Tag: white nationalism

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ideological culture partisanship

In Lieu of Good Judgment

Rep. Ted Lieu, Candace Owens, TDS, Trump Derangement Syndrome, racism, Hitler

Politicians often dare … too much. 

But what did Rep. Ted Lieu dare to be last week?

Candace Owens’ appearance before the House Committee on the Judiciary caused quite a stir. The subject was hate crimes and white nationalism, and she offered a wider perspective: “We’re not talking enough about political hatred in this country, we’re not talking enough about conservative activists being attacked.…”

Needing to undermine that message, the Representative from California’s 33rd congressional district dared do the dirty deed. 

“Of all the people the Republicans could have selected” to appear before the hearing, Rep. Lieu said, “they picked Candace Owens. I don’t know Miss Owens; I’m not going to characterize her. I’m going to let her own words do the talking.”

By now you’ve almost certainly listened to what he did*: play a 30-​second clip from a long interview of the conservative activist then ask some other hearing invitee to explain how dangerous her statement was. The 30 seconds completely elided the original context, implying, absurdly, that the African-​American activist was a supporter of Hitler and white nationalism.

Ms. Owens responded in justified high moral dudgeon. And Rep. Lieu came out looking … as Owens put it, “unbelievably dishonest.”

What was he thinking?

Scott Adams saw only two possibilities: “What Ted Lieu attempted (and failed) to do Candace Owens is not politics, it’s just despicable.” Lieu is either “one of the worst people who’s ever lived” or he is, in line with so many other #NeverTrumpers, “experiencing actual hysteria.”

Unfortunately, Washington partisans regularly make evil and insanity hard to distinguish.

This is Common Sense. I’m Paul Jacob.

* “The most-​watched C‑Span Twitter video from a House hearing ever,” says Rush Limbaugh.

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Rep. Ted Lieu, Candace Owens, TDS, Trump Derangement Syndrome, racism, Hitler

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Vinland?

Portland, murder, Vinland, white supremacist, white nationalism, Bernie Sanders, Jill Stein

Agreeing with a murderer is … uncomfortable. Even if the agreement is only in part.

Over the weekend, the news hit that one Jeremy Joseph Christian was in custody for a stabbing spree on one of Portland, Oregon’s MAX trains. According to reports, Christian had been yelling religious slurs at two hijab-​wearing women when three men intervened in defense. Christian then stabbed the men … two to death.

The next day, quadrennial Green Party presidential candidate Jill Stein politicized it in the now-de rigueur point-​scoring manner: “Another heartbreaking tragedy in Trump’s America, as a white nationalist shouting anti-​Islam slurs murders 2 on Portland, OR subway.”*

Immediately, other Twitterers (tweeters?) rushed to point the finger back at her. It turns out (investigation courtesy of BuzzFeed) the accused’s Facebook page showed the knife-​wielder as supporting first Bernie Sanders and then … Dr. Stein herself.

But that is just the side story. Christian appears to have a long criminal record. It seems likely that he took to white nationalism as well as free speech — he brought a baseball bat to the recent Portland free speech rally I wrote about a few weeks ago, the police say, to “attack left-​wing protestors” — and even progressive politics simply to fill his personal rage quota. The fact that he saluted Nazi-​style, shouted “Hail Vinland,” and called himself a “nihilist” strongly suggest that he’s mostly unhinged.

You and I support free speech; he said he supported free speech. But free speech doesn’t include stabbing people. We can all agree that Stein is off the hook.

As is President Trump.

As are we.

We, after all, don’t support murder, heiling Hitler, or … Vinland?

This is Common Sense. I’m Paul Jacob.

 

* Portland has no subway; MAX is an on-​the-​surface light rail system.

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