In today’s 24/7 news cycle, it has been said that no shock lasts
longer than 48 hours, principally because there’s too much appetite for
the next shock.
Given that warped view of society’s taste for mindless mayhem, it shouldn’t take long for coverage of the assassination of a Democratic state legislator and her husband along with the near-fatal shooting of another Democratic lawmaker and his wife to fade from the front pages of newspapers across the land.
In fact, probably the only thing that will keep the story in the public eye will be the hypocrisy of Republican Senator Mike Lee of Utah who chose to view the shootings in different lights depending on the whims of his political audience.
Officially, Lee was outraged by the fatal shootings in Minnesota, writing on his U.S. Senate X/Twitter account: “These hateful attacks have no place in Utah, Minnesota, or anywhere in America. Please join me in condemning this senseless violence, and praying for the victims and their families.”
And yet, Senator Lee had an altogether different take on the political assassination on his personal X account, posting a series of senseless memes concerning the attacks on two Minnesota legislators and their spouses.
“This is what happens when Marxists get their way,” Lee posted, along with a photo of the alleged gunman, who was arrested June 15 after a massive manhunt.
To put his stupidity on full display, Lee posted the suspect’s photo in another rant, writing “Nightmare on Waltz Street,” in reference to the state’s Democratic Governor Tim Walz, who undoubtedly has grown accustomed to having his last name misspelled by lamebrains like the Utah senator.
Not surprisingly, Lee takes his political cue from the leader of the Republican Party, the flame-throwing Donald Trump, who has made it his life’s mission to provoke violence and to disparage anyone who dares to cross him.
After initially condemning the attacks, Trump struck a different tone less than a day later, calling Walz a “terrible governor” and a “grossly incompetent person.” His onetime sidekick, Elon Musk, was soon heard from in the Trump echo chamber, sharing a tweet from a pro-Trump account that read, “The left has become a full-blown domestic terrorist organization.” In his own tweet, Musk insisted that “The far left is murderously violent,” doing his best to spread falsehoods for the sake of fear-mongering.
God Bless America, a land where there are no consequences for peddling disinformation and conspiracy theories especially if you wrap yourself in the American flag for political comfort.
Trump, of course, has made an artform of that, spewing lies at a rate that defies calculation. His love of the lie, sadly, has been aided and abetted by a boot-licking Congress that has been a willing observer as he seeks retribution against his political foes.
Since taking office in January, Trump has made a mockery of the American system of justice, pardoning the vast majority of those convicted for their violent roles in the January 6 uprising at the U.S. Capitol, labeling them as “political prisoners” wrongfully jailed for exercising their First Amendment rights to free speech.
The same reasoning couldn’t be applied when Trump recently pardoned a pair of his reality show brethren, Todd and Julie Chrisley, the stars of “Chrisley Knows Best.” The husband-and-wife team were convicted three years ago of evading taxes and defrauding banks of more than $30 million to support their luxurious lifestyle.
But there is no shame in that, according to the pardon-giver, using his clemency power to settle a score for what he called the political weaponization of the justice system against conservatives by the Biden administration.
For good measure, Trump recently said he will “take a look at” pardoning a group of men involved in the plan to kidnap Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer in 2020, calling the case – which resulted in two convictions and two guilty pleas – a “railroad job.”
The possible pardons, misguided and outrageous as they would be, probably edged closer to reality this week when police investigators in the Minnesota shootings revealed that the alleged gunman may have targeted a number of prominent Michigan Democrats as well, including the governor.
In some Republican eyes, the suspect deserves a badge of honor for that, making him and other right-wing extremists worthy of the proverbial get-out-of-jail-free card handed out brazenly by the foremost proponent of violent populism.
Given that warped view of society’s taste for mindless mayhem, it shouldn’t take long for coverage of the assassination of a Democratic state legislator and her husband along with the near-fatal shooting of another Democratic lawmaker and his wife to fade from the front pages of newspapers across the land.
In fact, probably the only thing that will keep the story in the public eye will be the hypocrisy of Republican Senator Mike Lee of Utah who chose to view the shootings in different lights depending on the whims of his political audience.
Officially, Lee was outraged by the fatal shootings in Minnesota, writing on his U.S. Senate X/Twitter account: “These hateful attacks have no place in Utah, Minnesota, or anywhere in America. Please join me in condemning this senseless violence, and praying for the victims and their families.”
And yet, Senator Lee had an altogether different take on the political assassination on his personal X account, posting a series of senseless memes concerning the attacks on two Minnesota legislators and their spouses.
“This is what happens when Marxists get their way,” Lee posted, along with a photo of the alleged gunman, who was arrested June 15 after a massive manhunt.
To put his stupidity on full display, Lee posted the suspect’s photo in another rant, writing “Nightmare on Waltz Street,” in reference to the state’s Democratic Governor Tim Walz, who undoubtedly has grown accustomed to having his last name misspelled by lamebrains like the Utah senator.
Not surprisingly, Lee takes his political cue from the leader of the Republican Party, the flame-throwing Donald Trump, who has made it his life’s mission to provoke violence and to disparage anyone who dares to cross him.
After initially condemning the attacks, Trump struck a different tone less than a day later, calling Walz a “terrible governor” and a “grossly incompetent person.” His onetime sidekick, Elon Musk, was soon heard from in the Trump echo chamber, sharing a tweet from a pro-Trump account that read, “The left has become a full-blown domestic terrorist organization.” In his own tweet, Musk insisted that “The far left is murderously violent,” doing his best to spread falsehoods for the sake of fear-mongering.
God Bless America, a land where there are no consequences for peddling disinformation and conspiracy theories especially if you wrap yourself in the American flag for political comfort.
Trump, of course, has made an artform of that, spewing lies at a rate that defies calculation. His love of the lie, sadly, has been aided and abetted by a boot-licking Congress that has been a willing observer as he seeks retribution against his political foes.
Since taking office in January, Trump has made a mockery of the American system of justice, pardoning the vast majority of those convicted for their violent roles in the January 6 uprising at the U.S. Capitol, labeling them as “political prisoners” wrongfully jailed for exercising their First Amendment rights to free speech.
The same reasoning couldn’t be applied when Trump recently pardoned a pair of his reality show brethren, Todd and Julie Chrisley, the stars of “Chrisley Knows Best.” The husband-and-wife team were convicted three years ago of evading taxes and defrauding banks of more than $30 million to support their luxurious lifestyle.
But there is no shame in that, according to the pardon-giver, using his clemency power to settle a score for what he called the political weaponization of the justice system against conservatives by the Biden administration.
For good measure, Trump recently said he will “take a look at” pardoning a group of men involved in the plan to kidnap Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer in 2020, calling the case – which resulted in two convictions and two guilty pleas – a “railroad job.”
The possible pardons, misguided and outrageous as they would be, probably edged closer to reality this week when police investigators in the Minnesota shootings revealed that the alleged gunman may have targeted a number of prominent Michigan Democrats as well, including the governor.
In some Republican eyes, the suspect deserves a badge of honor for that, making him and other right-wing extremists worthy of the proverbial get-out-of-jail-free card handed out brazenly by the foremost proponent of violent populism.
