The aforementioned facts are generally not known by people who don't closely follow the news, because not much was made of them. But from the point of view of ABC News, particularly the hatchet men disguised as investigative reporters Matthew Mosk and Brian Ross, Mitt and Ann Romney have a much bigger problem than the Gores, Bidens, and Clintons: They, and particularly Mitt through Bain Capital (dubious, as we'll see), have given too much money to a particular charity. Because the reporters apparently want readers and viewers to see this as something underhanded, they describe charity as "sending" instead of "giving":

---

Mitt Romney Sent Millions to Mormon Church

Underscoring the prominent, if little discussed role that Mitt Romney played as a Mormon leader, the private equity giant once run by the GOP presidential frontrunner carved his church a slice of several of its most lucrative business deals, securities records show, providing it with millions of dollars worth of stock in some of Bain Capital's most well-known holdings.

Romney has always been a major donor to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, which requires that members "tithe," or give 10 percent of their income to the church. His family charity, called the Tyler Foundation, has given more than $4 million to the church in the past five years, including $1.8 million in 2008 and $600,000 in 2009. But because Romney, whose fortune has been estimated at $250 million, has never released his personal tax returns, the full extent of his giving has never been public.

Newly uncovered stock contributions made during Romney's Bain days suggest there is another dimension to Romney's support for the church — one that could involve millions more than has been previously disclosed.

As part of just one Bain transaction in 2008, involving its investment in Burger King Holdings, filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission reveal that an unnamed Bain partner donated 65,326 shares of Burger King stock to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, holdings then worth nearly $1.9 million. And there were numerous others, giving the church a stake in other Bain properties, such as Domino's Pizza, the electronics manufacturer DDi, the phosphates company Innophos Holdings, and Marquee Holdings, the parent to AMC Theaters.

… The Mormon church is distinct from many other American denominations in what it asks from adherents in money, time and commitment — and not just because it asks young Mormon males to spend two years proselytizing for the faith as missionaries, said Jan Shipps, a religion professor at Indiana University-Purdue University in Indianapolis, and one of the preeminent non-Mormon authorities on the church.

… Romney appears to have lived up to rigid financial requirements within the church that asks parishioners to contribute 10 percent of their annual earnings.

… Securities records show that Romney found ways to help include the church in some of the companies most lucrative deals, just as other executives at the firm found ways to generate support for their favored charities. Among the companies named on securities filings as "Bain charitable institution donees" were the Combined Jewish Philanthropies of Greater Boston, The Boston Foundation Inc., Fidelity Investments Charitable Gift Fund, and family foundations run by several top Bain executives.

… Romney's own family nonprofit, The Tyler Charitable Foundation, was also cut into numerous Bain deals. The nonprofit, run by Bradford Malt — the Romney personal attorney who oversees all of the candidate's financial holdings — passed those stock earnings along to a variety of other charities, including the church.

It's hard to believe that ABC really bothered with the previous paragraph — or for that matter the entire report. What does "an unnamed Bain partner" donating stock to the Mormon church in 2008, nine years after Romney ceased his involvement in the business, have to do with anything? Romney still receives millions in annual distributions from Bain entities, but has represented in his financial disclosure statements that he has had no active involvement. Really, Matthew and Brian, those weren't "Romney's Bain days."

And what's with the use of dealmaking words and phrases to describe charitable donations? There's "sent," "carved his church a slice," "include the church in … lucrative deals," and "cut into numerous Bain deals."

Here's part of Rush's take on this nonsense earlier today:

So what? Valerie Jarrett just broke the law! She went into a church and gave a political speech ripping into the Republicans and then after the church speech, they did a voter registration drive in a church. Romney's not breaking the law.

What's wrong with giving to your church? It's a charity! He didn't take all the money himself like the Clintons do. He's not hiding it in some family foundation where he can get access to it later, plus a charitable deduction off the top of the donation he's made. Zero interest in Obama from the ABC investigative unit. Zero. I don't know how much money Obama gave Reverend Wright. We don't know how much money Obama gave Reverend Wright. We don't know how much money Reverend Wright gave Obama.

Breaking the law by a Democrat isn't news; but a Republican being generous with his money to an entity which someone doesn't seem to like must be sinister in some way, even though it's clearly lawful. Makes perfect sense to me. (/sarc)

It seems that Ross might have taken the assignment to atone for his breakout report on Jeremiah "Go D**n America" Wright four years ago. If so: For shame, Brian — especially since you seem to be conveniently setting the stage for an all-out attack on Mormonism should Romney get the GOP nomination.

Cross-posted at BizzyBlog.com.

Sitting through the Republican debate on Saturday night with ABC’s George Stephanopoulos was just painful, from beginning to end. Some of it was just political Ambien.  But when it was finally over, there was just one question. Who in the GOP in his/her right mind invites a historically shameless Democratic spin controller like Stephanopoulos to “moderate” a primary debate like this – ever?

The only thing that can be said in defense of that horrible decision was turning to NBC the next morning and seeing “moderator” David Gregory be even more slanted in his questioning. ABC slanted the ideological questions in their debate by a ratio of six questions from the left to each one from the right. The NBC ratio was eight to one.

Why must the Republicans keep handing over their debate stage in the primary season to the people who desperately want them all to bumble, stumble, and fall on their face on national TV?

In the ABC debate – an event held for Republican voters presumably to decide who is reliably conservative enough to win the nomination – ABC asked three questions from the conservative perspective, and twenty from the left (25 were ideologically neutral). Twelve of the 48 questions, or 25 percent of the night’s total, were devoted to promoting contraception and gay marriage, so trite and repetitive that finally the audience booed them down.

