Fox News repeatedly ties Dem retirements to Obama's “radical” agenda

Doocy asks if Dems are retiring because they've “been following that guy at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue too closely, and America doesn't like it.” Discussing Dodd's and Dorgan's announcements on the January 7 edition of Fox & Friends, co-host Steve Doocy said, “So what do these retirements say about the Democratic Party? Did following the president's agenda make them too radical for America? ... They realized, oh, wait a minute. Maybe we've been following that guy at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue too closely, and America doesn't like it?” Fox News contributor Dick Morris agreed that “they did” and added that "[i]t's very bad news for the Democrats because this kind of thing builds on itself. Other than the H1N1, the only virus in Washington that's more contagious is retirement."

Gretchen Carlson: Did “following Obama's agenda” make Dodd and Dorgan “too radical for America?” Teasing the segment with Morris, co-host Gretchen Carlson asked, “Did following Obama's agenda make them too radical for America?” [Fox & Friends, 1/07/10]

Hannity: Democrats are “running scared” and are “victims” of Obama's “failures.” On the January 6 edition of his Fox News show, Sean Hannity said, “So, with the writing on the wall in 2010, prominent Democrats all around the country are running scared. Now, in a span of only 24 hours, two surprising and devastating blows were delivered to the Democrats' supermajority in the United States Senate." Hannity also said Dodd and Dorgan, along with other Democrats, are “victims to this backlash against President Obama's failures during his first year in office.” His guest, Fox News contributor Newt Gingrich, added that the retirements are a “growing pattern” and that it “has to mean that John Boehner, for example, feels pretty encouraged that he might become the speaker of the House after this election.”

Hume: Retirement is result of a “political disaster.” On the January 6 edition of Special Report, Fox News contributor Brit Hume speculated that the retirements are the result of a “political disaster” and that Dodd's and Dorgan's retirements are “carried in part by the political winds that have shifted more in the past year than in any such period in recent memory.” Hume criticized Obama's handling of the economy and banking system and then added, “The Republicans who have done little besides vote no are leading in most polls on the question of which party is preferred for Congress. What a political disaster -- and in only a year.”

Beck: “Desperate” Democrats “force[d]” Dodd out because they “see” backlash to their “progressive ideas.” On his January 6 Fox News show, Glenn Beck said of Democratic leadership and of Dodd's retirement: “Desperate people do desperate things to stay alive. The Democratic Party, and quite honestly the Republican Party as well with their progressive ideas, are looking at their poll numbers. They saw Chris Dodd's poll numbers. They see the tea party numbers. They saw the 9-12 turnout in D.C. And they see the response to health care and the debacle that they're jamming down our throats. They are becoming desperate."

But Fox ignored that a similar number of Republicans are retiring in Congress

Seven congressional Republicans are retiring from public office. According to CQPolitics.com, seven Republicans have announced that they will not seek re-election in 2010 and are not intending to run for a different public office. Those Republicans are Sens. George LeMieux (R-FL), Jim Bunning (R-KY), Judd Gregg (R-NH), George Voinovich (R-OH), Kit Bond (R-MO), and Reps. George Radanovich (R-CA) and Henry E. Brown (R-SC). Moreover, 14 other Republicans are vacating their seats to run for another office.

Nine congressional Democrats are retiring from public office. According to CQPolitics.com, nine Democrats have announced that they will not seek re-election in 2010 and are not intending to run for a different public office. Those Democrats are Sens. Chris Dodd (D-CT), Byron Dorgan (D-ND), Roland Burris (D-IL), Ted Kaufman (D-DE), Paul Kirk (D-MA), and Reps. Bart Gordon (D-TN), Brian Baird (D-WA), John Tanner (D-TN), and Dennis Moore (D-KS). Moreover, five other Democrats are vacating their seats to run for another office.