Two weeks ago, the Washington Monthly’s Steve Benen noted that the lineup for the Sunday shows were stacked with Republicans and didn’t feature a single Democratic guest. Last Sunday also tilted heavily toward GOP voices. This Sunday the trend continues. Three Sunday shows — Fox, CBS, and NBC — locked out Democratic voices as featured guests:
Fox News Sunday: Gov. Mitch Daniels (R-IN), former Gov. Mike Huckabee (R-AR)CBS Face the Nation: Gov. Chris Christie (R-NJ)NBC Meet the Press: Gov. Scott Walker (R-WI), Sen. John McCain (R-AZ)CNN State of the Union: Gov. Rick Scott (R-FL), Gov. Dan Malloy (D-CT), Sen. John McCain (R-AZ), Sen. Joe Lieberman (I-CT), Sen. Kent Conrad (D-ND)ABC This Week: Gov. Jan Brewer (R-AZ), Gov. Nikki Haley (R-SC), Gov. Deval Patrick (D-MA), Gov. John Hickenlooper (D-CO)
ABC’s This Week, which featured two Democratic voices, did so as part of a balanced four-person panel.
As ThinkProgress noted this week, NBC’s Meet the Press had originally failed to feature a voice from labor to respond to Scott Walker’s appearance. After pressure from progressives, Meet the Press gave workers a limited presence, adding AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka as part of a five-person panel. That panel also included Republican Mississippi Gov. Haley Barbour.
While every other Sunday show had a featured guest on to respond to the current political upheaval in Libya, Fox did not. Host Chris Wallace did not ask Mitch Daniels or Mike Huckabee — his two featured guests — a single question about Libya.