Is this what happened in the Democratic debates last time? Were candidates Obama and Clinton badgered about governments promoting contraceptives, even to children? What about abortion, and the candidates’ radical views? In fact, in the entire 20 Democratic debates in 2007 and 2008 monitored by the MRC’s Culture and Media Institute, there were only seven questions about abortion…in the entire campaign.

But the Republicans get Stephanopoulos the Partisan asking Mitt Romney, “Do you believe that states have the right to ban contraception? Or is that trumped by a constitutional right to privacy?” By the sixth follow-up question, the audience was booing.

Diane Sawyer pounded Romney with the typical homosexual activist sitting at home. “Would you weigh in on the Yahoo question about what you would say sitting down in your living room to a gay couple who say, ‘We simply want to have the right to,” as the — as the person who wrote the e-mail said — “we want gay people to form loving, committed, long-term relationships.’ In human terms, what would you say to them?”

Because, as America knows, opposing the homosexual lifestyle makes one not just insensitive, but inhumane.

Many Republicans loved Newt Gingrich when he slammed the ABC moderators for their obvious bias. No one, he pointed out, ever asks about the secular Obama progressives driving the Catholic Church out of the adoption process by demanding they place children with gay couples. “The bigotry question goes both ways. And there’s a lot more anti-Christian bigotry today than there is concerning the other side. And none of it gets covered by the news media.” 

Over on NBC, Gregory and his co-conspirators asked 25 questions from the liberal perspective, and just three from the right. It was extra-skewed by Gregory including quotes liberal activists on Facebook. “And this from Martin Montalvo, because we do have a spending crisis but also a lot of people hurting. He writes this: 'With more Americans on government assistance than ever before, is it un-American for Americans to feel relieved when the government helps them?'"

How perverse is this question? More than 45 million Americans are on food stamps, a record high. It’s “un-American” to question this ever-increasing load of government dependency? 

Boston media hack Andy Hiller demanded both Romney and Santorum needed to become “a voice for increasing gay rights.” He even made it personal with Santorum. “What if you had a son who came to you and said he was gay?” The applause line would be “What if you had a son who came to you and admitted he was a conservative?”

But worst of all, these “moderators” couldn’t utter a single question that was negative about Barack Obama. Not one.

Instead, Hiller pestered Rick Perry to agree with a Washington Post article written by John McCain right after the Tucson shootings, that Obama “is a patriot sincerely intent on using his time in office to advance our country's cause. I reject accusations that his policies and beliefs make him unworthy to lead America or opposed to its founding ideals.”

These are not moderators. They are Obama partisans. Again: Why is the GOP putting up with this? 

During Saturday's GOP presidential debate moderated by ABC, after the moderators had devoted six minutes to a discussion of what the candidates would say to a gay couple "sitting in their living rooms" about same-sex marriage and adoption, former House Speaker Newt Gingrich highlighted the double standard in the media's left-leaning sympathy toward gay rights issues but lack of concern about anti-Christian "bigotry" from the left. Gingrich complained: (Video below)

I just want to raise, since we just spent this much time on these issues, I just want to raise a point about the news media bias. You don't hear the opposite question asked. Should the Catholic Church be forced to close its adoption services in Massachusetts because it won't accept gay couples? Which is exactly what the state has done.

Should the Catholic Church be driven out of providing charitable services in the District of Columbia because it won't give in to secular bigotry? Should the Catholic Church find itself discriminated against by the Obama administration in a key delivery of services because of the bias and the bigotry of the administration? The bigotry question goes both ways, and there's a lot more anti-Christian bigotry today than there is concerning the other side, and none of it gets covered by the liberal media.

Below are video of Gingrich's criticism of the media, along with a transcript of the moderator questions on the subject of gay rights, from the Saturday, January 7, presidential debate on ABC:

DIANE SAWYER: I want to turn now, if I can, from the constitutional (INAUDIBLE) here to something closer to home and to maybe families sitting in their living rooms across this country. Yahoo sends us questions, as you know. We have them from real viewers. And I'd like to post one because it is about gay marriage. But, at the level, I would really love to be able to ask you what you would say personally sitting in your living rooms to the people who ask questions like this. This is from Phil in Virginia:

Given that you oppose gay marriage, what do you want gay people to do who want to form loving, committed, long-term relationships? What is your solution?

And, Speaker Gingrich? [NEWT GINGRICH]

SAWYER: Governor Huntsman, you've talked about civil unions. How do you disagree with the others on this stage?

[JON HUNTSMAN]

JOSH McELVEEN, WMUR-TV ABC 9: I'd like to go to Senator Santorum with a similar topic. We're in a state where it is legal for same-sex couples to marry – 1,800, in fact, couples have married since it became law here in New Hampshire. The legislature passed it a couple of years ago. And they're trying to start families, some of them. Your position on same-sex adoption, obviously, you are in favor of traditional families. But are you going to tell someone they belong as a ward of the state or in foster care, rather than have two parents who want them? [RICK SANTORUM]

McELVEEN: Well, what would be – I just need to follow up on that, if you don't mind, Senator. With those 1,800, if you've got a federal constitutional amendment banning same-sex marriage, what happens to the 1,800 families who have marriage here? Are their marriages basically illegitimate, at this point?

