The breaching of the White House airspace by an elderly political radical is disturbing to many Americans. That is unless you happen to be MSNBC’s Luke Russert, whose Twitter feed was stuffed with people who thought the man was a hero.
In recapping the saga of the gyro-copter pilot who flew too close to the White House while advocating campaign finance reform, Russert framed the issue as a fight between the government who seeks punishment and the people who love the heroic protester.
RUSSERT: I've talked to some...who are close to Homeland Security and the Homeland Security Committee. They say that this was outrageous, that he definitely needs to be punished in a major way. Interestingly enough, though, you go on Twitter, I was watching your feed, my feed, we talk about him. Everyone says he's a hero. Saying that this is great about campaign finance reform, that this message needs to be there. He shouldn't go to jail.
If Russert would look beyond the MSNBC Twitter feeds, he might find a different picture.
Sounding more like he was recounting a martyr’s death rather than the capture of a man who bypassed White House security, Russert framed the protester's incoming punishment as the government’s attempt "to try and prove a point in some capacity."
Roberts also contributed his sympathy to the protester's cause, "He has certainly elevated the conversation. But unfortunately, he has exposed a very porous security issue within the nation's capitol. And consequences have to come from this, not just – it’s like un, uh, you know, not registering your dog it seems like, not registering your gyro-copter, seems like there should be something more."
One wonders if Roberts would speak this glowingly of the gyro-copter protestor if he was pushing for say, traditional marriage. Would the protestor have "elevated the conversation" then?
In any case, this overt sympathy was so great that even Roberts himself was ashamed that he ruined his disguise as an objective reporter, "I think I've exposed my bias...sorry."
His co-anchor Frances Rivera calmed his fear, noting that the objectivity-destroying quality of the issue is "what makes this such a good question to ask our viewers here."
