This exchange on State of the Union with Dana Bash is an example of what not to do when engaging a Trumpist sycophant who is ready with his misinformation and false equivalences.
Trumpist sycophant was unchallenged on this.
When I saw Faiz Shakir, a Bernie Sanders advisor on State of the Union representing the Progressive side of the argument, I must admit to getting excited. After all, the opposing panelist was none other than former Massachusetts Senator Scott Brown. Shakir knows his stuff and is well-versed in all things progressive. Scott Brown is a lightweight who was an accidental Senator who got elevated to the position because of the Democrats’ dereliction of duty after he won the special election to replace Senator Teddy Kennedy.
The thing is, a prepared lightweight can get the last word if a knowledgeable, informed is either unprepared are does not force themselves into the conversation on national TV. The latter seemed to have caught Shakir.
Dana Bash asked about the Trump saga. Shakir started strong.
“There’s supposed to be good fights in primaries,” Faiz Shakir said. “I feel like I’m watching what’s going on right now, and you’re feeling like a loss of moral conversation. You used to have moral conversations in politics. You have legal conversations. I appreciate that there are concerns over whether the case and the statute of limitations, and other issues are at play. But what happened to moral leadership? Does anyone get concerned that a president who had an affair with a porn star while his wife just gave birth then paid her a bunch of money to try to win an election and turn off a potential issue that would have killed him and a presidential election? No. No. Shrug. And I think, at that point, you’re, like, wondering, where is moral leadership, even from people on the right? Say, OK, I have concerns with legal issues. However, morally, this is just not accorded with my values. And what happened to that? What happened to that kind of conversation on the right?”
Shakir used his response to really hit the moral depravity of the former president. But more importantly, he made it clear that something has happened to the Republican Party, the party that claims to be morally superior and more. That narrative is one that tickles the minds of those looking for permission to send their votes elsewhere.
Subsequently, during the same topic, Scott Brown replied with several false equivalences. He brought in Bill Clinton and Gary Hart. The topic was coming to an end, and Scott Brown used it and monopolized his use of the time. He included in his statement that Americans evaluated Trump’s flaws and elected him in 2016.
Fauz Shakir should have jumped in and destroyed the false equivalence of Clinton’s and Hart’s affairs with the plethora of Trump illegalities, not only on paying off women and doormen but the conning of so many. He should have also reminded Brown that Trump NEVER won the vote of most Americans.
Democrats and Progressives must remember that most Americans support the policies we stand for in every poll conducted. We must be ready to interject to prevent false prophets from getting the last word on any subject when they lie.
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