President Obama persistently states that he must take executive action, frequently of questionable constitutionality, due to inaction by the House of Representatives, which is led by Republicans. The major media, including the White House press corps, has not substantively questioned that assertion.
The facts indicate otherwise. Rep. Lynn Jenkins (R-Kansas) has compiled a list which clearly demonstrates that the House has vigorously passed an extensive amount of legislation, which Senate Majority Leader and key White House ally Senator Harry Reid (D-Nevada) refuses to bring to a vote.
These are the statistics:
- 352 bills remain imprisoned on Senator Reid’s desk.
- 98% of those were passed with bipartisan support in the House.
- 50% were passed unanimously.
- 70% passed with two-thirds support.
- 55 of the bills were, in fact, introduced by Democrats.
There are two issues at play here. First, the President has demonstrated a disturbing lack of honesty–and a surplus of partisanship– in his numerous statements about Congress. Second, the White House Press Corps, as well as most of the major media, has utterly failed in their obligation to present thorough, unbiased news to their audience by failing to report these statistics.
By simply and unquestionably reporting the President’s incorrect comments, the Press Corps and the major media are functioning more as a wing of the Administration rather than as journalists.