Former Defense Dept. Official: NYT Has 'Deep-Seated Anti-Catholic Bigotry'

Former Deputy Undersecretary of Defense Jed Babbin said Friday that there is a deep-seated anti-Catholic bigotry at the New York Times.

Speaking with Clayton Morris on "Fox & Friends," the former George H.W. Bush administration official also called the Gray Lady "a hub of liberal thinking" (video follows with transcript and commentary):

CLAYTON MORRIS: Last month, the New York Times asked readers to dig up dirt on former Alaska governor Sarah Palin writing quote "Help us review Sarah Palin email records." Then the paper tried to prove Clarence Thomas unethical. Then the Gray Lady picked a fight with Archbishop Timothy Dolan. Joining us from our DC bureau this morning former Deputy Undersecretary of Defense under George H.W. Bush and contributing editor for the American Spectator, Jed Babbin. Nice to see you this morning, Jed. Welcome to “Fox & Friends.”

JED BABBIN, AMERICAN SPECTACTOR: Hi, thanks, guys.

MORRIS: So what facts do you have to support this claim that the New York Time, and I'm sorry, Babbin, I called you Babin, my apologies.

BABBIN: Anything close.

MORRIS: Your piece on what you called The Pinch, going after the New York Times, basically saying they've been in the bag for the left. Why do you say that?

BABBIN: Well, it's a very long track record that they have and there's two important facts that you go on. Number one, the fact that they do not report important stories critical of Democrats. They are only critical of the Republican Party. Then number two, their bias is long established. If you read their columns, they are really a hub of liberal thinking. And if you look at what's going on with the Catholic church right now, there is a deep-seated anti-Catholic bigotry going on in the pages of the New York Times. It all comes down to the publisher, Pinch Sulzberger, Arthur Sulzberger Jr. He took over in about 1992.

MORRIS: Right.

BABBIN: He took out most of the people who had built the New York Times post-World War II, very established journalists. He's put ideological reporters and editors in their places and now what you have, you have Maureen Dowd, you know, some person now just bashing the Catholic church in her spare time. And you have, again, this Jill Abramson now coming on as executive editor who is by all reports and by her own track record a very liberal activist. And if you look at Sulzberger himself, all you need to do is go back to his speech at State University of New York, New Paltz, a couple of years ago where he was just histrionic in telling the graduates, “Oh, my gosh, you poor children. We grown-ups were supposed to be leaving you with a world that was not beridden by war and disease and global warming and discrimination and oh I’m so sorry that we’re leaving this to you." It is the histrionic liberalism in Pinch Sulzberger that’s playing out in the Times.

MORRIS: What you mentioned earlier about Catholics, I want to take you back to that in a second. Apparently the New York Times has a problem with Catholics. Here's Timothy Dolan, take a look at this, says, “The common casual way that the New York Times offends Catholic sensitivity is something they would never think of doing – rightly so – to the Jewish, Black, Islamic or gay communities.”

BABBIN: Well, that's absolutely right. Look, if you look at the New York Times track record, they are more eager to publish national secrets than they are, for example, to republish the Danish cartoons making fun of Muhammad. These people have a deep-seated bigotry against the Catholic Church. It's reflected in their reporting. If you look at the way they report on art exhibits, on plays, the way they criticize the church and when Timothy Dolan, Archbishop Dolan tries to put in an op-ed piece in the New York Times, they reject it. There's a bias there. There's a bigotry and there’s a very big problem in the New York Times.

MORRIS: Well, if you want to read Jed’s piece, it's called "Pinch Happened" in the American Spectator. You won't read it in the New York Times. Jed Babbin, thanks so much for joining us this morning, and have a great Fourth of July.

In May 2006, NewsBusters reported Sulzberger's absurd commencement address that Babbin referred to. Those that can stand it can watch the full video at C-SPAN's website.