Take Action: Protest LA Times' decision to fire liberal columnist Scheer

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Last week, the Los Angeles Times fired liberal columnist Robert Scheer, a 32-year veteran of the paper. The Times article announcing the firing offered no hint of explanation, though Scheer himself suggested it was the result of pressure from conservatives: "I've been a punching bag for Bill O'Reilly and Rush Limbaugh for years and I think the paper finally collapsed."

Scheer has, in fact, been the target of relentless criticism from conservative commentators, led by Fox News host Bill O'Reilly and right-wing activist David Horowitz.

O'Reilly has accused Scheer of having "anti-American motives." Other O'Reilly attacks on Scheer include:

O'Reilly, 7/21/05: "I mean, with Robert Scheer and these guys, you don't get more left than him. I really believe their ideology has hurt them in Los Angeles. I think a lot of people in L.A. have said we don't want this rammed down our throat every day."

O'Reilly, 6/8/04: "Once again, Scheer is ridiculous."

O'Reilly, 5/4/04: "Today the Los Angeles Times ran a column of mine that stated during wartime there is responsible dissent and irresponsible dissent. The fact that the Times even asked me to write this piece is encouraging, because I've been a critic of that paper. I was pleased to have the chance to balance out the op-ed page, because right next to my column was one by left-wing bomb-thrower Robert Scheer, who along with Paul Krugman of The New York Times, desperately dislikes the Bush administration. According to Scheer, the 'immoral leadership of the president' led to the torture situation. Right. And if Scheer gets a flat tire this afternoon, he will blame Bush for that."

O'Reilly, 7/22/03: "If you're not a left-wing loon, why would you ever read Robert Scheer, Paul Krugman, or Frank Rich? Those guys are predictable, sometimes vicious, and always pushing their hard-core agenda. So what's the point?"

O'Reilly 6/10/03: "President Bush and Secretary of State [Colin] Powell both claim the weapons intelligence was valid. They are asking for more time. We think that is a fair request. However, the Bush haters, led by New York Times columnist Paul Krugman and L.A. Times columnist Robert Scheer, continue to call the president a liar. Not nice and not provable at this point. But the troubling issue here is that Krugman, Scheer, and millions of other Americans don't want the coalition to find the weapons of mass destruction. They want the Bush administration to be embarrassed. Thereby, the critics are putting partisan politics above the good of the country, because America loses credibility throughout the world if the WMD thing is bogus."

O'Reilly, 5/21/03: "Scheer is about the most irresponsible columnist I've ever seen in my life anywhere."

O'Reilly, 5/20/03: "As we've been reporting, the Los Angeles Times has staked out a very controversial place for itself by employing radical columnist Robert Scheer, who many perceive to be a hater of USA. Now that allegation may be proven once and for all."

O'Reilly, 3/11/03: "Scheer is perhaps the most radical journalist writing in a major newspaper today, and his moral indignation and blatant anti-Americanism is revolting."

Scheer has also come under attack from Horowitz's website, FrontPageMag.com, which claimed in an April 2003 article: "Scheer has spent his entire adult life as a passionate America-hating Leftist." Horowitz has also written articles for FrontPageMag.com attacking Scheer; titles include "Is Robert Scheer the Biggest Ignoramus in American Journalism?" and "Scheer Lunacy at The Los Angeles Times."

Comments by O'Reilly, Horowitz, and others that Scheer is a "hater of USA" and an "America-hating Leftist" suggest that Scheer has been a target of conservative ire in large part due to his role as one of the first journalists to aggressively question the Bush administration's case in going to war with Iraq.

Given both the history of conservative attacks on Scheer, and the Los Angeles Times' failure to explain his firing, it seems plausible that the Times bowed to right-wing pressure in firing Scheer.

Contact the Los Angeles Times' reader representative and editorial page editor Andrés Martinez to register your protest of the newspaper's decision to purge a Bush administration critic in the face of right-wing pressure.