Schieffer pressed DeMint on some of the threats against members of Congress: "Senator, we saw some pretty scary stuff last week....We saw members' offices that were trashed. We saw death threats....Do you think the parties have an obligation to try to tone down some of this runaway rhetoric? Is it, in fact, dangerous?" The Senator defended tea party protestors: "I've been with hundreds of thousands of tea party patriots...and I've never seen any violence or heard any bad language....it's unfair and untrue to try to paint this whole American awakening with some of the bad comments that we heard last week in Washington."

Later turning to Bachmann, Schieffer tried to portray the Congresswoman as extreme: "You said last week that health care reform was dangerous and you equated it with tyranny. Do you really mean that?...You said that you thought Barack Obama had anti-American views....what do you mean the President is anti-American?" He continued his interrogation by pointing to comments made by Sarah Palin: "[She] famously said last week that it is not time for Republicans to retreat. It is time to reload....said she wasn't talking about guns. She was talking about getting out there and using the vote. Do you think Sarah Palin has overstated it here?"

Following the interviews with DeMint and Bachmann, Schieffer spoke with Democratic National Committee Chairman Tim Kaine on the topic of violence: "What about this whole idea of this sort of runaway rhetoric? As I said to Senator DeMint, there were some kind of scary pictures that we saw on television." In part, Kaine replied by claiming that some in the GOP "think it's to their strategic advantage to keep people stoked."

Schieffer later worried: "A lot of people are going to be watching what happens back in these congressional home districts over this Easter recess. They're talking about more demonstrations and so forth....do you have concerns about the safety of Democrats out there?" In response, Kaine claimed it was "disingenuous" for DeMint say that only a handful of protestors acted badly and went on to rant: "when you, as some of the members do, say that this is Armageddon...you're sending a message to folks. When you're saying that...you want to target members and you have a map of the United States and you put a gun site on members' districts, when the elected leadership feels comfortable yelling out 'you lie' or 'baby killer,' they're stoking anger, and they need to stop it."

Schieffer only challenged Kaine briefly on the issue of stoking anger: "you all put out a fund-raising letter at the DNC, after all of this, that raised a few eyebrows because it talked about this – these run-away things, these demonstrations...Bricks through the windows and stuff. And then used it as part of a fund-raising letter. Was that inappropriate?" Kaine defended the crass political move: "I'll tell you why we did it. We did put out a fund-raising letter referring to the bricks through the window and others, but also referring to the fact that our members who voted for health reform last Sunday are being hit by onslaughts of advertising in their districts criticizing them, some with the most extreme language." There was no follow-up from Schieffer.

In addition to implying the GOP was inciting violence, Schieffer also took some time to gloat over ObamaCare's passage, noting in his first question to DeMint: "You said that this was going to be Barack Obama's Waterloo. And that if Republicans could defeat him on this, it would break him." Schieffer added: "Well, he won Waterloo, it looks like. So I guess my question to you is, what do you do next?"

In his first question to Kaine, Schieffer wondered: "Governor, you heard the Republican strategy from here on in, apparently, is to oppose, to try to repeal health care. Do you think, in fact, that that's possible?" Playing up the violent theme, Kaine remarked: "I think it's unwise. And I don't think it will happen, Bob. You know, one of the things I was struck in listening to Senator DeMint and Congresswoman Bachmann is just the incredible, just anger that's there in them."

Read a full transcript of the broadcast here. 

This explains why it hasn't been covered much -- and maybe not at all -- in any establishment media outlet.

On March 26, the Catholic News Agency had an exclusive interview with Michigan congressman Bart Stupak. Wait until you see some of the things he admitted to CNA (bolds are mine):

Rep. Stupak: Speaker Pelosi had extra health care votes 'in her pocket'

The health care reform bill would have passed the House without the votes of Rep. Bart Stupak’s pro-life Democrats because House Speaker Nancy Pelosi “always carries a number of votes in her pocket,” Stupak told CNA in a Thursday phone interview.

