Obama-care beat reporter Katharine Seelye's post on the nytimes.com "Prescriptions" blog was adapted into a brief story in Wednesday's print edition, "Rallying [1]For, and Against [1].
Seelye reported that "the next phase of guerrilla theater" to come, after the protests against Obama-care at various town halls held by congressmen during the August recess, would involve "public demonstrations" both for and against Obama's proposed overhaul.
But Seelye described the two sides rather differently:
On Wednesday, supporters of a health care overhaul plan to stage vigils at more than 350 locations across the country, starting at 7 p.m. Under the banner of "Can't Afford To Wait," the vigils are being organized by liberal groups, including Democracy for America, MoveOn, the Service Employees International Union and TrueMajority. Their goal is to put a human face on the need for the overhaul.
Opponents of an overhaul are gearing up for a march on Washington on Sept. 12. Recall that conservatives held a "taxpayer tea party" at the Capitol back in April, with the goal of protesting government spending, taxes and the deficit. Their objects of fury have now expanded to include the health care overhaul.
"Objects of fury"?
That hostile double-standard inlabeling is symptomatic of Seelye's coverage. On August 12, she co-wrote [2]a hostile story [2]about town hall protesters which opened by calling them angry:
They got up before dawn in large numbers with angry signs and American flag T-shirts, and many were seething with frustration at issues that went far beyond overhauling health care....Ms. Abram described herself as a stay-at-home mother from Lebanon, and in many ways she was representative of the almost entirely white and irritable crowd.