GOP Lawmakers Outnumber Dem Lawmakers By Almost 2 To 1 In Cable News Stimulus Debate

In the debate over the House economic recovery bill on the five cable news networks, Republican lawmakers outnumbered Democratic lawmakers 75 to 41 on cable news interviews. Fox News hosted 24 Republicans and only 11 Democrats; CNBC had more than twice as many conservatives, with 14 Republicans and 6 Democrats. Fox Business was even worse, hosting 20 Republicans for just 4 Democrats; only MSNBC hosted more Democratic members of Congress than Republicans, with 17 Democrats and 12 Republicans. Though the imbalance is already stark, the tilt of the coverage would have been even more lopsided if the analysis had been broken down into whether a lawmaker who appeared on TV was a supporter or a critic of the economic recovery plan. Some of the most frequent Democratic guests this week were outspoken critics of the proposed stimulus plans, such as Sens. Ben Nelson (D-NE) and Kent Conrad (D-ND).