Nancy Pelosi Said A Bad Again! (No She Didn't)

You can lead Republicans to context but you can't make them think.

Donald Trump has once again castigated the media for dividing America with all its fake reporting and partisan bias, so it seems like a good opportunity to look at a specific example. Mind you, it's from Trump supporters, so it may not be what the Great Man had in mind, but it's a humdinger for sure. You see, about two weeks ago, Nancy Pelosi sat down for a chat with economist and New York Times columnist Paul Krugman, and during a discussion of climate change and the economic impact of addressing it, Pelosi said, yes, certainly, any action to rescue the ecosphere from global warming would have some costs -- which she described as "collateral damage" -- to some people, but pursuing change is worth it nonetheless. True of anything government does, right?

Gee, would you have ever guessed rightwing media have decided Pelosi was actually calling for violence against anyone who dares oppose the murderous Democrat agenda? Nobody could have seen THAT coming! And yesterday, the second-ranked Republican in the US Senate, John Cornyn, passed on that purely bullshit spin and complained that people "across the political spectrum" need to speak more temperately and carefully. Maybe Senator John Cornyn should follow that advice.

The bullshit all started with an October 18 piece at rightwing organ The Washington Free Beacon, which managed to lie with its headline even as it provided the actual context of the remark -- which other sources happily ignored in their reports. Headline: "Pelosi: If There Is 'Collateral Damage' for Those Who Don't Share Our View, 'So Be It'" Gosh, doesn't that sound like she's promising a brutal crackdown?

The text of the story wavers between fearmongering and inclusion of some context. Here's the scary scary lede:

House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D., Calif.) said over the weekend that her preferred economic policies would entail "collateral damage" on certain groups.

Scary! You will submit, and if you don't, we will destroy you! But then, hey, some actual context!

Pelosi was going back and forth on climate change and its connection to job creation and prosperity with Paul Krugman, an economist and New York Times columnist. After finishing a sweeping discussion about those topics, Pelosi made the case that liberal policies would entail "collateral damage for some others who do not share our view" but ultimately help the country.

"We owe the American people to be there for them, for their financial security, respecting the dignity and worth of every person in our country, and if there is some collateral damage for some others who do not share our view, well, so be it, but it shouldn't be our original purpose," Pelosi said.

Well obviously she was calling for civil war, wasn't she? Also, let's all ignore the bad outcomes for some (like oil companies) "shouldn't be our original purpose" part, shall we? Because virtually everyone steadfastly refused to comment on it.

The Wingnuttospere was all over it! The Free Beacon story included a deceptively edited video, highlighting only the supposedly inflammatory call for "collateral damage." Weirdly enough, the "GOP War Room" YouTube channel includes  the preface to the remarks, in which Pelosi and Krugman explicitly make clear they believe addressing carbon emissions and pursuing green energy will create jobs and prosperity -- but of course, the title for the video is "UNHINGED: Nancy Pelosi Endorses 'Collateral Damage' Against Americans Who Don't Share Her Views," because context, fuck you:

UNHINGED: Nancy Pelosi Endorses “Collateral Damage" Against Americans Who Don't Share Her Views  

Weird, huh? It's almost as if they were deliberately ignoring what she was actually saying! Not surprisingly, Wingnut Media went with the "Nancy Pelosi Wants To Kill Those Who Disagree" spin, because fuck you, she said words, didn't she?

 https: //www.cnsnews.com/blog/craig-bannister/pelos...  

We like how that shifts from her acknowledging that any action will have downsides for some -- like coal companies -- to an "endorsement" of maybe putting all Trump supporters in FEMA camps, or why not just gas chambers. No mention of the climate stuff in that story, of course. Nor was there any context at Glenn Beck's Internet Tendency, where again she was "calling for" collateral damage:

That Blaze story, by the way, is a real piece of work -- it's about the Proud Boys screaming at Pelosi and other Democrats in Florida, but manages not to mention them (it calls 'em anti-communist "protesters" who yelled at her at a "restaurant" -- not a campaign office) and implies some sort of link to the appearance with Krugman. We've seen no interviews with the little brownshirts in which they say they went after Pelosi because of the video. But hey, the panel did   happen the day prior to the Proud Boys harassment. Gosh, the media sure do play fast and loose with facts, huh? No wonder Donald Trump is so mad!

John Cornyn, ever the statesman, jumped into the stupid Sunday, the day following the massacre in Pittsburgh, suggesting Dems were just openly calling for murder the previous week, so what do they expect? 

Pelosi: If There Is ‘Collateral Damage’ for Those Who Don’t Share Our View, ‘So Be It’ via @freebeacon https://t.co/NlE0G38Q1A

— Senator John Cornyn (@Senator John Cornyn) 1540730453.0 

He followed that with a call for people to please, PLEASE be careful about the dangerous things they might say, and to not report things with bias. 

Everyone across the political spectrum should choose their words more carefully. MSM seems to only hear and report… https: //t.co/H2MTMizo6M

— Senator John Cornyn (@Senator John Cornyn) 1540732220.0 

Irony meters across the nation simultaneously exploded as the second most powerful man in the US Senate used a distorted, out of context quote to call for some fucking civility from the out-of-control Dems.

So congratulations, rightwing America! You've now created yet another out-of-context lie about Nancy Pelosi! May you all rot in Hell, but only after you live a long natural life and die of old age, friendless and unloved. 

If we thought anyone in rightwing media had any good faith, we'd advise Democrats to avoid martial metaphors and never say anything that could be misconstrued as a call for violence, but these assholes are such experts at false outrage they can twist anything, so fuck it, and fuck them. With a rusty Hitler analogy.

[ The Hill / Washington Free Beacon / TPM ]

Yr Wonkette is supported by reader donations. Please send us money, and if being paid causes collateral damage to our livers, so be it.