HOLDING THE MEDIA ACCOUNTABLE – AT 11:42 A.M. ET:   As we see elements of the media spin out of control, giving up cherished credibility for a moment of Trump-bashing, there is increasing scrutiny of the media itself and its classic mission to hold government to account.  From Howard Kurtz at Fox: 

So much for unity.

Just when a debate erupts over the role of media and mendacity in the shooting of a Republican congressman, the New York Times revives a discredited theory about the six-year-old shooting of a Democratic congresswoman.

This was so egregious and embarrassing that the Times editorial page was compelled yesterday to run a correction.

And worse than that, it was utterly tone-deaf in the wake of the shooting of Steve Scalise and four others, with the Republican whip still in critical condition. The editorial seemed to say, the hell with that, what about right-wing hatred?

The argument involving the near-fatal shooting of Gabby Giffords wasn’t true at the time, and appears even more ludicrous in retrospect. To resurrect it now undercuts any effort at breaking the cycle of guilt by association. The editorial suggests that it’s fine to blame conservative rhetoric, but not liberal rhetoric, for senseless violence.

Here’s what the Times said:

“Was this attack evidence of how vicious American politics has become? Probably. In 2011, when Jared Lee Loughner opened fire in a supermarket parking lot, grievously wounding Representative Gabby Giffords and killing six people, including a 9-year-old girl, the link to political incitement was clear. Before the shooting, Sarah Palin’s political action committee circulated a map of targeted electoral districts that put Ms. Giffords and 19 other Democrats under stylized cross hairs.

“Conservatives and right-wing media were quick on Wednesday to demand forceful condemnation of hate speech and crimes by anti-Trump liberals. They’re right. Though there’s no sign of incitement as direct as in the Giffords attack, liberals should of course hold themselves to the same standard of decency that they ask of the right.”

Palin’s use of the crosshairs may have been unfortunate, but to link it to the mass shooting was, and is, nonsensical.

COMMENT:  Both sides have some explaining to do, but it's been my experience that many on the committed left don't care about the truth.  As their intellectual hero of the 1960s, Herbert Marcuse, believed, the truth is what supports "progressive" causes. 

Much of the press is now committed to the destruction of Donald Trump.  That destruction is being carried out largely through anonymous sources.  It is no way to run a newspaper, or a democracy.  We are in the weeds, our government being tortured by leakers.

June 16, 2017