Media tries to "both sides" an insurrection: No, anger over the Capitol riot isn't "partisan rancor [View all]

[dajoki]

Media tries to "both sides" an insurrection: No, anger over the Capitol riot isn't "partisan rancor"
The Washington Post ran a "both sides do it" headline — but only the GOP is tacitly supporting Trump's failed coup
https://www.salon.com/2021/01/29/media-tries-to-both-sides-an-insurrection-no-anger-over-the-capitol-riot-isnt-partisan-rancor/

The endless mainstream media urge to cast any and every partisan conflict in "both sides do it" terms — no matter how one-sided any conflict actually is — hit a shocking new low on Friday morning when the Washington Post ran this front-page headline: "Congress hits new levels of partisan rancor."

The Post's appalling headline really underscores the mainstream media's slavish dedication to false equivalence. It minimizes the growing Republican support for the violent insurrection of January 6 and the continued Democratic anger over those events as merely a partisan spat. Readers who clicked the story saw more of the casual equation between the intended victims of the mob Donald Trump sent to the Capitol and Trump's supporters with the internal headline: "Hostility between congressional Republicans and Democrats reaches new lows amid growing fears of violence." The headline manages to insinuate that both parties are rolling out the welcome mat for violence — when truly, it's only the Republicans.

snip//

But really, the deeper issue is a moral vacuity of framing a violent attempt to overthrow the government as if it's an everyday horse race story. The disagreement between Democratic and Republican voters about the wisdom of armed insurrection isn't mere partisan bickering. American democracy is in very real danger of collapse, especially as one party continues to conspire with the president who leveraged violence in his effort to stage a coup. Addressing this as if it were the equivalent to a partisan spat over tax rates is a dereliction of journalistic duty.

snip//

Trump's insurrection efforts failed, but this is not an excuse to minimize the situation. On the contrary, failure to take it seriously makes it that much easier for Republican leadership to continue conspiring with the people — especially Trump — most responsible for the insurrection. The more support from Republican leaders that Trump and others with fascist tendencies get, the likelier it is that the next attempt to overthrow the government will succeed. Only one side, the Republicans, has insurrectionists and leaders who support them. Media outlets need to not mince words when saying so.