Lies, Damn Lies, & the New Republic's War on the Left

The New Republic (aka. The New Republican), suffering a disastrous decline in circulation, produces a typical hatchet job on Matt Taibbi's new book, "Spanking the Donkey." The magazine's major criticism of Taibbi is their claim that his "politics are so far to the left of the mainstream - of the party and the country - that only a very small percentage of Americans are inclined to take them seriously." In the process, however, the New Republic embarrasses itself and proves what many critics have been saying for some time: many writers at the magazine have become so insulated and out of touch that the publication has been relegated to parroting dishonest right wing spin.

The magazine tries to substantiate its claim that Taibbi is out of the mainstream by criticizing his anti-war positions, and making fun of him for saying Democrats could win by "renouncing the WTO and NAFTA, creating a universal-health-care system, and slashing the defense budget." The neoconservative magazine – which still laughably claims to represent the left – also is angry that Taibbi "lambastes the Dems for supporting the Patriot Act [and] the No Child Left Behind Act."

For the sake of a little fact checking, let's just take a look at who is out of the mainstream – Taibbi or the insulated elites at the New Republic who criticize his positions:

WAR IN IRAQ: A May 2005 CNN/Gallup poll shows that a strong majority (57 percent) of Americans say they do not believe it was worth going to war in Iraq. A February 2005 Harris poll found "almost six in 10 (59%) adults now favor bringing most troops home in the next year." MAINSTREAM: Taibbi; OUT OF TOUCH: The New Republican

TRADE: A January 2004 PIPA/University of Maryland poll found that "a majority [of the American public] is critical of US government trade policy." A 12/15/03 Zogby poll found 55% of Americans believe NAFTA has resulted in fewer jobs in the United States, 50% oppose expanding NAFTA, and just 31% favor such a move. According to the 2/22/04 Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, a January 2004 poll found that just 38% of Americans said NAFTA's effects on America had been good, while 46% said the effects have been bad. And a Democracy Corps poll released last week showed Americans overwhelmingly approve a fair trade message to the current "free" trade message that our government espouses. MAINSTREAM: Taibbi; OUT OF TOUCH: The New Republican

UNIVERSAL HEALTH CARE SYSTEM: According to a 2003 ABC/Washington post poll, almost two thirds of Americans say they prefer a universal healthcare system "that's run by the government and financed by taxpayers" as opposed to the current private, for-profit system. According to an article published by Physicians for a National Health Care Porgram in the conservative Journal of the American Medical Association, "more than half of academic physicians, including most medical school deans, now endorse single payer (national health insurance), as do 40% of small business owners." MAINSTREAM: Taibbi; OUT OF TOUCH: The New Republican

DEFENSE BUDGET: A March 2005 poll by the University of Maryland found the American public supports "deep cuts in defense spending," using the saved money for "a significant reallocation toward deficit reduction, and increases in spending on education, job training, reducing reliance on oil, and veterans." These changes "were favored by both Republicans and Democrats." Specifically, respondents would "cut on average 31%—equivalent to $133.8 billion" out of the Defense budget, with a full "65% of respondents cutting." The second largest area to be cut was" the supplemental for Iraq and Afghanistan, which suffered an average cut of $29.6 billion or 35%, with two out of three respondents cutting." Even former Reagan Assistant Secretary of Defense Larry Korb argues that the defense budget needs to be cut. MAINSTREAM: Taibbi; OUT OF TOUCH: The New Republican

PATRIOT ACT: A 2004 USA Today/Gallup Poll found serious public misgivings about the Patriot Act, with 71 percent disapproving of secret search provisions, and half uneasy about new FBI rights to search citizens' records. On 3/7/04, the Boston Globe reported that "analysts agree, the Patriot Act has become a symbol of general unease about whether the war on terrorism is curtailing individual rights." Meanwhile, a broad, bipartisan group of lawmakers have supported restricting the Patriot Act. MAINSTREAM: Taibbi; OUT OF TOUCH: The New Republican

NO CHILD LEFT BEHIND: On 9/1/04, the Wall Street Journal reported "polls show few voters are impressed with President Bush's 'No Child Left Behind' education effort." An August 2004 Gallup poll found that a majority of Americans had serious problems with NCLB testing requirements. Meanwhile, teachers, parents and administrators have all criticized the NCLB for create federal education mandates without including the necessary funding to fulfill those mandates. MAINSTREAM: Taibbi; OUT OF TOUCH: The New Republican

Let's remember - this isn't really about Taibbi in specific. It is about the broader question of what the media considers to be "mainstream." And to be sure, there are still some good writers at the New Republic. But as I have argued before, the publication has, on the whole, become extremely dangerous to the progressive movement, because it purports to speak in progressives' name, while giving credence to the worst conservative distortions. This article is emblematic of that problem, as it subtly seeks to reinforce all of the right wing lies about what Americans really believe. The fact that the article is so devoid of actual, statistical analysis to back up its point is just further proof that they have no desire to even substantiate their pathetic and unsupportable arguments.