[SANTORUM]

SAWYER: If I could come back to the living room question, again, Governor Romney, would you weigh in on the Yahoo question about what you would say sitting down in your living room to a gay couple who say, "We simply want to have the right to," as the person who wrote the email said, we want gay people to form loving, committed, long-term relationships. In human terms, what would you say to them? [MITT ROMNEY]

SAWYER: Speaker Gingrich-

GINGRICH: I just want to raise, since we just spent this much time on these issues, I just want to raise a point about the news media bias. You don't hear the opposite question asked. Should the Catholic Church be forced to close its adoption services in Massachusetts because it won't accept gay couples? Which is exactly what the state has done.

Should the Catholic Church be driven out of providing charitable services in the District of Columbia because it won't give in to secular bigotry? Should the Catholic Church find itself discriminated against by the Obama administration in a key delivery of services because of the bias and the bigotry of the administration? The bigotry question goes both ways, and there's a lot more anti-Christian bigotry today than there is concerning the other side, and none of it gets covered by the liberal media. [AUDIENCE APPLAUSE]
 

Americans that spent their Saturday evening watching the Republican presidential debate witnessed the height of media hypocrisy.

Former Clinton adviser turned ABC anchor George Stephanopoulos actually asked attendees – with a straight face no less – if marital infidelity should be an issue in the campaign (video follows with highlights and commentary):

GEORGE STEPHANOPOULOS: Should voters consider marital fidelity when making their choice for president? And Governor Perry, in South Carolina this week, you said this is an important issue. Why?

Imagine a man who served former President Bill Clinton asking that question of Republican candidates in 2011. Didn't anyone at ABC News see the obvious hypocrisy in this?

Apparently not, for after Perry answered, Stephanopoulos continued with the absurdity that likely every viewer except folks associated with ABC News noticed like an 800 pound gorilla in the room:

STEPHANOPOULOS: The question is about its relevance to the presidential race. Let me just follow up quickly. Do you think a candidate who breaks his marital vows is more likely to break faith with voters?

For those that are wondering if I'm making this up, please check the video: Stephanopoulos really asked Perry this.

Do you think he was as concerned about "a candidate who breaks his marital vows [being] more likely to break faith with voters" when the man he was working for in 1992 was accused of having a 12-year affair with a woman named Gennifer Flowers?

The theater of the absurd was far from over:

STEPHANOPOULOS: Senator Santorum, you were on This Week last Sunday and you summed up your position as character counts. You said this is relevant as well.

If you're noticing that so far everyone other than former House Speaker Newt Gingrich was getting a chance to answer the question, that's because ABC News clearly orchestrated this so that the current frontrunner would be placed on the hot seat and wouldn't get a chance to respond until all of his opponents – including moderator Stephanopoulos – had taken their shots as the camera continually panned back to an obviously uncomfortable Gingrich:

STEPHANOPOULOS: Congressman Paul, what's your view on this? [...]

STEPHANOPOULOS: Governor Romney, you chose to make your family and your faith a feature of your first ad here in Iowa this week. Why? [...]

STEPHANOPOULOS: I want to get Congresswoman Bachmann and then Speaker Gingrich, you wrap this up. [...]

STEPHANOPOULOS: Speaker Gingrich, what do voters need to know about this issue from your perspective?

After watching all of his opponents and the moderator speak on this matter, Gingrich was finally allowed to address it.

Readers are reminded that weeks ago, Herman Cain talked about the high-tech lynching done to him by Politico and the media.

On Saturday evening, another frontrunner for the Republican presidential nomination was so treated, this time by the former adviser to a president that everyone in America believes was a serial adulterer.

Shame on ABC News for this obviously partisan display by a man that certainly shouldn't be pointing fingers concerning the impact of marital infidelity on a political campaign.

While morning and evening newscasts from all three broadcast networks in the last few days have focused on anti-Mormon sentiment within the Republican Party, FNC's Special Report with Bret Baier on Monday noted that self-identified Republican voters are substantially more willing to accept a Mormon President compared to Democrats.

FNC correspondent Carl Cameron observed that Democrats are "least tolerant" compared to Republicans and independents as he recounted the findings of a Quinnipiac poll:

But a Quinnipiac poll of voters taken this year says fully 68 percent of Republicans are comfortable with a Mormon President, as are 64 percent of independents. Democrats are the least tolerant, with 49 percent comfortable with a Mormon President.

By contrast, on Monday's Good Morning America, ABC correspondent Jonathan Karl cited an ABC News poll as he only recounted numbers for Republicans:

In an ABC News poll earlier this year, the overwhelming majority of Republicans said a candidate's faith should not be a factor, but 20 percent – that's one out of every five – said they would be less likely to vote for a candidate if he is Mormon.

On the previous night's World News Sunday, ABC's David Kerley had similarly resisted divulging the views of Democrats:

DAVID KERLEY: We crunched the numbers from four years ago. With nearly half of the Republican primary defining themselves as evangelicals, only 20 percent of them voted for Romney.

…

DAVID MUIR: David, you mentioned where evangelicals stand, but Americans as a whole, have they moved at all, in your opinion, on the Mormon faith?

KERLEY: They have. The Republicans have, as well, David. In fact, our latest poll showed about 20 percent of those leaning Republican say they are less likely to vote for a Mormon, but, back in 2008, that number was 36 percent, so it certainly has dropped significantly. But for Romney, it's those evangelicals he's got to deal with.

On Monday's The Early Show on CBS, correspondent Whit Johnson noted polling on Republican voters from four years ago after Mitt Romney gave a speech addressing his religious beliefs, and more recently:

Polls after that speech showed that 52 percent of Republican primary voters said that most people they knew would vote for a Mormon. [52 percent say yes, 33 percent no] Fast forward four years, and not much has changed, with about half saying the same. [45 percent say yes, 36 percent no]

On Sunday's Today show, after noting that in 2007 Romney had to reassure "conservative doubters," NBC's Mike Viqueira showed on screen the poll numbers on the views toward Mormons of several religious groups, as he highlightd the views of evangelical Christians:

A recent survey shows about a third of white evangelicals would be less likely to support a candidate if they were Mormon. Despite the efforts of Romney and others, those numbers have hardly changed since the last campaign.

