Once again Chuck Todd created a narrative of false equivalence as he not only equally blamed Democrats and Republicans for the toxicity in our politics, he accused the American citizens. Sadly he forgot that the media is the biggest drug pusher that made both the politicians and the citizens addicts.
Chuck Todd scolds politicians, Republican & Democrats alike, and citizens
On a day when the ills of this country culminated in many shootings with a common thread, Chuck Todd chose a misplaced lecture.
Todd starts his rant saying that we have been in a tinderbox of escalating rhetoric. He then explained what happened today. The gunman, a man, purported to be a Bernie Sanders supporter, asked if it was Republicans practicing on the field. He proceeded to shoot up the field. The gunman shot Majority Whip Steve Scalise in the hip. He hit two other staffers as well as two police officers. The gunman, James Hodgkinson, was then shot likely by the Majority Whip’s security detail.
Todd pointed out that both parties pleaded for unity. He then wondered if it is too little too late.
“Partisans from both sides are trying to make the shooting a referendum on the other party’s viciousness,” Chuck Todd said. “What does that say about party leadership. Some supporters of Democrats are trying to pin this on President Trump or the Republican Party’s stance on gun control rights. And some Republicans are trying to blame it on hostility on the Left. Folks some would want to blame the Left or the Right or us in the media. But here is who it seems too many folks don’t want to blame, themselves. We are all to blame. This toxic stew that passes for political discourse seems beyond repair in the current moment. Just look at social media. For too long our collective politics is ‘demonize the other side’ for caustic behavior while rationalizing that same behavior when it comes to someone who shares their politics. We ought to borrow another phrase that we are all asked to do. When you see something, say something.”
Unfortunately, Todd must be living in a different dimension. Democrats must justifiably use the mass shooting of Scalise and others as well as the mass shooting in San Francisco today as a referendum on Republican gun control policy in the aggregate. The numbers have been out for some time. Our gun culture kills. And the media giving credence to anyone arguing for an armed society like ours without accepting responsibility for massacres as occurred today is a dereliction of duty.
Chuck, not once, pointed out that candidate Trump was instrumental in fomenting violence day in and day out. He made the false statement that each side supports those who misbehave on their side. I doubt Kathy Griffin and Bill Maher would agree.
As far as demonizing the other side, if Todd were honest, he would realize that the demonization is not balanced. The Right does it a lot better especially with the help of the media.
Todd’s last statement should irk everyone. “We ought to borrow another phrase that we are all asked to do. When you see something, say something.” Are you kidding me? Where was that resolve during the Obamacare debate? Where was that action when they gave Trump free airtime to promote the obvious fallacy of birthirism? One could go on and on.
Chuck Todd is presumptuous in scolding Americans about their behavior. He and his media ilk like drug pushers allowed the addiction to misinformation to explode as they allowed themselves to be conduits of misinformation and false balances. Chuck, the fingers are all pointing at you. Clean up your act before all is lost.