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Republicans have long faced difficult battles against mainstream media pundits, especially since many are so sympathetic to Democrats.
“The media are Democrats’ executors. If Democrats think outside the box, they immediately attack them,” Dan Gainor told Fox News.
However, every now and then there are a few Republicans who actually seem to receive the admiration of mainstream journalists, even after years of contempt. It only happens when they oppose someone the media hates or oppose their own party. This is a trend that has become increasingly clear in recent years.
Representatives Liz Cheney of Wyoming and Adam Kinzinger of Illinois are the latest examples, as the media had nothing but love this week for these Republicans when they stood in the foreground like the only two elephants. of President Nancy Pelosi’s Democrat-led committee to investigate the January 6 Capitol Riots.
Cheney was once the object of constant contempt by journalists, not only for his father Dick Cheney’s record, but also for his own policies.
In 2013, MSNBC host Chris Hayes said the following about Cheney: “[She] boils a stew of the most loathsome factless fear-mongering propaganda to piss off the darkest forces of the farthest political fringe. “
In 2019, CNN analyst Chris Cillizza called it “absurd” for arguing on behalf of President Donald Trump’s decision to withdraw his troops from Syria. “Cheney’s argument would be funny if she wasn’t serious about it,” he wrote.
The Washington Post also ran several articles and opinion pieces against Cheney, including “Liz Cheney’s empty words”.
However, those views changed when Cheney came into direct opposition to Trump and his claims that the 2020 presidential election was “stolen.”
“The 2020 presidential election was not stolen. Anyone who claims it is spreading THE BIG LIE, turning its back on the rule of law and poisoning our democratic system,” Cheney wrote on Twitter in May.
CNN’S JOHN AVLON CONGRATULATES CHENEY, KINZINGER TO “IMPROVE” THE JANUARY 6 COMMITTEE: “IT’S ABOUT PATRIOTISM”
Republican lawmakers ultimately voted to remove Cheney as chairman of the House GOP Conference. Amid the strife, Hayes came to Cheney’s defense, referring to the Republican Party’s treatment of her as an “Orwellian.”
“The tendency displayed here – to turn a simple statement of fact, of reality, of what happened into a political litmus test – is troubling to say the least,” said Hayes.
The Washington Post also allowed Cheney to defend himself in an op-ed on May 5.
Cheney’s sudden hero status in the mainstream media was only elevated when she agreed to serve on Pelosi’s Jan.6 committee.
Former nemesis Cillizza suddenly praised Cheney in his analysis titled “Every Republican Should Be Required to Read Liz Cheney’s Opening Statement.”
“Because of Cheney’s willingness to risk her career to take a stand on something she deeply believes in, it’s worth listening to when she speaks,” he wrote.
The media portrayal of Illinois Representative Adam Kinzinger followed a similar pattern. Although not a high-ranking Republican, he originally received backlash from media experts for championing Trump’s border wall initiative. In an MSNBC interview in 2019, Kinzinger argued for the wall.
“How is a wall immoral? I have four walls around my house. They keep bad guys and critters out,” he said.
The Washington Post later ran an article with a headline claiming Kinzinger compared immigrants to “creatures.” CNN responded in the same way. “What is the appropriate context for comparing people to creatures? Kinzinger was asked.
It was all forgiven with Kinzinger after the Jan.6 riots when he became the first Republican to demand Trump’s immediate resignation and joined Democrats in a call to invoke the 25th Amendment. Trump is Cheney and Kinzinger’s common denominator – the more they opposed him, the more the media liked them. Their decision to oppose their party and sit on the January 6 committee only fueled their newfound popularity in the press.
CNN analyst John Avlon then praised Kinzinger and Cheney for their actions, saying they were “stepping up.”
“Kinzinger and Cheney are stepping up,” Avlon said. “And it’s very clear that, you know, it’s about patriotism. It’s not about celebrating.”
Dan Gainor, Free Speech America’s vice president, Business and Culture for the Media Research Center, said the media’s change of mind on Cheney and Kinzinger was standard procedure for a Republican in the public eye.
“The only respectable character on the right has to say what the media want. If you do, they boost your career,” Gainor told Fox News. “It only increased during the Trump era. As the numbers came out, the media would skewer them until they stabbed Trump in the back.”
PELOSI INSISTS ON ‘NO PARTISAN’ IN JAN. 6 COMMITTEE AFTER THE REJECTION OF 2 REPUBLICS
Utah Senator Mitt Romney and the late Arizona Senator John McCain had similar experiences with the media.
McCain, a Vietnam War veteran and former prisoner of war, came under scrutiny and disgust during his 2008 presidential run against Barack Obama. As Larry Elder noted in 2018, The New York Times described McCain as “campaigning on partisan divisiveness, class warfare and even clues of racism.”
However, after McCain’s death in 2018, The Times hailed the Arizona senator, saying he “gives hope for the future. His example still does.” That praise came after McCain’s frequent feuds with Trump as well as the whistling vote against the repeal of the Affordable Care Act.
Romney also faced serious attacks from the press during his 2012 presidential run. CNN previously reported three times as many negative stories as positive stories. At the time, CNN correspondent Jessica Yellin hinted that Romney was sexist, saying his comments “almost gave the impression that working women are a mail order product that you can order from. colored binders ”.
However, in 2020, after Romney was the only Republican senator to vote for the conviction of Trump in his first impeachment trial, CNN correspondents regained a newfound respect for the Republican politician. Jim Acosta called his vote a “profile of courage.” Avlon agreed, saying, “It was the sound of a man who had struggled with his conscience, who tried to look beyond partisan politics, and finally kept faith in his oath, his promise to God. “
The only lesson learned in the cases of Liz Cheney, Adam Kinzinger, John McCain and Mitt Romney is this: The mainstream media loves rogue Republicans who align with their ideology and advance the goals of the Democratic Party.
“When people agree with them, they get attention. When people don’t agree with them, they don’t get any attention,” Gainor told Fox News.
By contrast, Republicans who criticized the committee or other Democratic initiatives continued to face harsher treatment, such as parliamentary minority leader Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif. In the meantime, Democrats have been criticized by media experts only when they have turned away from Democratic goals, such as West Virginia Senator Joe Manchin and his opposition to an end to filibuster.
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“The media use Republicans who want to be popular with them as a foil against the right, but they don’t do the same with the left,” Gainor said. “They are using liberals to drag the Democratic Party to the left, and they are using wildcards within the Republican Party to move their party to the left.”
In Cheney and Kinzinger, their addition to Pelosi’s committee gave credence to his claims that the investigation would have “no partisanship.” Meanwhile, Kinzinger has emerged as a new national figure as an outspoken critic of Trump among his fellow congressmen.
Despite this fame on CNN, MSNBC and the New York Times, these Republicans continue to face criticism from their fellow Republicans in Congress and in the media.
“They are just looking for book deals and future career opportunities, and the media is helping them. As long as the Republican Party exists, that will be their tactic,” Gainor said.
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