David Brooks

Shields and Brooks Split With Progressives, Urge Caution on Same-Sex Marriage During PBS NewsHour
By Matt Vespa | April 1, 2013 | 4:24 PM EDT

The PBS NewsHour went into everyone’s favorite subjects last Friday, gays and guns, and discussed the overwhelming cultural shift concerning gay marriage. New York Times columnist David Brooks and syndicated columnist Mark Shields both commented on how this shift could be irreversible, but noted that the Supreme Court could “Roe v. Wade” the decision. That is, the faux conservative and the liberal pundit both agreed that a court decision could just breath new life and fresh controversy into the same-sex marriage fight.

Yes, this is NOT an April Fools' joke. Brooks and Shields were actually saying that sweeping decisions, if not taken responsibly, could create more problems in the long run.  It's a refreshing moment hearing shields, unlike others among his liberal colleagues, acknowledging how social change is best achieved through the political process rather than the courts. It is, however, a shame that Brooks failed to give a conservative constitutional case for why DOMA and Prop 8 should stand, aside from the deleterious effects of a court ruling:

Nicolle Wallace Mentions Buried Mental Health Aspect of Gun Debate on Morning Joe
By Matt Vespa | March 26, 2013 | 5:09 PM EDT

On the March 26 episode of Morning Joe, guest host Nicolle Wallace dusted off the issue of mental health reform, which has long been ignored by liberals in the media as regards the national debate over gun control. Wallace cited NY Times columnist David Brooks’ March 25 piece on gun violence.  The piece focused on how Americans like to focus on the gun, instead of human nature – and how the “acquisition” of the weapon is subject to the least influence from policymakers in Washington.  

It seemed that for a short while, the panel was in agreement that we don’t talk enough about the evil inherent in Adam Lanza's deadly mass shooting in Newtown Then again, Lanza was mentally ill, which brought things back to Wallace’s point (emphasis mine):

This Week's PBS Quiz: Does David Brooks Read the News?
By Matt Vespa | March 9, 2013 | 2:56 PM EST

Does David Brooks read the news?  I’m sure he does, but with the liberal media failing to report on the spike in gas prices – it’s no surprise that this New York Times Republican thinks the price of oil has gone down...instead of the "worst February on record."

On the PBS Newshour last night, Ruth Marcus filled in for Mark Shields, and said that the new jobs numbers are a positive development.  However, the expiration of the payroll tax holiday will be a drag on the economy.  Brooks chimed in saying, “well, I mean, obviously, there are drags. And I agree. Things are drags. But there are also pluses out there, the lowering of oil, of gas prices, that is obviously a plus. So there is a complex mixture of things.”

This is demonstratively wrong.  As the MRC’s own Julia Seymour of the Business and Media Institute reported last month:

In Pledge Drive, PBS Touts ‘Opposing’ Analysts Liberal Shields and Faux-Conservative Brooks
By Paul Bremmer | March 7, 2013 | 5:41 PM EST

Rejoice, people, it’s pledge drive week on PBS! All of your favorite PBS shows are being interrupted so that a couple of smiling faces can beg you to donate some of your hard-earned income to your local public station. Of course, those of us who pay federal taxes are already subsidizing PBS, albeit involuntarily and indirectly through the federally-chartered Corporation for Public Broadcasting.

It’s not always easy to get folks to part with their money, so PBS is doing more than simply offering a mug to anyone who gives $75 or an umbrella to those who donate $100. They are also aggressively touting their own programming, trying to remind viewers of how much they gain by watching. On Wednesday evening, the pledge drive during the NewsHour attempted to use liberal Mark Shields and quasi-conservative David Brooks as selling points for the network.

David Brooks Labels Republicans As 'Mindless Anti-Government Fanatics'
By Matt Vespa | February 25, 2013 | 6:30 PM EST

Faux conservative David Brooks of the New York Times used his Friday appearance with Mark Shields on the PBS NewsHour to bash Republicans over sequestration, comparing GOP tactics in dealing with spending to a trite circus act.  Either Mr. Brooks forgot that sequestration was the president’s idea or doesn't care about facts getting in the way of cozying up to his liberal media buddies.  Even liberal Democratic Sen. Max Baucus (Montana) admitted to that, and it’s explicitly mentioned that sequestration was the White House’s idea in Bob Woodward’s new book about the 2011 debt ceiling fiasco.  

Shields piggybacked off of Brooks’ remarks, and said that the GOP’s fallback position is blaming the president, as if Obama is blameless in this dismal situation.