Below are transcripts of relevant portions of several stories from ABC, CBS, NBC and FNC from Sunday and Monday:

#From the Monday, October 10, Good Morning America on ABC:

JONATHAN KARL: In an ABC News poll earlier this year, the overwhelming majority of Republicans said a candidate's faith should not be a factor, but  20 percent – that's one out of every five – said they would be less likely to vote for a candidate if he is Mormon. And, George, on Sunday, both Michele Bachmann and Herman Cain were directly asked if Mormons are Christians, and both of them declined to answer that question directly.

#From the October 9, World News Sunday on ABC:

DAVID KERLEY: We crunched the numbers from four years ago. With nearly half of the Republican primary defining themselves as evangelicals, only 20 percent of them voted for Romney.

…

DAVID MUIR: David, you mentioned where evangelicals stand, but Americans as a whole, have they moved at all, in your opinion, on the Mormon faith?

KERLEY: They have. The Republicans have, as well, David. In fact, our latest poll showed about 20 percent of those leaning Republican say they are less likely to vote for a Mormon, but, back in 2008, that number was 36 percent, so it certainly has dropped significantly. But for Romney, it's those evangelicals he's got to deal with.

#From the Monday, October 10, The Early Show on CBS:

WHIT JOHNSON: This issue has followed Romney since his first run for President in 2008. He attempted to quell the concerns then with a speech on faith in America.

MITT ROMNEY: Let me assure you that no authorities at my church or any other church for that matter will ever exert influence on presidential decisions.JOHNSON: Polls after that speech showed that 52 percent of Republican primary voters said that most people they knew would vote for a Mormon. [52 percent say yes, 33 percent no] Fast forward four years, and not much has changed, with about half saying the same. [45 percent say yes, 36 percent no]

#From the Monday, October 10, NBC Nightly News:

CHUCK TODD: Rommey, who addressed the issue of his faith in the last campaign, said such attacks damage the Republican Party.

MITT ROMNEY, GOP PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Poisonous language doesn't advance our cause. It's never softened a single heart, nor changed a single mind.

TODD: At issue for evangelical Christians is how Christ fits into Mormonism. While Mormons share a belief in salvation through Jesus, their own scriptures – the Book of Mormon – expands on the fundamental Christian teachings of the Bible.

RICHARD LAND, THE ETHICS AND RELIGIOUS LIBERTY COMMISSION: Anybody who reads the Book of Mormon or reads the teachings of the Mormon Church, if they're an orthodox Christian, they're going to come away saying this is not apostles creed, nicine (sp?) creed, standard, boiler plate Christianity.

#From the Sunday, October 9, Today show on NBC:

MIKE VIQUEIRA: It isn't the first time Romney has had to defend his faith. As a candidate in 2007, trying to assure many of the same conservative doubters.

MITT ROMNEY, GOP PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: If I'm fortunate to become your President, I will serve no one religion, no one group, no one cause, and no one interest.

VIQUEIRA: A recent survey shows about a third of white evangelicals would be less likely to support a candidate if they were Mormon. Despite the efforts of Romney and others, those numbers have hardly changed since the last campaign.

#From the Monday, October 10, Special Report with Bret Baier on FNC:

CARL CAMERON: The pastor defends his views, citing a year old survey of 1,000 Protestant pastors taken by an evangelical group.

PASTOR ROBERT JEFFRESS, FIRST BAPTIST CHURCH DALLAS: Three out of four agreed with the position that Mormonism is not Christianity, Mormons are not Christians. This is no new news.

CAMERON: But a Quinnipiac poll of voters taken this year says fully 68 percent Republicans are comfortable with a Mormon President, as are 64 percent of independents. Democrats are the least tolerant, with 49 percent comfortable with a Mormon President.

The Labor Department reported Friday that for the first time since 1945 – needless to say a long, long time ago – the economy produced exactly zero jobs in the month of August.

Despite the history, the tremendously disappointing numbers, and the President speaking before a joint session of Congress next week about this very issue, ABC's World News actually made this its fourth story – yes, I said fourth! – Friday evening (video follows with commentary):

Up first on one of the nation's most-watched nightly news programs was a two and a half minute discussion about gas prices heading into the Labor Day weekend.

After that came a minute on the President's helicopter being inconveniently rerouted forcing the Commander-in-Chief and his daughter to be driven to Camp David.

Imagine how that must have ruined their holiday weekend.

Then came an almost four minute report on tropical storm Lee.

Yes, I said four minutes on a tropical storm. You'd think these folks would have learned from over-hyping the previous tropical storm.

That clearly not being the case, roughly nine minutes into the program, with the President set to give a jobs address to a joint session of Congress next Thursday, "World News" finally got to what was clearly the most important story of the day.

Would this have been the case if George W. Bush or any Republican was in the White House?

Doubtful, as bad economic news was typically front and center in what young folks in our nation commonly refer to as "the day."

Just as noteworthy, the placement of this story at ABCNews.com kept it off the "World News" front page:

As you can see, there's nothing about the disappointing jobs report, but there is a link to "Gas Prices Down, Economy Recovering."

Somebody was really using his/her noggin with that one.

Not surprisingly, ABC News wasn't alone in thinking the jobs report wasn't the most important story Friday.

