They tell us MSNBC is the "liberal" cable network. Perhaps so, compared to Fox - but that's not saying much. I just observed an interesting inconsistency in reporting connected to yesterday's Franken-Lieberman "incident."
Pretty much since Obama came in, and even before, Republicans have been squeezing every possible delay they can. Not just on legislation they're opposed to, but wholesale holds on almost everything - appointments, bills in subcommittee, &c. And "unanimous consent" has become increasingly scarce as well.
It's been bothering me a little that so much annoyance has been blasted at Lieberman, and not so much at the Republicans, in this community. Well, no. That's not the right way to put that. I'm bothered that we're not recognizing all the other things being done by Republicans to grind the Senate to nearly a halt.
IMO, that default hyper-obstructionism on all matters deserves a lot more attention. It's worth noting that it isn't just about health care, either. Dragging health care means that other crucial issues (climate change, immigration, jobs fer chrissakes) have been pushed back because these delays have sucked up all the oxygen in the Senate. I even got in an argument with a user here the other day who said the Republicans couldn't be faulted for this, and that they faulted the Dems did more of that kind of obstruction when they were in the minority.
Be that as it may, I've noticed that MSNBC talking heads (Tamran Hall, Norah O'Donnell, etc.) have been assiduous that Republicans are totally entitled to do everything they've been doing - it's all allowed by Senate rules. Without mentioning that the Senate has never operated this way before - that all this is wildly unprecedented and stands in the way of what has always been how the basic functions of government are attended to.
I remember, too, with Republicans in the majority, there was wall-to-wall talking heads talking about Democratic "obstructionism" but without the explanation that it's all perfectly legal and allowed by Senate rules. (We didn't used to hear "You need 60 votes to pass anything" back then, either. Used to be much more routine for Senators to vote for cloture for bills they voted against.)
The contrast in MSNBC coverage on the Franken-Lieberman "affair" is striking. The story I saw this morning focused on the outrage over Franken not giving Lieberman unanimous consent for additional time, including a clip of John McCain. That's the standard story, in fact. The Lieberman-Franken clip, followed by the McCain clip.
I'm not posting this diary just to call out MSNBC. I'd like to see a little more cognizance that we shouldn't just be targeting Lieberman. It's worth looking at the big picture - the Republicans aren't just out to scuttle health care, they're out to scuttle everything. A different tactic to shutting down the government that used under Clinton, but the goal is the same.
Let's make sure not to miss the forest for the trees on this. If we cannot get the message out to the public about this rampant obstructionism, health care reform is not the only important issue in the balance.