At least three rightwingers today have been thoughtful and compassionate in response to the deaths of Philando Castile, Alton Sterling, and five Dallas police officers, whoa what? But that doesn't mean that most of them haven't been terrible. Here is some anger to balance out that unexpected sanity from some of our most reliable conservative twerps.
Ben Carson opens mouth (eyes remain firmly shut)
Ben Carson's immediate concern was that President Obama would start talking about GUN CONTROL, which is a bad thing to do when people get shot in horrible ways. And he feels that Obama must be reminded of the fact that the reason the Constitution prohibits gun control because the Founding Fathers wanted the people to be able to overthrow the government if necessary. Just like when George Washington gleefully welcomed the Whiskey Rebellion.
"Now is definitely not the time to get political," the former Republican presidential candidate and Donald Trump surrogate told "Fox & Friends" when asked about Obama's comments. "Now is the time to use logic and ask ourselves, why do we have a Constitution? Why do we have a Second Amendment? They’re always saying you don't need a high powered weapon to hunt deer. The Constitution is not about deer hunting. It's about people being able to defend themselves from an overly aggressive government or an external invasion."
HUH. That's actually a pretty weird thing to say, Ben Carson, in light of recent events. Because it sure sounds like you are saying that the Dallas Sniper and/or snipers were using their guns for the exact purpose that your pretend version of the constitution says they ought to be used for. Unless only conservatives get to define what an "overly aggressive government" is? That could also be in your version of the Constitution, I don't know. I've never read it, because it is imaginary. The copy I have says literally nothing about overthrowing the government, but does say something about a "well-regulated militia."
Dinesh D'Souza is politicizing the FUCK out of things
Dinesh D'Souza, unsurprisingly, was ready with some real zingers.
HAHA Get it? Because we think people should have background checks before getting to have a gun!
Yes, this is all definitely related to Hillary Clinton's emails. Maybe she even PLANNED THIS WHOLE THING in her emails! If only the several investigations into these emails had been more thorough, then lives could have been saved, probably.
Oh look, Ann Coulter is still here and would like some attention please
Ann Coulter made some weird joke about "Law and Order," which, even as a very big "Law and Order" fan, I did not get.
OH, I don't know Ann, because Olivia Benson is with the Special Victims Unit and even if this were TV it is not the kind of thing they handle anyway? Also even if this made sense, it would still be in poor taste.
Coulter also took a moment to point out how Evil Hillary Clinton had, JUST YESTERDAY, tweeted a thing about how Alton Sterling, Philando Castile and Black Lives Matter.
Wow! If only Hillary Clinton had simply pretended that these killings were justified, then probably those police officers would be alive today!
Imagine that, it's the New York Post
For its part, the venerable New York Post had a cover this morning declaring CIVIL WAR.
CLASSY!
Ben Shapiro thinks Obama is only half-responsible, just like he is only half-black
Ben Shapiro decided that perhaps Obama was at least partially to blame for the shootings. Why, because during his address about the recent police shootings of Alton Sterling and Philando Castile (which by the way was very good!), he suggested that anger over these shootings was justified, and that racism is still a problem in this country. GASP!
On Thursday, President Obama reacted to the cell-phone-captured footage of the police killings of Alton Sterling in Louisiana and Philando Castile by suggesting that such killings were “not isolated incidents.” Instead, he said, “They are symptomatic of challenges within our criminal justice system, the racial disparities that appear across the system year after year, and the resulting lack of trust that exists between law enforcement and too many of the communities they serve.”In effect, Obama said – just as he’s been saying for years – that what he believes are extrajudicial murders of black men by police officers are the result of systemic racism, reflected in disproportionate arrest and imprisonment statistics.
OH MAN, that is so mean of him! Why can't he just pretend like racism is a thing black people are just imagining? Things would be so nice for everyone if he could do that! Sometimes a little gaslighting is necessary. FOR AMERICA. Plato called it a "Noble Lie" -- a lie told by the elite to advance social harmony. If we all agree to pretend that racism doesn't exist, that police brutality isn't a problem for black people, then we can all get along and things will be nice! Obviously!
And really, racism doesn't exist, except the kind that is against WHITE PEOPLE.
Obama didn’t cause the Orlando shooting attack, but his failure to label it Islamic jihadism surely stopped America from fighting it properly. Obama didn’t cause the Dallas shootings, but his attempts to turn the conversation toward gun control or police brutality are just another way to avoid a real conversation about anti-white racism.So no, of course Obama isn’t responsible for the Dallas shootings. But he’s surely responsible for cultivating a racially polarized culture, ignoring the real causes of anti-cop violence, and leaving cops out in the cold to fend for themselves.
IF YOU PRETEND RACISM DOESN'T EXIST, THINGS WILL BE NICER FOR WHITE PEOPLE, OK?
Newt Gingrich still really wants to be Trump's VP
Newt Gingrich, possible future Trump running mate, decided to whine about how Obama and Hillary Clinton won't say anything about Chicago, the city where I happen to live and he does not.
WHY CAN'T WE TALK ABOUT WHAT POOR BLACK PEOPLE ARE DOING WRONG, HUH? It's not fair! We shouldn't be talking about any kind of racism or racial injustice or violence perpetrated against black people by the police until all the black people are 100% perfect! Once they are all displaying the stigmata in unison, then maybe we can start to talk about how maybe there is some leftover racism in America. It is the only fair way to handle things.
Joe Walsh threatened the life of the president, as one does
Joe Walsh (the former Illinois Congressman, not the dude from The Eagles), whom we had a chat about earlier and who is very excited about the possibility of getting to fight in a "race war," would prefer that we all "unite" by uniting behind cops, instead of the black people being routinely murdered by them.
Some other white lady who never shuts up
Tomi Lahren, new darling of yr Wonkette, tweeted and deleted this lovely comment about how Black Lives Matter is basically the KKK. Because she believes in UNITY, ok? UNITY. And what could possibly be more unite-y than suggesting that black people who don't want to be murdered by racist cops are basically the same as an organization designed to terrorize black people?
In conclusion
[wonkbar]<a href="http://wonkette.com/603840/five-dallas-cops-killed-by-sniper-who-wanted-race-war-joe-walsh-says-hes-in"></a><a href="http://wonkette.com/603849/donald-trumps-dallas-statement-full-of-ennui-over-racial-tensions-he-actively-incited"></a><a href="http://wonkette.com/603854/deadbeat-racist-former-congressman-joe-walsh-has-always-been-at-war-with-human-decency"></a><a href="http://wonkette.com/603862/daily-caller-and-redstate-post-thoughtful-reactions-to-dallas-police-shootings-wait-what"></a>[/wonkbar]None of this is at all surprising, which is pretty depressing! However, what is surprising is that there have actually been a few conservative publications that have posted some not-terrible thoughts about this issue, and even gone so far as to admit that racism exists and that police brutality is a problem for black people. Evan has more on that here, and we have to say that we are particularly impressed by this bit from Matt K. Lewis at The Daily Caller:
If there’s any good to come from this horrible trend, it may be that the scales are coming off the eyes of a lot of well meaning, if naive, white Americans. My hope is that this will change public opinion to the point that we can change public policy.
Yes, that would be nice.
