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The medias big problem right now is that everyone in the country knows how theyd be covering yesterdays shooting if the parties were reversed.

Progressive Democratic activist James Hodgkinson spent years on social media and in local and national politics focusing on his hatred of Republican politicians. On Wednesday, he went after a group of Republican politicians as they practiced baseball in the early morning, shooting a member of the Republican leadership, two capitol police, a legislative aide, and a lobbyist. Rep. Steve Scalise remains in critical condition.

Hodgkinsons social media trail and the accounts of neighbors leave no question that the man was politically engaged, aligned with progressives, and upset with Republicans.

Some media coverage of the incident has been fine, if restrained. The media have not chosen to make this shooting a referendum on leftist political violence, on the use of extreme rhetoric and conspiracy theorizing by major mainstream media, on the dangers of the resistance movement. There has been no rush to introspection.

Some media treatment has been disgusting. The New York Times ran an editorial that is dangerously dishonest.

Before we discuss it, we should reflect on the 2011 Tucson shooting in which a deranged man shot up a Gabby Giffords political rally, killing six and injuring another 18. Despite the fact that the man was extremely mentally ill, obsessed with Giffords, and not conventionally political, the media immediately leaped to the conclusion that conservative rhetoric had led him to shoot Giffords. There was no evidence to support the idea initially, and the false claims were disproven with time.

The day after the shooting, the Times editorial board wrote that Jared Lee Loughner is very much a part of a widespread squall of fear, anger and intolerance that has produced violent threats against scores of politicians and infected the political mainstream with violent imagery. It said that opponents of Obamacare were threatening members of Congress, and mentioned an effigy of a Democratic representative hung outside a district office.

It is facile and mistaken to attribute this particular madmans act directly to Republicans or Tea Party members. But it is legitimate to hold Republicans and particularly their most virulent supporters in the media responsible for the gale of anger that has produced the vast majority of these threats, setting the nation on edge. Many on the right have exploited the arguments of division, reaping political power by demonizing immigrants, or welfare recipients, or bureaucrats. They seem to have persuaded many Americans that the government is not just misguided, but the enemy of the people.

That was what the New York Times wrote when a man who believed that the government practices mind control through grammar shot up Giffords rally.

Sarah Palin came in for particular condemnation by the media. Why? Well, although there is literally zero evidence that Jared Loughner ever saw it, Palins political action committee had drawn a map that targeted certain congressional seats for campaigns. The map showed gun sights on the congressional districts that donors were supposed to focus on. While military campaign technology is common for political campaigns, the media pretended that this was somehow in part responsible for Loughners shooting.

Andrew Sullivan, then at the The Atlantic, wrote No one is saying Sarah Palin should be viewed as an accomplice to murder. Many are merely saying that her recklessly violent and inflammatory rhetoric has poisoned the discourse and has long run the risk of empowering the deranged. We are saying its about time someone took responsibility for this kind of rhetorical extremism, because it can and has led to violence and murder.

Writing in The New York Times, Matt Bai said Palin and others used imagery of armed revolution. Popular spokespeople like Ms. Palin routinely drop words like tyranny and socialism when describing the president and his allies, as if blind to the idea that Americans legitimately faced with either enemy would almost certainly take up arms.

MSNBC used a graphic that said Power of Words with an image of Loughner, suggesting that conservative rhetoric was responsible for the shooting.

And The New York Times Paul Krugman wrote Climate of Hate, a column blaming Republicans and conservatives for creating a climate of violence in which Giffords was shot. He said Republicans needed to take a stand against eliminationist rhetoric. James Taranto of the Wall Street Journal showed the significant problems with this general media talking point at the time, and its worth a review.

Now its 2017. Weve seen months of street protests, many of them violent. Antifa protests have involved torched cars and buildings, and physical confrontations. Weve seen parades shut down rather than let Republicans march in them. There have been acts of serious violence against Trump supporters. Media messages about Republican policies are continued variations on the theme that Republican policies will literally destroy the planet, enslave women, or kill sick people. Media messages on Donald Trump include conspiracy theories that he is a Russian stooge committing treason, or simply suggest that he needs to be removed from his duly elected office by whatever means.

