Ken Berwitz

Ok, I admit I'm anticipating that Rep. Alan Grayson of Florida will get a free pass for saying that Republicans want all of us to die quickly.

That is because a) Mr. Grayson has said other idiotic things in his short career in congress which have been ignored by our wonderful "neutral" media, and b) more generally, ignoring direct, viciously offensive comments against Republicans has become de rigueur for media, so why should this one be treated any differently?

Here are the particulars, from Tom Blumer of www.newsbusters.org:

Dem Congressman: 'Republicans Want You To Die Quickly'; What Will the 'Civility' Crowd Say?

 

By Tom Blumer (Bio | Archive)
September 30, 2009 - 09:29 ET

 

The Politico's Jonathan Allen reported last night that Democratic Congressment Alan Grayson of Florida let loose on the House floor. (UPDATE: Politico now has a YouTube video of Grayson's performance at the link.)

Hopefully, Allen himself was only being sloppy with his own wording:

 

Rep. Alan Grayson, D-Fla., warned Americans that "Republicans want you to die quickly" during an after-hours House floor speech Tuesday night.

 

His remarks, which drew angry and immediate calls for an apology from Republicans, were highlighted by a sign reading "The Republican Health Care Plan: Die Quickly."

 

"Warned"? As if "Republicans want you to die quickly" is a fact?

 

What follows, via Politico's Glenn Thrush, is what you can't say about a President:

 

Especially useful: The section on how to properly insult the executive branch in the in the chamber.

 

"Disgrace" and "nitwits" -- okay.

 

"Liar" or "sexual misconduct" -- ixnay.

 

Under section 370 of the House Rules and Manual it has been held that a Member could:

• refer to the government as “something hated, something oppressive.”
• refer to the President as “using legislative or judicial pork.”
• refer to a Presidential message as a “disgrace to the country.”
• refer to unnamed officials as “our half-baked nitwits handling foreign affairs.”

 

Likewise, it has been held that a member could not:

• call the president a “liar.”
• call the president a “hypocrite.”
• describe the president’s veto of a bill as “cowardly.”
• charge that the president has been “intellectually dishonest.”
• refer to the president as “giving aid and comfort to the enemy.”
• refer to alleged “sexual misconduct on the president’s part.”

Yet saying that "Republicans want you to die quickly" is not a problem? 

 

In a November 2005 House floor speech, Rep. Jean Schmidt (R-OH) quoted a Buckeye State Representative who wished to remind Congressman John Murtha (D-PA) of something:

 

House Republicans maneuvered for swift rejection Friday of any notion of immediately pulling U.S. troops out of Iraq, sparking a nasty, sometimes personal debate over the war following a Democratic lawmaker’s own call for withdrawal.

 

….. At one point in the emotional debate, Rep. Jean Schmidt, R-Ohio, told of a phone call she received from a Marine colonel.

 

“He asked me to send Congress a message – stay the course. He also asked me to send Congressman Murtha a message – that cowards cut and run, Marines never do,” Schmidt said.

 

What Schmidt said supposedly violated a ruling against criticizing a fellow individual House member, even though Schmidt was only relaying a constituent's message that did not itself criticize Murtha personally; if the poor guy took it personally, that's his problem. Schmidt, under pressure from fellow party members, later apologized; I say she had nothing to apologize for.

 

Schmidt's statement got her saturation media coverage and a Saturday Night Live parody.

 

But I'm betting that asserting (not "warning," Mr. Allen) on the House floor that "Republicans want you to die quickly" -- in effect personally tarring each and every GOP House member -- will be seen as okey-dokey, or at a minimum won't generate a wave of outrage, if it's noted at all.

 

I can't wait to see all of the coverage of Grayson's smear in the supposedly civility-obsessed establishment media. Actually, I can, because I virtually know that I'll have to. I half-expect that the cop-out will be, "Well, our old buddies at the Politico covered it, and they did a fine job, so we don't have to mention it."

 

The real reason will be that civility is a one-way street.

Other than possibly Fox and the conservative talk shows, try looking for coverage of Mr. Grayson's idiocy on the network news tonight, tomorrow's morning shows and/or the major dailies.  Let me know what you find first:  A story on what he said or a map of where Judge Crater is buried.

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UPDATE:  There was a story on Grayson during Neil Cavuto's "Your World" (which I watched a portion of while the repairman was trying to get my phones back up and running).  Does that make Fox biased to the right, or does it make Fox a network that covers news stories.   I'm sure you know which one I'd pick - how about you?

FURTHER UPDATE:  Apparently I am wrong about how media will treat Alan Grayson's idiotic comment.  Brian Williams of NBC news reported what he said and called it "incendiary".  He played the video clip and then told us that Grayson not only did not apologize, but doubled down and called our health care a "holocaust".

Grayson may well be the single most offensive, obnoxious person in congress.

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LAST UPDATE (MAYBE):  Grayson's idiotic comment is not reported in the New York Times.  And, unless I missed it (which I don't think I did) Grayson is not on this morning's Today show- at least not in the first half hour, which is when the key news stories are covered.  Maybe I wasn't so wrong afterwards.  Call it a tie.