It's a bit different now, with some of the "tea partiers" more willing to wear their snarls on their sleeves, but for years the media treated basically all Republicans as aw shucks jes folks even as they were advocating the most horrible punitive policies aimed at the most vulnerable people in the country. Democrats of course were complicit in a lot of the stuff - don't think I'm unaware - but the true crusaders for most things were the Republicans.
