By Scott Whitlock | February 18, 2011 | 16:06
The same networks that assailed the allegedly extreme invective from the Tea Party have, thus far, not found anything interesting about signs implying that Scott Walker, Wisconsin's Republican governor, is a Nazi or a dictator in the style of Egypt's Hosni Mubarak.
On Thursday's newscasts and Friday's Today, Good Morning America and the Early Show, the extreme rhetoric of some of the signs went unremarked. Some of the images, which included pictures of Walker as Adolf Hitler and signs that read "Scott Mubarek [sic]: Get Out," were seen briefly during crowd shots.
But, none of the programs raised any objections to the hateful rhetoric surrounding Wisconsin's plan to reform collective bargaining and force federal workers to pay for part of their retirement.
On CBS's Early Show, Cynthia Bowers defended, "And tens of thousands of people are expected to once again descend upon this capitol building today to protest what they say are anti-union legislation rules....more than 10,000 protesters rallied against a proposed budget bill they called drastic and extreme."Over on ABC's Good Morning America, Chris Bury sounded a similar theme: "Last night, more public workers, including these firemen, poured into the capitol. Some families camping out overnight, in a last-ditch effort to protest budget cuts they fear would cripple their union rights."
Today correspondent John Yang explained, "They are angry over proposed budget cuts, which include a plan to end collective bargaining rights for many state workers."
None of the networks discussed signs deriding, "Scott Walker = Adolf Hitler." They didn't focus on a poster with a target over Walker's head, demanding, "Reload: Repeal Walker."
More of these signs can be seen in the following:
To see how the networks trumpeted alleged incidents of violence and racism by the Tea Party, go here.
— Scott Whitlock is a news analyst for the Media Research Center. Click here to follow him on Twitter.
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