NEW RIGHT-WING MEME: INTIMIDATION? WHAT INTIMIDATION?
(updated)

I told you yesterday about Stephen "Vodkapundit" Green's expression of skepticism in response to a Politico story about threats to Democratic lawmakers:

What that last line tells you is, this Politico report is totally bereft of any actual facts.

It looks as if this is becoming a right-wing meme. Here's Fox Nation right now:



FN takes you to this NewsBusters post:

The Media's Myth of Right Wing Violence

There is a disturbing chill in the air according to the leftist media. Threats of violence and rumor of murder are taking center stage instead of reporting legitimate public outrage about the passage of Obamacare....

Whether this is a shortcut to 2nd Amendment action, valid concern, or just a bunch of crybaby progressive politicians over reacting to criticism, it's hard to tell. But Obama's desire to continue ramming through the most divisive legislation -- against his own creed -- isn't helping bring calm to even the most peaceful conservatives. And while the evidence of a violent right is scarce, there's no limit to liberals attempting to make conservatives look evil....

So an outpost of the Murdoch media empire is endorsing the notion that reports of an uptick in threats and intimidation are (a) mythical ("the evidence of a violent right is scarce" sounds an awful lot like Vodkapundit's "totally bereft of actual facts"), (b) the product of bad journalism by "leftist media" (the second link in the quote goes to an AP story about the FBI investigating threats; merely reporting that the FBI is doing this, presumably, is an act of "leftist" bias), (c) a possible false-flag prelude to a jackbooted gun grab, and (d) whiny hyperbole by Democrats who just aren't tough enough to take it. And this Murdoch site implicitly endorses the notion that if anything is going on, the Democrats were asking for it.

Ah, but (as the NewsBusters piece notes elsewhere) Glenn Beck reportedly received a death threat. And James Cameron called Beck's ideas "dangerous." And some lefties over the years have done some violent things. (Bill Ayers!) So, you know, it's probably OK if right-wingers are returning the favor. Which, um, they aren't. Heavens no. That's just a LIE from the LIEberals. But if they were....

Though imagine how much worse this would be if Fox were a nasty organ of propaganda rather than the serious legitimate news organization we all know it is.

****

UPDATE: Republican members of Congress pleaded for civility today, acknowledging attacks on Democrats, but Rush Limbaugh is still apparently an intimidation truther:

Our side doesn't do this kind of stuff. This is all made up, 95% of it's made up....

I think they should release all the information, all of the tapes, whatever they have. See, no one supports threats or violence. But it's the left that does that. It's the left that does that in their protests and their marches. But if there are threats, let's see them. Let's see them all. Let's hear them all. I don't want to hear that you just feel threatened. For crying out loud, people feel a gazillion things each and every day. I'll tell you what it is. These people know that what they have done is universally unpopular. They are trying to distract everybody's attention and create sympathy for them by making up stories and lying about threats, death threats, when these people are the architects of how these kinds of threats and protest marches and violence work. I mean, we don't have anybody on our side that tried to blow up the Pentagon. And certainly we don't have anybody on our side who had a friend who tried to blow up the Pentagon who's now president of the United States. We don't have anybody on our side wiping out cops. Eric Cantor's Virginia office was shot at last night. Eric Cantor is a Republican....

Er, that story's looking a little shaky, Rusty. Want to reconsider what you said?