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Nevilledog

(51,121 posts) Thu May 26, 2022, 02:38 PM May 2022

Republicans won't do anything to stop mass shootings because they benefit from them

Link to tweet

Tweet text:

Amanda Marcotte
@AmandaMarcotte
There's a simple explanation for why Republicans not only refuse to act against mass shootings, but are such glib and cold-hearted jerks about it: They benefit from mass shootings, politically.

salon.com
Republicans' "solutions" to mass shootings are a distraction
Republicans won't do anything to stop mass shootings because they benefit from them
11:30 AM · May 26, 2022

https://www.salon.com/2022/05/26/republicans-solutions-to-mass-are-a-distraction/

After the shooting in Uvalde, TX on Tuesday, the Republican response has been so glib and cold-hearted that one has to wonder if they want people to hate them.

Despite perfunctory rhetoric denouncing the shooting, Gov. Greg Abbott of Texas's overall message could be summed up as the shrug emoji. "More people shot every weekend in Chicago than there are in schools in Texas," he argued. He added some boilerplate Republican language about "mental health," even though everyone knows he is actively fighting to take away mental health care. Sen. Ted Cruz was equally facile, sneering that it was "crass" of Democrats to be angry and victim-blaming the school for having more than one door (yes, he said this). He also insisted that "armed law enforcement on the campus" is the answer, even though there were already multiple armed police officers on the scene who stayed outside the school while parents begged them to charge in and rescue the kids. Tucker Carlson of Fox News, of course, only speaks in Smarmy Jerk so he really leaned into the "there's nothing to be done" message Wednesday night. "A person who is intent on committing violence is very hard to stop," he claimed, adding that neither "act of Congress" nor "gun control" will do a thing to stop it. In reality, of course, international data shows the opposite, gun control is very effective at stopping gun violence.

Abbott didn't even bother to cancel a fundraiser in the hours after the shooting. The National Rifle Association, meanwhile, is having a convention in Houston this weekend, with Donald Trump, Abbott, and Cruz still scheduled to speak. Naturally, guns are banned at the convention, because Republicans are beyond pretending to believe their own "good guy with a gun" nonsense.

The message from Republicans, loud and clear, is the one made famous by Melania Trump's jacket: "I Really Don't Care, Do U?"

Demoralizing ordinary people is the best voter suppression — and nothing induces helplessness like our gun debate.

The GOP has a death grip on the federal courts and their near-absolute obstruction power in Congress, thanks to Democratic filibuster enthusiasts Sens. Joe Manchin of West Virginia and Kyrsten Sinema of Arizona. So it's hard not to feel total despair at this moment. As Brian Karem notes at Salon, while he may "refuse to grow numb," there "are many who've abandoned hope" altogether. The satirical site The Onion reflected this weariness, turning their front page the day after the shooting into nothing but headlines reading, "'No Way to Prevent This,' Says Only Nation Where This Regularly Happens." It is the same story they run after every mass shooting.

*snip*