[teejers1]

There is nothing libertarian about Carlson, at least not any more.  I think he is nominally conservative, but only to the extent that Trump is conservative.  Provocateur is accurate; so is the fact that he has found it to be a very lucrative career.

And I think you are right to hold the New York Times to a higher standard than a cable news commentator.  But I hold Carlson to a higher standard than someone like Alex Jones, and it is worth noting that the New York Times has a circulation of something like 3 million (including digital edition), while Carlson has a weekly average rating of something like 4.5 million.  In an ideal world Carlson would use that reach responsibly.  Saying "that's his schtick" doesn't mean it's ok.

That doesn't mean that you (Lex) have a responsibility to call out every time a conservative is not behaving irresponsibly.  And, for that matter, the whataboutism inherent in the question is misplaced.  Whether Carlson is or is not engaging in "responsible journalism" is irrelevant of whether the New York Times was.  I happened to think the article was fine (as long as it wasn't an above-the-fold A1 heaadline), but not because "Tucker was worse".

BC

Whataboutism is used as a derogative term in these parts, and I've never really understood that.  Yeah, I get that deflecting attention away from A by pointing to B can be seen as misdirection, but I find "what about" - and "what if" - questions to be very useful in helping crystallize a principle - if one is to be found.  A semi-recent example was Kaep kneeling for anthem to object to police brutality against blacks.  The coverage (of course) was tremendous and (sadly) was one factor that led to Kaep's termination with the NFL.  There were all kinds of righteous opinions bandied about on free speech, employer rights, etc.  One of the first questions I asked is this:  what would your position be if the football player taking a knee did so to protest the number of abortions completed every year in the U.S.?  Answering those questions:  what about __ or what if __ helps one come to a principled position (at least from this angle).

Anyway, your drop of whataboutism reminded me of that pet peeve (of sorts).

[teejers1]

There is nothing libertarian about Carlson, at least not any more.  I think he is nominally conservative, but only to the extent that Trump is conservative.  Provocateur is accurate; so is the fact that he has found it to be a very lucrative career.

And I think you are right to hold the New York Times to a higher standard than a cable news commentator.  But I hold Carlson to a higher standard than someone like Alex Jones, and it is worth noting that the New York Times has a circulation of something like 3 million (including digital edition), while Carlson has a weekly average rating of something like 4.5 million.  In an ideal world Carlson would use that reach responsibly.  Saying "that's his schtick" doesn't mean it's ok.

That doesn't mean that you (Lex) have a responsibility to call out every time a conservative is not behaving irresponsibly.  And, for that matter, the whataboutism inherent in the question is misplaced.  Whether Carlson is or is not engaging in "responsible journalism" is irrelevant of whether the New York Times was.  I happened to think the article was fine (as long as it wasn't an above-the-fold A1 heaadline), but not because "Tucker was worse".

BC

Whataboutism is used as a derogative term in these parts, and I've never really understood that.  Yeah, I get that deflecting attention away from A by pointing to B can be seen as misdirection, but I find "what about" - and "what if" - questions to be very useful in helping crystallize a principle - if one is to be found.  A semi-recent example was Kaep kneeling for anthem to object to police brutality against blacks.  The coverage (of course) was tremendous and (sadly) was one factor that led to Kaep's termination with the NFL.  There were all kinds of righteous opinions bandied about on free speech, employer rights, etc.  One of the first questions I asked is this:  what would your position be if the football player taking a knee did so to protest the number of abortions completed every year in the U.S.?  Answering those questions:  what about __ or what if __ helps one come to a principled position (at least from this angle).

Anyway, your drop of whataboutism reminded me of that pet peeve (of sorts).