ONE DEFENSE of the thoroughgoing liberalism of the Houston Chronicle's miserable editorial board is that conservatives get a fair shake on the op-eds. That's the newspaper's idea of balance: Hire not one local right-leaning opinionator; just rent a conservative from the national syndicates every now and again.
But there is no balance among the Chronicle's op-eds. The left end of the seesaw is heavy in numbers, light in common sense and, in some cases, decency. The right end is . . .
. . . just the opposite.
In the week through yesterday, , the Chronicle ran ten op-eds from writers identified with the left, only three from the right. The "balance" was more than three-to-one to the left, which is to say, no balance at all.
FROM THE LEFT
(New York Times) Paul Krugman. "We need more, not less, government spending to get us out of our unemployment trap. And the wrongheaded, ill-informed obsession with debt is standing in the way. (01/03/2012)
The solution for too much spending is more spending.
(Houston Attorney) Murray Fogler. "The Guantanamo prison camp is 10 years old this month." (01/03/2012)
Mr. Fogler is a Houston lawyer whose political contributions go almost exclusively to Democrats. I am sympathetic to his views on due process for American citizens, but not to his opposition to the existence of Guantanamo.
(Washington Post) E.J. Dionne, Jr.. "Most Americans still believe that Obama inherited rather than caused the economic turmoil [and] seem inclined to blame Washington's dysfunction on the GOP, not on a president they still rather like." (01/02/2012)
(San Antonio Express-News (Ret.)) Jan Jarboe Russell. "[Henry Catto] did not fancy the religious right because he couldn't bear its rabid stance and interference with personal, private choices." (01/04/2012) [Ms. Russell is a former columnist at the Chronicle's sister in the Hearst chain, the San Antonio Express-News.]
Many of my friends and I are religious and on the right. We register. We vote. Our real crime is that we disagree with the policies and oppose the politicians favored by Ms. Jarboe Russell. "Rabid" is a hateful and -- dare I say it? -- intolerant way of characterizing those with whom one disagrees. It means, among other things, "extremely violent."
(New York Times) Thomas Friedman. "Two things have struck me about the GOP presidential candidate debates leading up to the Iowa caucuses. One is how entertaining they were. The other is how disconnected they were from the biggest trends shaping the job market of the 21st century." (01/05/2012)
Mr. Friedman is a firm admirer of the Chinese model for getting things done. This democracy business doesn't measure up, in his view.
(Washington Post) E.J. Dionne, Jr. Santorum is a Catholic of a certain kind, and it's the most important thing about him. (01/06/2012)
(New York Times) Gail Collins. McCain's old loathing of Romney has now been totally overshadowed by his hatred of President Barack Obama. . . . Can't wait to see what the Republicans do next. Rick Santorum. Geesh. (01/06/2012)
"Rick Santorum. Geesh." That's not an argument; it's an attitude. It's an expression of her awesome moral and intellectual superiority over Mr. Santorum and other Unclever People.
(Human Rights Watch) Antonio M. Ginatta and Grace Meng. Alabama's [immigration] law should be repealed. (01/06/2012)
(New York Times) Paul Krugman. "Romney and those like him didn't destroy jobs, but they did enrich themselves while helping to destroy the American middle class." (01/07/2012)
(Washington Post) Leonard Pitts, Jr. Democrats depend upon the votes of black and/or poor people, but do little to earn them -- no jobs training, no criminal justice system reform, not attention whatsoever to the things that delimit their lives. Meantime, Republicans write off the votes of black and/or poor people and do all they can to suppress them. (01/08/2012)
How far to the left is Mr. Pitts? So far that he thinks the Democratic Party of Barack Hussein Obama is insufficiently liberal. And while we're at it, Mr. Pitts needs attend writing class. And/or? Geesh.
FROM THE CENTER*
(City of Houston) Joe Turner. "Make a 2012 New Year's resolution to volunteer for Arbor Day and help us plant trees on Saturday, Jan. 21." (01/0_/2012) [[Mr. Turner is director of the Houston Parks and Recreation Department.]
(City of Houston Shadow Mayor) Bill King. "Now where did I put that leftover pecan pie?" (01/06/2012)
Mr. King's list of New Year's resolutions -- for others, natch -- demonstrates the hollowness of much of what passes for moderate thought. To claim a moral equivalence between the Occupiers and the Tea Party is posturing, not thinking. If the issue is, say, borrowing and spending our children and grandchildren into fiscal oblivion, then the answer does not lie halfway between continuing and stopping. Saying no to continuing, for which he faults the Tea Party, is the right answer. And even if one questions that answer, it is still an answer worthy of respect, not a flippant and self-referential dismissal.
(Academia) Michael K. McLendon. "Texans deserve an honest conversation about college quality, affordability, access and governance -- an effort currently being undertaken by a special legislative oversight committee." (01/06/2012)
(New York Times) David Brooks. "I'm to Rick Santorum's left on most social issues, like same-sex marriage and abortion. I'm also put off by his Manichaean political rhetoric." (01/07/2012)
(Salud America!) Amelie G. Ramirez. "I urge you to join Salud America! . . . You can also contact local, state and federal leaders to encourage actions to reduce Latino childhood obesity and support healthier communities." (01/07/2012)
(Washington Post) Kathleen Parker. Santorum clearly has an important national role to play, especially in the debate about who we are, but Romney remains the GOP's best bet. (01/08/2012)
FROM THE RIGHT
(American Enterprise Institute) Edward Blum. "Instead of giving maximum deference to the original [Texas congressional redistricting] plan, the San Antonio [federal] court decided to make wide-ranging, statewide changes that most election experts recognize will have significant partisan effects." (01/02/2012)
(Washington Post) George F. Will. "Even if Santorum is not nominated, he might galvanize a constituency that makes him a vice president choice." (01/06/2012)
(Washington Post) Charles Krauthammer. Is this any way to pick a president? Absolutely. It works. It winnows. And it has produced, after just one contest, an admirably worthy conservative alternative to Romney. (01/08/2012)
I suppose there is one reading of these data that supports the claim of balance at the Chronicle or even a bias in favor of the right: intellectual weight. These three writers regularly make more sense than the other sixteen put together.
_____
* From the Center also includes writers whose political or ideological provenance is unknown to me and cannot fairly and finally be discerned from their essays.
In truth, the academic and NGO interest groups behind many of the Chronicle's putative moderate op-eds are progressives.
I would take a bet, if I bet about such things, that Mr. Obama received more votes from last week's crop of moderates in 2008 than did John McCain. I wouldn't be surprised if all six of the moderates voted for our current president.
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