Okay. Now lets go toThe New York Times editorial in response to Wednesdays shooting:

Was this attack evidence of how vicious American politics has become? Probably. In 2011, when Jared Lee Loughner opened fire in a supermarket parking lot, grievously wounding Representative Gabby Giffords and killing six people, including a 9-year-old girl, the link to political incitement was clear. Before the shooting, Sarah Palins political action committee circulated a map of targeted electoral districts that put Ms. Giffords and 19 other Democrats under stylized cross hairs.

Conservatives and right-wing media were quick on Wednesday to demand forceful condemnation of hate speech and crimes by anti-Trump liberals. Theyre right. Though theres no sign of incitement as direct as in the Giffords attack, liberals should of course hold themselves to the same standard of decency that they ask of the right.

Are you kidding me? Are you kidding me? Are you mother-bleeping kidding me, New York Times? This is an insane couple of paragraphs.

For starters, it is a completely indefensible falsehood to state that the link to political incitement was clear in the Giffords shooting. It wasnt clear when media personalities falsely claimed that in 2011, but after a thorough review of the evidence showing Loughners mental illness and general lack of traditional political engagement, its an error that boggles the mind now.

To still blame Palin for something completely unrelated shows a level of derangement that is honestly quite worrisome. Since the Times knows its not true that the map played a role in the shooting, it is discrediting to state otherwise. This is the very picture of fake news, at a time when media outlets are claiming they are paragons of virtue and truth-telling. The New York Times ran an ad during the Oscars saying the truth is hard, but its not that hard to avoid saying false things that you know to be false.

The last line includes two doozies. Its simply false to say that theres no sign of incitement as direct as in the Giffords attack. Hodgkinson is responsible for his own behavior, even if he was in a political environment that has pushed the idea that Republicans are illegitimate holders of power. Unlike Loughner, Hodgkinsons local media reports and social media record paint a picture of a man who was highly political.

His social media showed that he liked or was a member of groups such as Dump Trump, Liar, Liar Republican Campaign on Fire, Stop the Obstructionist Tea Party, Just Say No to Republicans, Republicans ARE the Problem, Stop the Speaker, No More Republicans, Hey Republicans.Shut up!, Hate All Republican Douches (H.A.R.D.), Fire the Republican Government, Republicans are stupid, Republicans Suck, Americans Against The Republican Party, Fight the Right, The Republican Party Makes Me Sick, Expose Republican Fraud, Terminate the Republican Party, and The Road to Hell Is Paved With Republicans. He followed politicians and celebrities such as John Oliver, Bill Maher, and Seth MacFarlane, who use extreme rhetoric against Republicans.

Bai said spokespeople who use words like tyranny when describing politicians shouldnt be blind to the idea that Americans legitimately faced with either enemy would almost certainly take up arms. Well if thats true, what in the world should Americans do in response to the non-stop mainstream media and Democratic narrative that Republicans are enabling an existential threat to the country by not resisting the duly elected president and legislating destruction of people and the planet when they enact their policy goals?

The second doozie is the claim that liberals should of course hold themselves to the same standard of decency that they ask of the right.Varad Mehta described the editorial as the Platonic form of a Times editorial: hypocrisy, double-standards, duplicity, and moral obtuseness. He wrote of the line about decency, No one who actually believes this wouldve published such an abominable editorial. So clearly the NYT doesnt.

The New York Times in this very editorial shows that its standard is to blame Republicans for violence against Democrats when there is no relationship of any Republican to that violence, and to blame Republicans for violence against Republicans when the perpetrator is a progressive Democratic activist.

As Guy Benson put it:

How is this newspaper held in any regard when it willfully and gratuitously publishes malicious lies about Republican politicians six years after they knew they were wrong?

And what can be done when the most revered of the liberal papers is engaged in Stalinesque rewriting of history to suit the purposes of its propaganda?

See the original post here:
To New York Times, Bipartisanship Means Blaming GOP When Both Democrats And Republicans Are Shot - The Federalist

There was no ignoring the fact that Majority Whip Steve Scalise -- their energetic leader who was shot Wednesday and remained in critical condition -- wasn't there with them.

The conference meeting -- which typically gives members a chance to talk about policy-- transformed into a support group of sorts for members. Lawmakers signed poster board-sized cards for those who'd been shot and were recovering including the two Capitol Police officers who'd been injured in the line of duty. Rep. Tim Murphy, R-Pennsylvania, who is the only practicing psychologist in Congress, got up to help counsel Republicans on how they could cope with the aftermath and trauma of what had happened.

