So Rep. Jim McDermott, Democrat of Seattle, made Bernard Goldberg’s list of “100 People Who Are Screwing Up America.” Was it a news story? The Seattle Times thought so. One of our readers did not, and wrote:
Why do an article which is not news? This is a divisive and unnecessary story. Besides the bias, the subject matter is personal opinion, unscientific, trivial and only meant to enflame. It is akin to the bombastic stuff of Rush Limbaugh.
I replied to him:
Appreciate your opinion, but I disagree with you. This was the first story I read on the Local page. I scanned the headlines: "Human remains found in hunt for boy"--a kid and a nutball in Idaho. Not something I need to know. "Study: TV Viewing Good, Bad for Kids"--so what's new? (I read this later, and the story was more interesting than the headline). "Setting a Good Example"--feature, looks interesting, read it later.... "McDermott Makes List of Author's 100 Worst Americans"--Hm. Let's read this. And I read it all the way through.
Was it news? Sure. What national media critics think of your town is news. It may also be divisive and trivial, but it also helps define you, and them.
The story also said Seattle is “home to more progressive loonies than anyplace else on the Left Coast.” Well, I don’t know about that. Probably there are more in Los Angeles, because it is a much bigger city, and probably also more in San Francisco. Proportionately, there may be more in Santa Monica, Berkeley or Arcata, Calif. Maybe even Eugene, Ore.
But Seattle is definitely one of the most liberal cities in the United States, as you can see at the epodunk web page and the turnleft.com web page.
As for Mc Dermott, he does reflect his district. He is president of the Americans Democratic Action, a group of New Deal Democrats; and a member of the the House Progressive Caucus, whose web page is sponsored by Vermont socialist Bernie Sanders. McDermott is an unabashed champion of single-payer, mandatory government health insurance and he was against the war in Iraq from the start. He was even criticized by Democratic leader Nancy Pelosi for leading the Pledge of Allegiance without saying ‘Under God.’
Yes, he’s pretty liberal. But not as liberal as some in his district, including 20 percent of voters who, in 2000, voted for the Green Party candidate, Joe Szwaja.
Respond to Bruce.
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