Obama Singles Out Fox News, Blaming Them For Lack of Gun Control Progress

In the Feb. 11 issue of The New Republic, President Obama said one of the biggest factors in the gun-control debate will be how it is shaped by the media

“If a Republican member of Congress is not punished on Fox News or by Rush Limbaugh for working with a Democrat on a bill of common interest, then you’ll see more of them doing it,” he said. “I think John Boehner genuinely wanted to get a deal done, but it was hard to do in part because his caucus is more conservative probably than most Republican leaders are, and partly because he is vulnerable to attack for compromising Republican principles and working with Obama.” Read more on this story at FoxNews.com

Interview transcript via The New Republic:

FF: Are there any forces for reform within the Republican Party, people you’ve been able to establish some sort of working relationship with?

OBAMA: Well, look, I’ve always believed that there are a bunch of Republicans of goodwill who would rather get something done than suffer through the sort of nasty atmosphere that prevails in Washington right now.

It’s not a fun time to be a member of Congress.

And I think if you talk privately to Democrats and Republicans, particularly those who have been around for a while, they long for the days when they could socialize and introduce bipartisan legislation and feel productive. So I don’t think the issue is whether or not there are people of goodwill in either party that want to get something done. I think what we really have to do is change some of the incentive structures so that people feel liberated to pursue some common ground.

One of the biggest factors is going to be how the media shapes debates. If a Republican member of Congress is not punished on Fox News or by Rush Limbaugh for working with a Democrat on a bill of common interest, then you’ll see more of them doing it.

 Van Susteren called the president out for what she sees as a one-sided analysis. “Some Democrats have told me that they want to come on Fox to discuss issues but they get heat from their Leadership for appearing on Fox. Does President Obama know that? So which Party is intimidating its members?” she wrote.

The On the Record host continued: “And to say Senator Harry Reid is willing to compromise is just wrong. He has not allowed a budget to get to the Senate Floor for years to even begin a discussion. The budget process is where all compromise begins and ends and ended it before it even got started.”

“Apparently President Obama wants his usual media pass and Fox challenges his policies – which happens to be the media’s job,” she added…

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