Massing on Media, The Kicker — August 22, 2012 03:23 PM

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Only in Limbaugh land could Martha Raddatz be a lefty

By Michael Massing

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If anything, she is a statist or state-worshiper — no different from the typical MSM or AP staffer. And all those mentioned by Limbaugh fit the description. No lefty or righty tag necessary: support of aggressive war and imperial racketeering know no left-right bounds. "Patriotism" is a disease that does not discriminate along those lines.

#1 Posted by Dan A., CJR on Wed 22 Aug 2012 at 07:08 PM

The premise of your piece, Mr Massing, assumes that liberals are somehow anti-military. I dispute that assumption. Liberals are not at all anti-military. Most liberals are against war, or against stupid, ill-conceived wars of choice based upon some daddy issues or someone's perceived shortcomings of chest-beating manhood (cf John McCain, Lindsay Graham, William Kristol). Many liberals are very much against expanding (or maintaining) the vast military-industrial complex, the draining of our national budget on billion dollar military boondoggles, the revolving door of military brass --> lobbyist for the military industrial machine. But that doesn't make them anti-military. That doesn't mean that liberals are against our troops and veterans.

I don't know (or care) whether Ms. Raddatz is liberal or whatever. It's irrelevant in the context of her problem with objectivity and maintaining standards of journalism. Many journalists have the same problem -- Judy Miller, famously, Walter Pincus, John Burns, Tom Ricks, and so on.

And along the lines of problems with objectivity, you make the mistake of accepting Rush Limbaugh's framing without any sort of reflection or intellectual effort. That's an bad mistake for a journalist and I hope you will rethink it.

#2 Posted by James, CJR on Wed 22 Aug 2012 at 11:32 PM

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