I Was a Liberal Who Worked at Fox News. Here's What That Taught Me About Arguing Politics

Time ^ | April 10, 2018 | Sally Kohn

[EveningStar]

It may seem surprising for a liberal commentator like myself, but from 2010 to 2013, I worked in the most prominent den of American conservatism: Fox News. During my time at the network I came to realize how condescending I’d been in my views about not only the people who worked at Fox News but the people watching at home. And condescension is just a snooty form of prejudice; we are only condescending to those we feel are inherently beneath us. The more I got out of my own liberal bubble, the more I met other conservatives who were neither stupid nor hateful — or at least no more deliberately hateful than I was. Those experiences really challenged my biases and assumptions. I’m not saying that Sean Hannity is the nicest person on the planet; his political views are certainly not anywhere near what I would reasonably call nice. What I am saying is that I realized that the person I’d thought of as entirely cruel, as the caricature of a horrific right-wing monster, is actually caring and kind, and a good dad and a supportive friend. Including a supportive friend to me.

[Steve_Seattle]

"Fox is not remotely conservative."

Apart from Sean Hannity, Judge Jeanine, Greg Gutfeld, Laura Ingraham, Mark Steyn, Mark Levin, Sebastian Gorka, Dan Bongino (sp?), Monica Crowley, Kimberly Guilfoyle, Greg Jarrett, Jesse Waters, Tucker Carlson, Sara Carter, Allen West, Larry Elder, and about twenty other regular contributors and hosts.

They may not be conservative in exactly the same way that you are, or agree with you on exactly 100% of the issues, or agree with Trump 100% of the time, but that does not mean they aren't conservative. Conservatism, unlike leftism, comes in many varieties and allows for differences of opinion.

[Steve_Seattle]

"Something clicked in this period of 2000 and 2010."

It was the rise of Obama. Although he was marketed as a moderate middle-of-the-roader, anyone with a brain - right or left - knew he was far-left. During the campaign, conservatives were mocked for calling him a socialist, yet right after his election, "Time" came out with its "We are all socialists now" issue.

And then, when Trump set their timetable back, they dropped their masks and became openly anti-American, openly socialist, openly globalist, openly open-borders, openly lawless, openly sexually insane, openly anti-Constitution, and openly anti-Christian.

[Steve_Seattle]

"Hubert Humphrey, a supporter of the Second Amendment for it’s intended reason, the guarantee against an arbitrary state and a safeguard against tyranny (his words)."

When I was in college, the left detested Hubert Humphrey ("Dump the Hump") and even the young Ted Kennedy. Now, the type of people who detested Humphrey form the mainstream of the Democratic establishment, much of the media, most college faculty and administrators, and even sit on corporate boards.

[ProtectOurFreedom]

That may have been the straw that broke the camel’s back, but the camel’s back was bent to near-breaking by the ginned-up phony Watergate “scandal” and then by inability of anybody to bring the Clinton’s to justice for all their crimes going back to Whitewater / Arkansas Land Development Corp, cattle futures graft, etc. An honest Republican was hounded out of office by the rabid democrats, then the same democrats skated free as birds a few years later.

The camel has been groaning for a long time.

[Pollster1]

https://www.bettycrocker.com/recipes/ultimate-chocolate-chip-cookies/77c14e03-d8b0-4844-846d-f19304f61c57
Betty Crocker Chocolate Chip Cookies:
Ingredients
3/4 cup granulated sugar
3/4 cup packed brown sugar
1 cup butter or margarine, softened
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 egg
2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup coarsely chopped nuts
1 package (12 ounces) semisweet chocolate chips (2 cups)

https://www.allrecipes.com/recipe/9928/hillary-clintons-chocolate-chip-cookies/
Hillary Clinton’s Chocolate Chip Cookies (yes, that’s a real link):
Ingredients
1 cup fresh horse manure
3/4 cup granulated sugar
3/4 cup packed brown sugar
1 cup butter or margarine, softened
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 egg
2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup coarsely chopped nuts
1 package (12 ounces) semisweet chocolate chips (2 cups)

Compromise Chocolate Chip Cookies (sorry, no link):
Ingredients
1/2 cup fresh horse manure
3/4 cup granulated sugar
3/4 cup packed brown sugar
1 cup butter or margarine, softened
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 egg
2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup coarsely chopped nuts
1 package (12 ounces) semisweet chocolate chips (2 cups)

---

There are times when compromise is good. In today’s America, compromise with the political left leaves far too much evil. I’ll skip the horse manure - in my desert and in my political life.

[aligncare]

Just another Kohn job... ;-)

[Mrs. Don-o]

It's actually a rather nice article. Sally Cohn's not coming off as monstrous.

She wants her little daughter Willa, whom she "parents" with her "partner" Sarah, to be gay "just like her two mommies."

That part is a tad monstrous.

[ontap]

I agree completly....Fox never claimed to be the conservative voice...they claim to be fair and balanced and I believe they are!!!

[Vermont Lt]

Fox News is watchable about two hours a day. Maybe three. It is watchable from 4-7. And sometimes 5-6 is horrible.

The rest of the time it is news written for morons. And I don’t mean “conservatives” are morons. I mean real morons. There is hardly anything complex on, they explain nothing, and their “experts” barely know what is happening in front of them—let alone have much insight as to why.

There are very few places where a someone can get decent news. And it changes every day.

[zencycler]

Sally Kohn is one of the few liberals that manage to stay civil when debating a conservative.

Her debates with Steven Crowder are worth watching, and he basically says the same thing about her as she’s on his short list of “liberals I respect for showing up”.

[Notforprophet]

You can thank the 2000 election recount and the Democratic myth that GWB “stole” the election from Al Gore.

[backwoods-engineer]

Well said, I agree with all in Post #42.

[YogicCowboy]

FOX: It’s what passes for conservative dinner conversation.

[YogicCowboy]

Yes, I am lifelong conservative, formerly in ministry, but I am supposed to think that means I had no heart at 20.

[AmericanMermaid]

And I stopped reading after “Aunt Whoever loved me and my partner. “