The "NBC Nightly News" led with tropical storm Lee, followed it up with more on the impact of tropical storm Irene, and then told the nation about August's horrible unemployment numbers.

These folks sure are fixated on tropical storms, aren't they?

Bucking the trend was the "CBS Evening News" which began Friday's program with what most likely is the greatest concern of most Americans.

When Dan Rather's former employer is besting its broadcast competition, you should be very concerned.

I know I am.

ABC Highlights Complaints That 'There is Little Heart' in Rick Perry's Texas

On Saturday's World News on ABC, correspondent Jim Avila filed a report in which he focused mostly on aspects of Texas's economy that receive praise, but he ended up warning that things may not really be as good as they seem, as the ABC correspondent highlighted claims that, "deep in the heart of Rick Perry's Texas, there is little heart."

Avila concluded his piece:

JIM AVILA: But there is another side to that Texas spirit, a story Rick Perry is less likely to tout out on the campaign trail. His state leads the way in low-wage jobs – almost 10 percent of employees making minimum wage or less, compared to six percent nationwide. And with a poverty rate of 17 percent, Texas is among the 10 poorest states in the nation.

PAUL BURKA, TEXAS MONTHLY: We have the highest percentage of people without health insurance. We do very little to support people who aren't making it.

AVILA: Deep cuts in education helped balance the budget, and the divide between rich and poor is the fourth widest in the country. Some argue that, deep in the heart of Rick Perry's Texas, there is little heart. Jim Avila, ABC News, San Antonio.

Below is a complete transcript of the report from the Saturday, August 20, World News on ABC:

DAVID MUIR: We turn now to politics here in this country and to Texas Governor Rick Perry, who campaigned today in South Carolina, a key battleground for the Republican presidential nomination. He is running, above all, on his record of creating jobs in Texas. So, tonight here, a World News "Fact Check" on the numbers, as our team traveled some 400 miles through the Lone Star State. Here's ABC's Jim Avila.

JIM AVILA: They're the numbers driving Rick Perry to the national stage. Under the governor's watch, Texas has become a job machine: one million new ones over the last decade. A full 40 percent of all jobs created in this country are here.

GOVERNOR RICK PERRY (R-TX): Jobs bring security. They bring pride. They bring further opportunity.

AVILA: And for Rick Perry, they could bring the presidency. We set out in a 400-mile journey through the heart of Texas, where oil boom and gas exploration has made a new class of millionaires out of random Texas landowners in small towns like Cotulla.

MARIANE HALL, COTULLA TEXAS CHAMBER OF COMMERCE: People are coming in every day with businesses building hotels and restaurants. Of course, the bank is growing in deposits.

AVILA: We found more traditional job creation outside San Antonio, where Toyota builds Tacoma and Tundra pickups. No unions in Texas or state income taxes. Toyota employs more than 4,000 people here. Just down the road, business is booming for Bill Cox, desperate to hire three more workers at his small manufacturing business.

AVILA: These are not McDonald's jobs?

BILL COX, BUSINESS OWNER: No, they're not. They're full-time jobs with overtime and growth.

AVILA: New businesses and thriving old ones. The 120-year-old Dr. Pepper bottle in Dublin, Texas.

BILL KLOSTER, OWNER OF DUBLIN DR. PEPPER: I think this country is built on entrepreneurs.

AVILA: But there is another side to that Texas spirit, a story Rick Perry is less likely to tout out on the campaign trail. His state leads the way in low-wage jobs – almost 10 percent of employees making minimum wage or less, compared to six percent nationwide. And with a poverty rate of 17 percent, Texas is among the 10 poorest states in the nation.

AVILA: Deep cuts in education helped balance the budget, and the divide between rich and poor is the fourth widest in the country. Some argue that, deep in the heart of Rick Perry's Texas, there is little heart. Jim Avila, ABC News, San Antonio.

And, while Harris in his introduction shined a light on conservatives as the group who want fewer mining regulations, the one soundbite that Sciutto included in the report that was on the more anti-regulation side was centrist Democratic Congressman Nick Rahall of West Virginia. And no liberal label was used for those who were shown supporting the regulations, including environmental activist John F. Kennedy, Jr.

Harris set up the piece:

And back in Washington tonight, while everybody's been focused on that huge debt debate, conservatives in the House of Representatives have quietly mounted an unprecedented assault on environmental regulations, including limits on a form of mining that literally shears the top off of mountains in order to get coal. This kind of mining is incredibly controversial, even pitting families in coal country against one another.

Sciutto began his report: "The coal underneath these beautiful West Virginia mountains has provided a living for generations of families here. But now, some of those families are fighting back against the coal companies."

In addition to a local resident opposing the loosening of restrictions, there later came a soundbite of left-wing environmental activist Robert F. Kennedy, Jr.:

JIM SCIUTTO: At ground level, you get a real sense of the scale of this because, with mountain top removal mining, all of this goes … All of it dug up and pulverized for the coal underneath. But take a flight high above, and the landscape turns to moonscape. When environmental campaigner Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., saw it, filming a new documentary called The Last Mountain, he was overwhelmed.

ROBERT F. KENNEDY, JR., ENVIRONMENTALIST: If you try to blow up a mountain in the Berkshires or the Adirondacks or the Catskills or in Utah, you would be in, put in jail.

After noting a defense of the mining technique by the company that ownership rights to the area – Massey Energy – then came a brief soundbite from Congressman Rahall: "What it means is jobs, and what it means is keeping our lights on."

Sciutto concluded his report by going back to those who object to the mining technique:

Some in the community agree (with Congressman Rahall), as well. But, on the other side of an increasingly bitter struggle, are families like the Aleshires, who say their jobs are important, but so are the mountains they grew up with. Jim Sciutto, ABC News, Blair, West Virginia.

