Skip to main content
  • CNSNews.com
  • MRC TV
  • Biz & Media
  • Culture & Media
  • TimesWatch
  • Take Action!

Join Us @:
Facebook
Twitter
Amazon Kindle

Free email alerts!

NewsBusters logo
May 23, 2013
  • Home
  • Blogs
  • About
  • Forum
  • Take Action
  • Contact
  • Donate
  • Search
  • RSS

Hot Topics

  • Obama Targets Fox News
  • IRS Targets Tea Party
  • Censoring the News
Home » Blogs » Clay Waters's blog
  • NBC's Lauer Uses Oklahoma Tornado to Bash GOP Over Sandy Relief
  • New York Times: Obama Administration 'Threatening Fundamental Freedoms of the Press'
  • ABC’s Cokie Roberts Acknowledges Obama’s Contempt for the Press, Blasts 'Presidential Propaganda'
  • NYT Lawyer: Obama Worse Than Nixon, 'Worst President Ever' on Press Freedom
  • Chuck Todd: Obama Administration Wants to 'Criminalize Journalism'
  • Al Hunt On Rosen Outrage: Obama 'No Better Than Nixon'; Holder Should Take Hike
  • Bozell Column: Obama And 'Overreach'
  • Three Labor Unions, Including Teamsters, Want ObamaCare Repealed; When Will Media Report?

NY Times Praises New Dem from 'Devout' Catholic Family, Skips Her Abortion Endorsements

By Clay Waters | June 01, 2011 | 09:59

A  A

On Monday, New York Times reporter Raymond Hernandez profiled Democrat Kathy Hochul, the winner of the recent special congressional election to fill a seat from a Republican district in New York state, in "Her Inheritance: An Eagerness to Serve."

Praising the Democrat in personal terms the Times rarely if ever uses when discussing a local Republican like New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, Hernandez hit every Lincolnesque cliche in the "devout Roman Catholic" Hochul’s humble family background, which he painted as a challenge overcome by the candidate.

A few months before Kathy Hochul was born, her family was living in a 31-by-8-foot trailer not far from the hulking Bethlehem Steel plant near Buffalo. When things got a little better, they moved to the second-floor flat of a home in working-class Woodlawn.
The family was just getting by then: Ms. Hochul’s father, Jack Courtney, did clerical work at the plant at night and attended college during the day; her mother, Pat Courtney, stayed home and raised six children.

But they were unusually aware of the needs of those around them: On holidays, the family brought into their home developmentally disabled children who had no relatives to visit. And they collected food, clothing and furniture for families who were struggling in the region, hard hit by industrial decline.

Ms. Hochul, 52, startled the national political establishment last week, capturing a Congressional seat that had been in Republican hands for 40 years. But those who know her say it was her upbringing -- in a modest, devoutly Roman Catholic, service-minded family -- that made her instantly able to understand the unease among economically anxious voters over a Republican plan to overhaul Medicare.

While speaking of issues of interest to "devout Roman Catholics," Hernandez somehow avoided the issue of abortion, and the fact that Hochul earned the endorsement of the pro-abortion EMILY’s List and NARAL Pro-Choice New York. Instead, more children-centered flattery followed.

But even as she pursued her political career, Ms. Hochul remained involved in the service efforts her family undertook.

A few years ago, her mother, concerned about the rate of domestic violence in the area, decided she wanted to open a transitional house for abused women and their children. Ms. Hochul drew up the paperwork to help her mother establish the home, and then later even helped baby-sit the children of the women living there, so that they could attend counseling and other programs.

About the Author

Clay Waters is the director of Times Watch, an MRC project tracking the New York Times. Click here to follow Clay Waters on Twitter.
  • Abortion
  • Campaigns & Elections
  • Christianity
  • Medicare
  • Kathy Hochul
  • Raymond Hernandez
  • New York
  • New York Times
  • TimesWatch
  • Clay Waters's blog
  • Login to post comments
  • Printer-friendly version
Stop Censoring The Gosnell Trial!

Comments

"Devout" Catholic: one who

Submitted by motherbelt on Wed, 06/01/2011 - 12:10pm.

"Devout" Catholic: one who eschews the Church's teaching on abortion, but is very much into "social justice."

  • Login to post comments

Headline missing a comma?

Submitted by JeffC... on Wed, 06/01/2011 - 12:40pm.

Seems like the "devout" adjective doesn't apply to "Roman Catholic." She's "devout" about something diametrically opposed by Catholicism.
Then again, maybe the rest of her family are actually devout Roman Catholics.

  • Login to post comments

Catholic or Catholic - like messiahs not all are authentic.

Submitted by Don L on Wed, 06/01/2011 - 2:44pm.

No surprise here - Pelosi-ism is their faith. 53% of Catholics helped to put in the biggest pro-baby slayer in history. Notre Dame honored the pro baby-killer. The suspect USCCB spent many millions meant for the poor on his ACORN path to election. The US Catholic Church has been the thorn in the side of the Vatican. Marxist Liberation Theology (Obama's religion?) has long been a Jesuit construct. Two popes have spoken about the problem of contamination (and, shhh, schism.)
JPII stopped the Marxist priests in Latin America and Paul VI made the famous quote -that the smoke of Satan has entered the tabernacle.

