as motivated by partisanship, then makes a eyebrow-raising revelation --
WIELCHOWSKI: They didn't want a Republican, they didn't want a Democrat looking at this. They wanted this to be non-partisan. That's why they hired an independent investigator.
SCHULTZ: All right, they're saying (Branchflower's) a Democrat.
WIELCHOWSKI: He's not a Democrat ...
SCHULTZ: He's not?
WIELCHOWSKI: ... He doesn't even live in Alaska anymore, he's lived here for 25 years, he lives in South Carolina now. This guy has been a prosecutor, well respected, in fact, 25-year prosecutor, he actually wrote a scathing report about Walt Monegan, the commissioner, a few years ago on, on another issue (laughs). So the idea that, you know, one of the things that they're saying is, well he's friends with Walt Monegan because he was a prosecutor and Walt Monegan used to be a police chief and they used to work together on prosecutions. Well, he actually wrote what the Daily News reported as a, quote, scathing report on Walt Monegan several years ago in another independent investigation that he was asked to do.
SCHULTZ (pause): All right, uh, these people that have been subpoenaed, there's 13 of them ...
See how it works in the Schultz Playbook Of Media Cheerleading? Even when a source underscores the newsworthiness of a revelation by preceding it -- twice -- with "actually," Schultz still can't bring himself to ask an obvious question -- gee, what about that "scathing report," senator? And just out of curiosity, why did you laugh when you brought it up?
