Networks Fight to Save Bipartisan Plan amid Opposition

The network evening newscasts had their collective work cut out for them as they did their very best firefighting, albeit with varying degrees of intensity, in an attempt to save the Senate border deal currently engulfed in flames as details of the legislation went public Sunday night. 

Most emblematic of the liberal spin is ABC World News Tonight, and anchor David Muir’s introduction to reporting from Correspondent Rachel Scott.

DAVID MUIR: To the other news, major news, in fact, from the Senate. For the first time in years, Republicans and Democrats have come up with a bipartisan plan to finally address the border. The other major headline on this late today, the conservative-leaning Border Patrol Union, the officers who patrol the border, endorsing this bipartisan plan. But tonight, the House Speaker saying Republicans in the House are not interested, amid pressure from Donald Trump not to agree to any solution in a presidential election year. 

ABC’s report was rife with appeals to authority, namely, “the conservative-leaning Border Patrol Union”, which endorsed the deal as being “far better than the status quo”. There were three mentions of the Border Patrol Union, a Mitch McConnell soundbite, and old clips of Speaker Mike Johnson saying he wanted to link Ukraine money to a border bill. Not mentioned, of course, is the fact that Johnson wanted to tie the House-passed HR-2 to any Ukraine monies. HR-2 has largely avoided landing on the lips of anyone working across the evening newscasts.

Over to CBS’s report with correspondent Scott MacFarlane, there are no such appeals to authority, and more of a focus on Senator James Lankford. When discussing the Ukraine component of the bill, Senator Tim Kaine was quoted as saying “Ukraine is probably going to lose this war” unless they get the allotted money. 

There was one important element to come out of the CBS report, namely: the opposition of Senator Alex Padilla of California. To this point, we were led to believe that the Democrat front was unified and fed a “Republicans in Disarray” narrative. This has now been proven false. Padilla is relaying the objections of the Professional Latinx and Immigration Industrial Complex who find the bill to be too harsh with asylum regulations. In later interviews, Padilla would cite the lack of a DREAM Act component as an objection, and blast the bill as a “failed Trump-era policy”. Sounds like there’s cracks within the Dem caucus.

From NBC we learned that there are also progressive objections to the bill due to immigration reforms going “a bit too far”, and “unconditioned aid to Israel”. To their credit, NBC’s report displayed the findings from their most recent poll, showing former President Donald Trump with a 35-point advantage over President Joe Biden on the border security question.

The networks did their level best to spin for the deal, but in so doing revealed it is much more fragile than was previously imagined.

To view the ABC transcript, click HERE

To view the CBS transcript, click HERE

To view the NBC transcript, click HERE