Shh! Networks Don't Want to Talk About Obamacare Waivers for Wealthy Pelosi Liberals

May 19th, 2011 12:41 PM

According to the three major networks, the granting of numerous waivers to Barack Obama's health care law, including 38 in April alone to wealthy, entertainment businesses in Nancy Pelosi's San Francisco district, isn't of much interest. ABC and CBS have completely ignored waivers, while NBC only included a general mention from a Republican senator.

As the Daily Caller's Matthew Boyle reported, 1300 waivers have been granted and while that information is online, "it has not made public which companies and other entities have been denied waivers and why they were denied." 20 percent went to Pelosi's district.

Appearing on the January 2, 2011 Meet the Press, Senator Lindsey Graham pointed out, "...But the Obama health care is a real burden to small businesses and large businesses. There's been 200 and something waivers." Chuck Todd made a reference to a future waiver program on May 1. Those two were the only instances of waivers even being referred to on NBC.

However, while ABC ignored waivers, Good Morning America, for example, found time to promote the obstacle course game show Wipeout and other pressing topics.

Here's what the networks haven't been telling you about waivers in general, as explained by conservative columnist Michelle Malkin:

Seattle-based REI. The trendy Pacific Northwest outdoor equipment retailer's progressive CEO and Democratic campaign donor, Sally Jewell, appeared with President Obama in 2009 to tout White House health care reform initiatives. Two years later, REI snagged a waiver to protect the health benefits of a whopping 1,180 workers from the very tentacles of the big government bureaucrats Jewell embraced at Obama's roundtable.

The Daily Caller's Boyle also noted, "Of the 204 new Obamacare waivers President Barack Obama’s administration approved in April, 38 are for fancy eateries, hip nightclubs and decadent hotels in House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi’s Northern California district."

The New York Times covered waivers only in relation to comments made by Mitt Romney that he would grant them for all 50 states.

For more on this, see a blog by Noel Sheppard.

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