Well, this is interesting. Remember that "Why are liberals so condescending" piece by Gerard Alexander the Washington Post published last week? Turns out, the author didn't submit the piece the the Post -- the Post sought him out:
Bethesda, Md.: I thought that “Why are Liberals So Condescending” was the most intelligent article I've read in the Post in some time.
Do you think that this is the result of a decision by your editors to be more fair and balanced?
Also, I would appreciate your comments on the “All serious scientists agree that Global Warming is an enormous problem.” school of thought. This matter has been positioned in exactly the same condescending manner.
Gerard Alexander: I can only tell you that the Post editor I dealt with searched me out, and were as encouraging as any editor could conceivably be.
I wonder when we'll find out that a Washington Post staffer is actively seeking out a similarly disparaging column about conservatives? After all, Howard Kurtz keeps telling us how liberal the Post's opinion operation is.
Meanwhile, Alexander spent the bulk of today's Washington Post online Q&A acknowledging that some conservatives are plenty condescending to liberals, but claiming that it just isn't very common. Or something. Alexander, for example, contends that “conservative magazines, elected officials, etc” don't accuse coastal liberals of being out of touch with heartland values -- and that if they did so, they'd be “run out of town.”
In reality, of course, such accusations are not limited to conservatives; they are pervasive in the media. And those making such accusations are not “run out of town,” they are given television shows on CNN.