Certain newsrooms lit up in 2018 after former Ku Klux Klan leader David Duke gave an enthusiastic two thumbs up to one of Laura Ingraham’s many anti-immigration tirades.

Weirdly enough, these same newsrooms have yet to report on the former grand wizard applauding Rep. Ilhan Omar’s, D-Minn., attacks on Israel and American Jews.

How strange!

Last year, Ingraham claimed the “America we know and love doesn't exist anymore” partly because immigrants have contributed to dramatic “demographic changes.” Duke was jazzed to hear her say this.

“One of the most important (truthful) monologues in the history of [mainstream media],” the former Klansman wrote in a since-deleted tweet.

Newsrooms immediately sprang into action, with many of them going so far as to suggest (either explicitly or implicitly) that Duke’s applause was proof of Ingraham’s bigotry.

“Laura Ingraham’s Anti-Immigrant Rant Was So Racist It Was Endorsed by Ex-KKK Leader David Duke,” the Daily Beast reported.

The Huffington Post got in on the action with a series of report and op-eds, including one titled, “Laura Ingraham Is Mainstreaming White Supremacy, But She’s Not Alone.”

The Associated Press reported that Duke had endorsed Ingraham. Politico’s morning rundown reported that Duke had endorsed Ingraham. Esquire called it a “David Duke-Approved Monologue.” The list goes on. The media coverage was so persistent and unflattering, in fact, that it prompted Ingraham to repudiate the former Klansman on-air.

It’s also worth noting that many of the same newsrooms that covered the Ingraham affair have also covered Duke’s praise for President Trump. Their coverage of his pro-Trump remarks has also implied (or declared outright) that the former grand wizard’s support is proof of the president’s racism.

But then Omar came along. Suddenly, a Duke endorsement is a non-story.

Last Thursday, as the Minnesota congresswoman avoided a formal rebuke from her party despite engaging in several clearly anti-Semitic tropes, Duke tweeted, “By Defiance to Z.O.G. Ilhan Omar is NOW the most important Member of the US Congress!

“ZOG” is his abbreviation for “Zionist Occupation Government,” which is his own cute term for “federal government.” Don't ask me. Your guess is as good as mine.

Duke also tweeted, “Simply stated, [Omar] is important because the [sic] dared expose the gorilla in Congress that nobody dares speak! There is no salvation of our people heritage, rights and freedom until ZOG is overthrown!”

He added elsewhere that Omar shows real potential for “ building partial coalitions.”

It has been four days since Duke hailed Omar, who has yet to repudiate his endorsement. Not even one of the newsrooms that rushed last year to cover his praise for Ingraham has covered his similarly enthusiastic support for the Democratic congresswoman.

As of Monday morning, the Daily Beast has published nothing on Duke's applause for Omar. Neither has the AP, the Huffington Post, Politico, or Esquire. Surely, these newsrooms don’t believe Duke cheering a right-wing cable news host deserves coverage, while his support for a sitting member of the U.S. House of Representatives deserves none. What is the explanation, then, for the disparity in coverage? I have a theory: Duke is interesting to certain newsrooms only insofar as he can be used as a cudgel against conservatives. When he doesn’t serve that purpose, he’s not a story.

The problem for these media organizations is that their selective interest in Duke puts them in the ridiculous position of having to contradict their own news judgment. The reporters and editors who rushed to cover the Ingraham story last year likely never considered the argument against the Fox News host could also be used against a Democratic lawmaker. They thought it was safe to report on Duke’s remarks, suggesting all the while that his support for Ingraham is evidence of her racism. But now Duke has praised Omar, and the same people who reported last year that his endorsement is proof of guilt are finding themselves in an awkward position. They must pretend either that Duke didn’t cheer for Omar or pretend it’s not a newsworthy event compared to his praise for Ingraham. “Ignorant or lying” isn’t a great look for a supposedly serious news organization.

I have a proposal: Instead of doing this dance every time Duke resurfaces from whatever bog he’s haunting to applaud either a conservative or a liberal lawmaker, let’s just agree to never speak of him again.

We'll be better off for it. Trust me.