This week in (phony) right-wing outrage
Right-wingers are lining up to take cheap shots at Democrats nowadays.
They don鈥檛 have anything better to do, I suppose.
The folks over at Fox & Friends spent a recent morning broadcast implying that the newly discovered COVID-19 variant 鈥� Omicron 鈥� is a Democratic invention.
鈥淵ou can count on a variant every October, every two years,鈥� predicted Pete Hegseth, to bolster the Fox & Friends conspiracy that Democrats need new variants to boost their vote totals.
If you think that鈥檚 some over-the-top fishing for a reason to attack Democrats, consider the words of Rep. Ronny Jackson of Texas.
Jackson used to be Donald Trump鈥檚 presidential physician. He鈥檚 now slinging far-fetched conspiracies as a U.S. House member representing Texas鈥� 13th district.
鈥淗ere comes the Midterm Election Variant,鈥� tweeted Jackson.
鈥淭hey NEED a reason to push unsolicited nationwide mail-in ballots. Democrats will do anything to CHEAT during an election,鈥� said Jackson.
If Democrats are so good at creating viruses, or variants, how come Republicans can鈥檛 figure out how to prevent them?
That鈥檚 MY (phony) outrage for the day.
Lara Logan used to be a highly respected member of CBS News.
Not anymore.
She鈥檚 now a Fox Nation/Fox News host.
That means she鈥檚 free to make up stuff that doesn鈥檛 quite pass the un-phony outrage test.
Her current outrage? Dr. Anthony Fauci.
Fauci had the gall to have disagreed with Donald Trump when he was in office.
That opened him to endless (phony) right-wing outrage.
Logan鈥檚 contribution to that outrage is most notable for the response it got from some highly respected folks.
Here鈥檚 her outrage: 鈥淲hat you see on Dr. Fauci 鈥� this is what people say to me: that he doesn鈥檛 represent science. He represents Joseph Mengele. Dr. Joseph Mengele, the Nazi doctor who did experiments on Jews during the second World War.鈥�
First, she made use of that tired old 鈥渢his is what people say to me鈥� nonsense. What people? When? Why?
But the entire tirade launched at Fauci caused the good people at the Auschwitz Memorial to say, loudly 鈥� ENOUGH!
鈥淓xploiting the tragedy of people who became victims of criminal pseudo-medical experiments in Auschwitz in a debate about vaccines, pandemic, and people who fight for saving human lives is shameful,鈥� they shot back.
Fox News鈥� premiere purveyor of (phony) right-wing outrage, Tucker Carlson, added his Fauci attack.
He claims Fauci 鈥渋s an even shorter version of Benito Mussolini.鈥�
Nobody knows why he made that silly comparison.
Then there was a highly questionable attack on the Biden administration that was leveled by GOP Congresswoman Elise Stefanik of New York.
Stefanik tweeted that, 鈥淥ver 800 pounds of fentanyl were seized at our Southern Border in October. This is Biden鈥檚 Border Crisis.鈥�
Take a moment to digest that.
In Stefanik鈥檚 view, stopping 800 pounds of fentanyl at the border is worthy of some (phony) right-wing outrage directed at the Biden administration.
That one sure fanned the Twitter flames. One fellow tweeted, 鈥淒o you want him to stop it or let it in? Serious question.鈥�
Another tweeted, 鈥淭hank you for standing up for the constitutional rights of all that fentanyl, Elise.鈥�
There was more (phony) right-wing outrage hurled at House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, when the spokesperson for Florida governor Ron DeSantis, Christina Pushaw, attacked.
鈥淣ancy Pelosi just bought a $25 million mansion in Florida,鈥� Pushaw tweeted.
That would indicate Pelosi is about to become a hypocritical elite.
The fact is, Pelosi isn鈥檛 buying a house in Florida. That story was made up.
Finally, the governor of Mississippi, Tate Reeves, is all for getting people vaccinated.
But he reserves his (phony) right-wing outrage for mandates by Democrats.
He says he believes it鈥檚 the various mandates that are getting people to resist getting vaccinated.
鈥淪o, I actually think it鈥檚 the president鈥檚 policies that have made it more difficult in rural states like Mississippi to get more and more people vaccinated,鈥� said Reeves on 鈥淢eet the Press.鈥�
Reeves should probably know who else doesn鈥檛 want people to follow Biden 鈥� COVID-19!
Edward A. Owens is a multi-Emmy Award winner, former reporter, and anchor for Entertainment Tonight, and 40-year TV news and newspaper veteran. E-mail him at freedoms@bellatlantic.net.