PoliBlog: Moore, Newsom, and the Media

March 01, 2024

Moore, Newsom, and the Media

Howard Kutz ha an interesting piece in WaPo comparing the response of the press to SF Mayor Newsom and former Alabama SC Justice Moore: When Left Is Right and Right Is Wrong.

When San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom defied state law by allowing same-sex marriage licenses, a New York Times profile reported him sporting "a wide grin," "describing his motives as pure and principled," and cited his "business acumen, money, good looks and friends in the right places."

But when Alabama Chief Justice Roy Moore also defied the law -- by installing a Ten Commandments display in his public building -- a Times profile said that "civil liberties groups accused Justice Moore of turning a courthouse into a church," while allowing that he had also become "an Alabama folk hero."

On the editorial page, the Times criticized Moore, likening him to George Wallace standing in the schoolhouse door, but supports Newsom's protest and gay marriage.

And please recall: I did not support Moore's actions and applauded his removal. The bottom line is that there are processes through which to deal with policy one does not like, and using one's office to break the law is not to be applauded except in extreme cases.

For example, while I may not endorse the decision that the Mass. SC reached on the definition of marriage, I acknowledge their institutional prerogative to do what they did. Newsom, however, has no legal authority to do what he is doing (nor did Moore).

However, the press treatment of the two figures have received is telling.

Posted by Steven Taylor at March 1, 2024 12:36 PM | TrackBack

Comments

Yeah, but Newsom has great hair, doesn't he?

Posted by: John Lemon at March 1, 2024 01:34 PM

Better than Moore's, for sure.

Posted by: Steven at March 1, 2024 01:41 PM

"...using one's office to break the law is not to be applauded except in extreme cases."

Pat Buchanan had a interesting piece about what Mitt Romney could do in response to the Mass. Supreme Court. Whether you agree will depend upon your own definition of an "extreme case."

Read it here.

Posted by: Doug at March 1, 2024 05:12 PM

When I typed "extreme case" I was thinking things like: the Nazis are rounding up the Jews and you are Mayor and the law requires you hand Anne Frank over. I figure at that point, you are obliged not to follow the law.

I could probably conjure some other somewhat less extreme examples, but that was where my mind was when I used that phrase.

Posted by: Steven at March 1, 2024 05:51 PM

It depends on which "The Press" you are talking about. Fox News was quite supportive of Alabama Chief Justice Roy Moore until the very end.

----
Outside the judicial building Saturday, about 100 people sat on the front steps and in lawn chairs listening to people preach and praying.

Retired Birmingham school teacher Murray Phillips, who joined the demonstrators Friday, said she knows the monument will probably be moved soon.

"I'm upset, but I'm not surprised," she said. "At least I am going to be able to say to my grandchildren that at least I tried to do something."

----

So it depends on which "The Press" you are reading.

Posted by: Jim Ausman at March 3, 2024 01:11 PM

That is a descirption of the protestors, and not one I find to be positive nor negative.

Some of the conservative commentators on Fox weren't particualrly positive, I would note.

Any over-generalization of terms such as "The Press" does open one up for rightful critique. However, I do think it fair to state that the general tone of coverage has been far more positive for Newsom than it was for Moore.

Posted by: Steven at March 3, 2024 01:30 PM