BuzzFeed Politics, which presents itself as a nonpartisan news outlet, has deemed the “heckling” of a Republican candidate far more newsworthy than physical violence against his staff.
In a story titled “Ryan Heckled At First Solo Event,” author Zeke Miller buries the lede that a protester at Paul Ryan’s first Iowa rally punched a volunteer for the Romney campaign. Miller introduces this information a few paragraphs into the story, with a lone line, effectively giving it little notice.
It seems that a woman protester rushed onto the stage upon which Ryan was speaking and was snared by the police on hand as security. As she charged the stage, police reportedly yelled, “She just punched a volunteer.”
One might think that a person punching another while rushing the stage would be the focus of this story. But, no, the headline goes for “hecklers” instead to portray Ryan as unpopular.
Now, imagine if this was an Obama rally. Imagine how BuzzFeed and the rest of the lefty media establishment would have reported this story.
Headlines would scream Protester Punches Obama Aide, and the first line of every story would have the words “violent,” “punched,” or “attacked.”
Still, Ryan did a great job dealing with the attacker. When she tried to interrupt him and rush the stage, he said, “You know what? You know it’s funny, it’s funny because Iowans and Wisconsinites we like to be respectful of one another, and peaceful with one another, and listen to each other. These ladies must not be from Iowa or Wisconsin!”
Does BuzzFeed give Ryan his due for a great comeback to this violent “heckler”? Nope. Miller shortens his response down to, “she must not be from Iowa.”