Convergent Journalism Blog #1

When I set out to select an article from my copy of the New York Times, I was unsure at first of which one to choose. Considering that our country is in an election year, in the midst of a Presidential Race that’s bound to be remembered for years to come, it seemed only logical to select an article about politics. After some thought, I decided on an article titled, “Wooing Conservatives Pays Off”.

In my initial read-through of the article, one point clearly stood out. Though the article claimed to be about Senator McCain’s courtship of conservative Christians, it ever so subtly skewed words and sentences to make Senator McCain sound like both a flip-flopper and an opportunist. Telling readers that the senator has “abandoned previous calls to moderate the Republican platform’s support for a ban on abortion without exception” in favor of “what many advocates say is the most conservative platform in the party’s history,” as well as continually reminding readers of McCain’s past history of “sparring with leaders of the Christian conservative movement,” the article’s writer, David Kirkpatrick, cleverly inserts several opinionated digs into the piece.

Despite these subtle digs, as well as a few more, the article isn’t completely biased. Mr. Kirkpatrick seems to make an attempt to balance the article towards the end, giving the piece slightly more credibility than it had before. He brings the article to a close saying that, in spite of Senator McCain’s past disagreements with conservative Christians, Evangelicals are now “embracing him”, as well as his choice of a running mate: Sarah Palin. Most notably, Mr. Kirkpatrick says that Senator McCain recently got an endorsement from the founder of Focus on the Family, James Dobson, who said that Mr. McCain’s choice of a running mate is what solidified his endorsement.

Despite David Kirkpatrick’s overall suggestion that Senator McCain is a flip-flopper on conservative issues like abortion, McCain has actually been consistent on many of the issues that are important to the Christian community – including abortion. For example, according to ontheissues.org, in 2003 McCain was given a rating of 0% by NARAL, a pro-choice advocacy group (www.naral.org). This rating indicates a pro-life voting record. Additionally, according to NARAL’s website, Senator McCain has voted pro-life 125 out of 130 times during his congressional career. In addition to his record on abortion, McCain has also been consistent in his votes regarding taxes. In 2006, the National Taxpayers Union gave Senator McCain a grade of 88%, an A, making him “a taxpayer’s friend.” (http://www.votesmart.org/issue_rating_category.php?can_id=S0061103) Finally, the National Federation of Independent Businesses gave Senator McCain a grade of 100% for his votes on issues like tax write-offs for small businesses and “giving the president line item veto power over minimum wage increases.” (see VoteSmart link)

In contrast to the author’s premise that McCain has changed his opinions on issues like the right to life, lowering taxes, and supporting small businesses, simply to woo Christian conservatives, McCain has actually often been on the side of the conservative Christian movement.