Media Matters Daily Summary 03-23-10

Fox News, health care, and the right-wing nervous breakdown
Watching Fox News personalities recently come unglued as the realization set in that (surprise!) Democrats might actually have the votes to pass health care reform -- and noting how extraordinarily loopy and dire both the attacks on the White House, and the proclamations for pending, apocalyptic doom were becoming -- I was getting nervous that one of Fox News' more unhinged hosts might finally just snap and pull a Rev. Jim Jones, beseeching viewers to make the ultimate sacrifice. Read More

Quick Fact: Will advances baseless smear that Dems traded votes for water
Advancing a conspiracy theory pushed by right-wing media and the Republican Party, columnist George Will wrote that Democrats "secured two votes by increasing rations" of water in California's Central Valley. In fact, the Department of Interior said the increased allocations follow additional precipitation that "helped replenish the state's biggest reservoir." Read More

Napolitano won't let facts get in the way of his Matheson smear
On the March 23 edition of Fox & Friends, Fox Legal Analyst Judge Andrew Napolitano advanced the smear that President Obama bribed Rep. Jim Matheson (D-UT) to vote in favor of health care reform by appointing his brother to the appeals court and falsely claimed that after Obama's actions, Matheson "changed his vote to yes." In fact, Rep. Matheson again voted "No" on health care reform and allegations of a deal between Matheson and the White House are completely baseless. Read More

IBD advances baseless "bribe" allegations, NEJM falsehood in attack on health reform
An Investor's Business Daily editorial advanced baseless allegations that House Democrats accepted "bribes" in exchange for their votes on health care reform. Moreover, IBD falsely claimed both that The New England Journal of Medicine "released a survey" "finding that 46% of primary care physicians would consider quitting medicine" because of health care reform and that the Democrats' bill would not "expand coverage." Read More

Quick Fact: Breitbart falsely claims health care reform benefits "won't happen for four years"
While discussing health care reform on Fox Business Network, Andrew Breitbart falsely claimed that the Democrats' health care reform isn't going to "give us the benefits for four years." In fact, numerous benefits contained in the Senate bill would become available in the first year after the bill is enacted. Read More

Fox & Friends wrongly blames Obama for terror suspect's release order
A March 23 Fox & Friends segment falsely suggested that a recent court ruling reportedly ordering the release of Guantánamo Bay detainee Mohamedou Ould Slahi is the result of President Obama's decision to try some Guantánamo detainees in civilian court rather than military tribunals. In fact, the Obama administration has not charged Slahi in civilian or military court, and the Bush administration failed to try Slahi in a military commission after the prosecutor determined that the evidence against him was obtained through torture. Read More