The Michigan Democrat explained that by opting for the executive order, pro-life Democrats believe they ensured the legislation was “somewhat restrictive” towards abortion funding.

“Speakers never bring a bill to the floor, unless they have the votes. And they always have few in reserve,” Stupak revealed, describing this as a “common tactic” that was used in the defeat of the Dornan Amendment in a funding bill earlier this year.

“The Speaker always carries a number of votes in her pocket,” he said, meaning that some members who voted ‘no’ would have voted ‘yes’ if needed.

“I had a number of members who thanked us after because they could vote no.”

Rep. Stupak said he thought the votes available for Sunday’s vote totaled 222.

Well, okay Bart, who were these Dems who didn't have the courage to vote their convictions, and instead wish to go back to their constituents and claim they didn't support the ObamaCare monstrosity? (crickets ...)

Better yet, pal, don't tell us. It would be much more convenient for November voters to presumptively assume that their no-voting Democratic congressman really was a "yes" until Bart bailed them out. That works for me, and it would work for many other like-minded Americans -- which is why the press will more than likely pretend that the CNA-Stupak interview doesn't exist.

Cross-posted at BizzyBlog.com.

The Early Show may have ignored the story of Norman Leboon and the violent, profanity-laced rants he posted online about the "evil" Cantor, but the same show on Tuesday did note the guilty plea of a man who threatened Barack Obama.

Substitute news anchor Betty Nguyen explained, "In Tennessee, a white supremacist has pleaded guilty to plotting a 2008 killing spree against blacks, including then presidential candidate Barack Obama."

GMA, the only morning program to cover the Leboon story, didn't mention that the Philadelphia man also donated to Barack Obama in 2008.

In comparison, last Thursday, the Early Show fretted that the GOP was using "violent rhetoric and imagery."

According to the MRC's Brent Baker, it was ABC and CBS who skipped the arrest of Leboon on Monday night's news programs. NBC's Nightly News only noted the story in an anchor brief.

A transcript of the March 30 news brief on GMA, which aired at 8:02am EDT, follows:

BIANNA GOLODRYGA: Meantime, a Philadelphia man is in custody for threatening to kill Congressman Eric Cantor, the House Minority Whip. In a profanity-laced video rant, Norman Leboon called Cantor pure evil. And said that he would, quote, "receive my bullets in your office." A bullet was fired at Cantor's campaign office last week but police do not believe it's linked to Leboon.

Since the passage of ObamaCare on March 21, the liberal media have been working hard to crack down on dissidents, painting the tea party movement, talk radio, and Republicans as dangerous radicals inciting violence against Democrats.

The three broadcast networks and the cable channels all jumped on board the bandwagon of smearing conservatives as angry hate-mongers, in order to discredit broad-based legitimate opposition to the unpopular legislation. 

Yet after the networks led last week with less-immediate threats against Democrats, they weren’t so interested in a real case of a death threat against a Republican as neither CBS nor ABC aired a word about the arrest and NBC’s Brian Williams gave it short-shrift after leading last Wednesday with Democrats as the victims: “It's getting ugly as anger over health care reform erupts into some over-the-top rhetoric, including threats now against members of Congress.”

The next night, Williams still portrayed opponents as the only ones with miscreants amongst their ranks: “While the White House continues to celebrate its largest-ever legislative victory, opponents of health care reform have reacted to the final vote with anger, a few of them with threats of violence.”

CBS last week started with “threats of violence against Democrats who voted for health care reform” as Nancy Cordes relayed how “Democrats complain Sarah Palin is also using violent words and imagery.” On Monday, the CBS Evening News devoted a full story to fretting over a “loophole” which insurance companies may use to delay providing coverage to kids with pre-existing conditions and Katie Couric spent half a minute on how the New York Yankees are “the best-paid team in all of sports,” with the NBA “the highest-paid league” followed by cricket’s Indian Premier League.

