REPUBLICANS IN DISARRAY!
This week has been quite the roller coaster for House Republicans, specifically. At the top of the list, though, is Kevin McCarthy being outed for saying that he was going to tell Donald Trump to resign during the 14-day period between the January 6th insurrection and the inauguration of Joe Biden. McCarthy denied that he ever said, suggested, or even thought that - but THERE ARE TAPES.
The initial bombshell story is in the new book written by New York Times writers Jonathan Martin and Alexander Burns called “This Will Not Pass: Trump, Biden and the Battle for America’s Future." In the book, Martin and Burns claim that McCarthy grew frustrated with Trump and actually said "I’ve had it with this guy.” He also allegedly told colleagues that he felt Trump was responsible for “inciting people.”
During a call, McCarthy also reportedly raised the idea of invoking the 25th Amendment. On another call with GOP leadership, McCarthy told the group that he planned to call Trump to tell him to resign. It is unclear who recorded the call, but SOMEONE DID. Prior to release of the tape, a McCarthy spokesperson actually told the media "McCarthy never said he’d call Trump to say he should resign,” and also that he'd “never said that particular members should be removed from Twitter.”
McCarthy himself also denied it, putting out a statement on Twitter that said: "The New York Times’ reporting on me is totally false and wrong. It comes as no surprise that the corporate media is obsessed with doing everything it can to further a liberal agenda. This promotional book tour is no different. If reporters were interested in truth why would they ask for a comment after the book was printed? The past year and a half have proven that our country was better off when President Trump was in the White House and rather than address the real issues facing Americans, the corporate media is more concerned with profiting from manufactured political intrigue from politically-motivated sources. Our country has suffered enough under failed one-party Democrat rule and no amount of media ignorance and bias will stop Americans from delivering a clear message this fall that it is time for change.”
Welp, then the tapes came out. And there was silence from Team McCarthy.
John Heilemann joined Morning Joe to talk about this bombshell. Here is what he had to say about McCarthy's bald-faced lie, and what it actually means:
"At the top of the segment you made a comment about how NBC News has reached out to the Minority Speaker's office to get the comment now that the tape is out and I want to say this as clearly as I can. I'm glad NBC News is doing that, that's standard journalist protocol, but on the other hand why? Why would anybody believe anything that comes out of the Minority Leader's mouth. As bad as the tape is, as much as it gets him in trouble with Trump, the thing that is worse is what his office did yesterday. For normal people, he is the Minority Leader of the House Republican Party, House Republican Caucus. He was presented with facts of the things he said. His office baldly, totally, categorically denied that they were true. Said, no, never happened, no way, no way, no way. Now we have the tape. Why should we ever believe anything that comes out of that office again, whether he is Minority Leader or Speaker? A state legislator from California? I think he has proven he is utterly untrustworthy. That's the larger question, because it is still the case he is most likely the next Speaker of the House. How are we going to handle that going forward and believe anything out of his mouth or the people who speak for him? How do we believe them ever again?"
And that is really it. How are we to believe someone that models themselves after the most pathological liar who ever held office, Donald Trump? Who lies even when there are tapes that 100% contradict what they said they did (or did not do)? When the lying is so shameless that they could say the sky is red and the moon is cheese and water is not wet and half of the country would nod their heads and just blindly agree? HOW DO WE DEAL WITH THAT TYPE OF SOCIOPATHY?
Yet, this behavior should not be a surprise to anyone in the media, especially DC-savvy folks like Heilemann and Scarborough. They know this is how the GOP operates, and the fact that Republicans are caught in lie after lie should not be a shock. How is it that Elie Mystal TOTALLY gets it and no one else does? Why does the media keep both-sidesing EVERYTHING? Why do they keep treating the Republican Party as if they are honest brokers, who can be trusted as much as Democrats can be?
When one party is dedicated to tearing down our country, non-stop obstruction, regressive platforms, and dragging us into fascism, and the other party is actually trying to govern, help people, implement hundreds of excellent platforms, and eager to remain a functioning democracy...HOW CAN YOU TREAT THEM AS EQUALS? This is how democracies die.
DO BETTER, MEDIA.
