The three network morning shows have skipped any coverage of an attack on a Tea Party bus in Harry Reid's Nevada, reportedly by supporters of the Democratic Senator. In contrast, FNC's Fox and Friends alerted viewers to the story on Tuesday. Co-host Steve Doocy explained, "Now, apparently, they have identified who some of the egg throwers are. Turns out, they're supporters of Harry Reid."
Doocy continued, "And, in fact, a member of the IBEW, the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers, a big union."
Back in March, when Tea Party protesters were accused of inciting violence against Democratic politicians in Washington, these same morning shows couldn't get enough of the topic. On March 25, Good Morning America reporter Pierre Thomas worried that "angry talk" from Sarah Palin and others could "push a deranged person over the edge."
CBS's Early Show correspondent Nancy Cordes fretted on March 25 about "violent rhetoric" from the GOP. What about actual violence, allegedly, from liberal and Democratic activists?
Fox and Friends' Gretchen Carlson on Tuesday pointed out how attacks on tea partiers didn't seem to fit the established narrative: "I thought that it was the Tea Party people who were the violent ones? Ha, ha. I'm just joking."
A transcript of the April 6 segment, which aired at 8:08am EDT, follows:
STEVE DOOCY: Meanwhile, let's talk a little bit about something you probably have seen on the blogosphere. You have also seen here on Fox News, Tea Party Express is now traveling across the country. Yesterday they were in St. Louis. A couple days they were in Harry Reid's hometown of Searchlight, Nevada. And, it's interesting, I think I saw this on Breitbart.com. As the Tea Party Express bus pulled in, it was pelted with eggs. [Video of eggs hitting Tea Party Express bus.] There you go. You see one right there.
BRIAN KILMEADE: There's Andrew Breitbart.
DOOCY: It's interesting. Now, apparently, they have identified who some of the egg throwers are. Turns out, they're supporters of Harry Reid. And, in fact, the member of the IBEW, the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers, a big union.
GRETCHEN CARLSON: I thought that it was the Tea Party people who were the violent ones? Ha, ha. I'm just joking.
KILMEADE: That has been the theme, absolutely.
CARLSON: I mean, hasn't that been the theme and the attack that it was the tea party members themselves who were the ones who were being violent? I understand that some of these Reid supporters were directing the Tea Party people in the wrong direction so they were not going to get to the actual rally that they were trying to get to.
