The same networks that assailed the allegedly extreme invective from
the Tea Party have, thus far, not found anything interesting about signs
implying that Scott Walker, Wisconsin's Republican governor, is a Nazi
or a dictator in the style of Hosni Mubarak.
On Thursday's newscasts [1]
and Friday's Today, Good Morning America and the Early Show, the
extreme rhetoric of some of the signs went unremarked. Some of the
images, which included pictures of Walker as Adolf Hitler and signs that
read "Scott Mubarak: Get Out," were seen briefly during crowd shots.
But, none of the programs raised any objections to the hateful rhetoric
surrounding Wisconsin's plan to reform collective bargaining and force
federal workers to pay for part of their retirement.
On CBS's Early Show, Cynthia Bowers [2]
defended, "And tens of thousands of people are expected to once again
descend upon this capitol building today to protest what they say are
anti-union legislation rules....more than 10,000 protesters rallied
against a proposed budget bill they called drastic and extreme."
Over on ABC's Good Morning America, Chris Bury sounded a similar theme:
"Last night, more public workers, including these firemen, poured into
the capitol. Some families camping out overnight, in a last-ditch effort
to protest budget cuts they fear would cripple their union rights."
Today correspondent John Yang explained, "They are angry over proposed
budget cuts, which include a plan to end collective bargaining rights
for many state workers."
None of the networks discussed signs deriding, "Scott Walker = Adolf
Hitler." They didn't focus on a poster with a target over Walker's head,
demanding, "Reload: Repeal Walker."
More of these signs can be found here [3].
To see how the networks trumpeted alleged incidents of violence and racism by the Tea Party, go here [4].
- Scott Whitlock is a news analyst for the Media Research Center. Click here [5] to follow him on Twitter.