In the age of Google, it is becoming increasingly impossible to plead ignorance, especially when the prospective dunce is a U.S. Senator.
Connecticut’s Junior U.S. Senator Chris Murphy, not up for
reelection until January 3, 2031 -- plenty of time for “misspeaks” to be
flushed down the memory hole of the average Connecticut voter -- has been
denounced by Morning Joe’s Mika Brzezinski and Joe Scarborough, neither of whom
are ardent supporters of proto-fascist, according to left-leaning Democrats and
media outlets, President Donald Trump.
The always entertaining New York Post puts it this way: “MS
NOW’s Joe Scarborough and Mika Brzezinski blasted Sen. Chris Murphy (D-Conn.)
for not denouncing a controversial Mamdani-endorsed democratic socialist –
urging Dems to ‘call out crazy’ within their own party … During MS NOW’s ‘Meet
the Press’ Sunday, Murphy feigned ignorance when he was asked about Darializa
Avila Chevalier, the contentious House candidate who called former President Joe
Biden a ‘rapist and war criminal’ and questioned Israel’s right to exist in
since-deleted social media posts… ’Yeah, well, I mean, I’m not super familiar
with that race. All I’m saying is that this party has to have a real contest of
ideas and I just don’t think that our defense of incrementalism has worked, so
I don’t mind a contest of ideas,’ Murphy told MS NOW fill-in host Ryan Nobles …’I will say, though, what binds together I
think every Democratic candidate that is running, including the ones in New
York, is that they are standing up to protect American democracy, and right
now, the biggest threat to this country are not a handful of House candidates
in New York.’”
Three minor quibbles: 1) the introduction of the socialist
camel’s nose into the Democrat big campaign tent, some liberal Democrats have recently
argued, is likely to destroy the tent, 2) historically, the Marxist socialism
of the Castro brothers or Venezuela’s two socialist dictators, one of whom is
cooling his heels in an American jail awaiting trial, have not put food on the
shelves, leaving some American liberals – though not Murphy – to conclude
that socialism is not compatible with a
vibrant democracy anywhere in the world, and 3) it is what Mark Twain would
have called “a stretcher” to say that Chevalier, given her public declarations,
is “standing up to protect American democracy.”
Inferentially slamming Murphy for hypocrisy, Joe tweeted,
“This is what frightened Republicans do when confronted with horrid things
Donald Trump has said. Now Democratic senators are saying this about a
congressional candidate who accused Joe Biden of rape?? Stop. Now! … Memo to
Democrats: Call out crazy even when it’s on your side – especially when it’s on
your side. Voters will reward you for being better than Republicans. Be better
than Trump’s cowards.”
Mika accused Murphy of “gaslighting.” Apparently, there are
only two capital sins in the Democrats’ commandment booklet – hypocrisy and
gaslighting.
“Gaslighting” is a relatively new locution. An issue or
action is gaslighted when it is shrouded in complex verbiage intended to
mislead. The more common, less confusing designation is “lying,” as in Otto von
Bismarck’s retort that “People never lie so much as after a hunt, during a war,
or before an election.” The most obvious gaslighting incident in recent days involved
multiple attempts by leading Democrats, abetted by an obliging media, to
convince the general public before a hotly contested presidential election that
Biden was, as the expression had it, “sharp as a pin.”
Mika hastened to add that Republican gaslighting on tariffs
was far worse. “One of the most
frustrating things,” Mika said, is when Trump supporters “act shocked about the cruelty of the mass
deportations” or “act shocked about the tariffs … That is the most gaslighting
experience one can ever, ever see … because pretending you haven’t seen it is
impossible. It’s an out, and now to see a Democrat doing it – and we both love
Chris Murphy, we think he’s a great guy and serves our country, but don’t
gaslight people.”
In its own report, the Post noted, “Avila Chevalier, 32,
recently defeated incumbent Rep. Adriano Espaillat in the Dem primary race for
the seat covering Uptown Manhattan and part of the Bronx, after Mayor Zohran
Mamdani endorsed her bid… Following her shocking victory, the contentious
left-winger told MS NOW’s Ali Velshi that she ‘regrets’ the hundreds of social
media posts she made between 2018 and 2022, admitting they ‘caused a lot of
division’ during her campaign. In those posts, Avila Chevalier wrote ‘f–k
Kamala Harris,’ slammed Sen. Bernie Sanders’ ‘liberal Zionism,’ condemned
interracial relationships and called for abolishing the police, prisons and
borders, as well as the seizing of private property… She also questioned
Israel’s right to exist and attended a pro-Palestinian protest the day after
Hamas attacked Israel, where some attendees reportedly suggested the attack was
justified.”
Murphy should take the advice of kindly disposed
commentators who “love Chris Murphy” and rush to the aid of his party by boldly
denouncing uneducable political anarchists such as Chevalier. A barn on fire
needs water and courageous firemen, not airy, gaslighting platitudes concerning big tents
and democracy.
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