Dear Daniel, This week, the White House started pushing back on the media's coverage of the government shutdown, with White House adviser Dan Pfeiffer calling an ABC reporter's comments about the shutdown "some of the worst false equivalence I have seen in a long time." The major television networks have largely ignored the Republicans' own words and tried to imply that both sides are equally to blame for the shutdown. That's why I started my own campaign on CREDOMobilize.com, which allows activists to start their own petitions. My petition, which is to ABC, NBC, CBS and CNN, says the following: The government shutdown is not the result of a legislative breakdown or both parties refusing to compromise. It is a direct result of the right-wing House Republicans' legislative strategy of taking hostages and making extremist demands that are out of touch with the American people. Report the truth: House Republicans are solely responsible for the government shutdown.
Tell major television networks to report the truth: Republicans are solely to blame for the government shutdown. The Republican leadership in Congress has said as clearly as possible that it does not want people to have access to healthcare and will try to do everything it can to prevent it, including shutting down the government and possibly letting the government default on its debt. The major television networks seem determined to make the story of the shutdown one of a partisan standoff where both sides are equally to blame. This is dishonest. The facts are as clear as day. The Republicans have opted to use a shutdown as a way of pressuring President Obama to give up or delay the Affordable Care Act. Media coverage of the government shutdown and who is to blame should reflect these facts and inform the American people, but so far it has largely failed to do so. The false equivalence and "he-said, she-said" coverage from major television networks and the dysfunctional DC press corps has dangerous implications for the proper functioning of our democracy. If Americans who watch television news don't understand the fact that Republicans intentionally created the government shutdown and debt ceiling crises in an unprecedented attempt to extract extreme legislative concessions from Democrats, they won't be able to hold those responsible accountable at the ballot box. It is not the media's job to cover for the Republicans. It's time for the media to come clean on this and report the truth: Republicans are solely responsible for shutting down the government. Will you join me and add your name to my petition to the major television networks to demand that they tell the American people the truth about the shutdown of the federal government? Thank you for your support. Digby | 
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