NPR Fans Bash Mona Charen: 'Spare Us Any More Wingnuts'
By Tim Graham | February 19, 2013 | 3:28 PM EST

Matt Vespa reported yesterday that NPR listeners received a very different "Week In Review" segment last Friday night on All Things Considered, with conservative columnist Mona Charen sitting in for pseudo-conservative columnist David Brooks. Liberal NPR devotees are some of the most closed-minded people you will ever come across. They don't want any feisty conservatives on the taxpayer-subsidized network, disagreeing with partisan liberal E.J. Dionne instead of just going along.

They weren't shy in the comments underneath the transcript. They really don't want all views considered. “Its [sic] all well & good to gather diverse viewpoints but please spare us any more wingnuts. Charen stunk,” wrote James Anderson. That was one of many:

PBS 'Conservative' Contributor Brooks: If GOP's 'Whole Story' Is 'Economic Liberty, You’re Really Not Offering Much'
By Paul Bremmer | February 14, 2013 | 4:03 PM EST

Supposedly conservative New York Times columnist David Brooks exposed more of his liberal stripes on Tuesday, telling the Republican Party it needs to rethink its core message. Appearing on PBS’s post-State of the Union coverage, Brooks said he was disappointed with the response delivered by Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) because it delivered the typical message of traditional conservative principles.

He continued:

PBS: Liberal Slant Made Obama’s Inaugural Address One of Best in Past Half-Century?
By Paul Bremmer | January 23, 2013 | 10:21 AM EST

Barack Obama’s second inaugural address had a distinct liberal flavor, particularly on social issues, and many media outlets have admitted as much. However, according to quasi-conservative New York Times columnist David Brooks, the ideological slant of the speech actually made it one of the best inaugural addresses of the past fifty years.

Appearing on the Monday January 21 edition of the taxpayer-subsidized PBS NewsHour, Brooks acknowledged that Obama did not pose as a post-partisan figure, as he did four years ago. "Now he’s in the fray. He’s picked a team. His team is his party, his belief system." [See video below. MP3 audio here.]

PBS Panelists Call Obama’s Inaugural Address ‘Communitarian’ Rather Than Liberal
By Matt Vespa | January 22, 2013 | 6:27 PM EST

During PBS’ coverage of the 2013 Inauguration, syndicated columnist Mark Shields, Gwen Ifill, and Yale University’s Beverly Gage seemed to have forgotten what the definition of liberal is within the context of Obama’s second inaugural address.  In fact, Gage said that this wasn’t an “endorsement of collective liberalism,” and Shields called it more “humanitarian.” 

The non-taxpayer subsidized liberal media has been more honest. Today’s New York Times said Obama offered a “liberal vision.”  Slate’s John Dickerson, who infamously called for Obama to destroy the GOP, called the 44th president’s address “a liberal love letter.”  ABC finally figured out that Obama is a progressive liberal.

David Brooks: 'Sometimes Obama Governs Like a Visitor From a Morally Superior Civilization'
By Noel Sheppard | December 30, 2012 | 12:28 PM EST

New York Times columnist David Brooks made an astonishing observation about President Obama on NBC's Meet the Press Sunday.

"Sometimes he governs like a visitor from a morally superior civilization" (video follows with transcript and commentary):

David Brooks: 'It’s Counterproductive To Have Bloomberg As Spokesperson for the Gun Law Movement'
By Noel Sheppard | December 17, 2012 | 9:45 AM EST

Most of the anti-Second Amendment media have been predictably thrilled with New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg's call for stricter gun regulations in the wake of Friday's massacre at Sandy Hook Elementary School.

Apparently not New York Times columnist David Brooks who said on NBC's Meet the Press Sunday, "It’s counterproductive to have him as the spokesperson for the gun law movement" (video follows with transcript and commentary):

NewsHour Pundits Both Denounce 'Black Helicopter' Republicans on UN Treaty
By Matt Vespa | December 10, 2012 | 1:02 PM EST

As Colonel Kurtz said at the end of Apocalypse Now: “the horror, the horror.”  That sentiment encapsulated New York Times Republican David Brooks and syndicated columnist Mark Shields’ reactions to the rejection of the UN treaty on the rights of the disabled in the Senate last week.  Brooks called it “embarrassment for the country” – while Shields called it “a profile in cowardice.”  Regardless, it seems that both men forget that we have a similar bill called The Americans with Disabilities Act, which was passed under George H.W. Bush.

During the segment, which aired on December 7, NewsHour anchor Judy Woodruff decided to end her interview with Brooks and Shields on this point: