The Wonk Room

‘Balanced’ C-SPAN Promotes Heritage’s Questions And Answers On Stream Page For Daschle Hearings

Yesterday, the Heritage Foundation published a WebMemo, ‘Key Questions for Senator Tom Daschle, Nominee for Secretary of Health and Human Services.’ The document both asks and answers the questions, effectively twisting Daschle’s quotes into standard conservative attacks.

The document reads like a copy-paste job of Heritage’s 1994 talking points on health reform — in which the Foundation argued that Clinton’s reform efforts would result in a “top down, command-and-control system.” This latest incarnation suggests that Daschle’s reforms violate the Hippocratic Oath, undermine “Americans’ personal liberty,” and ration care.

Yet despite the predictable smear tactics, C-SPAN linked to the Heritage questions — and to Heritage alone — from its stream page for Daschle’s confirmation hearing:

C-SPAN’s ‘About’ page tasks the network with providing coverage “without editing, commentary or analysis and with a balanced presentation of points of view.” Perhaps the network can then link to the Wonk Room’s new report, Ten Myths About Health Care Reform?