Though Cantor’s district is beyond metro DC, ABC’s Washington, DC affiliate, WJLA-DT, led its 6 PM news Monday night with the arrest of  Norman Leboone, but a half hour later World News didn’t mention it as Diane Sawyer began with “homegrown hate, extremists from a Midwestern, Christian militia under arrest.” Five days earlier, a dire Sawyer warned “opposition to health care turns menacing,” asserting “angry opponents of the [health] bill unleashed threatening phone calls, scathing words, even bricks thrown through windows.”

Wednesday night, March 24: “Nets Lead with ‘Ugly’ and ‘Menacing’ ObamaCare Opponents Fueled by Palin’s ‘Violent Words and Imagery.’”

Thursday night, March 25: “Nets Not So Excited About Violence and Threats Aimed at ObamaCare Opponents.”

The short item from Williams on the Monday, March 29 NBC Nightly News:

The FBI said today they've arrested a Philadelphia man for threatening the life of the number two Republican in the House of Representatives, Eric Cantor of Virginia. 38-year-old Norman Leboone made a profanity-laced video that called Cantor evil and then some. He's being held without bail pending a psychiatric evaluation. The arrest is not related to a bullet hole found in Cantor's district office which police now say was caused instead by random gun fire.

Fox News Channel's Neil Cavuto interviewed Nugent just before 4:30 p.m. EDT on his "Your World" program.

"In November we gotta vote the pigs out of office, because this is a redistribution of wealth, this is the Communist/Mao/Che agenda of the Communist/Mao/Che fans in the White House!" Nugent exclaimed.

Asked by Cavuto about Democratic complaints about heated rhetoric spurring violence, Nugent answered:

Obviously, I'm a We The People guy. I believe in the Martin Luther King and the Glenn Beck style of no[n] violence. We need to vote these wasteful, corrupt bureaucrats out. Even the other side, Neil, all those that voted for this bill, they're now starting to come out of the woodwork and admitting it's about the redistribution of wealth. How dare our elected officials force this debacle upon we the people and admit they didn't even read it.

You can find the MP3 audio of the full interview here or watch the video embedded above at right.

At the top of the show, co-host Harry Smith proclaimed: "Health care reform is a done deal after Democrats in Congress make final changes to the historic legislation." In the later report by correspondent Nancy Cordes, an on-screen headline read: "Done Deal; Obama Health Care Plan Gets Final Approval From Congress."

Cordes played a clip of Democratic Congressman Robert Andrews giving a glowing description of the bill: "Tonight the underdogs won. The people who have been abused by their insurance companies, turned down because they had asthma, or had their policies canceled because they got cancer, they won." She framed the GOP as against helping such people: "Republican opposition in the House and Senate was unanimous."

A clip was played of Republican Senator Lindsey Graham condemning the manner in which the unpopular legislation was shoved through Congress: "The process that led to the passage of this bill was sleazy." Cordes provided the White House defense: "But President Obama, who was in Iowa Thursday promoting the landmark legislation, dared Republicans to keep up their campaign to repeal the bill."

Near the end of the report, Rodriguez wondered about the fate of bipartisanship in the wake of the contentious health care debate: "Now going forward, these two parties still have to work together. What is this going to do to their already strained relationship?" Cordes replied: "Republicans say it's just going to shut down what little bipartisanship is left here on Capitol Hill. They say that issues like immigration, cap and trade, are now in even more jeopardy than before." Rodriguez expressed her frustration: "Ugh, not what the American people want to hear."

Rodriguez followed up: "What does the GOP plan to do next where this is concerned?" Cordes explained: "Well, they've been pushing this whole repeal campaign, repeal the bill, but that's really just an impossibility right now. They'd need to have a Republican president and Republican majorities, large majorities, in the House and Senate in order to do something like that, and so they'll have to wait a while if that's their goal."  

