Media Continues Falsehoods Regarding Wisconsin Union Protest

Shame on you Bob Schieffer.  You're supposed to be one of the most seasoned journalists at CBS News, which is why you host the Sunday news show "Face the Nation."  Yet on Sunday, February 27, you still couldn't seem to get facts right on the Wisconsin Union Protest and appear to be carrying the water for the union advocates.

In his interview on Sunday, Schieffer asked New Jersey Governor Chris Christie if he agreed with the Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker's plan to reduce spending in his state by ending collective bargaining.  Although he praised the Wisconsin governor, Christie said he was not going to tell people in another state how to run their affairs.

The problem with Shieffer's question is that it was based on a blatant falsehood. The Wisconsin's governor's proposal does not completely end collective bargaining rights, nor can it be reasonably described as union busting, which is how Schieffer and many others in the media have referred to it.  Scott Walker's plan does remove health and benefit packages from collective bargaining with public employees, but there will still be collective bargaining between the unions and the state regarding salaries.  The only restriction would be that if the union tries to negotiate a salary greater than the cost of living increases, it must be approved by voters in the district in which the bargaining is taking place.  After all, the taxpayers provide the money for public employees; the funding just doesn't fall out of the sky.

Nevertheless, Bob Schieffer didn't know the facts, or he chose not to include them in the broadcast he hosts and serves as the managing editor.

A journalist, especially one with the staff Schieffer has, is supposed to know all the facts before conducting an interview.  A journalist also is not supposed to take sides and appear as an advocate for, in this case, either the unions of the state of Wisconsin. 

Schieffer is not the only one who ignores the facts.  Anchors on the major networks and CNN also mislead the public on the collective bargaining issue. 

Many news anchors have also pointed out how much President Barack Obama supports the unions in the Wisconsin controversy, which is no great surprise considering how beholding to the unions the Democratic Party is.  An amusing aspect of the Obama stance arises when one realizes that federal employees, who ultimately report to the President, have no collective bargaining rights at all. I guess you can spell hypocrisy on the issue O B A M A.