The Facts Don't Matter

Earlier this week, Media Matters released a study that found more conservatives than liberals on Sunday talk shows. Not surprisingly, the findings, which are based on 7,000 guests who appeared on the three major Sunday shows from 1997 through 2005-Bill Clinton's second term, George W. Bush's first term, and the last year, didn't go over too well with the 'facts don't matter' conservative crowd. In response, they're launching one of their letter-to-the-editor campaigns. You know, the letters you don't actually write yourself:

Recent conservative attacks have been unable to successfully point out any flaws in the study's methodology or results. One attack, by RightMarch.com, labels the Media Matters study as a "totally skewed 'analysis' " and "bogus" but gives no supporting evidence to back up its claim. RightMarch.com also promotes a study that has already been discredited by Media Matters.

This hyperbole demonstrates that conservatives are worried about their overrepresentation becoming public knowledge -- and are willing to mislead their own activists by using flawed information.

Media Matters eagerly awaits any evidence that its study is flawed or "bogus."

In fact, each weekend we are faced with more support for the study's findings. This weekend, NBC's Meet the Press will host a roundtable with New York Times columnist Maureen Dowd, Wall Street Journal editorial page editor Paul A. Gigot, GOP strategist Mary Matalin, and NBC White House correspondent David Gregory. Apparently, NBC believes that a panel composed of a straight-news reporter (Gregory), a GOP strategist (Matalin), the editor of one of the most ardently right-wing editorial pages in the country (Gigot), and a sometime liberal who also harshly criticized President Clinton (Dowd) is "balanced."

Conservatives don't like David Gregory because the guy isn't a lap dog; he actually asks questions (and follow-ups). If journalists probed as hard about the war as they are about Dick and his gun, the disaster probably wouldn't have happend like it did. Dick is under more scrutiny about the shooting than he ever was about the war. Score another one for the liberal media!