"Tim Murphy gave us some great clinical advice in kind of what to expect to go through, the various stages," said Rep. Mike Conaway, a Texas Republican. "The key will be to not be so hard-headed to not see what's happening and try to take advantage of the help ."

Rep. Tim Walberg, a Michigan Republican, delivered the opening prayer. His former staffer, now lobbyist, Matt Mika was among those shot Wednesday.

"It took on a little more significance than normal," said Rep. Tom Cole, an Oklahoma Republican.

Rep. Richard Hudson of North Carolina wore his "Scalise tie," which the Whip had given to all the members of the Whip team last year. The tie had little Capitols and flags on it. The back had Scalise's signature.

Chief Deputy Whip Patrick McHenry , who probably works closer with Scalise than anyone in Congress, gave a moving speech on his colleague that included both touching and funny stories about the whip.

But members also had to deal with the practical implications of what had occurred. The conference also included a briefing from the Sergeant of Arms on security at the Capitol and beyond.

Members said that the hardest part of Thursday was that many were still replaying events in their minds.

"This guy had the ability to inflict a lot of harm and had the heroism of the Capitol Police not been there, who knows," said Rep. Jeff Duncan, a Republican from South Carolina who had left the practice before the shooting began.

At conference, some members who were present on the field stood up to tell their colleagues what had happened.

"I told them what it was like to be in there, be in that dugout with my teammates trying to stay alive and having my young man who works for me in my office who was shot, dive into the dugout into my arms. We were holding each other," said Rep. Roger Williams, a Republican from Texas.

The leadership also asked members to give the Scalise family their space. Members were told at this point, the best thing they could do would be to pray for their colleague and his family.

"They said just let the family have their peace," said Rep. Dave Brat, a Virginia Republican.

"I've seen this as a doc. Steve's the type of guy that if you went to visit him, he'd try to entertain you. That's not where his energy needs to be," Wenstrup said. "He needs to be there with the family, with the doctor and just let him get better."

Go here to read the rest:
Somber Republicans miss Scalise in first post-shooting meeting - CNN International

House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi says that "yesterday's tragedy is an assault on all of us" in reference to Republican baseball team shooting during a weekly news conference on June 15, 2017. | John Shinkle/POLITICO

By Jake Lahut and Negassi Tesfamichael

06/15/2017 12:26 PM EDT

House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) lambasted Republicans on Thursday, calling some conservative lawmakers sanctimonious for blaming Democrats after Wednesdays shooting that left House Majority Whip Steve Scalise and several others wounded.

Coming just hours before the bipartisan congressional baseball game, Pelosi was somewhat hesitant when asked by reporters about the criticism of the left, in light of the shooting.

Story Continued Below

"I don't even want to go into the president of the United States in terms of the language he has used," Pelosi said.

Nevertheless, upon a follow-up question, Pelosi cited President Donald Trump's rhetoric as a problem in the national discourse.

If the president says, 'I can shoot somebody on Fifth Avenue and nobody would care,' when you have somebody say, 'Beat them up and I'll pay their legal fees,' when you have all the assaults that are made on Hillary Clinton, the California representative said in her weekly news conference. For them to be so sanctimonious is something that I really am almost sad that I had to go down this path with you because I don't think it's appropriate for us to have the fullest discussion of it.

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Many on Capitol Hill have called for unity and a de-escalation of an increasingly hostile political discourse, however some Republicans have focused specifically on blaming Democrats since the shooting.

I can only hope that the Democrats do tone down the rhetoric, Rep. Chris Collins (R-N.Y.) told WBEN radio station Wednesday. The rhetoric has been outrageous the finger-pointing, just the tone and the angst and the anger directed at Donald Trump, his supporters. Really, then, you know, some people react to things like that. They get angry as well. And then you fuel the fires.

Pelosi said the toxic political discourse stems back to the early 1990s.

Somewhere in the 1990s, Republicans decided on the politics of personal destruction as they went after the Clintons and that is the provenance of it, Pelosi said. And thats what has continued.

Newt Gingrich, the former Republican speaker of the House who led the efforts to impeach former President Bill Clinton, pointed to a tendency of demonizing Trump on the left as being a cause behind the shooting.

