After the mass shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida left 17 dead (with possibly more deaths to come), Republican lawmakers were too cowardly to appear on any network other than the NRA/GOP-friendly platform they knew they’d receive on Fox & Friends.
Media Matters has the scoop:
Today, Republican elected officials avoided ABC, CBS, NBC, CNN and MSNBC’s morning shows, opting to exclusively appear on Fox & Friends. Republican Florida Governor Rick Scott and Sens. Marco Rubio (R-FL) and Ted Cruz (R-TX) all appeared on Fox to discuss the shooting. Cruz attempted to explain the shooting by saying, “Evil is, sadly, always present” and complained that “the reaction of Democrats to any tragedy to is try to politicize it.” Rubio referred to the shooting as “an isolated instance” that resulted from “a perfect storm of circumstances.” And Scott told the Fox & Friends hosts that he was “mad” and asked, “How can this be going on in our society?” Democratic Florida Sen. Bill Nelson also appeared on Fox & Friends to discuss the shooting.
There’s something particularly galling about elected officials running away from any news show that doesn’t promote Republican ideology and propaganda. Regardless of their party, elected officials are supposed to represent all their constituents. At a time like this, they should be talking to all of them, not just the ones who want Fox’s partisanship.
It’s also quite a statement (however inadvertent) about the cowardice of these officials. Instead of confidently addressing the tough questions and the trauma in their communities with whatever policies they support as prescriptions, they've gone running to their safe space. While leaving the rest of us to face the bullets.
Watch Chris Cuomo rake Republicans over the coals for refusing to appear on his show this morning, from CNN’s February 15, 2018 New Day, via Media Matters.
“This is not the time to talk about that .. people are grieving”, etc. etc. (aka let’s not talk about that EVER). This empty phrase is not in synch with polls showing that over 8 out of 10 Americans want something to be done!
“This is the work of mentally ill people”. Any attempt to identify and target the mentally ill would call for a level of surveillance that flies in the face of the Constitution.
People outside the USA are appalled at the degree of stupidity being demonstrated daily, on a subject where simple common sense should prevail:
1) there’s no way to claim that a person with a six-shooter can have the lethal power of a person with a 30-shooter. One politician had the gall to say that the same fire power can be obtained by quick-changing the magazines. Anderson Cooper begged to differ, saying that even a brief pause can give potential victims time to get away. The politician wasn’t listening. Oh how I would have cheered had Anderson insisted on getting an answer! I guess he was trying his best not to discourage other GOP politicians from appearing on CNN.
2) a person who cannot get his hands on a firearm (more rigorous background checks) simply can’t do as much damage with bare hands, a baseball bat, a crowbar, or even a knife. Having to engage in close combat may even bring some people to their senses.
3) why on earth would a teenager living in a heavily urbanised area want to buy an assault weapon? For heaven’s sake, Florida law does not allow them to buy a glass of beer or wine, or even a pistol. But they can buy an AR-13. Boggles the mind.
4) competent hunters need only one bullet to down their prey. Anybody who claims to want a rapid-fire weapon for hunting is being disingenuous. Pistols and machine guns are for killing people. Period. (cue the idiot who will remind me that AR-whatevers are not machine guns).
5) requiring a gun owner to undergo basic training (as required for car drivers) would probably result in fewer accidental deaths involving firearms.
6) a country awash with guns is actually enabling deaths by gun. A toddler is at no risk of being wounded or killed by a gun if there are no guns lying about. The potentially suicidal would have to find some other – usually more deliberative – way to do away with themselves. The time to think may deter them.
Rant off. (though I could go on and on and on).
What Chucky doesn’t mention is he sponsored a bill which coincidentally was the 1st consequential bill The Donald signed which relaxed gun laws so the mentally ill can buy them.
That’s today’s Republican Party. In the pocket of the NRA. You can be darn sure the pack of scandrals don’t want to explain this on TV. Trump TV will never ask.
Outlaw lobbyists NOW.