Media lectures Democrats when they vote against Biden, praises Republicans when they vote against Trump

In past years, news anchors, reporters, commentators, and late-night hosts have unabashedly gushed over Republican senators who’ve broken ranks with their party, hailing them as "mavericks" and "heroes" for casting politics aside and voting with their "conscience."

However, when Democrats like Kyrsten Sinema, D-Ariz., and Joe Manchin, D-W.Va., buck the party line, the same liberal talking heads criticize and lecture them.

Democrat Sens. Manchin and Sinema have come under attack by their own party for bucking President Biden and voting against the Democrat caucus in opposing the efforts to change the Senate's filibuster threshold from 60 votes to 51. 

SINEMA AND MANCHIN VOTE AGAINST NUKING FILIBUSTER 

The move sparked a full-scale media assault, exposing a stark contrast between the coverage afforded to Republican and Democratic senators who vote out of line with their party. Here are some of the most blatant examples of the double standard. 

CNN's Don Lemon

Then: When Senator Mitt Romney, R-Utah, broke ranks with the party and voted to convict President Trump during the February 2020 impeachment trial, CNN host Don Lemon could not conceal his delight. Lemon praised Romney for "risking the wrath of the party" and putting his commitment to "faith, duty and doing what's right" before all else.

"It is so rare to see someone take a stand the way that Mitt Romney did. It deserves to be seen," Lemon said in a segment that aired in February 2020.

Now: Lemon trashed Manchin and Sinema in an on-air rant earlier this month, scolding the "biggest hypocrites on the planet" for posting about Martin Luther King Jr. on his birthday while blocking the Democrats' voting rights legislation by supporting the filibuster.

"For some reason they are mired in tradition…it's time to amend the rules," Lemon said on CNN's New Day. "You're supposed to be a Democrat who espouses to the ideals of Dr. King. That's B.S. and you should be ashamed of yourself."

NBC's Chuck Todd

Then: NBC's "Meet the Press" host Chuck Todd gleefully hailed Romney as the "president of the Republican resistance to Donald Trump" in February of 2020 for voting outside the party to convict the former president on impeachment charges. 

Now: An irked Todd wondered how Manchin and Sinema could personally justify their decisions to not get rid of the filibuster and abandon their party just to preserve a longstanding Senate rule.

"Senator McConnell already changed the filibuster rules, right, for, for Supreme Court justices," Todd said. "So, I, you know, part of this is always, either, how is it that, that Sinema and Manchin think that 'oh, we’re, we can't get rid of something we've had here for years' when actually they keep moving the line all the time, right?"  

The View's Joy Behar

Then: "The View" co-host publicly thanked Romney on Twitter for breaking ranks with the Republican Party and encouraged him to challenge Trump in a future presidential run. Behar doubled down on-air days later, remarking that "the only patriot on the right, right now is Romney. He stuck his neck out, and the rest of them are trash," she said.

Now: A visibly angry Behar lost it on air when asked about the infighting between progressive and moderate Democrats in Congress, declaring that Manchin and Sinema were going to be the "ruination of the nation" and were "the enemies" of democracy. 

"The Democrats have the numbers to make it happen, but Manchin and Sinema are standing in their way. They call themselves Democrats, and they will be the ruination of this nation. Those two," she said. 

CNN's John Avlon

Then: CNN senior political analyst John Avalon showered Romney with praise for his speech where he defended his decision to vote across the aisle to convict Trump. 

"That was a true profile in courage speech that we just heard. That was the sound of a man who’d wrestled with his conscience, who tried to think bigger than partisan politics," Avlon gushed at the time."

Now: An irritated Avlon resorted to personal attacks of the moderate lawmakers responsible for stalling an "entire party's agenda." Avlon called Manchin a "deficit hawk who represents coal country," and suggested Sinema wasn't taking negotiations as seriously as she should.

"To have a prayer of staying in power, Democrats are going to need to win more swing states and swing districts…as negotiations begin again today, it's really time for some constructive compromise…failure is just not an option," he said.

MSNBC's Joy Reid:

Then: The "ReidOut" host celebrated Romney's decision to vote against the party on Twitter, writing at the time that the Utah lawmaker made his father, Governor George Romney "proud today" for bucking the party. "No other Republican Senator can say that," she wrote.

Reid later went off on Republican Sen. Susan Collins of Maine, for pretending she was open to "bucking" her party but ultimately let Democrats down with her vote to acquit Trump at his impeachment trial.

Now: Reid rebuked Manchin and Sinema for chasing a "mythical bipartisan beast" with their position on the filibuster, calling them members of the "no progress caucus" in April of last year.  Separately, Reid scolded Manchin "for his bad faith, fake negotiating, and obstruction of a bill."

Stephen Colbert

Then: The late-night "comedian" devoted an entire opening monologue to the courage Romney's displayed for bucking the party, telling his audience that the lawmaker provided a "ray of hope" and spoke the truth" before the American public.

"Please join me in thanking Mitt Romney for being honest, for not lying to us, for serving the Constitution…," Colbert said, before asking, "Why can’t he be president?"

Now: Colbert labeled both the legislative filibuster and Sen. Sinema as "anti-democratic tools" last week as he blasted her support for the former and mocked her appearance.

"Stop acting like the filibuster is anything other than an anti-democratic tool, which is also a pretty good description of Kyrsten Sinema," he said at one point. Colbert also mocked Manchin in an earlier appearance where he blamed the lawmaker for "Jeopardizing Democrats’ control" during a sketch he titled "Cotton Eye Joe."

Seth Meyers

Then: The "Late Night" host unsurprisingly heaped praise on Romney for voting against party lines, telling viewers that the lawmaker managed to emerge from the Trump impeachment trial looking "incredibly cool" to foes of Donald Trump.

Now: The same host appeared particularly irked by Manchin and Sinema, who according to him, do not truly support "voting rights."

"I hope, at the very least, this is a moment when we can step back to fully digest just how a--backward our system is. Anytime you try to explain American democracy to someone, you sound like an Amazon Echo that got dropped in the toilet, 'Alexa, Alexa, what's a democracy?'" he mocked.

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Washinton Post's Jennifer Rubin

Then: Washington Post columnist and frequent MSNBC guest Jennifer Rubin credited Romney for restoring faith in humanity with his vote to convict Trump, gushing over the "political martyr" in a column she wrote that focussed on the "uncommon decency and honor" he showed by walking across the aisle.

"His vote and more importantly his speech matter greatly, if only as reminders that every American has the capacity for greatness, the ability to stand on principle and the spine to refuse the entreaties of the mob," Rubin wrote in the February 2020 piece.

Now: Rubin's tone was unrecognizable in a more recent column, where she wondered what Democrats are "supposed to do with someone so seemingly irrational and obstinate as Manchin?"

"It’s time for Manchin to put up or share blame for Republicans’ subversion of democracy," she declared. "Manchin’s bland platitudes suggest he prefers stalemate to taking hard votes…," wrote Rubin. "Elevating the filibuster to the sine qua non of our constitutional system is absurd. It is not in the Constitution."