Youve had a series of things, which sends signals that tell people that its OK to hate Trump. Its OK [to] think of Trump in violent terms. Its OK to consider assassinating Trump and then ... suddenly, were supposed to rise above it until the next time? Gingrich said in an appearance on Fox News Wednesday.

Pelosi insisted at several points that she wanted to keep a full discussion of toxic rhetoric reserved for another day, and that this kind of bickering after a tragedy ultimately dissuades prospective candidates for higher office.

We want to attract [young people] to public service, Pelosi said. I don't think any of this discussion attracts anybody to public service, whether in terms of a noble calling or in terms of personal security.

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Day after shooting, Pelosi blasts 'sanctimonious' Republicans - Politico

Senate Finance Chairman Orrin Hatch.

A top Senate Republican threw his support behind a push to change congressional budget rules to relax time limits on tax cuts that increase the federal deficit.

It would be better if the existing 10-year budget window were extended, Finance Committee Chairman Orrin Hatch, the chambers top tax-writer, said in an interview. The 10 years is problematic, he said. I would like to do that. A leader of the conservative House Freedom Caucus said hes open to the idea.

The change would make it easier for the GOP, which controls only 52 of the Senates 100 seats, to enact longer-lasting tax cuts without any support from Democrats. Under current Senate rules, any legislation that passes with fewer than 60 votes cant add to the deficit outside a 10-year budget window, otherwise the tax changes would have to expire.

Senator Pat Toomey, a Pennsylvania Republican, is pushing to increase that time horizon to 20 or 30 years. And Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said during a hearing earlier this week that he was open to considering Toomeys proposal -- if theres no hope of winning Democrats support for a tax plan.

I am hopeful that we can still get some bipartisan support, Mnuchin said in response to a question from Toomey. But as you said, if we cant, reconciliation is an alternative and I look forward to working with you and the Senate on ideas such as a 20-year window as opposed to a 10-year window to explore that.

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The idea would mark a sea change for the budget rules and draw fierce objections from Democrats. It may gain additional support from other Republicans who have become frustrated by the overall budget process. Senator Lindsey Graham of South Carolina has said hes open to extending the 10-year window, but Senator Bob Corker of Tennessee said hed be skeptical of any idea that makes it easier to raise the deficit.

The Congressional Budget Office and the Joint Committee on Taxation typically provide estimates on the budgetary effects of proposed tax legislation.

Conservative groups such as the Club for Growth as well as anti-tax activist Grover Norquist have also suggested changing the budget rules as a way to get a tax overhaul done.

We say extend the budget window to 25 years. Why? Because the people creating jobs and investing in new products think long-term, Norquist and Club for Growth President David McIntosh said in a Wall Street Journal op-ed on June 13. They cited how budget rules say only that the window has to be at least five years.

Last month, Hatch didnt directly back the Toomey proposal, but said he was open to anything that made sense. The Utah Republican didnt specify how long the budget window should be during the interview Thursday, but signaled openness to the 25-year idea. Whatever, he said, adding he wants it to be more than the current 10 years.

It makes it more sensible, too, Hatch said. Its hard to get these budget things done.

Hatchs counterpart in the House, Ways and Means Chairman Kevin Brady, told reporters on Thursday hell evaluate proposals to extend the budget window. But the Texas Republican said he remains committed to permanent tax reform that balances within the 10-year budget timeline.

The escalating push to change the rules comes amid signs that Republicans are deeply divided on how to raise revenue to pay for the steep individual and corporate tax-rate cuts they want.

Representative Mark Meadows, the chairman of the conservative House Freedom Caucus, said hes open to extending the 10-year window, arguing that doing so would make it easier to cut taxes.

I dont know that 25 years is the right time, but doing a 15- to 20-year budget window seems to make some sense, the North Carolina Republican said Thursday. We sometimes hamstring ourselves with a 10-year budget window.

But he cautioned that it should not become a license to increase the deficit.

The rest is here:
Republicans Warm to Tactic for Making Deep Tax Cuts Last Longer - Bloomberg

Ad will collapse in seconds CLOSE June 15, 2017 06/15/2017 3:58 pm By Eric Levitz Share Make America Underwhelmed Again. Photo: Andrew Lichtenstein/Corbis via Getty Images

Donald Trumps election has been bad for a lot of people.