Here is a full transcript of the segment:

7:00AM TEASE:

HARRY SMITH: Health care reform is a done deal after Democrats in Congress make final changes to the historic legislation. We'll hear President Obama's response as he tries to sell reform to a skeptical public.

7:01AM SEGMENT:

MAGGIE RODRIGUEZ: And speaking of rescues, the Democrats have rescued health care reform, once on death's door, after putting the final touches, finally, on the sweeping legislation yesterday. CBS News congressional correspondent Nancy Cordes has the latest from Capitol Hill. Hard to believe it's over, for now anyway, Nancy.

NANCY CORDES: It is hard, Maggie. And disagreements over health care reform are not likely to go away anytime soon, but the formal debate, as you said, is actually over, with both houses acting quickly to do away with the final prong of legislation.

JOE BIDEN: On this vote, there are 56 yeas, 43 nays.

CORDES: Just hours after the Senate passed the last health care bill-  

NANCY PELOSI: The motion is adopted.

CORDES: It was the House's turn. And just like that, a year long fight in Congress was over.

[ON-SCREEN HEADLINE: Done Deal; Obama Health Care Plan Gets Final Approval From Congress]

ROBERT ANDREWS [REP. D-NEW JERSEY]: Tonight the underdogs won. The people who have been abused by their insurance companies, turned down because they had asthma or had their policies canceled because they got cancer, they won.

CORDES: Republican opposition in the House and Senate was unanimous.

LINDSEY GRAHAM: The process that led to the passage of this bill was sleazy.

CORDES: But President Obama, who was in Iowa Thursday promoting the landmark legislation, dared Republicans to keep up their campaign to repeal the bill.

BARACK OBAMA: I don't believe that the American people are going to put the insurance industry back in the driver's seat. We've already been there.

CORDES: And while the voting may be over, tensions remain high among those who oppose and support health care reform. House Republican Whip Eric Cantor's office in Richmond, Virginia was fired on early Tuesday morning. And an envelope filled with white powder showed up at Democratic Congressman Anthony Wiener's New York offices on Thursday.

JOHN MERCURIO [EXECUTIVE EDITOR, THE HOTLINE]: Certainly we've seen a lot of passionate opposition to this bill. It's a very emotional, very personal issue, that people, I think, get very, very upset about. Very fearful about what this bill could actually do.

CORDES: Now the bill that passed yesterday contained a major set of changes to the bill that the President signed in to law on Tuesday. Speaker Pelosi will sign this bill today and then it heads to the President's desk. Maggie.

RODRIGUEZ: Nancy, as you've been reporting all along, Republicans have criticized the Democrats for using reconciliation, this controversial budget process, to get this passed. Now going forward, these two parties still have to work together. What is this going to do to their already strained relationship?

CORDES: Well, Republicans say it's just going to shut down what little bipartisanship is left here on Capitol Hill. They say that issues like immigration, cap and trade, are now in even more jeopardy than before. They don't think that the two parties can recover from this. We'll see if parties are able to work together on anything going forward.

RODRIGUEZ: Ugh, not what the American people want to hear. What does the GOP plan to do next where this is concerned?

CORDES: Well, they've been pushing this whole repeal campaign, repeal the bill, but that's really just an impossibility right now. They'd need to have a Republican president and Republican majorities, large majorities, in the House and Senate in order to do something like that, and so they'll have to wait a while if that's their goal.

RODRIGUEZ: Maybe til' November or beyond. Nancy Cordes on Capitol Hill. Thank you, Nancy.

However, Wright didn't specifically mention that Republican Congressman Eric Cantor had a bullet shot through his office this week. He also ignored the threats received by GOP Representative Jean Schmidt. In fact, Good Morning America didn't cover these developments at all.

On Thursday, GMA eagerly played up violent warnings against Democratic Congressman Bart Stupak and reporter Pierre Thomas touted the party's fears that "all this angry talk could push a deranged person over the edge."

