Reply #20: The New Republic?

[Hell Hath No Fury]

This New Republic? Of course they would find Summers acceptable....

"Once TNR , along with The Nation , was indeed a leading journal of left opinion. But when Martin Peretz, a Harvard instructor best known for his outspoken pro-Israel and anti-Palestinian views, purchased it in 1974 with money from his wife's inheritance, the magazine's politics swung unmistakably rightward (Extra! , 8/90). TNR 's decisive departure from the left is old news, perhaps best illustrated by its editorial support for every major U.S. military intervention in the last two decades: the 1983 Grenada invasion, the 1986 bombing of Libya and the 1989 Panama invasion, as well as both wars against Iraq. The magazine also repeatedly editorialized in support of the Nicaraguan Contra rebels, who deliberately killed thousands of civilians.

A survey of the magazine's weekly unsigned editorials reveals a commitment to middle-of-the-road domestic and trade politics. In 1995, conservative TNR editor Andrew Sullivan (Washington Post , 4/8/95) asserted that his magazine could not be faulted for hypocrisy over its lack of diversity because "we've taken an editorial position against affirmative action." The magazine also supported the roll-back of welfare in 1996 and continues to judge policy-makers based on their record of support or opposition to it (11/24/03).

More recently, TNR (1/19/04) endorsed the presidential candidacy of Sen. Joseph Lieberman—the most conservative of the 2004 Democratic presidential hopefuls—saying that "for over a decade, few Democrats have better embodied the principles we hoped would one day define the party as a whole." TNR has championed Lieberman's centrism throughout much of his career, faltering in its support of him only rarely, as when he changed his position to support affirmative action in 2000 (TNR , 11/13/00).

After the 2002 mid-term elections, the magazine had this advice for the defeated Democrats (11/18/02): "The party needs centrist leaders willing to give the country not merely a Democratic alternative but an attractive one." Consistent with that recommendation, over the past four years TNR has endorsed fast-track trade authorization (12/24/01), criticized Bush's Israel policy from the right (4/5/04) and urged the Democrats to endorse drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge as part of a deal with congressional Republicans (5/6/02). Soon after the September 11 attacks, owner Martin Peretz (10/15/01) opined in favor of racial profiling."


http://www.fair.org/index.php?page=1970