Soros did it

It turns out the whole thing is a left-wing plot to…um…to corrupt our precious bodily fluids? I’m not sure, but it’s definitely left-wing and a plot. And Soros.

Former GOP congressman Jack Kingston on Tuesday doubled-down on his inflammatory allegations that a group of school shooting survivors pushing for tougher gun laws are simply being used by left-wing political groups. Appearing on CNN, the Georgia Republican suggested that billionaire George Soros and other liberal activists had “hijacked” the “sorrow” of survivors of the Parkland, Florida, massacre, who in recent days have been helping organize a series of pro-gun-control protests.

“Do we really think, and I say this sincerely, that 17-year-olds on their own are going to plan a nationwide rally?” Kingston said on CNN Tuesday. “I would say to you very plainly that organized groups that are out there like George Soros are always ready to take up the charge, and it’s kind of like instant rally and instant protest.”

Do we really think that 17-year-olds on their own are going to plan a nationwide rally? If they just saw some of their classmates and teachers blown apart by a guy with an AR-15? Yes, yes I do. In a heartbeat.

Bill O’Reilly also accused the media with applying “extreme peer pressure” on the teenage survivors to promote gun control.

Their remarks coincide with right-wing media stories attacking the credibility of the Florida students who have called for stronger gun laws in the wake of last week’s shooting that left 17 people dead at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School.

I will never understand why this is framed as a “left” thing versus a “right” thing. Do conservatives like to see schools shot up? Do they want angry hate-filled young dudes wandering around murdering people whenever they feel like it? Is that really a core conservative value? I don’t think so. I don’t think this is an inherently left v right thing. But contingently it is, so the right is defending their corner with all the irrational fanaticism and meanness they can summon up, which sadly is a lot.

(It’s going to take generations for the US to live down the stain of Trump, but as for the Republicans…centuries, at least.)

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