With less than two weeks until the midterm election where Republicans are poised to make huge gains, Democrats are desperate.
Within days of each other, both President Obama and Hillary Clinton hit up Hollywood for some cold, hard cash, with Clinton in particular raising a record $2.1 million.
KY Senate candidate Alison Lundergan Grimes, in a hotly-contested race against Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, was essentially abandoned by the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee after repeatedly refusing to answer whether or not she voted for Obama.
When a candidate is within four points and the national party withdraws funding for an inoffensive comment, you know those funds are being spread extremely thin.
anyone? GUYS?
Desperate times call for desperate measures, and when all else fails—make a scandal.
Individuals like Ann Coulter and Rush Limbaugh thrive off of the negative comments from the Left. They know the drill now—something you say, usually of minimal consequence or controversy is removed from context, blown completely out of proportion, blasted across major newspapers and blogs and trickles down through social media and magazines and into the public consciousness with the initial universal reaction of “this individual is a monster for saying this and must be stopped”. In a world where monstrous actions are committed every minute, it’s strange for people to take such umbrage and offense at a single statement an author or radio host says in the context of a larger point. It’s almost like letting actual murderers go free and punishing kindergarteners who bite their Pop Tarts into gun shapes.
A couple of weeks ago, much hay was made over Limbaugh saying the following:
Radio host Rush Limbaugh suggested on Monday that President Barack Obama is refusing to divert flights from Ebola-infected countries and close down America’s borders because he believes that the nation “deserves” to be infected with the virus given its history of perpetuating slavery.
Responding to a caller on his nationally syndicated radio show, Limbaugh launched into a soliloquy about so-called politically correct liberals who believe that America is responsible for the spread of Ebola in Liberia because that nation was established by freed American slaves. “And if it hadn’t been for that they probably wouldn’t have [Ebola]. So there are some people who think we kind of deserve a little bit of this,” he said, before accusing elected leaders of purposely leaving the country vulnerable to the virus.The danger we have now is that we elected people in positions of power and authority who think this or think like this in terms of this country being responsible, this country being to blame for things and it’s that kind of thinking that leads to opposition to shutting down airports from various countries,” Limbaugh explained, referring to the Obama administration’s handling of the crisis.
“It leads to opposition to keeping these people out of the country: ‘How dare we? We can’t turn our back on them! They exist because of us. We can’t turn them away!’” he said.”
The Think Progress headline runs:
Rush Limbaugh: Obama Wants Americans To Get Ebola As Payback For Slavery
The problem?
David Quammen, author of “Ebola” (original title!) said on Anderson Cooper’s CNN broadcast:
“We in America, how dare we turn our backs on Liberia, given the fact that this is a country that was founded in the 1820s, 1830s because of American slavery?” he told Cooper. “We have a responsibility to stay connected with them, and help them see this through.”
Had this not been the case, the headline would’ve been distilled into “Limbaugh says Obama wants Americans to get Ebola” and it would be played in every campaign commercial and fired out in emails by Democratic candidates and there would be a nationwide movement to condemn these comments and for at least a week the news would not be about Ebola, but about a guy who had one thing to say about it.
The criticism was invalid and the fake outrage subsided, because it’s hard to publicly penalize a radio host who quotes a CNN contributor, bringing extraordinary attention to the wild sh*t said on CNN these days (the network’s three viewers had no comment).
So since Limbaugh can’t be used to gin up some desperately-needed fundraising dollars, say, has Coulter said anything controversial lately?
Just recently Coulter was asked her thoughts about Monica Lewinsky, after Lewinsky surfaced to give a speech at the Forbes 30-under-30 summit. Coulter’s background included working with Ken Starr on the prosecution during President Clinton’s impeachment.
Coulter wisely didn’t take the bait, saying the following:
The only reason I am here right now is because the most important political event, at this point, in our lifetimes is going to happen two weeks from now. I’m here to talk about the election and not this aging intern whose greatest moment was being attacked by Matt Drudge.
At this point, the professionally-outraged are squeezing blood from a turnip, grasping towards Michael Savage for controversial commentary, which happens at the rare rate of about once every 8 years.
Savage made some comments about PTSD, which are being called anti-veteran, anti-soldier, and anti-military at one of those unique times when those who don’t really care much for the military (and revel in creating fake narratives of soldiers who are ready to snap at any moment due to the War in Iraq) find an excuse to care all of a sudden:
I am so sick and tired of everyone with their complaints about PTSD, depression. Everyone wants their hand held, and a government check. What are you, the only generation that had PTSD? The only generation that’s depressed? I’m sick of it. I can’t take the celebration of weakness and depression.
Savage continues on to discuss the importance of happiness and positivity, how the media revels in suicide, personal responsibility, and how American men aren’t stepping up to the plate, but the phrase “PTSD” gets the bold quotes and the bold response:
Michael Savage Rants Against Military PTSD Sufferers: ‘No Wonder ISIS Can Defeat’ Us
It’s perfectly marketable fake outrage, not out of any concern or respect for actual soldiers or PTSD sufferers, but because there’s less than two weeks until an election, dammit, and lots of swing states and Democratic seats are up for grabs with a moderately-high likelihood Republicans will take the Senate.
If anything, soldiers should be outraged that once again, they’re being used as pawns in an election year, whether it’s by John “reporting for duty” Kerry or “conservatives secretly believe THIS” fundraising emails.
Everyone will be asked to apologize for comments they didn’t make and don’t require apology even if they did make them, the story is distorted so the person who made them becomes a cartoon villain, and the hope is that voters are scared enough to vote accordingly.
The American voter is smarter than that.
Hopefully.
