Does the New York Times have no shame?
In the New York Times, Adam Cohen spouts the usual lefty tripe about bringing back civil liberties after the Bush administration. Whatever. But the hook he builds his story on is not merely fatuous, it is insulting.
Civil liberties advocates have been sounding the alarm for years. The difference now is that a Democrat is about to assume the presidency, and one of the most ardent defenders of civil liberties in his party — Senator Russ Feingold of Wisconsin — is dedicated to putting the restoration of the rule of law on the agenda of the incoming government, with the support of the American Civil Liberties Union and other groups.
That is Russ “First Amendment? We don’t need no stinking First Amendment” Feingold, of McCain-Feingold fame. You know, the guy who put together a bill making it illegal to criticize politicians, unless you happen to be a newspaper. Is it any wonder that the Times would happily publish rubbish in defense of an anti-civil liberties senator, pretending he is not, given that Feingold helped to produce special rights for newspapers over the rest of us.