Below is a complete transcript of the report from the Saturday, July 30, World News on ABC:

DAN HARRIS: And back in Washington tonight, while everybody's been focused on that huge debt debate, conservatives in the House of Representatives have quietly mounted an unprecedented assault on environmental regulations, including limits on a form of mining that literally shears the top off of mountains in order to get coal. This kind of mining is incredibly controversial, even pitting families in coal country against one another. ABC’s Jim Sciutto tonight reports from West Virginia.

JIM SCIUTTO: The coal underneath these beautiful West Virginia mountains has provided a living for generations of families here. But now, some of those families are fighting back against the coal companies. So they're going to shave the top off that mountain?

UNIDENTIFIED MAN: Yeah.

SCIUTTO: Literally moving mountains.

KAREN ALESHIRE, AGAINST MOUNTAINTOP REMOVAL MINING: I told my grandchildren, you know, this place will be yours, but it may not be there.

SCIUTTO: Five hundred peaks and counting, literally blown up since the 1970s, all for the coal deep underground. At ground level, you get a real sense of the scale of this because, with mountain top removal mining, all of this goes: the trees, the soil, the ground I'm walking on, a couple of hundred feet up, a couple of hundred feet down. All of it dug up and pulverized for the coal underneath. But take a flight high above, and the landscape turns to moonscape. When environmental campaigner Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., saw it, filming a new documentary called The Last Mountain, he was overwhelmed.

ROBERT F. KENNEDY, JR., ENVIRONMENTALIST: If you try to blow up a mountain in the Berkshires or the Adirondacks or the Catskills or in Utah, you would be in, put in jail.

SCIUTTO: Massey Energy, which has the mining rights and is now owned by Alpha Resources, did not answer repeated requests to speak with us, but it’s called the mining cost-effective and safe, and claims to return the landscape close to its original state, filling in valleys to provide flat land for development. West Virginia Congressman Nick Rahall also defends mountaintop removal.

REP. NICK RAHALL (D-WV): What it means is jobs, and what it means is keeping our lights on.

SCIUTTO: Some in the community agree, as well.

CLIP OF PROTESTERS: A people, united.

SCIUTTO: But, on the other side of an increasingly bitter struggle, are families like the Aleshires, who say their jobs are important, but so are the mountains they grew up with. Jim Sciutto, ABC News, Blair, West Virginia

 On Friday’s World News on ABC, correspondent Jonathan Karl took a moment to go beyond the budget debate between House Republicans and President Obama with the GOP unwilling to support a tax increase, and noted that House Democrats have also been just as resistant to voting for cutting the growth of Medicare spending. But the same night's CBS Evening News focused on Republican reluctance to support some of the budget proposals and even gave the impression at one point that congressional Democrats were willing to curtail Medicare growth.

On ABC, after recounting some of the Republicans who have resisted voting for budget plans that have been brought up, Karl continued:

That's what you might call a "my way or the highway" approach. But Democrats are playing that game, too. The President says he wants a deal that includes cuts to popular entitlement programs like Medicare, but listen to what Nancy Pelosi told us when we asked her about cutting Medicare.

Then came a clip of House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi asserting, "Absolutely not."

Last Sunday, Karl had even suggested to World News viewers that Democrats were refusing to vote for Medicare changes so they could use Medicare against Republicans to make gains in Congress.

By contrast, on Friday’s CBS Evening News, correspondent Chip Reid focused on Republican reluctance to support the President’s plan, and even played a clip of President Obama suggesting that Republicans are "just posturing and trying to score political points":

CHIP REID: If the Republicans continue to refuse to compromise on taxes, the President said voters will remember in next year's elections.

PRESIDENT BARACK OBAMA: I think what the American people are paying attention to is who seems to be trying to get something done, and who seems to be just posturing and trying to score political points.

After noting an option floated by Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, the CBS correspondent added: "But it's not clear even that plan can pass the House where conservative freshmen like Allen West of Florida say it's dead on arrival because it doesn't slash spending."

After Reid’s report failed to mention the refusal of House Democrats to vote for Medicare changes, anchor Scott Pelley gave the impression that Democrats in Congress would be willing to cut Medicare spending as he informed viewers:

Medicare and Medicaid are 21 percent of the federal budget. Social Security is 20 percent. Together they're nearly half. Add defense at 20 percent and interest on the debt at 6 percent, and both Democrats and Republicans agree that you can't get the savings you need from what's left.

#Below are complete transcripts of the relevant reports from the Friday, July 15, World News on ABC, and the same day’s CBS Evening News :

#From ABC’s World News :

DIANE SAWYER: So we asked Jon Karl of ABC to break it down and tell us why it is so hard to cut a deal.

JONATHAN KARL: Welcome to Washington, a place where, right now, it seems, nothing can be done.

SENATOR BOB CORKER (R-TN): Everyone one of us is an accomplice in causing this great nation to decline, every single one of us.

KARL: Congress today looked like a bad game show.

REP. TED DEUTCH (D-FL): This is the wheel of misfortune that we have to avoid getting to.

KARL: The key number, 217, the votes needed to pass a debt deal in the House. Republicans are now in charge, but they don't have 217 votes to pass any deal, not even the last ditch option offered by Republican Mitch McConnell that would allow the President to raise the debt ceiling, but to put Republicans on record opposing it. Tea Party Republicans are saying no way to McConnell. There’s no way you'll do that, even if Mitch McConnell says it's the only option?

