Two days after imploring Democratic voters to "stay home," Hannity asserted the media have a "bias to sort of suppress voting"

Just two days after imploring Democratic voters during his nationally syndicated radio show to "stay home on Election Day ... for the sake of the nation," Sean Hannity asserted, during the October 20 edition of Fox News' Hannity & Colmes, that "the media seems somewhat complicit" in creating "an institutionalized bias to sort of suppress voting and take away initiative from people" because of a purported lack of coverage of gaffes by Democrats.

As Media Matters for America noted, on the October 18 broadcast of ABC Radio Networks' Sean Hannity Show, Hannity said that Democrats should not turn out to vote "for the sake of the nation" because Democrats' votes "won't change who occupies the White House" and Democratic "candidates have absolutely no idea how to win the war on terrorism." During an interview with former House Speaker Newt Gingrich (R-GA) on the October 20 edition of Hannity & Colmes, Hannity asserted that "news coverage" disproportionately discourages Republican voters by devoting more coverage to unflattering remarks by Republican candidates.

Hannity's comments were noted by the News Hounds website.

From the October 20 edition of Fox News' Hannity & Colmes:

HANNITY: All right. Let me -- there seems to have been -- the media seems somewhat complicit. I argue that there's even a sort of an institutionalized bias to sort of suppress voting and take away initiative from people -- that's how I feel -- based on the news coverage. Let me give you two recent examples.

We know, in the state of Virginia, the coverage of Senator George Allen [R-VA], but his opponent in this race just this week used the term "towelhead" and used the term "redneck." And I can only imagine if a Republican did that, it would be considered outrageous. [Rep.] Steny Hoyer [D-MD] campaigning for Ben Cardin, the Democrat in Maryland, he actually said of the African-American candidate for the Senate for the Republicans, he was "slavishly" beholden to the Republicans, after two years ago, having used the term he was a "token."

—R.M.