SALON

Monday, May 23, 2005 11:33 AM UTC

L.A. Times hearts Priscilla Owen

Profiling Bush's judicial nominee, the paper does not allow a single critic to be heard in the article.

By

Topics: War Room,

We realize it’s a couple days old, but War Room couldn’t let this piece pass without comment. It’s a Los Angeles Times article from late last week that profiles newsmaker Texas Supreme Court Justice Priscilla Owen. Her stalled nomination to the federal bench is triggering the nuclear option showdown in the Senate this week.

Considering 90 percent of Bush’s nominees to the bench have been confirmed, there must be something about Owen’s judicial record that raised serious concerns among Democrats in the Senate who have balked at appointing her to the bench. For instance, the fact they view her as a right-wing judicial activist who has a proven history of trying to create law from the bench.

But Times readers were kept in the dark about any of that because in its 1,160-word profile of Owen the Times did not quote a single critic of the judge. No wonder the Times headline writer came up with “Judge Seen as Conservative, Fair” because anyone reading the article would come to the exact same (and skewed) conclusion.

In all, the Times article included quotes from five people and each one of them expressed support for Owen and her nomination. We don’t expect that type of one-sided sourcing from a serious newspaper such as the Los Angeles Times.

Here’s a complete list of experts the Times tracked down, along with a flavor of their pro-Owen spin:

Republican Texas Chief Justice Thomas Phillips: “She is a thorough and careful judge.”

Former Republican Texas Supreme Court Justice Craig Enoch: “It’s fair to say she is conservative, but it is also true the electorate in this state wanted judges who will carefully follow the law.”

Linda S. Eads, a law professor at Southern Methodist University: “I never read an opinion where I thought she distorted the law.”

President Bush, reacting to Owen’s nomination being voted down by Democrats in 2002: “I don’t appreciate it one bit, and neither do the American people.”

Pastor Jeff Black of the St. Barnabas the Encourager Evangelical Church in Round Rock, Texas: “She is very quiet and conscientious.”

Eric Boehlert, a former senior writer for Salon, is the author of "Lapdogs: How the Press Rolled Over for Bush." More Eric Boehlert.

Next Article

Related Stories

More Related Stories

Featured Slide Shows

The week in 10 pics

close X
  • Share on Twitter
  • Share on Facebook
  • Thumbnails
  • Fullscreen
  • 1 of 11
  • Lisa Montgomery embraces her nephew Thursday after a tornado tore apart her home in Cleburne, Texas. The twister killed six people and destroyed entire swaths of the North Texas town.
    Credit: AP/LM Otero

  • Jack McMahon, the defense attorney for abortion doctor Kermit Gosnell, speaks outside the Criminal Justice Center in Philadelphia Tuesday. His client was convicted of killing three babies in his clinic, and will serve multiple life sentences.
    Credit: AP/Matt Rourke

  • A photo taken Monday captures Vice President Joe Biden's response to a Milwaukee second-grader's innovative proposal to end America's epidemic of gun violence. This guy!
    Credit: AP/Jenny Aicher

  • Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., flanked by a grouper-eyed Michele Bachmann, addresses the IRS' admission that it targeted Tea Party groups in advance of the 2012 election. In an op-ed for CNN Thursday, the Kentucky senator slammed the president for his faux outrage.
    Credit: AP/Molly Riley

  • Ousted IRS chief Steven Miller is sworn in on Capitol Hill Friday. Miller testified before the House Ways and Means Committee on the extra scrutiny the agency gave conservative groups applying for tax-exempt status.
    Credit: AP/J. Scott Applewhite

  • Attorney General Eric Holder pauses as he testifies on Capitol Hill before the House Judiciary Committee Wednesday. Holder is under fire, among other things, for the Justice Department's gathering of phone records at the Associated Press.
    Credit: AP/Carolyn Kaster

  • O.J. Simpson sits during an evidentiary hearing at Clark County District Court in Las Vegas, Nev., Thursday. Simpson, who is currently serving a nine-to-33-year sentence in state prison for armed robbery and kidnapping, is using a writ of habeas corpus to seek a new trial.
    Credit: AP/Las Vegas Review-Journal/Jeff Scheid

  • Major Tom to ground control: On Sunday astronaut Chris Hadfield recorded the first music video from space, a cover of David Bowie's "Space Oddity."
    Credit: AP/NASA/Chris Hadfield

  • When it rains it pours. President Barack Obama speaks during a news conference Thursday with Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan, inexplicably inspiring an #umbrellagate Twitter meme.
    Credit: AP/Jacquelyn Martin

  • A smoke plume rises high above a road block at the intersection of County A and Ross Road east of Solon Springs, Wis., Tuesday. No injuries were reported, but the the wildfire caused evacuations across northwestern Wisconsin.
    Credit: AP/The Duluth News-Tribune/Clint Austin

  • Recent Slide Shows

  • Share on Twitter
  • Share on Facebook
  • Thumbnails
  • Fullscreen
  • 1 of 11

Related Videos

Comments

 0 Comments

Comment Preview

Your name will appear as username

You may use these HTML tags and attributes: <a href=""> <b> <em> <strong> <i> <blockquote>

War Room is our political news and commentary blog, with coverage and commentary throughout the day.

follow salon

Most Read

Popular on Reddit

links from salon.com

vote
Kaitlyn Hunt refuses plea offer, will go to court over high school relationship - The 18-year-old rejected a deal that would have labeled her a sex offender and placed her under house arrest
176 points177 points | 133 comments
vote
Kaitlyn Hunt refuses plea offer, will go to court over high school relationship - The 18-year-old rejected a deal that would have labeled her a sex offender and placed her under house arrest
160 points161 points | 112 comments
vote
Ted Cruz against the world - How the Junior Senator is igniting the GOP civil war
81 points82 points | 21 comments
vote
Judge tells lesbian couple to separate or lose kids: "unmarried sexual relationships -- including straight ones – can be grounds for losing child custody"
56 points57 points | 12 comments
vote
Anonymous rallies behind Kaitlyn Hunt
22 points23 points | 29 comments

From Around the Web

Presented by Scribol
listener_new_rect The Listener: Chekhov's story mirrors Russia's own

Recommendations