The liberal broadcast networks ABC, CBS and NBC had a clear objective Monday morning: to blame conservatives for the attempted murder of Paul Pelosi by a Berekely-residing Nudist. Even though “no specific motive was identified”, the networks argued that tens of million of right-leaning Americans were “play[ing] footsie” with the forces violence.
One show dismissed the fact that conservatives have been threatened and were victims of violence.
CBS Mornings spent almost ten minutes covering the beating of Nancy Pelosi’s husband (D-CA) and was far and away the worst. Jonathan Vigliotti, a correspondent, compared the actions of the drug-addicted and mentally ill assailant with “the January 6 Capitol Hill Mob” because he allegedly shouted “Where is Nancy?”
Vigliotti also wanted to make Tom Emmer (R–MN) a complicite. His crime? He posted a video of him at a gun range with the caption “#FirePelosi”.
The alleged attack is made just days before the midterms, when some get out and vote ads take direct aim at the speaker. Margaret Brennan, a Face the Nation correspondent, asked Congressman Tom Emmer (chairman of the National Republican Congressional Committee) about his gun-toting ad using the hashtag #FirePelosi.
CBS’s Vigliotti, like ABC and NBC, never mentioned the attacker’s drug addiction, his mental health history, nor how his blog and views went beyond censorship. This includes everything from “Alien-Human Infiltrators” to suicidal persons having painkillers to 9/11 trutherism.
Gayle King, co-host of the segment, said she would explore “the rise in violent rhetorical politics.” John Dickerson, chief political analyst, claimed that the cause was due to “broad forces”, even though it is not the same in both political parties.
Dickerson initially sounded the right notes, citing “apocalyptic thinking…exacerbated by the media,” fundraising, and people living in bubbles with like-minded individuals. Dickerson and his colleagues play a significant role in this, but Dickerson acts as if they haven’t.
Dickerson sparked it by dismissing attacks against conservatives and Republicans. “[w]hile both parties have had victims…the structure of Republican Party…with Donald Trump’s advent, someone at the top has advocated violence and has created a market within his party where it’s amusing to joke about violence to play footsie avec the forces of violence.”
He said that Republicans, writ large, now ignore and accept violence against their adversaries because “you have Republican legislators when they were retiring would tell me I don’t want speak out even though it’s retirement because if I go home, I’m going get threats.”
Not only did Dickerson explain the rise in violence as a hallmark of the right, King insisted to fake Republican Doug Heye that Republicans haven’t “been full-throated in their…condemnations” of the Pelosi attack.
Heye agreed that Republicans have excused it, and made fun of it collectively. Worse, he claimed that the right cares only when they are the victims (click to expand):
DICKERSON – [T]his is a — is related to Paul Pelosi. But the most important is that you had a situation in which lies from the President caused a violent reaction by people who believed they couldn’t get what they wanted through the ballot box. So I’m going for violence.
KING: But they continue doing so, Doug. And I’m sure you don’t represent all Republicans. This feels different to me now. Is it different for you? We have heard about violence coming. It was going to happen, and it has already happened. It doesn’t seem like a lot of Republicans have been vocal in their — in condemnations of it —
HEYE : They haven’t.
KING: When it first happened.
HEYE : They haven’t and some make fun of it. The challenge in politics, I believe, is that it’s bad when it happens on our side and it’s okay when the other side does it.
KING: But it shouldn’t be a Republican issue or Democrat issue.
HEYE : It shouldn’t.
KING: This should be a common statement.
HEYE. And every Republican member of Congress believes Steve Scalise. He knows the security detail that was activated on the day of the baseball practice. He also knows the names of other members of Congress who were — were shot at. We have very little memory and we can sort of forget about it when it happens to the opposite side.
Dickerson continued to speak vaguely about politics, even though it’s actually directed at the right. Dickerson lamented that politics is no longer “tough” in the service an idea and thus “it’s fun to discuss violence”, while Heye lamented that “negative ads have always been successful” for Republicans in 2010, calling for voters “to fire Pelosi.”
King intervened to tie Heye to the attack 12 years later. “Do you regret it now?” I thought Margaret did an excellent job challenging Emmer yesterday, saying “Do you have to use the gun in this ad?”
Heye continued to concede ground, saying that “there’s an important difference when you start using things such as that, guns in advertisements” as if Emmer was to blame, even though Heye himself stated “this guys…is…a smorgasbord nutjob.”
ABC’s Good Morning America also tried to blame the GOP. Here’s Mola Lenghi, correspondent: “[W]hile there is no clear motive, the circumstances are eerily like January 6th attack. Some brought zip ties into Capitol trying to find officials and take them hostage.”
Lenghi also attacked Musk, focusing on him being a right-winger. Eva Pilgrim, co-host of the show, said that this attack was part of a larger picture. Chief Justice correspondent Pierre Thomas agrees and calls our politics “incredibly toxic”. Federal law enforcement has warned about threats to candidates (click “expand”)
LENGHI: The suspect’s social media pages allegedly contain multiple conspiracy theories about COVID-19, 2020 elections, and the federal government. Elon Musk, the new Twitter owner, weighs in on the Pelosi attack by retweeting an article published by a newspaper known for publishing false information. Paul Pelosi is the subject of this case. Musk suggested in a later retweet that this baseless article on this website, Eva might be true.
(….)
PILGRIM – Can you help us put this horrible attack into perspective? It’s all part of a larger picture.
THOMAS: Eva. Good morning. This is a very toxic moment that has been building over the years and only getting worse. Threats against members have more than doubled in the past year …[T]Attacks on federal judges have also been increasing, tripling in the same time period. As we approach the midterms, the FBI and homeland security officials have released a new bulletin. According to the bulletin, there is a greater threat from radicalized individuals that could target voters, candidates and election workers in the lead up to the midterms. This potential threat is largely fuelled by hot button issues that divide America and the lie of widespread election. We all know that the election lies were stoked during the 2020 presidential campaign, and on January 6th. Although no plot has been found for the midterms’, the Pelosi incident is a clear indication of why U.S. law enforcement are so concerned [.]
On NBC’s Today, Miguel Almaguer, a senior national correspondent, described the suspect as someone whose blog was “brimm[ed]] with far-right extremism and conspiracy theories” that have left “Democrats including President Biden sounding the alarm.”
Monday’s attempts at criminalizing dissent and blaming tens of thousands of conservatives for the actions a mentally ill nudist were made possible by the endorsement of advertisers like CarMax (on ABC), Google and Jeep (on CBS). Follow these links to view their contact information on the MRC’s Conservatives Fight Back Page.
Click here (for ABC), click here (for CBS (part one), here [for CBS (part two] and here (for NBC) to see the relevant transcripts as of October 31.
