I noted yesterday that many in the press are helping Beto O’Rourke use an Orwellian euphemism — “mandatory buy-back” — to describe his federal gun-confiscation plan. Today, the Washington Post demonstrates another way in which certain figures within the media are helping to launder his extremism:

Former Texas congressman Beto O’Rourke unveiled a detailed gun-control proposal this morning that calls for a “mandatory buyback program for assault weapons and a voluntary buyback program for handguns.” Critics say this would amount to government confiscation of firearms that people have bought legally.

“Critics say”?

Of course, “critics say” that O’Rourke’s plan “would amount to government confiscation of firearms that people have bought legally,” because O’Rourke’s plan would . . . amount to government confiscation of firearms that people have bought legally. That’s the whole point. That’s what “mandatory” means. As the Post confirms, under O’Rourke’s plan “individuals who fail to sell their assault rifles” would be punished. What else should the “critics” say? What, for that matter, should the non-critics say?