David Wright has a history of gratuitously bashing Sarah Palin. On February 16, 2009, during an otherwise unrelated segment on the 50th anniversary of Barbie, he highlighted all the careers the doll has had and smeared, "Some would argue she also ran for vice president in 2008."

Of course, Wright might forever be known for this quote about brutal dictator Saddam Hussein:

"Seven years ago, when the last referendum took place, Saddam Hussein won 99.96 percent of the vote. Of course, it is impossible to say whether that’s a true measure of the Iraqi people’s feelings."

-- ABC’s David Wright in Baghdad, on World News Tonight, October 15, 2002.

Seems like he's tougher on Palin than he was on Saddam.

A transcript of the March 26 segment, which aired at 7:05am EDT, follows:

BILL WEIR: It was just a few hours ago that battle royale over health care was decisively won by the Democrats. Overnight, the House passed all the fixes to the health care bill, once and for all. It's a blow that has Republicans looking to some familiar faces to help reboot and David Wright has that story. Good morning, David.

DAVID WRIGHT: Good morning, Bill. You know, the defeat in Congress over health care has given conservatives something to rally around and Sarah Palin is hoping to lead the charge. You know, she recently signed a multimillion dollar TV deal. But the true test of her stature may be in places like Tucson here where, a bit of deja vu, she's out campaigning for her old boss. For the first time since November 2008, Sarah Palin today hits the campaign trail for John McCain. First stop in a Republican counterattack she hopes to lead.

MARK HALPERIN (Senior political analyst, Time magazine): The fight over health care in Congress is over but the fight in the country is just beginning.

WRIGHT: Sarah Palin's message to conservatives, "Don't ret retreat. Instead, reload." Her Facebook page even puts 17 Democrats, literally in the cross-hairs. Tactics that may backfire, especially after several congressmen received death threats this week. McCain has already been forced to defend Palin.

SENATOR JOHN MCCAIN: This is- any threat of violence is terrible but to say that there is a targeted district or that we reload or go back into the fight again- please.

WRIGHT: But, McCain needs her now more than ever. His fortunes have changed since he brought her on to the national political stage.

MCCAIN: When you get to know her, you're going to be as impressed as I am.

WRIGHT: Now, she is the darling of the party and he is fighting for his political life.

HALPERIN: This is payback time for John McCain. But, payback time in a good way. He elevated Sarah Palin to national and international prominence. Now, she is coming to return the favor to him to help save his job.

WRIGHT: McCain faces his toughest re-election fight ever. Challenged in the GOP primary by a popular talk radio host.

AD: J.D. Hayworth heard our call.

WRIGHT: The political ground is shifting among Republicans and that could topple even the party's old standard-bearer. That's why McCain needs Palin's help. She has come to personify that outsider anger among conservatives and John McCain is hoping he can harness those conservatives, keep them on his side at a time when many of them want new blood.

A rock was thrown through the window of (1st District Congressman) Driehaus' Cincinnati office Sunday, and a death threat was phoned in to his Washington office a day later, Mulvey said.

Driehaus, who claims to be pro-life but in reality stopped being so when he supported Barack Obama for President in 2008, is one of the members of the Bart Stupak contingent that abandoned their alleged pro-life beliefs to vote for statist health care in the House Sunday night.

Well, perhaps the death threat was real, and of course if it is it demands a thorough investigation.

But there's a "little" problem with the news about that rock throw:

Driehaus's office is on the 30th floor of the Carew Tower downtown:

Instapundit reports that e-mailer Justin Binik-Thomas informed him that "he spoke to Driehaus’ office today and they said this never happened."

Oh, but thousands (or is it hundreds?) of Seattle readers will believe it, plus the readers of the news service from which the Times originally obtained its info if an original report was indeed mistaken (I haven't found another such report in a brief search for one).

The false Driehaus story will feed the bogus but growing media meme that opponents of this administration are violently unhinged. Absent a retraction, it may be that the folks at the Times are really celebrating a mission accomplished.

Cross-posted at BizzyBlog.com.