Matt Vespa reported yesterday that NPR listeners received a very different "Week In Review" segment last Friday night on All Things Considered, with conservative columnist Mona Charen sitting in for pseudo-conservative columnist David Brooks. Liberal NPR devotees are some of the most closed-minded people you will ever come across. They don't want any feisty conservatives on the taxpayer-subsidized network, disagreeing with partisan liberal E.J. Dionne instead of just going along.
They weren't shy in the comments underneath the transcript. They really don't want all views considered. “Its [sic] all well & good to gather diverse viewpoints but please spare us any more wingnuts. Charen stunk,” wrote James Anderson. That was one of many:
“Charen was the opposite of a valuable contributor to the discussion. Ick. She was rude, huffy, and outright dishonest.” – Bill Herman
“Mona was entertaining when E.J. rebuked every single statistics [sic] she made up.” – Jennifer Jia to Herman
“Charen was absolutely awful. Her cited evidence was bogus--Head Start doesn't work and raising the minimum wage hurts poor people. Talk about manipulating facts. She was rude and dishonest. Please--I know David Brookes [sic] can't be there every week but couldn't you find a thoughtful, honest Republican somewhere?” – Jane Squires
“After listening with dismay to Mona Charen's ill-informed and hard-hearted comments, I was curious to see what other listeners thought of her. I see I am not alone in my negative reaction. I don't often agree with David Brooks but at least he is thoughtful. I usually make an effort to hear this "week in review" segment each week, so maybe next week I will like it a little better.” – Ruth Simms
“Thank God I'm not the only one that was upset after hearing the lies of Charen and the inability of NPR to exhibit a challenge to lies. I see that I'm in good company. Please don't have this awful woman on again. I enjoy Dionne and Brooks.” – Cynthia Holdeman
My Twitter friend @NPR_Not_Neutral jumped in to the discussion:
“Hilarious to see all the outrage over Charen. NPR listeners are used to hearing a wide range of voices--from the far left to the center. They LOVE NPR's "conservative" standard-bearer David Brooks.”
