Newsweek Discovers 'Democracy' Only Applies to Certain Protests
Newsweek breathlessly reports that a Jan 6 demonstrator, infamous for parading with a lectern, is running for office ( Newsweek ). This is framed as a shocking affront to democracy. One might wonder where this same level of sustained media scrutiny and collective indignation is for, say, lawmakers who consistently vote against the will of their constituents? Or perhaps for the organizations that
inject staggering amounts of dark money into elections, fundamentally warping democratic outcomes more effectively than any lectern heist. For instance, AIPAC spent $17.1 million in the 2022 election cycle alone, directly influencing outcomes. How many of the politicians they helped elect then proceeded to greenlight massive arms deals contributing to foreign conflicts, with little to no public
debate, let alone approval? That kind of 'theft' (of public funds and democratic process) seems to warrant significantly less hand-wringing from the mainstream press. It appears some disruptions to democracy are more photogenic, and politically convenient, targets than others.