This week’s Liberal Media Scream features cheers from New York Times columnist David Brooks for Washington’s bureaucratic swamp during the coronavirus outbreak.
His hope was that the swamp can dole out some cash to people, as it has done in some past times of crisis. Brooks’s call Sunday on NBC’s Meet the Press for $1,000 checks “to everybody” came a day before Utah Sen. Mitt Romney made the same call and echoed former Democratic presidential candidate Andrew Yang’s promise for a handout.
“The swamp looks pretty valuable right now,” Brooks argued on Meet the Press. “You want an establishment that can do stuff,” and so, “The federal government should be sending $1,000 checks to everybody.”
Brooks during the roundtable on the March 15 Meet the Press:
“We’ve weakened our institutions over the decades. We’ve had candidates run against the swamp. Well, the swamp looks pretty valuable right now. You want an establishment that can do stuff. What we’re lacking right now is a complete mobilization. The federal government should be sending $1,000 checks to everybody.”
Media Research Center Vice President of Research Brent Baker explains our weekly pick: “A synergy of establishment Republican thinking now that Sen. Mitt Romney on Monday followed Brooks in calling for $1,000 checks to everyone. But Brooks couldn’t resist exploiting the pandemic to take a shot at the disdain for ‘the swamp,’ which Donald Trump was elected to drain, as if the election of Romney or Jeb Bush would have prevented the outbreak.”
Rating: Three out of five screams.
