We’ve previously mentioned how Newsmax likes to present “experts” to attack Obama policies without clearly explaining that all of the “experts” they cite are conservative and are presumably more interested in advancing a political agenda.
This happens again in an Oct. 18 Newsmax article by David Patten citing “scholars” to back up a claim that “President Obama’s healthcare proposals face serious legal problems” and that “at least some provisions will be ruled unconstitutional. Patten’s list of “scholars” begins with Andrew Napolitano, “senior judicial analyst at the Fox News Channel.” According to Wikipedia, Napolitano describes himself as a libertarian — a political slant Patten does not mention.
Indeed, none of Patten’s “scholars” are explicitly labeled as conservative. For instance, he describes the Competitive Enterprise Institute, from which one of hislegal experts hails, only as a “think tank,” making no mention of the group’s conservative leanings.
Other connections are drawn by inference — a Republican congressman, former staffers in Republican administrations, articles published in the Wall Street Journal and Investor’s Business Daily, both conservative-leaning. Again, Patten makes no effort to explain that these analyses are coming from a conservative perspective.