NY Times' Kornblut left unchallenged Republican claim that Lamont is “not mainstream America,” his victory in Senate race would “show[ ] the extreme nature of the Democratic Party”

Written by Julie Millican

Published

New York Times reporter Anne E. Kornblut left unchallenged Republican Sen. Norm Coleman's claim -- which is unsupported by recent polls -- that anti-Iraq war Connecticut Democratic Senate candidate Ned Lamont is “not mainstream America.” Kornblut quoted only Republicans, conservatives, and representatives of Sen. Joseph I. Lieberman, with no response from the Lamont campaign or Lamont supporters.

In her August 19 New York Times article, "G.O.P. Deserts One of Its Own for Lieberman," reporter Anne E. Kornblut left unchallenged Sen. Norm Coleman's (R-MN) claim -- which is unsupported by recent polls -- that anti-Iraq war Connecticut Democratic Senate candidate Ned Lamont is “not mainstream America,” and that a victory by Lamont would “show[] the extreme nature of the Democratic Party.” Reporting on what the article said was the growing number of Republicans who have reportedly suggested they will support independent candidate and incumbent Sen. Joseph I. Lieberman rather than Republican candidate Alan Schelsinger, Kornblut quoted only Republicans, conservatives, and Lieberman representatives, with no response from the Lamont campaign or Lamont supporters. Lamont defeated Lieberman in the August 8 Democratic primary. In fact, while it is unclear exactly what led Coleman to allege that Lamont is “extreme” and “not mainstream,” Lamont's high-profile opposition to the Iraq war is shared by the majority of the public according to recent public opinion polls, as Media Matters for America has noted (here and here).

While discussing Republican officials' “extraordinary decision to abandon their official candidate” and support Lieberman, Kornblut left unchallenged Coleman's claim that Lamont is “extreme” and out of touch with “mainstream America”:

Senator Norm Coleman, Republican of Minnesota, said that from a political perspective, having Mr. Lamont triumph in Connecticut would be “good for Republicans because that's not mainstream America.”

“So from that perspective, a Lamont victory shows the extreme nature of the Democratic Party,” said Mr. Coleman, who is not making a formal endorsement in the race. “On the other hand, Joe Lieberman is a good senator. And from America's perspective, it would be a good thing for Joe Lieberman to be back in the Senate.”

In fact, recent public opinion polls show widespread disapproval for the Iraq war. For instance, the most recent CBS poll, taken August 10-11, found that 53 percent of respondents felt that "[l]ooking back," the United States “should have stayed out” of Iraq; 41 percent disagreed. Additionally, 66 percent of the public, according to the CBS poll, “disapproved of the way George W. Bush is handling the situation with Iraq.” An August 18-20 CNN poll found that 61 percent of respondents “oppose the U.S. war with Iraq,” while 35 percent expressed support for the war. CNN's previous poll, conducted August 2-3, found that 62 percent disapproved of Bush's handling of the Iraq war. Similarly, a recent ABC News/Washington Post poll conducted August 3-6 showed that 59 percent of respondents felt that the Iraq war was “not worth fighting”; 62 percent disapproved of Bush's handling of the situation. Finally, a July 28-30 Gallup poll (subscription required) found that 54 percent of Americans believe the United States “made a mistake in sending troops to Iraq,” compared with 45 percent who said that sending troops was not a mistake.