It looks like Republicans are trying to impeach the media -- not Trump
By Kathleen Parker
As the second week of the impeachment hearings began, Republicans reintroduced an old theme for the usual purposes: Everything is the media’s fault, and America wouldn’t be in this jam but for journalists being puppets of the Democratic Party.
Such were the sentiments expressed by Rep. Devin Nunes (Calif.), the ranking Republican on the House Intelligence Committee, during his opening statement Tuesday morning. Nunes was obviously trying to create a backdrop for the day’s testimony, which included such witnesses as an Iraq War combat veteran who was wounded in battle and an aide to Vice President Pence. It’s much harder to demonize such highly respected individuals than it is to drag out the media for yet another lashing.
If you had just tuned in from your interplanetary travels, however, you might have thought the media, not President Trump, was the subject of the impeachment inquiry. It was stale bread. Making an enemy of the media has long been a feature of Trump’s modus operandi. From his earliest campaign days, the then-future leader of the free world created an enemy to divert attention from his more problematic escapades and as a target to use when needed.
From alleged collusion with Russia to supposed bribery with Ukraine, the media has been performing as instruments of the Democratic Party, according to Nunes. He illustrated his point Tuesday by listing a series of headlines from various media outlets, including CNN, the New York Times, Slate and others (but not The Post), all of which had been proved incorrect. It was effective as a diversion, if not as the filtering lens he surely sought to create.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/it-looks-like-republicans-are-trying-to-impeach-the-media--not-trump/2019/11/20/36969cbc-0bd8-11ea-bd9d-c628fd48b3a0_story.html?wpisrc=nl_opinions&wpmm=1
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