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Related: Editorials & Other Articles, Issue Forums, Alliance Forums, Region Forums"On the Liberal Bias of Facts" by Paul Krugman at the NY Times
On the Liberal Bias of Factsby Paul Krugman at the NY Times
http://krugman.blogs.nytimes.com/2014/04/18/on-the-liberal-bias-of-facts/?_php=true&_type=blogs&_r=0
"SNIP..........................
Nothing illustrated this better than the reaction to Ezra Kleins own note about the resignation of Kathleen Sebelius, which was intended as analysis rather than advocacy; Klein simply made the fairly obvious point that the HHS secretary was in effect free to resign now because Obamacare has been turned around and is going well. But Kleins statement was met with a mix of outrage and ridicule on the right; how dare he suggest that the program was succeeding?
Why is it, then, that the right treats statements of fact as proof of liberal bias?
Chaits answer, which I agree is part of the story, is that the liberal and conservative movements are not at all symmetric in their goals. Conservatives want smaller government as an end in itself; liberals dont seek bigger government per se they want government to achieve certain things, which is quite different. Youll never see liberals boasting about raising the share of government spending in GDP the way conservatives talk proudly about bringing that share down. Because liberals want government to accomplish something, they want to know whether government programs are actually working; because conservatives dont want the government doing anything except defense and law enforcement, they arent really interested in evidence about success or failure. True, they may seize on alleged evidence of failure to reinforce their case, but its about political strategy, not genuine interest in the facts.
..........................SNIP"
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"On the Liberal Bias of Facts" by Paul Krugman at the NY Times (Original Post)
applegrove
Apr 2014
OP
Oh, you're right. However, Krugman still did mash those two quotes together for his blog. nt
Electric Monk
Apr 2014
#3
Electric Monk
(13,869 posts)1. Funny how he mis-attributes a Stephen Colbert quote to Rob Corddry
The facts have a well-known liberal bias, declared Rob Corddry way back in 2004
Colbert said that at the 2006 WH Correspondents Dinner.
With a little googling, though, Corddry apparently did say this in 2004:
http://www.slapnose.com/archives/2004/05/04/the_liberal_bias_of_facts/
Corddry: How does one report the facts in an unbiased way when the facts themselves are biased?
Stewart: I'm sorry, Rob, did you say the facts are biased?
Corddry: That's right Jon. From the names of our fallen soldiers to the gradual withdrawal of our allies to the growing insurgency, it's become all too clear that facts in Iraq have an anti-Bush agenda.
Corddry: How does one report the facts in an unbiased way when the facts themselves are biased?
Stewart: I'm sorry, Rob, did you say the facts are biased?
Corddry: That's right Jon. From the names of our fallen soldiers to the gradual withdrawal of our allies to the growing insurgency, it's become all too clear that facts in Iraq have an anti-Bush agenda.
It's close, but it's not quite the same quote.
KamaAina
(78,249 posts)2. The Colbert quote is
"Reality has a well-known liberal bias". I had forgotten that facts do, too.
Electric Monk
(13,869 posts)3. Oh, you're right. However, Krugman still did mash those two quotes together for his blog. nt