When the National Climate Assessment was released on Tuesday, Fox News Channel devoted a grand total of 24 minutes to covering it–by far the lowest of all of the major cable news channels, according to ThinkProgress. That should come as no surprise. What comes as a surprise is that the “fair and balanced” channel fell all over itself to claim that the White House released it in an effort to distract the country from such things as the Benghazi affair and the economy.
Take for instance on Tuesday night’s edition of “The O’Reilly Factor.” Laura Ingraham was sitting in for Bill O’Reilly, and quickly turned the proceedings into a full-spin zone. When Ingraham mentioned the report, rather than engage in any real discussion of its ramifications, she wondered, “Is the White House really just trying to divert attention from the Benghazi scandal and other problems, perhaps the economy?” Simon Rosenberg tried to explain what President Obama is doing to address climate change, but Ingraham seemed to think it was an attempt to throw some red meat to the Democratic base in order to get them to the polls in November. Brad Blakeman, an adviser to George W. Bush, agreed, claiming that Obama was hoping to use “climate diversion” to soothe the anger of the liberal base. He then harrumphed that the whole idea of human-induced climate change was just a Democratic gimmick. Never mind that the assessment must be released every four years, per a congressional mandate.
Another revealing exchange was a panel discussion on “Special Report with Bret Baier,” in which George Will suggested that scientists were being bribed to push the claim that climate change is a serious threat. Will claimed that there were “enormous interests” invested in hyping up the threat of climate change. When NPR’s Mara Liasson pointed out that oil, gas, and coal interests are bankrolling climate-change deniers, Will retorted that it “pales in comparison” to the money that the federal government is paying scientists to prove that climate change exists.
So let’s get this straight. It’s an article of faith among Republicans that Obama isn’t doing enough to address the nation’s problem. But when he actually does address those problems, the GOP’s favorite news channel accuses him of playing politics. I’ve said for a long time that Fox News ought to change its other tagline, “We report…you decide” to “We distort and decide.” And this more than proves it.
Darrell Lucus is a radical-lefty Jesus-lover who has been blogging for change for a decade. Follow him on Twitter @DarrellLucus or connect with him on Facebook.
