ABC Most Hostile to Military Commissions, Frame Story Around Left-Wing Concerns
Newsbusters
In World News
Of the broadcast network evening newscasts on Tuesday, ABC aired coverage the most hostile to the “Military Commissions Act of 2006," which President Bush signed earlier in the day. World News anchor Charles Gibson noted how Republican objections had been addressed, but “civil liberties groups," a nice euphemism for liberals, "are calling the new law a violation of American values and have already gone to court to overturn it.” The story from Martha Raddatz concentrated on those concerns as she asserted that “the language is so vague, say some lawyers, you could drive a truck through it. Others say it's just wrong." A lawyer for Guantanamo detainees then bemoaned: "What this bill does is reverse 500 years of common law history and said the President, the king, the executive can throw somebody in jail without needing to justify it to a court. That violates the rule of law and it violates our Constitution."
After not airing any pro-bill soundbites, other than a clip of Bush, Raddatz concluded by relaying how Senator Russell Feingold contended: “We will look back on this day as a stain on our nation's history." Gibson asked why so few Democrats voiced opposition. Raddatz pointed out how “this has not been a winning issue for the Democrats. In fact, in recent polls, 53 percent of Americans said it was okay to have secret prisons where U.S. laws did not apply. Basically, Charlie,” she fretted, “Americans do not want torture, but they fear terrorist attacks even more." |
