In a June 3 article, Associated Press reporter Andrew Taylor wrote that a “boatload” of “liberal-leaning” Democrats would chair committees should the Democrats win control of the House of Representatives in the November elections and, without pointing to any speeches, votes, or other specific action, referred to Rep. David Obey (D-WI) as “a free-spending progressive.” Taylor added, again without offering any specific evidence, that Obey is an “unapologetic liberal” who has been an “ardent opponent of GOP efforts to clamp down of [sic] domestic agency budgets that Congress approves each year.” Beyond offering no specific support for his characterization of Obey, Taylor ignored evidence that would undermine it: Obey, who is the ranking Democrat on the House Appropriations Committee, sponsored legislation in January to curb “any reconciliation legislation” that would “reduce[e] the surplus or increase[e] the deficit,” has consistently supported proposals to balance the budget, and recently referred to earmark spending as “grotesquely out of hand.”

As evidence of other “liberal-leaning” potential Democratic chairmen, Taylor's story described Rep. John Dingell (D-MI) as “a Polish-American lawyer with a reputation for making witnesses quiver,” Rep. Charles Rangel (D-NY) as “a die-hard liberal from New York's Harlem with 35 years in the House,” and Rep. George Miller (D-CA) as “an unalloyed liberal” who is “one of the few remaining 'Watergate babies' swept into Congress in 1974.” Later in the article, Taylor wrote, “Black lawmakers would run major committees,” and mentioned that Reps. John Conyers (D-MI), Bennie Thompson (D-MS), and Alcee Hastings (D-FL) would be in line for chairmanships. The only two original quotes in the story came from Jack Howard, whom Taylor labeled “a GOP lobbyist,” and former Rep. Charles Stenholm (D-TX), whom Taylor referred to as “conservative.”