Do you really want an anti-media GOP controlling your news?

On Monday, congressman-elect Greg Gianforte pleaded guilty to assaulting Guardian reporter Ben Jacobs and was sentenced to 40 hours of community service. On May 24, the night before the election, Gianforte threw Jacobs to the ground and punched him in response to a question about the Republican health-care plan. That night, his campaign released a statement claiming that the "liberal journalist" had grabbed Gianforte’s wrist and caused them both to fall.

That statement was not true. It was presented by Gianforte spokesman Shane Scanlon and flatly contradicted, in the hours that followed, by a Fox News crew that had been in the room and seen the attack. Kids, remember the moral of this story: If you’re going to falsify your account of a crime, make sure there are no witnesses.

The Republican Party seems to have learned that lesson. According to the McClatchy news organization, GOP strategists hope to make the 2018 midterm elections a referendum on the media. Without a prominent Democrat to position themselves against, they plan to direct voters’ hostility against reporters and news organizations. "If you can pick a fight with them," consultant David Woodard told McClatchy, "I think it kind of helps you, and I don’t think many people care."

By Dan Brooks

Full Story: https://missoulanews.bigskypress.com/missoula/do-you-want-an-anti-media-gop-controlling-your-news/Content?oid=4335687