REP. ALLEN WEST (R-FL): Mitch McConnell is not the only person with a brain here in Washington, D.C.

KARL: After more than a week of sniping, the two Republican leaders in the House say they’ve made peace, but not the rank and file. Republican Paul Broun says he wants the debt ceiling lowered, not raised. If your leadership comes to you and says, "Look, we have to vote to raise this debt ceiling," what do you do?

REP. PAUL BROUN (R-GA): I vote no.

KARL: No matter what?

BROWN: No matter what. I think it's wrong.

KARL: That's what you might call a "my way or the highway" approach. But Democrats are playing that game, too. The President says he wants a deal that includes cuts to popular entitlement programs like Medicare, but listen to what Nancy Pelosi told us when we asked her about cutting Medicare. Are cuts in benefits on the table?

NANCY PELOSI, HOUSE MINORITY LEADER: No.

KARL: Absolutely not?

PELOSI: Absolutely not.

KARL: With so many red lines being drawn, the bottom line right now, Diane, is that no plan has the votes to pass.

#From the CBS Evening News :

SCOTT PELLEY: For the first time in six days, there was no meeting at the White House today among the leadership trying to find a way to head off a U.S. government default. The President tried one more time today to persuade Republicans to raise taxes, and our chief White House correspondent Chip Reid was there. Chip?

CHIP REID: Well, Scott, five straight days of meetings failed to produce an agreement, so today the President made one last plea for a grand bargain.

PRESIDENT BARACK OBAMA: We have a unique opportunity to do something big. We have a chance to stabilize America's finances for a decade.

REID: If the Republicans continue to refuse to compromise on taxes, the President said voters will remember in next year's elections.

OBAMA: I think what the American people are paying attention to is who seems to be trying to get something done, and who seems to be just posturing and trying to score political points.

REID: The President said he's willing to put everything on the table, including Democratic sacred cows like Social Security and Medicare, even raising the possibility of higher Medicare premiums for upper income seniors. In return, he called on Republicans to agree to tax hikes on corporations and wealthy Americans as part of a deal to cut deficits by $4 trillion over the next decade. Republican Speaker John Boehner says there is no chance of that.

JOHN BOEHNER, HOUSE SPEAKER: There can be no tax hikes because tax hikes destroy jobs.

REID: Boehner blamed the President for the impasse.

BOEHNER: We asked the President to lead. We asked him to put forward a plan. Not a speech, a real plan.

REID: With economic catastrophe looming, the President said he's now open to the possibility of what some in Congress call plan B, a deal to raise the debt limit first and work on a debt deal later.

OBAMA: If Washington operates as usual and can't get anything done, let's at least avert Armageddon.

REID: But it's not clear even that plan can pass the House where conservative freshmen like Allen West of Florida say it's dead on arrival because it doesn't slash spending.

REP. ALLEN WEST (R-FL): Like I said, that dog don't hunt.

REID: Despite obstacles at every turn, the President says he's still hopeful the logjam will break over the weekend.

OBAMA: I always have hope. Don't you remember my campaign?

REID: The President said he still has hope because of the common sense of the American people, but, Scott, with the two sides so deeply divided, it's going to take a lot more than hope and common sense to get a deal.

PELLEY: Chief White House correspondent Chip Reid. Thanks, Chip. You know, a lot of folks have asked us why they're going after Medicare and Social Security to cut spending. Well, have a look at this. Medicare and Medicaid are 21 percent of the federal budget. Social Security is 20 percent. Together they're nearly half. Add defense at 20 percent and interest on the debt at 6 percent, and both Democrats and Republicans agree that you can't get the savings you need from what's left.

According to Nightline anchors Terry Moran and Bill Weir, new Republican Senator Rand Paul is "radical," "controversial" and longs to take a chainsaw to the Department of Education. Using hyperbolic language, Weir profiled Paul for Wednesday's program.

 Co-anchor Moran previewed the segment by attempting to isolate the Kentucky politician: "Up next, even the most conservative Republicans balk at his proposals for slashing government." As a cartoon graphic of a crazed-looking Paul appeared onscreen wielding a chainsaw, Weir hyperventilated, "So, while the President argues for a budget scalpel, Rand Paul would use a chainsaw, shutting down the Departments of Energy and education."

The journalist continued, "He would kill the Consumer Product Safety Commission, shrink the Pentagon and cut off all foreign aid." Dismissing Paul's call for spending restraint, the ABC anchor challenged, "Does the richest nation in the history of nations have a responsibility to take care of its weakest?"

[See video below. MP3 audio here.]

Continuing the apocalyptic tone, Weir warned, "But a government shutdown is not Little League. And the cuts he's proposing have the potential to make those Wisconsin protests look like a church social."

In contrast, on January 20, 2009, Weir enthused about Barack Obama's inauguration: "…From above, even the seagulls must have been awed by the blanket of humanity.”

While co-anchor Moran deemed Paul "radical," he fawned over Barack Obama during a November 06, 2006 Nightline profile: "He inspires the party faithful and many others, like no one else on the scene today…And the question you can sense on everyone’s mind, as they listen so intently to him, is he the one?"

A transcript of the February 23 Nightline, which aired at 11:46pm EST, follows:

11:35pm tease

TERRY MORAN: Senator No Surrender. He's the most controversial newcomer to Capitol Hill with a radical pedigree. But, can Rand Paul's high ideals survive the Senate? We've got the Nightline interview.

11:43 tease

MORAN: Up next, even the most conservative Republicans balk at his proposals for slashing government. We sit down with the newly minted Senator, Rand Paul.

