After teeth gnashing over Republicans closing doors on the press, there’s now no outrage when sitting Democrats do the same thing.

To anyone who suggests that Democrats and the press have no standards, allow me to contradict that claim. In truth, they both actually have twice as many standards as most others. This reality has been on stark display within the span of just a matter of days, and the paradox it presents is equal parts aggravating and amusing. 

Over the past weekend, the Florida Republican Party staged an election-focused conference in South Florida, dubbed the Sunshine Summit. There has been no shortage of emotional reactions, as it was revealed that the Florida GOP limited who from the media complex would be credentialed and permitted to attend. The outrage began last week ahead of the event, and complaints in the state-run press grew in nature over the weekend.

Following the conference, the national outlets joined in a chorus of carping and complaining over what took place. Sister Toldjah covered how The Intelligencer wrote a lengthy screed about what a troublesome development this had been, with all the melodramatic intonations attached. Vanity Fair took a similar approach, springboarding off of the Intelligencer piece. In the latter effort, we get served this type of hand-wringing, calling it, an aversion to media scrutiny that could upend how the next presidential election cycle is covered.

Funny, I can recall all the way back in 2020 when a Joe Biden campaign seemed to not only specialize in avoiding the media, they reveled in it. Joe was controlled from granting too many interviews, with the usual press access seen in past elections severely truncated, and the announcement of “calling a lid” on the day’s activities became commonplace. For their part, the press actually applauded these decisions as much as they criticized them. Now, this week, press avoidance is considered a threat to our democracy.

The pearl-clutching has been consistent the past few days. Jonathan Chait looked at the limiting of press credentials to an event as the next step to the GOP eventually operating a dictatorial government. At MSNBC, the always calm and never irrational Mehdi Hasan saw this weekend’s snub as a threat to freedom, the First Amendment, and a free press. Keep some of these hyperbolic assessments in mind. They will deserve a callback. 

Consider remarks, such as Chait’s claim that, “The GOP will function in power like the ruling party in a one-party state,” are all about a seminar held for party planning and election goals. The press is bent out of shape over being locked out of what was essentially a strategy session, and they extrapolate their exclusion as a sign of future authoritarianism — if their histrionics are to be listened to. 

What then, they all need to be asked, would they have to say about being likewise shunned by a party that is actually in power? If the GOP is considered to be threatening our foundations by denying press credentials to select news outlets at a party gathering, should it not be seen as a larger threat to our democracy when a ruling party slams the door on the same press regarding active governance?

That question lingers with this dose of today’s news.

A heads up to the Hill press corps. Senate democrats have barred reporters from staking out the room in which they’re discussing the reconciliation package. So dont waste your time going!

— Jake Sherman (@JakeSherman) July 28, 2022

Interesting. Sherman, from Punchbowl News, is not sounding the clarion here about our government being rendered by this exclusionary action. We see no hair being set on fire in the media landscape over this affront to the fabric of our nation. This, despite the fact that it can be said that a group of standing senators barring the press from engagement of government activities is far more significant than a party’s electioneering planning summit being made exclusive.

This underscores so much of the double standards and deference paid to one party over the other in the media today. If the GOP wants to play coy with election plans, that is seen as a threat to our democracy. Democrats shielding their very activity within the democracy is shrugged off as an inconvenience. 

It is almost as if the Republicans recognize this differing set of standards and decided they did not need the rigged players to arrive and corrupt their planning. This week’s shrieking over what the press did not see is all the proof needed they made the correct call on the matter.