WashPost Avoids L-Word, Touts 'Warren Wing' of the Democrats, the 'Populist Faction'

December 12th, 2014 9:04 AM

Apparently, The Washington Post can’t use the word “liberal” without feeling slightly nauseous. Its coverage of the $1.1 trillion omnibus spending bill included a front-page story headllined “Democrats’ Warren wing sends message.”

Reporter Paul Kane waited until the story skipped to page A-20. On the front page, it was all “populist” euphemism:

The populist anti-Wall Street faction, increasingly embodied by freshman Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), nearly took down a bill to fund the federal government in a revolt over a provision that would ease restrictions on risky trades by big banks.

For the Warren wing, what they see as siding with banks over average Americans is among the most unforgivable of sins, and the showdown exposed just how disruptive and demanding this populist bloc plans to be.

It first popped up in paragraph six, as “pragmatic” Democrats like House Minority Whip Steny Hoyer “saw the more than $1 trillion deal as a bipartisan compromise — a term that has gone out of fashion in Washington — necessary to fund the government and preserve money for key liberal programs.”

Then in paragraph 13, it popped up in relation to Hillary’s 2016 campaign: “The can-do desires of establishment Democrats have been increasingly drowned out by liberals like Warren, who have energized activists across America and are beginning to pull other Democrats further to the left.”

At least Ed O’Keefe’s front page article carried the balanced concept that “the most liberal Democrats replaced the most conservative Republicans as significant obstacles to passing difficult fiscal legislation.”

It was a bit amusing to see O'Keefe describe "moderate Democrats" speaking out against Warren and then quote outgoing Rep. Jim Moran (D-Va.), who has a lifetime American Conservative Union rating of 11.99.