They won't cover the left-wing mobs, but they'll cover Republicans' reaction washex.am/2IOL0kA
“Whenever there’s a story that could make Democratic lawmakers and their supporters look insane or unworthy of voters’ trust, some major newsroom rushes to make the real story about how conservatives are exploiting the moment.”
“Left-wing agitators have recently chased Republican lawmakers and White House officials from restaurants. Left-wing demonstrators also came out in force last week during the fight to confirm Brett Kavanaugh to the Supreme Court.”
“They have disrupted hearings and floor proceedings and intimidated lawmakers. Two protesters notably cornered Sen. Jeff Flake, R-Ariz., in an elevator, berating him for roughly 10 minutes over his decision to support the judge.”
“Other lawmakers, including Sens. Joe Manchin, D-W.V., and Susan Collins, R-Maine, were also followed and scolded by teams of angry demonstrators.”
“On Saturday, as the U.S. Senate prepared to vote to confirm Kavanaugh, police in the nation’s capital arrested more than 100 protesters, many of whom had broken past barricades set up around the Capitol building.”
“Republicans, including President Trump himself, have referred to these bands of irate, screaming individuals as a “mob.”
“"You don't hand matches to an arsonist, and you don't give power to an angry left-wing mob. Democrats have become too EXTREME and TOO DANGEROUS to govern," the president tweeted Saturday. "Republicans believe in the rule of law - not the rule of the mob. VOTE REPUBLICAN!"
“In a normal world, this wouldn’t be that controversial. Indeed, as anyone who remembers as far back as 2009 can attest, using the word “mob” to refer to groups of angry political protesters is not exactly breaking new ground.
“But we’re not in normal times, and certain newsrooms need to find ways to make the story of Republicans being targeted by angry demonstrators about ... how Republicans are exploiting the story.”
“Enter NPR, which ran a story this week titled, “ Republicans Seize On 'Angry Mob' Mantra To Keep Their Midterm Base Fired Up.” They even used the very phrase "Republicans Seize"!”
“The story makes no mention whatsoever of incidents like the one where Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, and his wife were chased from a restaurant in the nation’s capital.”
“The closest the story comes to mentioning the anti-Kavanaugh protests is when it mentions Kelley Paul, the wife of Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., who claims her family was "doxed" during the Kavanaugh debate.”
“The NPR story is, however, careful to quote Lawrence Jacobs, the director of the Center for the Study of Politics and Governance at the University of Minnesota, who maintains the Capitol demonstrators last week “weren't really unruly mobs.”
Jacob’s states: “There were protesters in the Capitol who were making their voices heard, which is protected by the U.S. Constitution and something Republicans do all the time. That's hardly something I would describe as a mob. I would describe that as noisy democracy," he said.
“Remember: The story is never the thing that could make Democratic lawmakers and their allies look insane. The real story is always that Republicans are “pouncing” or “seizing.”
