Tuesday, May 22, 2012

This Just In! – Former Bush Staff Member David Frum Has Finally Found Evidence of Liberal Media Bias in Obituary of a Former Senator

Wow, Just Like Bigfoot and the Loch Ness Monster Were Finally Found

The charge of liberal bias in the news media has been a Conservative staple for decades.  Conservatives believe so strongly in their positions and are so certain they are right and everyone else is wrong that they cannot understand why the entire world does not adopt their views.  So they charge media bias. 

David Frum is a former Bush staffer who on many occasions is actually quite sensible in that he recognizes and allows for arguments for the other side.  But like all Conservatives Mr. Frum sometimes cannot help himself, and now he believes he has found that most elusive of prey, the liberal bias in the reporting of the New York Times.  Here is what he says.

When conservatives complain about liberal media bias, here's what is meant: check out today's obituary for former South Dakota Senator James Abdnor. Abdnor defeated incumbent Senator George McGovern in 1980. That might seem a long time ago, but the New York Times cannot forgive the offense.

Wow, let’s see the offending passage.

The 1980 South Dakota Senate race offered stark contrasts: Mr. McGovern had national stature, a liberal voting record, many legislative achievements and eloquence as a campaigner. Mr. Abdnor was all but unknown outside his state, had a conservative voting record but few legislative accomplishments, and was as plain-spoken as politicians come, with the added distraction of a word-slurring speech impediment. He said Mr. McGovern was out of touch with the state, but Mr. Abdnor refused to debate.

And then there is this set of prejudicial statements.

Mr. Abdnor won easily, 58 percent to 39 percent. Analysts said the outcome had less to do with issues than with a negative campaign by the National Conservative Political Action Committee, which portrayed Mr. McGovern as a friend of Fidel Castro because he had visited Cuba, and as “antifamily” or a “baby killer” because he opposed a constitutional ban on abortion.

Now most people, and all non-Conservatives will see these paragraphs for what they are, a reporting of the facts.  Nowhere does Mr. Frum say that anything in the report was false or misleading.  He just doesn’t like the facts.

But that’s okay, for Conservatives a reporting of the facts is liberal bias.  In fact, the U. S. Conservative movement can only survive if they are able to suppress a reporting of the facts, which is why they expend so much energy doing so.

No comments:

Post a Comment