The New York Times Actually Blamed Bernie Sanders for Shooting of GOP Congressman
The same author has shown contempt for the Vermont Senator in the past.
Originally published on June 18th, 2017
If anybody thought the disgusting attacks against Bernie Sanders from the mainstream media were going to stop, don’t look any further than this article from The New York Times, written by an author who has had a personal vendetta against Sanders, and seems to cashing in on that opportunity in this ridiculous article.
The author, Yamiche Alcindor, who once berated Sanders in a press conference during the Democratic primary, asking him if it was sexist that he wasn’t dropping out of the race against Hillary Clinton soon enough, is now penning commentary suggesting that his rhetoric, and people in his movement, are responsible for the shooting of a Republican congressman:
Now, in Mr. Sanders’s world, his fans have something concrete to grapple with: James T. Hodgkinson, a former volunteer for Mr. Sanders’s presidential campaign, is suspected of opening fire on Republican lawmakers practicing baseball in Alexandria, Va.
That shooting on Wednesday, which wounded four people, may prove to be an unexpected test for a movement born out of Mr. Sanders’s left-wing, populist politics and a moment for liberals to figure out how to balance anger at Mr. Trump with inciting violence.
Keep in mind, these are the same kind of people, who are currently blaming Bernie Sanders for Donald Trump becoming President, because they claim Sanders damaged Clinton during the primary, and also didn’t support her enough after conceding. So apparently, Bernie bears responsibility for both Hillary losing and Republicans getting shot.
Is it true that the man, who shot Congressman Steve Scalise (R-LA), is a former volunteer for Bernie’s campaign? Yes, but he was not directly affiliated with Sanders in any way, except supporting him. And Sanders has never advocated for committing any kind of violence in any way. People of all political beliefs have committed violent acts. However, that didn’t stop Alcindor from dredging up the ridiculous “Bernie Bro” myth in an attempt to criticize his supporters for daring to condemn mainstream media coverage of the 2016 President candidate:
But long before the shooting on Wednesday, some of Mr. Sanders’s supporters had earned a belligerent reputation for their criticism of Hillary Clinton, the Democratic Party and others who they believed disagreed with their ideas. Sanders fans, sometimes referred to derogatorily as “Bernie Bros” or “Bernie Bots,” at times harassed reporters covering Mr. Sanders and flooded social media with angry posts directed at the “corporate media,” a term often used by the senator.
Clearly, with so many people realizing the skyrocketing popularity of Bernie Sanders, even mainstream outlets, who were in lockstep support of Hillary Clinton during the primary, are trying to take him down a few pegs by blaming him for gun massacres. They attach it to the pathetic “Bernie bros” talking points, perpetuated by the entire mainstream media.
This piece not only angered Bernie supporters all over the country, and rightly so, but it also started a conversation among Hillary supporters that Bernie Sanders is friendly with the NRA, and pro-gun groups, even though he has a D- rating with the group and has proposed multiple assault weapons bans in Congress over the last 25 years.
Calling Bernie some kind of pro-gun, second amendment advocate is the neoliberal establishment hanging onto one last smear campaign to try and bring him down, even though I’m sure they’ve got many more attacks against him. The Democratic Party is a shell of itself, and it’s their loyalists that are destructive to the efforts of calling out Donald Trump.
If your best bet at smearing a Democratic socialist, who has consistently advocated for universal healthcare, universal college, $15 minimum wage and banning assault weapons, is that he’s a second amendment nut job, you’re just a pathetic smear merchant. Hillary Clinton has argued more in favor of guns, as she did against Barack Obama in the 2008 Democratic primary.
But now her supporters want to turn the tables and act like Bernie Sanders, who advocated against invading sovereign countries, as well as making weapons deals with countries that have Sharia law and promote Terrorism all over the world, is suddenly in favor of killing politicians. It’s an absolute fucking joke and a mockery of political debate in America.
Near the latter end of the article, Alcindor attempted to legitimize conservative attacks against Sanders, quoting a random GOP consultant/strategist:
Harlan Hill, a political consultant based in New York who supports Mr. Trump, said people should not blame Mr. Sanders personally, but he said the senator’s description of the president as “dangerous” illustrated the “apocalyptic terms” and “melodrama” that have created a combustible political atmosphere.
“It is a passive justification for the kind of violence we saw,” Mr. Hill said. “If you don’t believe that, and you’re just casually using these words, then you should accept the consequence of those words because you are empowering the people that follow you to take whatever sort of action that they deem necessary to avert what is being described to them as a potential genocidal leader.”
Alcindor even included the insane fearmonger ramblings of a couple right-wing radio hosts, too, because she just couldn’t help but push the narrative a little further in her smearjob:
While Mr. Trump was restrained in his remarks about the shooting, other figures on the political right let loose. Michael Savage, a radio host, wrote on Twitter, “I warned America the Dems constant drumbeat of hatred would lead to violence!” Bill Mitchell, a radio host who supports Mr. Trump, said on Twitter, “The Left in this country is ushering in a new #CultureOfViolence where violent hate is the new normal.”
This is how desperate the mainstream media is to smear Bernie Sanders. They see him getting more popular, along with his movement rising, so what other way can be there be to kneecap his momentum, other than linking him to a terrorist?
