Randy Barnett has been guestblogging over at GlennReynolds.com. I've enjoyed his articles and linked to one, though I find that he sometimes concentrates too much on political football: liberals vs. conservatives, Republicans vs. Democrats, one vs. the other.

In response to his final guest blog, a reader responded with this (these are the reader's words, not Barnett's):

Conservatives, including myself, regularly complain about liberal bias in the media, Hollywood, academia, etc. The silver lining to this annoying reality is that conservatives cannot avoid the world views and arguments of their political opponents. In other words, it is much easier for a liberal to escape confronting conservative views than it is for conservatives to escape confronting liberal views. The consequence is that conservatives are not allowed, particularly by the media, to "make things up". In a strange way, the liberal media forces conservatives to strive to be more careful and honest because conservatives know they will be challenged. As an example, I would point to the issue of gun control (where the media almost always favors greater regulation) and how gun control groups, the NRA, and researchers such as Kellerman, and Bellesiles behave. Even by the standards of political rhetoric, pro-gun control groups would have to be considered among the most irresponsible advocates with regard to factual distortion. In contrast, the NRA, while sometimes rhetorically over-the-top, take great care to be factually accurate. I don't think this is the case because gun control advocate are more prone to lie than NRA members, though NRA members may be more likely to believe in quaint notions like objective reality. Gun control groups know they can fax a press release to a journalist and, very likely, get it printed almost verbatim with little or no question about factual veracity. The NRA, on the other hand, knows it's claims will be viewed with deep suspicion and subject to a great deal of scrutiny. Therefore, I believe, the NRA devotes more effort to factual accuracy and do not have the luxury of pretending all respectable people agree with them.

In addition, I think the typical liberal not-for-profit worker or college professor can, if they choose, live and recreate in something of a politically correct cocoon. When I used to be more liberal in my early 20s in Washington, DC, my liberal/left friends would talk in shocked tones if a conservative showed up at a party or social function. No one ever long had friends who deviated too radically from accepted socio-political norms. My more conservative acquaintances, by contrast, were more consumed with practical concerns, and though some were very intersted in politics, they made little effort to have ideological concerns define their professional or social lives. That was even the case with the Republican staffers that I knew on the Hill. And, of course, a stock broker, dentist, or businessperson does not choose their customers, secretaries, or their place of residence on the basis of politics or ideology and, as a consequence I believe, live and work in more ideologically diverse surroundings. This part of the equation would need more in-depth study of demographic data, etc. as we have less info available than we have with regard to liberal media bias.

I don't think this person is wrong about some people living cloistered lives. He's right. He just haven't looked at things from the opposite point of view.

True, if you listen to NPR, read the New York Times, and watch CNN you won't come across many opinions that contradict a liberal world view. That world view will likewise go unchallenged at the natural food store, art movie house, yoga center, and coffeehouse.

It's also true that if you listen to Rush Limbaugh, read the Wall Street Journal, and watch Fox News you won't come across many opinions that contradict a conservative world view. The folks at church, the parents at the Boy Scout meetings, your golf partners, and the guys down at the gun club probably share the same political views.

I don't think any political group has a monopoly on myopia.

As far as charges of liberal bias in the media, it depends on the media. Rush Limbaugh is part of the media, and he isn't liberal. There are numerous conservative newspapers, radio talk shows, and magazines, and now there's a major TV news channel (Fox) with a conservative bias. The one place where the liberal bias charge sticks is Hollywood. Hollywood is as unabashedly liberal as country music is unabashedly conservative.

PS. For a great Barnett piece, read The Vices of Bill Bennett. Barnett explains better than anyone why former drug czar Bill Bennett deserved criticism for his gambling.