During such reports, the so-called journalist involved acts like demonstrations of this sort are somehow new and have taken on inflammatory rhetoric never before seen in this country.
To disprove such blatantly bad reporting, conservative writer Evan Coyne Maloney has put together a marvelous video and essay chronicling some of the protests of the previous decade, and what some attendees were saying and carrying in their hands (video embedded below the fold, vulgarity alert, h/t Power Line):
Not too long ago, taking to the streets to protest your government was considered a patriotic act.
It's true!
But it seems that publicly airing your grievances stopped being patriotic right around noon on January 20th, 2009.
Once President Obama was sworn in, protesting became incitement to violence.
If you've opened up a newspaper or watched a cable news program in the past week or so, you've probably seen members of the media painting Tea Party activists as dangerous bigots. That's because disagreeing with President Obama on issues like government spending and high taxes makes you a racist, you see.
What's interesting about the media's latest freak-out is that there were radicals a-plenty under President Bush. They protested in the streets. They talked openly about revolution and killing. But oddly, the violent imagery used by people claiming to be advocates for peace never registered with the media. They were too busy fawning over Cindy Sheehan.
Why the difference in coverage? Did the media cheerlead the protests against President Bush to hurt him politically? Are they trying to marginalize the increasingly powerful Tea Party movement because they favor President Obama's agenda?
One thing's for sure: If there is such a thing as dangerous rhetoric, then the media is at least one president too late in reporting the story.
Bravo, Evan. Bravo!
