Chuck Todd MTP 4/23: Genuine Ignorance or Alternative Facts?

[lapucelle]

“What is the Democratic Party doing getting involved in a mayoral race in Kansas?” a grinning Todd asked his panel on MTP this morning.

Did Todd know that the answer to his question was readily available to anyone truly interested in finding out? It was the news division of his own parent network that reported the facts in a news story just yesterday.

As per NBC News:

The tensions (between Sanders and Democrats over his non-endorsement of Ossoff) were further elevated by the fact that Sanders praised a mayoral candidate in Omaha, Nebraska, who was revealed to have a mixed record on abortion.

At Sanders' request, the DNC added a stop on the tour to promote Health Mello, prompting backlash from pro-choice groups and accusations that Sanders was applying a double standard — or perhaps a loyalty test — about what it means to be a progressive.

Perez, who skipped the Omaha stop in order to campaign for Ossoff, had to put out his own clarifying statement Friday.

http://www.nbcnews.com/storyline/democrats-vs-trump/bernie-sanders-clarifies-support-jon-ossoff-after-dustup-n749491

Say what? The unscheduled stop was added to accommodate a specific request made by Sanders? Perez didn’t participate? Then why did Chuck blame Perez for a mess that Democrats didn’t make? That wasn’t very honest.

Was Chuck uniformed, misinformed, or deliberately dissembling? We deserve better from a man who touts himself as a fearless truth-teller.

Journalists have a duty not to put their thumbs on the scale through the deliberate omission of important facts and context. Are there any rules anymore, Chuck? And if so, will you actually play by them? These days, what passes as journalism could use a little refereeing. Democrats are not afraid to blow the whistle

[DFW]

1. Willful ignorance. Letterman had him pegged 24 hours after his first MTP show:

http://crooksandliars.com/cltv/2014/09/late-show-chuck-todd-it

Todd is a partisan Republican (like so many, such a his predecessor, David Gregory, along with Andrea Mitchell at NBC, Wolf Blitzer at CNN, etc etc etc). Fine with me, but if you want to be a media journalist, either openly declare your allegiance, like Rachel Maddow or Fox and Frauds, or bury it completely. Don't say you're neutral, and then openly put the lie to it every time the camera is on you.

[Wellstone ruled]

2. So agree.