Brunswick Beacon, 03.16.23
Kevin McCarthy bought his House Speaker’s gavel by empowering radical MAGA-Republicans like Marjorie Taylor Greene. When the bill came due, McCarthy paid up by selling out democracy and law enforcement.
McCarthy released 40,000 hours of Capitol security video from the Jan. 6 Insurrection exclusively to Tucker Carlson, even after Fox’s internal communications proved Carlson lied to his audience for years.
Carlson aired a cherry-picked video, saying it "does not show an insurrection or a riot." He described the attackers as “sightseers” who were overwhelmingly "peaceful" while Capitol Police served as “tour guides.”
Capitol Police Chief Thomas Manger blasted Carlson’s presentation as “outrageous, offensive, and false.” Manger said his officers were “outnumbered” but “fought like hell on Jan. 6 and risked [their] lives to protect the Constitution and everything this country stands for.”
Predictably, Trump used Carlson’s lies to claim exoneration and demand the release of convicted insurrectionists and the prosecution of Jan. 6 Committee members instead.
Some Republicans condemned Carlson’s lies. Sen. Thom Tillis (R-NC) said: “I think it’s bullshit. I was here. I saw police barricades breached; police officers assaulted.” Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) called Carlson’s presentation a “whitewash.” Sen. John Thune (R-SD) called the Insurrection “an attack on the Capitol.” Sen. Mitt Romney (R-UT) called it “a serious crime against democracy and against our country. People saw it was violent and destructive. Trying to normalize that behavior is dangerous and disgusting.”
Fox normalizes dangerous behavior by lying to one-half the country and demonizing the other. Fox’s Jesse Watters told Americans to “start strapping up and exercising their Second Amendment rights.” Fox’s divisive lies helped bring to power radical MAGA-Republicans like Greene, who said this about the Insurrection: "If Steve Bannon and I had organized that, we would have won. Not to mention, we would've been armed."
Fox and MAGA-Republicans’ claim of supporting law enforcement is a lie. Just ask the Capitol Police.
Vince Amoroso
Sunset Beach