Tax-exempt Media Matters ramps up support for Obama during election year

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Daily Caller:

President Barack Obama has received a steady drumbeat of support from Media Matters for America as he shifts into campaigner-in-chief mode.

A content analysis by The Daily Caller shows that the tax-exempt liberal messaging organization has steadily committed more of its resources to defending Obama from critical media coverage during 2012.

Between May 29, the day Mitt Romney crossed the delegate threshold to secure the GOP nomination, and June 11, fully 60 percent of the Web articles produced by Media Matters have set out to defend the president.

On April 4, Media Matters attacked conservative talkers Rush Limbaugh and Sean Hannity for accusing the president of “thuggish” behavior when he admonished the Supreme Court to not take the “unprecedented, extraordinary step of overturning a law [Obamacare] that was passed by a strong majority of a democratically elected Congress.”

Commentators across the political spectrum later pointed out that such a move would not be unprecedented. “[T]here is ample precedent for the Supreme Court voiding laws passed by Congress,” wrote FactCheck.org. “In fact, overturning unconstitutional laws has been part of the Supreme Court’s job description for more than two centurie

During the same time frame in 2011, a non-election year, just 39 percent of the group’s online posts mention Obama.

This year, those ever-supportive mentions typically peak between Tuesday and Thursday of each week. The timing and regularity of the spikes in Obama coverage may reflect the group’s publishing schedule, but the focus of those peaks represents an all-in approach to pushing back against critiques of the president.