Sen. Russ Feingold (D-Wis.)
Win McNamee/Getty Images
So I was going through one of my favorite news, information and pop culture Web sites, The Huffington Post, this past weekend when I came across an interesting thread that blasted Sen. Russ Feingold (D-Wis.) for appearing on Fox News Sunday, calling him "this week's FOX Democrat. Shame on him."
Shame on Russ Feingold for appearing on Fox News?
I saw Feingold on FNS. He acquitted himself excellently.
X-SELL-ENT-LEE
Chris Wallace asked questions that could be considered only somewhat vast-rightwing-conspiracy slanted, if at all. But there was certainly nothing from so far left ... well, right field that Feingold couldn't handle. So why "shame on him" for not being afraid to take it to the "other guy's" house and state his case? For me, the shame oughta be on the liberals who want to flay their own for having the mettle to stand in the Foxlight. It's a tactic from the left that's becoming more and more prevalent.
Sure, Fox News makes its bank in extreme opinion. I've already registered my disgust with John Gibson. But do they opine any less than Keith Olbermann or Chris Matthews over at MSNBC? (Disclosure: I cohost Morning Joe on the network, though I hope by now that's not actually a disclosure for anyone anymore. BONUS DISCLOSURE YOU SHOULD ALREADY KNOW: NPR's Juan Williams and Mara Liasson appear on Fox News.)
The far left feasting on their own is, of course, hardly a new phenomenon. Already there are nearly half a dozen pejoratives reserved for any liberal who would dare to be a guest of "the enemy." Quite ironic when you consider that House Speaker Nancy Pelosi chose to sit down with actual "enemy" Bashar al-Assad (as have Republicans), and in light of the current Obama/Clinton dust-up over Obama's remarks that he would go "toe to toe with the leaders of rogue nations."
So, why should elements of the far left slam Dems who have no fear of li'l ole Fox News?
They should not.
If the far left wishes to monitor and watch and hound the Fox, please, by all means. Though I wish they would do the same for The New York Times, which has had substantially more scandalous reporting in the last 10 years -- from Jayson Blair and Rick Bragg to coverage of Wen Ho Lee and weapons of mass destruction in Iraq... But for Pete's sake, leave fearless guys like Feingold alone. The Dems are at least trying to reclaim the mantle of tough guys (and gals). They should not allow the weak sisters of the bunch to trip them up.

Comments
View all comments »
Please note that all comments must adhere to the NPR.org discussion rules and terms of use. See also the Community FAQ.
You must be logged in to leave a comment. Login | Register
More information needed to participate in the NPR online community.. Add this information