11:46

TERRY MORAN: If Republicans and Democrats can't find a way to compromise on spending, the federal government will shut down on March 4th. But what do you think the chances for compromise would be if Senator Rand Paul, the fiery Tea Party newcomer who wants to abolish the Departments of Education and Energy and lots more, what if he was running the show? Well, tonight, my co-anchor Bill Weir sits down with the senator for the "Nightline" interview.

WEIR: It is lunchtime on Capitol Hill and America's most controversial new senator is on his way to the one place he knows his ideas are always welcome. The office of America's most controversial representative, also known as dad. I was just so curious about how the roommate situation is working out.

REPRESENTATIVE RON PAUL: We're not to talk about that in public.

BILL WEIR: Oh really? It's that bad?

RON PAUL: Actually it's very good.

WEIR: Yes, Rand and Ron Paul are DC roomies these days and they share a lot more than rent.

SENATOR RON PAUL [At CPAC]: I'm glad to see the revolution is continuing.

WEIR: Because the son grew up worshiping his father, as the doctor turned philosopher statesman was mocked and praised for his ideals. He was there when he ran for president, with promises to gut big government, end wars and legalize drugs. And now, the libertarian lion has a blood ally.

BILL WEIR: Did he have any sage advice, first day in the halls of power?

RAND PAUL: Yeah, he said just be real quiet and don't try to stir up any trouble.

WEIR: Right, right.

RON PAUL: No controversial votes.

RAND PAUL: That's right.

RON PAUL: We don't believe in that.

WEIR: That is the epitome of sarcasm, of course. And when it comes to stirring things up, Rand Paul has made poppa proud from the moment he left his ophthalmology office to run for this one.

RAND PAUL: There were times when I'd come home and my wife was crying about the things they were saying about me and we thought, is it worth it?

WEIR: As a Tea Party candidate, Paul had to beat both Kentucky's Democrat and Republican machines while surviving potentially devastating controversies.

RAND PAUL: I abhor racism. I think it's a bad business decision to ever exclude anybody from your restaurant. But at the same time, I do believe in private ownership.

WEIR: One firestorm erupted after he argued in an editorial meeting with "The Louisville Courier Journal" that by ordering restaurants to serve African Americans, the Civil Rights Act gave too much power to government. And then, there was the anonymous former classmate who told "GQ" that during a pot-fueled college escapade, Paul tied her up and made her worship a pagan water god called Aqua Buddha. He denied it and she later clarified it wasn't kidnapping, but a harmless prank. What was the lowest point of the campaign for you?

RAND PAUL: Uh, I think probably being called an idol worshipper. Being accused of-

WEIR: Aqua Buddah.

Rand PAUL: Being accused of kidnapping. You know, now we can look back and my wife and I can laugh at it a little bit.

WEIR:  But as he describes in his new book, "The Tea Party Goes to Washington," he shrugged off attacks from the, quote, left wing media and was spurred on by disgust over rampant spending by both parties, especially Republicans like Mitch McConnell. You're wearing your elephant tie today. But I wonder how- what's your relationship with Mitch McConnell now?

RAND PAUL: I think good. I think the entire Republican caucus on the Senate side is for a balanced budget amendment. And I say that's good. That means we are philosophically in tune. But I say, you have to cut spending and-

WEIR: You're miles apart from what they want to cut.

RAND PAUL: Yeah, well that's what I mean.

WEIR: [Graphic of Paul with a chainsaw cutting through the Department of Education.] So, while the President argues for a budget scalpel, Rand Paul would use a chainsaw, shutting down the Departments of Energy and education. He would kill the Consumer Product Safety Commission, shrink the Pentagon and cut off all foreign aid. And while the most fiscally conservative Republicans were proposing $50 billion in cuts, he wanted to slash $500 billion.

RAND PAUL: I'd go to a rally and I'd say, I'm not here to bring you a brand new shiny building. I'm not here to bring you any federal money. There is no money left.

WEIR: Does the richest nation in the history of nations have a responsibility to take care of its weakest?

RAND PAUL: Yes. As a Christian, we are our brother's keeper. And we do have a moral obligation to take care of those. The question you have to ask is, is the federal government equipped to do it?

WEIR: And for proof of his hatred of government regulation, consider the bill making it a federal crime to shine a laser into the cockpit of an aircraft in flight. It passed 96-1. Who was the one?

RAND PAUL: Can you imagine-

WEIR: It was you. Explain that.

PAUL: Well a 14-year-old kid is standing outside the airport and he's shining his laser light at the cockpit. I don't want that. But I think the local sheriff can take care of that. Laws are best done at the local level.

WEIR: But at the federal level, there is the real possibility the government could grind to a halt if both sides can't agree on a budget. What are the chances, you think that this is all going to shut down in March?

PAUL: Um, I hope it doesn't. I hope we can find a compromise. The other side wants the dynamic of blaming Republicans for shutting things down. But this happens at every level of government. For example, in my little town if they don't pass a budget, you know what the first thing they do? They turn the lights off at the Little League park and say no more Little League games because they want everybody up in arms.

WEIR: But a government shutdown is not Little League. And the cuts he's proposing have the potential to make those Wisconsin protests look like a church social. But Rand Paul has promised his Tea Party faithful there will be very little compromise in his tenure. And they'll be watching to see if he becomes senatized [?].

WEIR: Are you a burr under the saddle of Republicans?

RAND PAUL: Sometimes. And I do think I am able to agitate. Everything up here is fixable. But you have to have people who aren't afraid to talk about it. I'm not afraid to talk about it. I'm not afraid not to be elected.

— Scott Whitlock is a news analyst for the Media Research Center. Click here to follow him on Twitter.