CNN anchor: How dare you call Democratic "protesters" - a mob. Posted: Oct 10th, 2018 - 5:10 am In Reply to: And Hillary Clinton is out there talking about "civility" - by the Democrats. It's the elites
The hallmark of a mob is its intent to intimidate. Sophists would tell you that all political protests aim to intimidate. If 100,000 people show up on the Mall to support a particular cause, that’s a form of intimidation: It’s a message to legislators that there’ll be consequences if they don’t follow a certain course of action. Which is true — electoral consequences. Not physical consequences.
Is this protest in action, or is it a mob?
The reason Democrats and their media buddies like Brooke Baldwin are on alert today for “mob” rhetoric by Republicans is because the word has gone out that this is a message being used by Republican pols and consultants to get righty voters stirred up for the midterms. Which is true to some degree, it should be said: Not only did Trump warn fans of the left’s angry mob a few days ago, he was chattering about Antifa in addresses to supporters weeks before the Kavanaugh confirmation process went into a ditch. But not every use of the term is strategic. Matt Lewis is completely in earnest in the clip below in complaining about mob behavior, as are the many grassroots righties who’ve complained about it over the last few weeks. When the media is convinced that Republicans are “pouncing,” though, they feel obliged to treat the underlying objection as though it’s offered in bad faith. Hence Baldwin’s exaggerated reaction in the clip.
Want to know why the word “mob” comes so easily lately to Republicans’ lips? It’s not just the transgressive nature of the protests or cynical midterm messaging. It’s the fact that we recently concluded three weeks of Democrats insisting that someone should be pronounced presumptively guilty of attempted rape based on an accusation that couldn’t be corroborated by anyone, including the alleged victim’s close childhood friend. The “Hirono standard,” as Lindsey Graham called it, is the original “mob” sin here. All liberal protest tactics are viewed by the right through that lens. If Baldwin doesn’t like the word “mob” being thrown around, she should consider that Senate Dems have now branded Kavanaugh a would-be teenaged rapist with nothing but an accusation to support the claim. Has she reacted this way to any lefties who have made that claim on her show lately?
Exit question via Mary Katharine Ham: If Republicans were engaged in the tactics described above, would they be called a “mob” by the media?
LINK/URL: CNN anchor: How dare you call Democratic "protesters"
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