Undocumented immigrants have been subjected to a heightened risk of deportation; Medicaid recipients have seen their access to health care come under attack; feminists have had to stomach the sight of a self-avowed sex offender occupying our nations highest office; nonwhite children have been bullied more than they used to be; civilians have been slaughtered by American munitions in Iraq and Syria in much higher numbers; and humanity, as a whole, has seen its prospects for averting catastrophic climate change take a turn for the worse.

But, hey: Elections have winners and losers and at least the Fox News grandpas, Duck Dynasty DVD-box-set owners, social Darwinist socialites, and literal white supremacists who make up the Republican base are feeling less alienated by, and more satisfied with, the direction their country is moving in.

Or, at least, they were feeling that way, for a little while there. A new Gallup survey finds that GOP voters satisfaction with the direction America is moving in has fallen sharply over the last month. In early May, shortly after the House passed a bill to throw millions of poor people off their health insurance for the sake of increasing income inequality, 58 percent of Republicans told the pollster they felt good about the way things were going.

In early June, shortly after an extremely tall cop told the Senate that the president is a creepy liar who doesnt respect the independence of federal law enforcement, just 41 percent said the same.

Meanwhile, Democrats remain nearly universally dissatisfied. For Team Blue, that discontent appears to be translating into political mobilization, with Democrats outperforming expectations in a series of special elections.

But Republican dissatisfaction is likely to be rooted less in their partys lack of political power, than frustration with how the Trump presidency is unfolding. And thats the kind of discontent that makes GOP operatives sweat.

Now, the fact that Republican satisfaction reached a peak last month suggests the current dip is largely a product of the metastasizing Russia scandal (as opposed to disappointment with Trumps right-wing turn on economics or his increasingly undeniable incompetence). Which is to say: A healthy portion of these voters likely blame the deep state and fake news media for their dissatisfaction, not the commander-in-chief.

That said, a good number do seem to be souring on the president himself. As Nate Silver writes:

That last point could prove significant. Remember: Republicans satisfaction hit an all-time high right after the passage of that unpopular health-care bill in May. Liberals have hoped that fear of a big blue wave might prevent GOP lawmakers from repealing Obamacare. But in truth, the growing enthusiasm gap may actually make moderate Republicans feel even more pressure to bite the bullet, and vote for far-right legislation.

As the Washington Post reported in the wake of last months House vote:

The Republican Partys electoral prospects are collapsing and they may bring our health-care system down with them.

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Richard Burt, who lobbied for the interests of Russias state-owned oil company, recalls two dinners with Sessions last year.

Last month, 58 percent of Republicans were satisfied with the direction of their country. Now, that figure is down to 41 percent.

Weve been dealing with this issue for seven years. No, youve been hiding your alternative for seven years!

The Qataris will buy about $12 billion in American-made F-15 fighter jets.

A proposed new martyr to the Christian conservative cause, U.K. LibDem leader Tim Farron, may feel persecuted, but a bad election really did him in.

If the Senate bill passes, more than 20 million Americans would face annual and/or lifetime limits on their coverage, a new analysis finds.

A motion for a mistrial was denied, and the jury has been ordered to return to deliberations.

Malcolm Turnbull did a mocking impression of Trump at what was supposed to be an off-the-record event.

They made up a phony collusion with the Russians story, found zero proof let me stop you right there, Mr. President.

The FBI is also trying to figure out whether Hodgkinson had planned the attack in advance.

We would be ready to offer political asylum to Mr. Comey if he is persecuted in the U.S., the Russian president said.

Trump just learned Robert Mueller is investigating him for obstruction of justice. Now, his job (and the rule of law) may be in jeopardy.

But Turkey probably isnt going to extradite them.

And a mermaid puzzle.

At least 300 people have been killed in and around Raqqa since March.

The special counsel is interviewing senior intelligence officials to determine whether Trumps conduct toward Comey constituted a federal crime.

By a 97 to 2 vote, the Senate also approved new sanctions on Vladimir Putins regime.

The trick Republicans must pull off is to convince people the Senate bill is much less mean than the House bill, without losing House members.

In the video, a passenger comforts another passenger, telling them, Youre not gonna die.

Protecting the vulnerable requires recognizing the violence inherent in our system and defending the restrictions on violence inherent in it, too.

Excerpt from:
The Trump Era Is Starting to Depress Republicans, Too - New York Magazine