Who’d of thunk it?

James Taranto at Best of the Web Today has this to offer on the difference between lefty media coverage of liberal behavior vs that of conservative behavior in the course of protesting or otherwise putting across a conflicting political point of view:

The popular rebellion against ObamaCare–and the Democrats’ counterattack against the voters–has turned out to be the political story of the year. But of course it’s far from the first time that America has seen protests against a president’s policies. Writing at FoxNews.com, Bill Sammon faults the media for covering today’s protests differently than yesterdays–specifically, than a rowdy 2002 gathering outside a Portland, Ore., hotel where then-President Bush was speaking:

Protesters stalked his motorcade, assailed his limousine and stoned a car containing his advisers. Chanting “Bush is a terrorist!”, the demonstrators bullied passers-by, including gay softball players and a wheelchair-bound grandfather with multiple sclerosis.

One protester even brandished a sign that seemed to advocate Bush’s assassination. The man held a large photo of Bush that had been doctored to show a gun barrel pressed against his temple.

“BUSH: WANTED, DEAD OR ALIVE,” read the placard, which had an X over the word “ALIVE.” . . .

A third sign urged motorists to “HONK IF YOU HATE BUSH.” A fourth declared: “CHRISTIAN FASCISM,” with a swastika in place of the letter S in each word.

Although reporters from numerous national news organizations were traveling with Bush and witnessed the protest, none reported that protesters were shrieking at Republican donors epithets like “Slut!” “Whore!” and “Fascists!” . . .
angry demonstrators brandished signs with incendiary rhetoric, such as “9/11 - YOU LET IT HAPPEN, SHRUB,” and “BUSH: BASTARD CHILD OF THE SUPREME COURT.” One sign read: “IMPEACH THE COURT-APPOINTED JUNTA AND THE FASCIST, EGOMANIACAL, BLOOD-SWILLING BEAST!”

Yet none of these signs were cited in the national media’s coverage of the event. By contrast, the press focused extensively on over-the-top signs held by Obama critics at the president’s town hall event held Tuesday in New Hampshire.

Sammon was with the Washington Times at the time; part of his Aug. 25, 2002, report is here.

To some extent the discrepancies in coverage are defensible as a matter of news judgment. A left-wing protest is a dog-bites-man story; screaming, chanting and carrying obnoxious signs is simply what those people do. On the right, by contrast, there is no tradition of such demonstrations–with the notable exception of the antiabortion movement–so that when one (or many) materializes, it represents a genuine phenomenon.

To my way of thinking, the liberal media is doing the entire American public a disservice of massive proportion. They are, after all, the people whom the public trusts to give us fair and balanced news reporting so that we, as individuals and as voters, partners in the enterprise that is the United States of America, can possess well rounded information with which to build our own opinions on the state of our nation.

It certainly indicates a paucity of shame on the part of these so called “news” people that they are so easily able to twist their data, include, exclude and emphasize events and elements thereof as they do for the sole purpose of programming the public to believe whatever party line happens to best suit the propagandist needs of a given political agenda or the public image, truly or falsely depicted, of one major political party or the other.

What’s worse, the majority of those following the media for news apparently still believe that they can trust those people.

Read the entire edition of Best of the Web Today here.