Tom Cotton Notes That Coronavirus Might Have Originated In Nearby Bioweapons Lab; WaPo Pretends It's A Debunked "Conspiracy Theory"

This seems to fit a pattern on the left to me.
Conservatives ask a perfectly reasonable question. It's vaguely inconsistent with some progressive preference or other. Progressives condescendingly claim it's obviously false or racist (etc.) or has been debunked already or is a conspiracy theory or conflicts with "settled science" or...one of their other go-to moves.
   "Conspiracy theory" is one of their favorite epithets. The most prominent and jaw-dropping conspiracy theory in recent memory, however--Russiagate--is never described that way (on the left, that is).
   In case you haven't noticed: the left is Orwellian as hell.