Stressing Sotomayor's Life, Not Her Liberalism

Stressing Sotomayor's Life, Not Her Liberalism: "Two early themes have emerged from network news coverage of Sonia Sotomayor’s nomination to the Supreme Court. First, network reporters have spared no adjective in exulting over the 'incredible,' 'amazing,' and 'remarkable' story of Sotomayor’s climb from public housing to a chance for the Supreme Court."

Once again the MSM has skipped over facts of a liberal candidate and are acting on behalf of the Administration in Washington as cheerleaders. The spin this time is about her struggle and hardships not on her credentials. Was a conservative given the same benefit's from the same MSM?
Read in full the analysis here.


Stressing Sotomayor's Life, Not Her Liberalism

ABC, CBS and NBC Toast 'Amazing' and 'Incredible' Court Nominee, Leave Labeling to 'Conservatives'

By: Rich Noyes | View PDF Version

May 27, 2009 14:07 ET

Two early themes have emerged from network news coverage of Sonia Sotomayor’s nomination to the Supreme Court. First, network reporters have spared no adjective in exulting over the "incredible," "amazing," and "remarkable" story of Sotomayor’s climb from public housing to a chance for the Supreme Court.

Second, the notion that she is a liberal judge with an activist approach is cast as merely a partisan claim from her conservative opponents — even though network reporters eagerly declared both John Roberts and Samuel Alito "conservative," "very conservative," "quite conservative," and "ultra-conservative" when they were nominated four years ago.

All three networks broke into regular programming when President Obama announced his selection of Sotomayor on Tuesday morning, and all three lavished praise on the New York judge. CBS’s Bob Schieffer and Katie Couric were the most effusive, stressing every biographical talking point the White House put out. Schieffer exulted that Sotomayor was "the political advisor’s dream candidate," while Couric gushed over her "very, very compelling life story."

On their Evening News, CBS was again the most excited by Sotomayor’s biography, with Couric trumpeting at the top of the show "the judge’s incredible journey," and "amazing life story." Reporter Priya David offered an effusive sketch of Sotomayor’s life: "Her beginnings couldn't be much more humble...."

On Wednesday’s Good Morning America, ABC’s Claire Shipman narrated what seemed like a campaign ad on behalf of the judge: "Even as a little girl, growing up in a drug-ridden South Bronx housing project, stricken with juvenile diabetes, she had that trademark knack: instead of seeing dead ends, young Sonia saw possibilities; instead of giving up, she investigated every angle....She’s also an avid Yankees fan, a mean guacamole maker, and a fierce biker."

When Clarence Thomas was nominated in 1991, his personal life story of growing up in poverty did not earn him much good will from liberal network reporters (see text box).

As for Sotomayor’s ideology, network reporters generally refrained from actually calling her a "liberal," associating that perfectly valid label with her "conservative" critics. "Despite her remarkable personal odyssey, Judge Sotomayor is already being called a liberal activist by some conservative groups," NBC’s Pete Williams announced on Tuesday’s Nightly News. ABC’s Jonathan Karl on Wednesday’s Good Morning America: "To conservatives, Sotomayor is a liberal activist who uses the courts to impose her own personal views."

On Wednesday’s Early Show, CBS correspondent Bill Plante permitted Supreme Court expert Tom Goldstein to point out: "She’s on the left, and she would be on the left in the Supreme Court. But she’s not an extreme partisan, an extreme ideologue, by any measure." But Plante followed up by citing liberal lawyer Jonathan Turley as speaking on behalf of "most legal observers." Turley vouched for Sotomayor: "I don’t believe she’s an activist. I don’t believe that she shows great bias."

It’s not a surprise that the most liberal president in recent memory has picked an ardent liberal for his first Supreme Court vacancy. But network coverage of conservative nominees emphasized the judge’s perceived ideology and controversies. With a liberal nominee, the networks have clearly deemed Sotomayor’s professional philosophy as less important than her personal biography. — Rich Noyes



Further evidence that the MSM is being lead by the Obama administration comes from the puppet Matthews of MSNBC.


Chris Matthews, on Tuesday's Hardball, couldn't contain his excitement over Obama's nomination of Sonia Sotomayor as he brought on David Axelrod to praise, to the White House advisor's face, the rollout of the Supreme Court nominee as he cheered: "It was a brilliant piece of work....it couldn't have been done any better," and then later gushed that Barack Obama: "Wowed us!" with the pick. Matthews also claimed the only opposition to Sotomayor was made up of the "crazies," and "whack jobs," like Rush Limbaugh as Matthews told Axelrod "the only critics of this nomination with any kind of violence are that R.N.C crowd: Rush, Newt and...Cheney."

[This item, by the MRC's Geoffrey Dickens, was posted Tuesday evening on the MRC's blog, NewsBusters.org: newsbusters.org ]

The following exchanges were aired on the May 26 edition of Hardball:

CHRIS MATTHEWS TO AXELROD: You know since you fellows came to the White House I've been looking at the patterns, the, the team of rivals aspect of bringing Senator Clinton aboard as Secretary of State. The, sort of, the Reagan model of getting things done as quickly as you can because you only have so much mandate. And then I've looked at the Chicago model, which is to act as if there's only one governing party and then basically do warfare with the crazies out there, let me put it more lightly - the troublemakers. The Cheneys, the Newt Gingriches, the Rush Limbaughs. Here, I've noticed in all the criticism today -- I'm sure you've gone through it -- the only critics of this nomination with any kind of violence are that R.N.C crowd: Rush, Newt and Limbaugh, I mean and, and, and, and Cheney. It just seems like you guys are brilliant at picking fights with people that don't matter, that aren't in government, aren't in the Senate, aren't in the Congress. And you brilliantly say, "There's only one governing party, it's the Democratic Party of Barack Obama and we got these crazies out there we love to fight with." Here you are doing it again. Nobody in the Senate has taken a real shot at this nominee. The people who've made all the noise are the people on the outside, who many people think are the whack jobs!

...

MATTHEWS: Well I thought it was a brilliant piece of work today, the way you brought her out. I thought that biography of her, the way it was presented -- my own view â€" was it couldn't have been done any better. We now know so much more about this nominee than we've ever known about any nominee in the past and we know it all in one day. Thank you very much, great work today.
DAVID AXELROD: Alright Chris. Thanks Chris.
MATTHEWS: I mean that! I think it was well done.

...

MATTHEWS: Certainly the President kicked things off today with an amazing camp-, look at that, it's like a campaign announcement at a Democratic Convention. He brought her out, he wowed us! The ballyhoo boys did a good job, as I said to Axelrod a minute ago. This was well-developed. The question is will the landing be as good as the take-off. The take-off looked pretty good.