The “liberal” media

April 23, 2002

Label Whores, Take Two

Geoffrey Nunberg takes a second look at “labeling” of conservatives and liberals. Conservatives say that the media is biased because the media identifies conservative groups as such more often than it identifies liberal causes.

As I was reading Nunberg’s article, it occured to me that 1) all of the figures that are being quoted are really “back-of-the-napkin” calculations that have little scientific value, and 2) isn’t this a particularly silly argument, anyway? I mean, who cares?

But then I realized this: sometimes conservatives don’t want to be labeled. They make up misleading names in order to disguise what thier real advocacy is. These places have names like the “National Wetlands Coalition,” an agency really dedicated to removing restrictions on wetlands development. (More about these anti-environmental groups here and here.) These organizations delberately try to confuse people; labeling them “conservative” blows the cover.

Everywhere else conservatives seem to revel in the label. But in these instances they’re suddenly ashamed of it and point to the media identifying such organizations as “conservative” as evidence of the “liberal media.” Why are they ashamed? They’re trying to masquerade as something they’re not, that’s why.

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