"Riffed from the Headlines" is Townhall's daily VIP feature with coverage of the deeply flawed aspects of journalism in the nation. We'll look to bring accountability to the mishaps, malaprops, misdeeds, manipulations, malpractice, and manufactured narratives in mainstream media.
05.09.22
Low Octane Gas Lighting – WASHINGTON POST
- Republicans waited 50 years to roll back abortion in order to…bring back slavery?
The fallout from the leaked SCOTUS briefing memo continues to deliver the comedy in the form of wildly hysterical claims of what will follow. Amid the histrionics, we have seen the claims that if Roe v. Wade is repealed, it will lead to Republicans wanting to go after many other aspects of our lives.
We have seen the predictions that the GOP will next make biracial marriages illegal and ban interstate travel, and now Jennifer Rubin wants to add to the list of promised moves against our freedoms. The Republicans are on the pathway to making slavery legal in this country once again, according to Jennifer. And if you believe she is resorting to hyperbole for the sake of mirth, she assures us that is not the case.
if we are going down the road of mandatory pregnancy and mandatory child birth we're going to be in 13th Amendment territory. No, I am NOT kidding.
— Jennifer 'I stand with Ukraine' Rubin ???????? (@JRubinBlogger) May 8, 2022
Pre-Written Field Reports – THE BULWARK
At some point, you have to wonder, do the self-described True-Conservatives™ over at The Bulwark think they are still fooling anyone? Here we are seeing the left going into meltdown mode over the prospect of abortion being taken down at the federal level, and that central policy of conservatism has angered the group at the Good Ship Bulwark.
Overturning Roe is a disaster for the GOP.
— Will Saletan (@saletan) May 5, 2022
This article goes through the polls:
- Voters decisively support legal abortion
- Losing Roe boosts Dem turnout
- Dems are more likely to make this their voting issue
- Pro-choice candidates have the advantagehttps://t.co/GAlqTRQp09
Nothing will undermine the Republican Party more than refusing to roll over to a liberal agenda and instead push conservative policies. Of course, there is the small matter of a CNN poll showing the exact opposite taking place, but let's not clue in Will Saletan to that fact – it might just upset him.
Presentation Paradox – ATLANTA JOURNAL CONSTITUTION
- Getting an exclusive based on publicly released information is less than impressive.
It is certain that Donald Trump continues to be a draw for news sites, but you need to question some of the decisions over the coverage. As an example, this report from the AJC about a recent spate of robocalls involving Trump declaring himself to be "Your all-time favorite President" will probably get their share of clicks for the article.
It just seems a touch desperate, however, to state that reporting on the contents of automated phone calls sent out to the general public is "leaked" content.
'YOUR ALL-TIME FAVORITE PRESIDENT': #DonaldTrump makes robo-call for #Georgia sec of state candidate #JodyHice, trying to unseat Trump nemesis #BradRaffensperger in #Republican primary@AJC
— ChickenFriedPolitics (@ChkFriPolitics) May 9, 2022
-Southern politics at ChickenFriedPolitics.com-https://t.co/EKRvKUjouP
Gilded Reframe – VARIOUS OUTLETS
- It is not a serious violent problem as long as we do not declare it to be one.
There is a special dichotomy taking place in the press regarding the newly raging abortion debate. When mentioning things on the right, there is no shortage of warnings about things turning violent and getting out of hand in threatening ways. Yet when presented with actual violence from the left, things are approached in a more than calm fashion; they are downplayed entirely.
Look at how the protests outside of the homes of select justices are portrayed as a patriotic reaction of citizens exercising their right to free speech (following weeks of telling us freer speech on Twitter threatens our democracy). Then, over the weekend in Wisconsin, a pro-life organization was firebombed, but the press sees little to be concerned about in this case.
According to the AP, a fire simply "broke out," despite evidence of vandalism and Molotov cocktails being found.
Echoing this lowly-charged coverage was Politico, also saying simply, "A fire broke out Sunday at the office of an anti-abortion group…" This comes after mentioning Senator Mitch McConnell having a statement about the leaked draft paper from SCOTUS and declaring, "The comments have lit a fire under Democrats…"
There's been a bit of a shift in the tone of this AP story about a pro-life organization having its offices attacked over the weekend.
— Brad Slager ???????? Lifetime Subscriber to CNN+ (@MartiniShark) May 9, 2022
It was a mysterious fire, despite the presence of Molotov cocktails located, but these ''anti-abortion'' people probably had it coming. pic.twitter.com/U9AWLTABW4
First Amendment Strike Force – WASHINGTON POST
In a desperate move to normalize state-run wrong-think enforcement, the WaPo editorial board comes out with an editorial assuring us that there is nothing at all to be concerned about. No, a governmental authority to police language that is being headed by a proven space cadet of a leader who is preoccupied with Harry Potter fantasies while accusing benign comments of being a threat to the nation is hardly anything to worry ourselves over.
The small fact that Nina Jankowicz has a history of ONLY seeing these thought crimes coming from figures on the right is nothing to be bothered with either, according to the news outlet with a sterling reputation when it comes to misinformation.
The newspaper that was all-in on the Russian collusion story for years and said the Hunter Biden laptop story was Russian propaganda says the Disinformation Board that only sees false claims made on the right side of politics is nothing to panic about.#SoundLogic https://t.co/OmSLwOnR1L
— Lie-Able Sources (@LieAbleSources) May 8, 2022
News Avoidance Syndrome – THE NEW YORK TIMES
The New York Times is working on a piece that will explore what might happen if there is, in fact, a Supreme Court reversal on abortion rights. The Paper of Record is interested in speaking to people who may become affected by the change. Note I did not say "interested in speaking to anyone" regarding the matter.
Much like we pointed out last week with the Denver Post turning into a pro-abortion lobbying outfit, The Times seems only interested in one side of this issue. Heading up a questionnaire, they detail who the paper is interested in speaking with on this complex development.
- "Do you work for an abortion-related organization? Has your work already been, or will it be, directly affected if Roe v. Wade is overturned? Our reporters want to hear from you."
''...Pro-Life individuals need not apply.''https://t.co/Idd7j5xmNL
— Brad Slager ???????? Lifetime Subscriber to CNN+ (@MartiniShark) May 9, 2022
