On Fox News, Sen. Tim Scott (R-SC) got a friendly platform to talk up just about any response other than gun regulation after the school shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida, left 17 dead last week. Nobody mentioned that he’s received nearly $20,000 from the NRA since 2010.
The discussion started with a clip of Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-CT) saying Republicans will act on gun control only if they’re faced with massive election losses.
Host Neil Cavuto sneered afterward, “Don’t waste a moment trying to politically capitalize on it. That seemed a little extreme.” This from the guy who promoted a right-wing conspiracy theory – in that same show – that the Russia investigation was to blame for the shooting.
Scott went further. He called Blumenthal’s comments “incredibly extreme.” Scott added, “Unfortunately, it is politicizing and capitalizing on a heinous crime. We ought not find ways to win elections off terrible tragedies in this country.”
That’s from the guy who tried to revoke Hillary Clinton’s security clearance in 2016.
Scott argued that background checks are the real solution. “In the last few years, we’ve seen atrocities that could have been prevented,” he said, citing the shooter at Emmanuel AME Church in Charleston. He also cited the recent shooting at a church in Sutherland Springs, Texas (in which, like Parkland, an AR-15 was also used). “The domestic violence incidents that were not reported to the authorities, that could’ve prevented the individual from having a weapon,” Scott said.
The same was true for Nikolas Cruz, the Parkland shooter. “I believe that the highest probability of us preventing that crime is not another gun law that would’ve been broken, but actually having put the pieces together like a puzzle and solved that problem before a crime was committed,” Scott said. “The reality of it is that the mental instability of the culprit should be the primary target that we look at.”
Scott seemed to be saying that just because a law will be broken by some, we shouldn’t bother to have one. Yet, he probably won’t be calling immigration laws pointless.
He also suggested that mass shootings are not his problem. "I don't think we can solve the problem from Washington," he said. “Many states have far more restrictive gun laws than the nation as a whole, and yet in Connecticut, 30+ gun laws were broken,” he continued. “In South Carolina, my hometown of Charleston, we have several gun laws that were broken.”
What didn’t get mentioned? How Scott has handsomely benefitted from his refusal to consider gun regulation. In 2016, he received $4,500 from the NRA and was the top recipient of their campaign cash in his state. In 2014, he received $8,950 from the NRA, again earning the distinction of top recipient. In 2012, he shared the top spot via a $2000 NRA donation. In 2010, he received $2,500 from the NRA but had not yet risen to the top of their largesse list.
See why the NRA thinks Scott is such a good investment above, from the February 17, 2018 Cavuto Live.
Crossposted at News Hounds.
We watch Fox so you don't have to!
