I probably shouldn’t contribute to the attention, but I guess I will. Local bloggers have put up posts talking about an Indianapolis Tea Party group’s list of “10 most liberal political writers.” See: Abdul 1, Abdul 2, Paul Ogden, Sheila Kennedy.
The number one criteria on the list for being “liberal”: Anti-tea party! This speaks volumes. Whatever the stated positions may be, the driving force behind tea partyism has long seemed to be an emotional tribalism. If you’re not one of us, you’re one of them. The “us” is somewhat variable but seems to be Real Americans: overwhelmingly white and Christian; largely rural or suburban. Their purported criteria:
Anti-tea party, world government; weak local government; centralized state government; weak states’ rights; high progressive tax rates; pro Common Core; anti school vouchers; free universal health care; pro gun control; full rights to gay marriage; abortion without restriction; centralized economy; tax on hydrocarbon fuels; open international borders; lower national defense spending; and European Socialism.
The results:
1 Mathew Tully
2 Jim Shella
3 Sheila Suess Kennedy
4 Dan Carpenter
5 Tom Lobianco
6 Mary Milz
7 Mickey Mauer
8 Steve Hammer
9 Ken Bode
10 Abdul Hakim-Shabazz
I never knew that those folks were pro-world government! And not just any socialism, European socialism. That’s the worst kind!
The lack of a “Doug Masson” entry makes it clear they have no idea what they’re talking about.
I think it’s just Indianapolis people, so I’ll give ’em a pass.
I don’t know many of these names, but doesn’t Abdul usually write articles from a conservative standpoint?
I think the quote goes “Just because you’re my friend 80% of the time, f**k you”.
Jason, I wouldn’t characterize Abdul as a liberal or conservative. He writes stories from the standpoint of whomever is paying him at the time. He is flexible.
For some reason all of this caused me to recall a term that I think the John Birch Society was throwing around at Dwight Eisenhower and others back in the 1950’s and 60s: “Fabian Socialist”. I have no idea as to who or what “Fabian” (adjective? noun?) was, but that seemed to make the person three orders of magnitude more satanic than a plain-garden-variety socialist type. Sounds as if as far as the Tea Party is concerned Fabian would be to the far right of the Birchers themselves.
I guess I’m on there because they needed a black person.
I am available if they need a Puerto Rican.
After my posts showing all the racism & violent rhetoric from the Tea Party, I’m a bit depressed that I didn’t make the list!
Unless I am missing a blog somewhere, I think it’s funny that Mary Milz is on the list, since typically she does a lot of news broadcasts from locations such as snowy parking lots, Lucas Oil Stadium and marathons. I don’t see her doing heavy news stories often, at all, and I don’t think she’s ever mentioned her politics while interviewing celebratory Super Bowl fans. Odd list, indeed.
The tea party has a pretty long checklist of disqualifiers. Give enough time and the Tea Party Caucus can meet in a coat closet.
Although I didn’t participate in voting for the writers, I would not have rated you, Doug Masson, high on the “liberal” scale. In fact, I believe you are actually in many respects more pro-government than I am when it comes to certain legal issues. Examples are open records and notices of tort claim.
I do think of you as being a straight shooter, someone honest and independent. I can’t say that about many of the people on the list. Really I don’t have a problem so much with the media being “liberal” but some media, particularly the Indianapolis Star, who is in bed with the current power structure in Indy. The paper refuses to even report issues that the local TV media and bloggers cover almost daily. Anything that puts Indy politicans in a bad light, you can bet the Star will give the story a pass. Except for Phil Hinkle. Making that a front page story? Weird.
I don’t understand why Tea Party types have so much hatred for liberals.
After all, liberals are merely right-wingers who have the sense to realize that they have to throw the masses a bone every now and then if they want to have any hope of maintaining the morally-indefensible capitalist status quo upon which their unjustly privileged position depends.
Thus, without the liberals, the Tea Party types wouldn’t have their privilege (on the backs of the people) at all. They’d be forced to instead put up with a free, just society.
Tully ain’t smart enough to be #1 on any list of liberals.
And Shella is Tully lite.
What really irked me is that they had Joan Jett at #89 on their list of 100 Top Guitarists.
The REAL list would be their top ten Marxist writers/reporters/bloggers. I would hope to be Number One. Groucho was at the heart of the values I formed as a DePaue student, especially after I saw the cover of Firesign Theater’s “A” Hail Marx and Lennon.” Chico played Che to Groucho’s Groucho. Harpo was the silent type. Zeppo ate. We never saw Gummo.