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FORD
04-03-2010, 11:02 PM
Daily Kos
Shocker: CNN Creates a False Equivalence Over "Wingnuts"
by SuperBowlXX

Sat Apr 03, 2010 at 01:03:14 PM PDT

Yesterday on American Morning, John Avlon of The Daily Beast presented his "Wingnuts of the Week," in which he identified two groups that apparently represent the political extremes of the left and right. His selections? Jodie Evans of the anti-war group Code Pink on the left, and David Stone of the Hutaree militia on the right. He singled out Evans for interrupting a speech by Karl Rove in Beverly Hills and attempting a citizen's arrest, and Stone for, well, plotting to kill police officers.

Here's the video:

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Anybody see a problem with this? Avlon juxtaposed Code Pink -- whose "crime" was disrupting a speech given by Karl Rove, loudly protesting the Iraq War and the outing of former CIA agent Valerie Plame's identity, and expressing their wish to attempt a citizen's arrest of Rove, with one of its members saying that they would be comforted by the thought of Rove "rotting in hell" -- with the Hutaree militia, whose members have been arrested and are being investigated by the FBI for conspiracy to commit murder and wage war against the U.S. government.

As it turns out, nobody was arrested at the event in which Rove was speaking, not even Code Pink. Evans and the rest of the protesters were escorted out of the event by security, and there were no reports of violence. Evans herself published an op-ed in the Huffington Post today in which she took pride in interrupting Rove, and offered readers the chance to support their citizen's arrest efforts and to check where Rove would be speaking in the coming days. Members of the Hutaree militia, on the other hand, were arrested and charged with seditious conspiracy to not only kill law enforcement officials, but then set off bombs at their funerals.

By naming these two groups his "wingnuts of the week," Avlon is framing the debate over "wingnuts" using a false equivalence test. The California penal code states that people may not be prosecuted for attempting a citizen's arrest under the following circumstances (emphasis mine):

1. For a public offense committed or attempted in his presence.

2. When the person arrested has committed a felony, although not in his presence.

3. When a felony has been in fact committed, and he has reasonable cause for believing the person arrested to have committed it.

(C.P.C. 837).

Does Code Pink have "reasonable cause for believing" that Karl Rove committed a felony? Well, Rove had reportedly admitted to circulating information in an attempt to discredit Valerie Plame and her husband Joe Wilson, but he was ultimately never indicted for obstructing justice in the case. Rove was also allegedly involved in the corrupt and politically-motivated firings of U.S. attorneys, and he was allegedly involved in the arrest of former Alabama Governor Don Siegelman -- a case that also appeared to have been politically motivated -- though Rove's role in it has not been made fully clear.

But even if the charges leveled by Evans against Rove were completely erroneous, how does that justify comparing her actions at the Beverly Hills event to what the Hutaree militia has been charged of? She did not physically assault Rove, nor did she plot to kill Karl Rove or other Bush Administration officials and then set bombs at their funeral. She wasn't even arrested at all for what she did. What was CNN's goal in allowing Avlon to make such a comparison? Was it to achieve some sense of political "balance" by picking two different groups, one from the left and one from the right? How is the comparison between Code Pink and the Hutaree militia at all appropriate, other than the fact that members of both groups presumably have strong political beliefs?

Now, you might argue that Avlon was not making an editorial statement about the degree of the particular "wingnut" offenses and the extent to which they were equivalent. For all we know, he might believe that the charges of sedition and conspiracy to commit murder by the Hutaree militia were worse than the attempt of citizen's arrest by Code Pink. It's also true that Avlon and the CNN anchors had a longer discussion over the Hutaree militia and their relevance to "wingnuttery" when compared to Code Pink. But that still doesn't explain how the comparison made any sense. There are civil and criminal penalties for making an erroneous citizen's arrest, but unless the penalties are equivalent to those associated with conspiracy to commit murder and sedition, then the offenses are not equivalent.

It's one thing to quibble over the tactics of Code Pink. It's another thing to even imply that their actions are on par with those of the Hutaree militia. They're not even close. Avlon and CNN would do well to remember that.

Daily Kos: Shocker: CNN Creates a False Equivalence Over "Wingnuts" (http://www.dailykos.com/storyonly/2010/4/3/853831/-Shocker:-CNN-Creates-a-False-Equivalence-Over-Wingnuts)

sadaist
04-04-2010, 12:25 AM
LOL. Not really a fair comparison. That said, I do think Code Pink crossed the line with Rove last week. Disrupt, shout, protest all you want...but the lady was onstage trying to handcuff him while fighting off security. Embarrassing.

FORD
04-04-2010, 01:10 AM
So you don't think Rove belongs in prison? (along with the rest of the BCE)