Catholics who know - remember this all started with a guy named Judas -hand-picked by Christ.

Don L
  • Login to post comments

The US Catholic Church is a disgrace of the faith.

Submitted by Less1leg on Thu, 06/02/2011 - 3:02am.

Where can you publicly speak out of both sides of your mouth at the same time. Well, become a North American Catholic.. Yep, on one hand your palm is up for bread and wine on a Sunday. On Monday you are lining up to get that fetus out of your oven. Yep, we have Catholic priest telling all about those dirty Protestant Bible Belt pastors taking away rights. You have Ms. Hochul scaring old people in New York telling them that Big Bad conservative Republicans are going to gut your medicare.
What Ms. Hochul, didn't tell the people of western NY was that they can't afford to keep spending fists full of money without taxing the crap out of the NY State population. NY is the highest medicare constituencies in the US and the takers are taking faster than the payers can contribute. But, Ms. Hochul doesn't like talking about that trival point huh.
But, the Catholic Church and its social activist agenda is splitting the country into class struggles of takers and givers. Her NY State representation only shows how demented Western NY is. There are just too many takers in NY anymore and the hands taking government services and depending on those government services are overflowing the contributions of the Givers. And the Catholic Socialist Church is right there promoting anti-Christian devotion to Mother State and the Nanny Program of Dependency of Government.

  • Login to post comments

Comment viewing options

Select your preferred way to display the comments and click "Save settings" to activate your changes.
Stop Censoring The Gosnell Trial!

Editors' Picks

  • Deputy kills PBS NewsHour staffer (Washington Examiner)
  • Oklahoma disaster was tragic, but larger ones have occurred (USA Today)
  • Mainstream Media Scream: Today’s Savannah Guthrie questions GOP ‘overreach’ (Paul Bedard, Washington Examiner)
  • Desperate Carney complains asking about scandals like asking about birth certificate (RCP)
  • Look at NYT's partisan-hack rewrite of the IRS hearing (Draw and STRIKE!)
  • Study: Christians who tithe have better finances than those who don't (TGC)
  • The media are willing accomplices to Obama (PolitiChicks)
  • FBI has suspects in mind in Benghazi; Obama prefers to try them in court (AP)
Chuck Norris's picture
Chuck Norris
Chuck Norris Column: Why Tim Tebow Is an Ultimate Clutch Player
Walter E. Williams's picture
Walter E. Williams
Walter E. Williams Column: Hating America
Michelle Malkin's picture
Michelle Malkin
Malkin Column: Obama's Emptiest Benghazi Talking Point
Ann Coulter's picture
Ann Coulter
Coulter Column: Sorry, Sen. Rubio, But Your Immigration Plan Is Still Problematic
David Limbaugh's picture
David Limbaugh
David Limbaugh Column: Partisan Obama Culture Spawned a More Abusive IRS
More >

RSS FeedAmazon KindleFacebookTwitter

Stop Censoring The News!

Gosnell's Just the Tip of the Iceberg
more cartoons
  • IRS Charged With Unfair Scrutiny of Pro-Life Groups' Prayer Events, Protest Signs
  • Ex-AccuWeather's Bastardi Slams 'Ambulance Chasing' by Global Warming Theory Activists
  • Howard Dean Dismisses Benghazi Scandal as ‘Laughable Joke’
  • Letterman: 'Obama's in So Much Trouble Politically He's Thinking of Killing Bin Laden Again'
  • NYT Gets Sen. Cruz's Opposition to Marketplace Fairness Act Dead Wrong
More >
NewsBusters

Executive Editor
Matthew Sheffield

Editor at Large
Brent Baker

Senior Editors
Tim Graham
Rich Noyes

Managing Editor
Ken Shepherd

Associate Editor
Noel Sheppard

Contributing Editors
Tom Blumer
Geoffrey Dickens
Dan Gainor
David Limbaugh
Mithridate Ombud
Clay Waters
Scott Whitlock

Senior Contributor
Mark Finkelstein

Contributing Writers
Matthew Balan
Michael M. Bates
Erin R. Brown
Jack Coleman
Kyle Drennen
Douglas Ernst
P. J. Gladnick
Stephen Gutowski
Matt Hadro
D. S. Hube
Kathleen McKinley
Dave Pierre
Amy Ridenour
Julia A. Seymour
Terry Trippany
Rusty Weiss
Brad Wilmouth

Publisher
Brent Bozell

Site Design
Dialog New Media

 

  • Home
  • Blogs
  • About
  • Forum
  • Contact
  • Donate
  • Search
  • Account
  • rss
  • CNSNews
  • MRC TV
  • Biz & Media
  • Culture & Media
  • Take Action!
  • Twitter
  • Facebook
  • Amazon Kindle
  • Advertise
  • Jobs

Copyright © 2005-2013 NewsBusters.
Privacy Policy | Terms of Use