In the Age of Trump journalism has been replaced almost entirely by Democratic Party propaganda designed to take down the duly-elected President of the United States. Donald Trump rightfully calls this shamelessness “fake news” and points out the purveyors are the “enemy of the American people” for the disservice they give the public. People no longer trust the media so the democrats have stepped in to protect their propaganda machine with a law that would make it a federal crime to attack the media.
Insider NJ did their part by publishing this ridiculous press release:
U.S. Senators Bob Menendez (D-N.J.) and Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.), and Congressman Eric Swalwell (D-Calif.-15), introduced the Journalist Protection Act to make physical attacks and threats of such attacks against journalists a federal crime.
Blumenthal used to misrepresent his service during the Vietnam War, Swalwell has threatened to literally nuke American gun owners who resist his disarmament efforts, and Menedez is a corrupt bribe-taker who has threatened to call the police on a reporter for asking a question he didn’t like. Maybe this trio ain’t the ones who should be pushing to protect honesty, integrity, and the free-flow of information.
The Journalist Protection Act makes it a federal crime to intentionally cause physical harm or threaten physical harm to a journalist while he or she is doing their job. It represents a clear statement that assaults against people engaged in reporting is unacceptable, and helps ensure law enforcement is able to punish those who interfere with newsgathering.
So if a reporter is off the clock you can beat the snot out of him or her? Democrats love finding nonexistent loopholes in the gun laws they pass, but they’ve missed this glaring loophole.
In reality this bill has nothing to do with protecting the press; it’s just another chance for democrats to demonize the President.
“From tweeting #FakeNews to proclaiming his contempt for the media during campaign rallies, the President has created a hostile environment for members of the press,” said Swalwell.
“Under this administration, reporters face a near-constant barrage of verbal threats, casting the media as enemies of the American people and possible targets of violence. This bill makes clear that engaging in any kind of violence against members of the media will simply not be tolerated,” Blumenthal said.
“Despite the dangerous rhetoric coming from the Trump Administration, and yet another disturbing attack on a journalist covering a MAGA rally, a free press will never be the enemy of the people. A free and independent press—a strong Fourth Estate—is essential to the American people and our democracy, ensuring an informed public and holding those in power accountable,” said Menendez.
Menendez’s quote is hilarious for so many reasons. He was hauled into court and charged with corruption and taking bribes and only narrowly escaped conviction. He’s the last guy who wants those in power to be held accountable. And then there’s incident from last month when he encountered a reporter from The Daily Caller:
“Not interested. I have nothing to say to the Daily Caller. You’re trash. I won’t answer questions to the Daily Caller, period! You’re trash! Don’t keep harassing me or I’ll call Capitol Police!,” Sen. Bob Menendez told me earlier today when I asked about the Green New Deal…
— Henry Rodgers (@henryrodgersdc) February 13, 2019
My guess is this bill is hypocritical like everything else that comes from democrats. When they say attacking and criticizing journalists should be a federal crime, they mean if a Republican does it. I haven’t read the text of the bill yet but I’m almost certain there is a carve out for democrats so they can ape-shit on reporting they don’t like.
The truly dangerous thing about this proposed law is that it puts the power in the federal government’s hands to decide what is news and what is not. Far from being a bill to protect the 1st Amendment it’s a power-grab by the democrats to control all information, which is the exact opposite of free speech and a free press. Once again the democrats have missed a glaring loophole in their legislation or perhaps this was entirely intentional.
