Senate Democrats Shut Down The Government. Surprise! The Media Don’t Care.

The Senate Democrats are poised to shut down the government this weekend, and the media couldn’t care less about it.

The Associated Press reports that a bill to fund the federal government was defeated in the Senate by a vote of 55-45, as Democrats and some of the more conservative members of the Senate opposed the bill.

There are certainly reasons for conservatives to be opposed to the bill, as Conservative Review‘s Daniel Horowitz lays out the voluminous amount of concessions Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell has surrendered to the Democrats. But the Democrats smell blood, so now they’re stonewalling the passage of the bill in order to gain funding for the water crisis in Flint, MI.

“Democrats have been clear that Congress should not leave Flint and other lead-tainted communities out of any (stopgap spending) negotiation that includes emergency disaster funding,” Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) and other Democrats wrote to McConnell in a letter.

The Democrats are even brining out their usual, tired race-baiting antics.

“There’s something about this poor community — this poor, majority-minority community — that exempts them from the kind of help that we have provided time and time again to people in crisis in this country,” said Rep. Dan Kildee (D-MI). “I hate to come to the conclusion that there’s something about these people that causes this Congress to decide they don’t deserve that help. That is a shame.”

Republicans have said that they will address funding for the Flint crisis in a separate bill, but the Democrats are insisting that the funding be included in the government stopgap bill. And they know they have the upper hand because too many Republicans are frightened at the prospect of another government shutdown, which would occur on Friday if the bill isn’t passed.

The media are barely batting an eye at the fact that the Democrats could cause the government to shut down:

And by “Senate blocks” I assume you mean Democrats filibuster. But you can’t report that, so the world gets this. https://t.co/vcqBgxYSRS

— Derek Hunter (@derekahunter) September 27, 2016

Notice how it’s “Senate blocks” when Democrats do it. It’d be “Republicans more toward shutdown” if roles were reversed. #JournalismIsDead https://t.co/i2vCpltGnP

— Derek Hunter (@derekahunter) September 27, 2016

Indeed, the scant media coverage on another potential government shutdown mostly involves the aforementioned AP report used by various news sites; other media outlets like CNN are following the AP’s lead by reporting the news as the “Senate blocks.”

Back in 2013, the media covered the shutdown as a sort of apocalyptic, sky-is-falling event; they savaged Republicans for it at every possible opportunity. Here’s a Washington Examiner report from that time:

According to a survey by the conservative media watchdog Media Research Center, in 39 stories during the two weeks leading up to the shutdown, CBS, ABC and NBC blamed the failure to cut a budget deal on the Republicans 21 times, both parties four times, and Democrats zero times. In 14 stories, nobody was to blame.

Some examples of how the story is being played on the networks:

– “CBS Evening News” correspondent Nancy Cordes on Sept. 18: “Speaker Boehner was forced into the risky strategy by his right flank … [a strategy] one Senate Republican described to us today as suicide.”

– ABC’s Diane Sawyer: “The president expressed outrage that one faction in one house of Congress is ready to bring the entire federal government to a halt.”

– “Face The Nation” host Bob Schieffer: “Will the moderate and more establishment Republicans continue to go along with the ultraconservatives? … We’re headed to a shutdown unless the moderates in the House revolt.”

“Notice how it’s ‘Senate blocks’ when Democrats do it. It’d be ‘Republicans more toward shutdown’ if roles were reversed.”

Derek Hunter

But with the Democrats threatening a shutdown over Flint funding, there is nary a peep from the media, which is further evidence of the media’s leftist slant.