Matt Lewis
Senior columnist at The Daily Beast. CNN political commentator. Author of Too Dumb to Fail.
How We Measure Tone
Tone is a numeric score from −6 to +6 measuring how a statement characterizes legislation — not whether we agree with it. The score reflects language intensity, not correctness.
“They named a mass detention bill after one victim to make it politically impossible to oppose.”
— Joy Reid on the Laken Riley Act“The concern from civil liberties groups is the 48-hour takedown mandate — that gives platforms an incentive to over-remove content.”
— Chris Hayes on the TAKE IT DOWN Act“The bill passed the House 218 to 206 with two Democratic votes. It faces a 60-vote threshold in the Senate.”
— Jake Tapper on the Sports Act“The One Big Beautiful Bill was a solid win, in part because it dodged some terrible policy.”
— Kimberley Strassel on the OBBBA“This is a common-sense bill. Laken Riley would be alive today if this law had been in place.”
— Sean Hannity on the Laken Riley ActTone measures how a personality frames legislation, not whether their framing is accurate. A +5.0 and a −5.0 can both be factually correct — the score reflects advocacy intensity. We don't rate outlets as left or right. We measure what they say.
“The One Big Beautiful Bill is the governing equivalent of a Hail Mary pass — throw everything into one package and hope the party holds together. The margins are razor thin and the policy trade-offs are enormous. This is not how serious legislation gets made.”