Mollie Hemingway of the Federalist takes aim at a current argument circulating within the media and among left-of-center partisans.
Many people in the media have jointly arrived at the same talking point. They say that criticizing the bad actions of specific people at the top ranks of a law enforcement agency mean you’re at war with all law enforcement.
Politico‘s headline for this talking point was “Trump escalates his war with U.S. law enforcement after memo release.” “Once the party of law and order, Republicans are now challenging it,” said the Washington Post. The New York Times went with “The President’s Unparalleled War on Law Enforcement.”
TV pundits and hosts have used the same talking point. It’s a convenient way to avoid talking about abuses revealed by congressional overseers in a recent memo filled with facts not in dispute by the FBI.
But is it possible to criticize a law enforcement agency without warring against the very existence of a law enforcement agency? Obviously it is. The notion that it isn’t possible is illogical and utterly bizarre, bordering on mendacious. And The New York Times knows this. …
… Being for law and order does not mean being for any abuse of authority that you come across any more than being a faithful Catholic means tolerating institutional rot in that church. How many movies are made that feature a bad cop? Does this make these movies anti-cop? Frequently the people fighting the bad cops are also cops.
