That's the gist of what is the worst response to the Las Vegas massacre that I've seen so far. From Sen. John Thune (R-NRA):
This is actually right in line with the Republican playbook of the past -- gods, how many years: Be afraid. Be afraid of the Soviet Union, be afraid of China, be afraid of Muslim terrorists, be afraid of undocumented immigrants, be afraid of "those" people.
And of course, if you get mowed down while out to see a movie, or out at a club with your friends, or out at a music festival -- or sitting in your classroom at school -- it's your fault for not taking precautions.
"I think a lot of us want to do everything we can to prevent tragedies like that from happening again." He should have choked on that line. The point is, Republicans don't give a damn -- even when it's one of them in the crosshairs. Digby has a short, pungent look at their priorities.
It starts to seem as though we do have the right president for the times: the whole damned country's been turned into a game show -- the winner is the one with the highest body count.
Update: Digby has a good piece on Trump and his reaction to mass killings. It's instructive in pointing out the racial/ethnic bias in Trump's reaction (which should come as no surprise), but it also fits the general right-wing script:
So I guess we should all just get used to planning our daily lives on the assumption that some deranged white guy is going to use us for target practice.
Sen. John Thune (R-SD) on Tuesday responded to calls for increased gun control after the massacre in Las Vegas by telling reporters that shooting victims had a responsibility to protect themselves from gunfire.
"It sounds like [the shooter] used conversion kits and other things, you know, to make the weapons more lethal," Thune reportedly told MSNBC's Hallie Jackson. "We'll look at the facts when we get them all in here. I think a lot of us want to do everything we can to prevent tragedies like that from happening again."
But Thune shied away from the topic of gun control, arguing, "[I]t's an open society and it's hard to prevent anything."
Instead, the Republican senator offered advice to potential victims.
"I think people are going to have to take steps in their own lives to take precautions," he opined. "To protect themselves. And in situations like that, you know, try to stay safe. As somebody said -- get small."
This is actually right in line with the Republican playbook of the past -- gods, how many years: Be afraid. Be afraid of the Soviet Union, be afraid of China, be afraid of Muslim terrorists, be afraid of undocumented immigrants, be afraid of "those" people.
And of course, if you get mowed down while out to see a movie, or out at a club with your friends, or out at a music festival -- or sitting in your classroom at school -- it's your fault for not taking precautions.
"I think a lot of us want to do everything we can to prevent tragedies like that from happening again." He should have choked on that line. The point is, Republicans don't give a damn -- even when it's one of them in the crosshairs. Digby has a short, pungent look at their priorities.
It starts to seem as though we do have the right president for the times: the whole damned country's been turned into a game show -- the winner is the one with the highest body count.
Update: Digby has a good piece on Trump and his reaction to mass killings. It's instructive in pointing out the racial/ethnic bias in Trump's reaction (which should come as no surprise), but it also fits the general right-wing script:
But the sad truth is that as with the NRA, which traditionally goes silent after each horrifying act of mass gun violence, the only enemy available for him to blame for all this is a dead white man and the lethal arsenal he legally acquired to shoot down 600 people. And in Donald Trump's mind that's "just the way the world works."
So I guess we should all just get used to planning our daily lives on the assumption that some deranged white guy is going to use us for target practice.
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