On Friday's CNN Newsroom, liberal Rep. Charlie Rangel completely downplayed how the communist regime in Cuba has harbored a fugitive cop-killer for decades. Anchor Carol Costello raised how Joanne Chesimard, who was named to the FBI's Most Wanted Terrorist List in 2013, was "granted asylum by Fidel Castro." Rangel replied, "I haven't heard her name come up in decades," and asserted that on the "radar screen" of "what's in the best interest of the people of the United States from a foreign policy point of view...her name doesn't even come up."
Cuba
By Curtis Houck | December 19, 2014 | 11:16 AM EST
During the CBS Evening News with Scott Pelley on Thursday, CBS News congressional correspondent Nancy Cordes reported on the continued response from members of Congress to the move by President Obama to normalize relations with Cuba, but chose to exclusively play up the split among those in the Republican Party on the issue.
Cordes first focused on the many Republicans against the President’s decision, with soundbites from Republican Senators Marco Rubio (Fla.) and John McCain (Ariz.) and Congresswoman Ilena Ros-Lehtinen (Fla.), but then made a point of pointing out that not all Republicans feel the same way.
By NB Staff | December 19, 2014 | 9:38 AM EST
Appearing on Fox News's Hannity Thursday night, NewsBusters publisher and Media Research Center president Brent Bozell condemned the network news for its lack of coverage of the brutal oppression of Fidel Castro's communist regime in the wake of President Obama reopening diplomatic relations with Cuba: "[Castro] has been a mythological figure to the left-wing press since the 1950s. They – for 40 years they've chosen to ignore the repressive nature of this Stalinist regime that has done so much to try to harm America."
New York Times Approves of Obama's Cuban 'Audacity' vs. 'Dinosaur,' 'Hard-Line' Conservative Opponents
By Clay Waters | December 19, 2014 | 3:20 AM EST Surprising news that President Obama would normalize relations with Cuba by establishing full diplomatic relations while easing restrictions excited reporters and editorial writers at the New York Times, who saw the demise of the "dinosaurs" and "aging...hard-liners" who opposed liberalizing ties to the authoritarian Cuban government.
By Tom Johnson | December 18, 2014 | 9:51 PM EST
Daily Kos founder and publisher Markos Moulitsas is exultant that we are “finally moving on” from the embargo “despite the wailing and teeth gnashing of the [Marco] Rubios and [Bob] Menendezes of the world, and the new generation of Cuban Americans is leading the way.”
By Curtis Houck | December 18, 2014 | 9:50 PM EST
On Thursday night, NBC continued to shower praise in the direction of President Barack Obama’s move to normalize relations with the communist country of Cuba and brush off any criticism of the policy shift.
NBC Nightly News had two additional segments on Cuba that, with a tease in the program’s opening, totaled 5 minutes and 12 seconds, but only 28 seconds of that involved mentioning those against the move.
By Scott Whitlock | December 18, 2014 | 4:45 PM EST
World News anchor David Muir on Wednesday scored an exclusive interview with Barack Obama to talk about normalizing relations with Cuba. While Muir offered a couple pointed questions about the poor human rights record of the communist nation, he mostly lobbed softballs.
Daily Beast's Michael Daly Asks What Will Happen with American Fugitives That Communist Cuba Is Harboring
By Ken Shepherd | December 18, 2014 | 4:21 PM EST Kudos are in order for the Daily Beast's Michael Daly and his attention to how "Cuba Protects America’s Most Wanted." While many in the liberal media are uncritically heralding President Obama's push for normalized relations with the Communist dictatorship, Mr. Daly points out the matter of how the Castro regime has granted asylum for American fugitives from justice.
By Matthew Balan | December 18, 2014 | 3:34 PM EST
On Wednesday, David Gergen ranked a supposed foreign policy accomplishment of President Obama higher than the killing of Osama bin Laden during CNN's special coverage of the Democrat's "historic..decision to restore full diplomatic relations with Cuba." Gergen contended that "ultimately, he's going to be judged very favorably by history...on climate change. It probably is the most significant thing he's done – the breakthrough he had with China – and if he can get the world to a better agreement, that's going to go down as a major legacy."
By Kyle Drennen | December 18, 2014 | 3:28 PM EST
During the five minutes of coverage that Thursday's NBC Today provided on President Obama reopening diplomatic relations with Cuba, only twenty-three seconds was devoted to critics of the controversial move. In addition, the only opponent featured was Republican Senator Marco Rubio, despite Democratic Senator Robert Menendez equally condemning the presidential action.
By Tom Blumer | December 18, 2014 | 2:03 PM EST
Those who rail at Fox News for allegedly being a haven of unbridled, uninterrupted conservatism usually and conveniently fail to remember that Shepard Smith is there.
Smith's take yesterday on the potential pitfalls of a thaw in U.S.-Cuba relations, particularly on the commercial front, was nothing short of astonishing. His primary fear, expressed in an interview with Gerri Willis of the Fox Business Network, is that the new arrangements might "ruin the place." It would be "the last thing they need" to see "Taco Bell and Lowes" locations there. Smith also posed as a market analyst, wondering if the Dow was up 300 points because of President Obama's related announcement. Video (HT Mediaite and PJ Media's Ed Driscoll) and a transcript follow the jump:
By Scott Whitlock | December 18, 2014 | 11:38 AM EST
The journalists of Good Morning America on Thursday cheered Barack Obama's efforts to "help thaw a Cold War" and offered little in the way of criticism for the President's actions to normalize relations with Cuba. Reporter Jim Avila hyped, "Well soon many more Americans will be able to hop a plane to Havana, take a tour, even legally buy one of those famous cigars."