This week in (phony) right-wing outrage
Right-wingers are lining up to take cheap shots at Democrats nowadays.
They don’t have anything better to do, I suppose.
The folks over at Fox & Friends spent a recent morning broadcast implying that the newly discovered COVID-19 variant – Omicron – is a Democratic invention.
“You can count on a variant every October, every two years,” predicted Pete Hegseth, to bolster the Fox & Friends conspiracy that Democrats need new variants to boost their vote totals.
If you think thatĢƵ some over-the-top fishing for a reason to attack Democrats, consider the words of Rep. Ronny Jackson of Texas.
Jackson used to be Donald TrumpĢƵ presidential physician. HeĢƵ now slinging far-fetched conspiracies as a U.S. House member representing Texas’ 13th district.
“Here comes the Midterm Election Variant,” tweeted Jackson.
“They NEED a reason to push unsolicited nationwide mail-in ballots. Democrats will do anything to CHEAT during an election,” said Jackson.
If Democrats are so good at creating viruses, or variants, how come Republicans can’t figure out how to prevent them?
ThatĢƵ MY (phony) outrage for the day.
Lara Logan used to be a highly respected member of CBS News.
Not anymore.
SheĢƵ now a Fox Nation/Fox News host.
That means sheĢƵ free to make up stuff that doesn’t quite pass the un-phony outrage test.
Her current outrage? Dr. Anthony Fauci.
Fauci had the gall to have disagreed with Donald Trump when he was in office.
That opened him to endless (phony) right-wing outrage.
LoganĢƵ contribution to that outrage is most notable for the response it got from some highly respected folks.
HereĢƵ her outrage: “What you see on Dr. Fauci – this is what people say to me: that he doesn’t represent science. He represents Joseph Mengele. Dr. Joseph Mengele, the Nazi doctor who did experiments on Jews during the second World War.”
First, she made use of that tired old “this is what people say to me” nonsense. What people? When? Why?
But the entire tirade launched at Fauci caused the good people at the Auschwitz Memorial to say, loudly – ENOUGH!
“Exploiting the tragedy of people who became victims of criminal pseudo-medical experiments in Auschwitz in a debate about vaccines, pandemic, and people who fight for saving human lives is shameful,” they shot back.
Fox News’ premiere purveyor of (phony) right-wing outrage, Tucker Carlson, added his Fauci attack.
He claims Fauci “is an even shorter version of Benito Mussolini.”
Nobody knows why he made that silly comparison.
Then there was a highly questionable attack on the Biden administration that was leveled by GOP Congresswoman Elise Stefanik of New York.
Stefanik tweeted that, “Over 800 pounds of fentanyl were seized at our Southern Border in October. This is BidenĢƵ Border Crisis.”
Take a moment to digest that.
In StefanikĢƵ view, stopping 800 pounds of fentanyl at the border is worthy of some (phony) right-wing outrage directed at the Biden administration.
That one sure fanned the Twitter flames. One fellow tweeted, “Do you want him to stop it or let it in? Serious question.”
Another tweeted, “Thank you for standing up for the constitutional rights of all that fentanyl, Elise.”
There was more (phony) right-wing outrage hurled at House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, when the spokesperson for Florida governor Ron DeSantis, Christina Pushaw, attacked.
“Nancy Pelosi just bought a $25 million mansion in Florida,” Pushaw tweeted.
That would indicate Pelosi is about to become a hypocritical elite.
The fact is, Pelosi isn’t buying a house in Florida. That story was made up.
Finally, the governor of Mississippi, Tate Reeves, is all for getting people vaccinated.
But he reserves his (phony) right-wing outrage for mandates by Democrats.
He says he believes itĢƵ the various mandates that are getting people to resist getting vaccinated.
“So, I actually think itĢƵ the presidentĢƵ policies that have made it more difficult in rural states like Mississippi to get more and more people vaccinated,” said Reeves on “Meet the Press.”
Reeves should probably know who else doesn’t want people to follow Biden – COVID-19!
Edward A. Owens is a multi-Emmy Award winner, former reporter, and anchor for Entertainment Tonight, and 40-year TV news and newspaper veteran. E-mail him at freedoms@bellatlantic.net.