Alexander Bolton

Media Whining Begins: 'Civil War Looms for the GOP'
By Tim Graham | October 31, 2014 | 7:23 AM EDT

Ed Morrissey at Hot Air ably announced that liberal reporters and analysts are breaking out the latest spin – that victory will be terrible for Republicans. I’d call it the Mary Tillotson special: after the GOP took the house in 1994, CNN’s Tillotson suggested this 52-seat landslide was bad news for 1996.

Morrissey calls it “the media’s Sour Grapes Index, in which analysts posit that a big win is really a loss, or that a loss is really a big win.” Alexander Bolton at The Hill offers the classic take, “Civil war looms for the GOP":

The Hill Reports Obama Has Completely Outsourced Negotiations to Harry Reid
By Ken Shepherd | October 7, 2013 | 6:35 PM EDT

President Obama has pretty much completely outsourced his negotiations on the government shutdown to Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.), a move which pleases hard-core liberals in Congress, reported Alexander Bolton of The Hill this morning.

"This is a welcome change for Democrats who thought Obama was too accommodating to Republicans during previous crises," Bolton noted, adding, "Simply put, they believe less is more when it comes to Obama’s involvement in negotiations with the GOP" (emphasis mine):

Sen. Harry Reid Notes There's Barely 40 Votes for Assault Weapons Ban; AP Buries Admission
By Ken Shepherd | March 19, 2013 | 6:40 PM EDT

This afternoon The Hill's Alexander Bolton and Jonathan Easley opened their story  "Reid guts Senate gun control bill," with the Nevada Democrat's admission that Sen. Dianne Feinstein's assault weapons ban has at most 40 votes, while 51 are needed for passage and 60 to end cloture. Democrats, you may recall, control 55 seats in the upper chamber of Congress, including the two held by left-leaning independents. This admission shows just how unwilling red-state Democrats are to sign on to an assault weapons ban, especially one that most certainly go down in flames in the Republican-controlled House.

But in reporting the same development, the AP's Alan Fram waited until the fifth paragraph to get to the cold, hard truth that Senate Democrats are gun-shy on pushing a new weapons ban:

AP and Politico Ignore Dem Senators' Demand for Another Round of 'Stimulus' in 'Cliff' Negotiations
By Tom Blumer | November 19, 2012 | 9:56 AM EST

On November 14, the Hill reported that "Senate Democrats, feeling confident from their net gain of two seats in last week’s election, say any deficit-reduction package negotiated in the coming weeks must include stimulus measures." Alexander Bolton's writeup quoted Senator Chuck Schumer publicly asserting that "We have to do something because the economy is not growing fast enough in the first year or two." Although Schumer was referring to 2013 and 2014, the "not growing fast enough" characterization fits the U.S. economy under President Barack Obama's and Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke's "stimulus"-oriented policies ever since the recession officially ended in June 2009.

The fact that Democrats insist on more so-called "pump-priming" after four years of trillion dollar-plus deficits accompanied by tepid growth, thereby increasing the chances that the deficit streak will hit five years or more, even with tax hikes, while growth remains anemic, is something one might consider to be, well, news. But apparently not at the Associated Press, aka the Administration's Press, or the Politico.

Sen. Reid Refuses to Call Vote on Obama's Plan to Extend Tax Cuts; Will Media Report?
By Ken Shepherd | July 11, 2012 | 5:13 PM EDT

"Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) on Wednesday rejected a Republican request to vote on President Obama’s income tax plan amid defections within his caucus on tax policy," Alexander Bolton of The Hill newspaper reported just before 10:30 a.m. today. "Reid appeared exasperated by the Republican request to vote on extending the Bush-era tax rates when Democrats would prefer to focus this week on a small-business tax package estimated to create 1 million jobs," Bolton added.

You may recall that on Monday, President Obama renewed his call to extend the Bush tax cuts for every income bracket except that covering income earners making $250,000/year and more, blasting a "stalemate" in Washington and urging Congress to "come together and get this done" without delay because (emphasis mine):

Networks Snoozing on Hoyer Suggesting Dems Won't Vote to Continue Bush Tax Cuts for Middle Class
By Ken Shepherd | June 23, 2010 | 5:07 PM EDT

Between the ongoing Gulf oil spill and the McChrystal row, this story is bound to get put on the back burner, but it still deserves attention by the broadcast and cable news media.

Yesterday I wrote about the Washington Post burying its story on House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer saying that congressional Democrats were not wedded to President Obama's 2008 campaign pledge to not raise taxes on anyone earning less than $250,000 per year.

Asked about those remarks at yesterday's White House press briefing, Robert Gibbs said he had not seen the comments and would "be happy to look at and try to get a response after this [briefing]."

Hours later, The Hill newspaper's Alexander Bolton filed a story that noted it's not just Hoyer who's staking out this position: