OUTRAGEOUS - AT 8:54 P.M. ET:  Some in the media never seem to learn.  Either that, or they have no pride in their work.  Either that, or they're so intent on the next promotion that they'll do anything to get it.

I was monitoring MSNBC in late afternoon, and found myself thoroughly put off by the obvious, in-your-face liberal bias, and the sneering toward anyone who disagreed.  Maybe they now consider themselves an entertainment operation rather than a news service, but there isn't even the pretense of objectivity.

Now we have this, from the Washington Post, a newspaper that has actually improved, in my view, in the last year.  It also has a civilized, liberal editorial page that's responsibly written.  But I guess the subject of religion is too much for some at the paper.  Consider:

The Christian right, facing questions before the presidential election about its continuing potency as a force for cultural and political change, has found new life with Barack Obama in office, particularly around health care.

I resent the term "Christian right."  It's meant to conjure images of Bible thumpers and herds of thoughtless sheep rushing after a pastor.  It's not fair.  Many members of the "Christian right" are among the most charitable people you'll find. 

As the president prepares to address a joint session of Congress on Wednesday night to press for health-care reform, conservative Christian leaders are rallying their troops to oppose him, with online town hall meetings, church gatherings, fundraising appeals, and e-mail and social networking campaigns. FRC Action, the lobbying arm of the Family Research Council, has scheduled a webcast Thursday night for tens of thousands of supporters in which House Minority Leader John A. Boehner (R-Ohio) and other speakers will respond to the president's health-care address.

They're not opposing "him."  They have questions.  Some of them may involve the intersection of religion and health care.  It isn't just politics.  The tone of this piece reveals a complete lack of respect.

After seeing their bread-and-butter issue of abortion take a back seat during the election last year, the Christian right has been a prime force in moving it back to the front row by focusing on it as a potential part of health-care reform.

The reporter could use some sensitivity training.  I would never describe a moral question like abortion as a "bread-and-butter issue."  I mean, please!

This is the same journalistic mentality that will balk at terms like "Islamo-fascism."  Doesn't show cultural sensitivity.  Or, it will portray the leftist National Council of Churches as "mainstream."

Not good, not good.  Cultural bias is as bad as political bias.  There is a tone here that a good editor should have detected, and rejected.

September 8, 2009