The rhetorical strategy is known as “whataboutism.” The Merriam-Webster definition is as good as any: “It is not merely the changing of a subject … to deflect away from an earlier subject as a political strategy; it’s essentially a reversal of accusation, arguing that an opponent is guilty of an offense just as egregious or worse than what the original party was accused of doing, however unconnected the offenses may be.”
In a New York Times piece a couple of years ago, Masha Gessen described it as an “old Soviet propaganda tool.”
It’s also one of House Speaker Kevin McCarthy’s go-to tactics.
Asked about Republican Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene’s radicalism, McCarthy responded by asking about others he perceives as extremists. Asked about Rep. George Santos’ lies, McCarthy responded by asking about others he perceives as dishonest. Asked about Tucker Carlson’s deceptive coverage of Jan. 6, McCarthy responded by accusing CNN of airing sensitive details about the attack on the Capitol.
Yesterday morning on Fox News, the House speaker did it again. The Washington Post reported:
McCarthy said Sunday that he had released the footage to Carlson in the name of transparency and accountability. He then equated the attack on the Capitol to the protests after the murder of George Floyd in police custody. McCarthy said he had watched federal courts and cities burn, and there was “nobody arrested there.”
“My goal here is transparency, and we will slowly roll out to every individual news agency,” the California Republican told Maria Bartiromo. This continues to be foolish: Giving a controversial television personality exclusive access to sensitive footage, allowing him to create a twisted counter-narrative for far-right conspiracy theorists — while promising to “slowly” share information with independent news organizations — isn’t what “transparency” means.
But this was the quote that stood out for me: “One thing I understand in America is we should have equal justice. What really raises the point with me is why did I watch federal courts, why did I watch cities burn, federal agencies — and nobody arrested there?”
Let’s briefly summarize some basic factual details that McCarthy really ought to understand.
First, the idea that “nobody” was arrested amidst the unrest in 2020 is plainly wrong: There were literally thousands of arrests, including charges at the local and federal level.
Second, the House speaker’s attempt at applying his whataboutism instincts to the Jan. 6 attack is cheap and lazy: Not only was his claim about “nobody” being arrested wrong, but his eagerness to draw a parallel between the attack on the Capitol and the 2020 unrest was ridiculous. How many of those outraged by George Floyd’s murder launched a violent attack on our seat of government? How many of them tried to use force in the hopes of handing illegitimate power to president who’d lost a free and fair election? How many of them set out to put our system of government at risk?
I can appreciate why McCarthy is on the defensive: He made a serious mistake giving Carlson exclusive access, and the result was deceptive coverage — that wouldn’t have existed were it not for McCarthy’s poor judgment — that’s been condemned by Democrats, Republicans, law enforcement, and even prosecutors.
The GOP leader’s instinct is apparently to effectively say, “Oh yeah? Well, what about…” which serves as a reminder that McCarthy hasn’t been able to think of a more coherent argument.
