Evan Smith did an interview with the Texas Monthly journalists who chose the Best/Worst lists for Texas legislators, the one Harvey Hilderbran described on Twitter as “a parlor game rigged against conservatives who opposed the budget”.
Smith kicked off the discussion by asking if the list was about playing well in the Austin system (“process”) or voting on and/or passing “good” or “bad” bills (“outcomes”).
This is a trickier question than it first appears to be.
On the one hand, the rankings can’t really be about “good” or “bad” voting because that would mean they have a political bias, which they still pretend not to have.
On the other hand, the list gets its juice by being an effective prop to the Austin establishment.
This drama is a good illustration of how politicized journalists must double-talk like politicians.
After Smith asked them if the list was about playing nicely in the Austin system or passing “good” or “bad” bills, Paul Burka’s first statement was that it was both. This was his admission that the list is political. It was a bias admission of sorts that served to undercut potential claims of bias from disgruntled legislators. It’s a ‘save your criticism’ play.
Then in his next sentence he said that they have to be “agnostic” about whether a bill is good or bad.
If that made no sense to you, you’re tracking perfectly.
Smith asked Burka if the list is about passing good or bad bills, Burka said yes, then immediately said the list is not about passing good or bad bills, ostensibly because that would make it biased.
It was nonsense, but politician-style nonsense. It leaves them able to defend themselves in all directions.
A nice feature of the Best/Worst list is that their version of “process” completely covers ideology too.
Everyone who votes straight establishment ideology is made into a peacemaker by the Austin press corps and anyone who opposes it is called an obstructionist and blanketed in “controversy” by the same press corps. Process and outcome become exactly aligned.
These aren’t your father’s liberal journalists.
Like the golden age of the American cowboy, the golden age of liberal journalism is over. As the Texas Monthly Best/Worst list illustrates, we are well into the age of liberal journalists as props to power.