The Republicans who complain about Democrats and others pushing for gun safety measures in the aftermath of mass shootings — pushes that the Republicans claim amount to just politics — are ridiculous. The Lincoln Project rallied Democrats against these do-nothing Republicans after Beto O’Rourke interrupted a press conference led by Texas Republican officials to confront them over their utter failures on gun policy.
“Democrats: Fight back. Get loud. Use your righteous anger to save this country. Be like [Beto O’Rourke],” The Lincoln Project said Thursday. Republicans on stage at that press conference — including Sen. Ted Cruz (Texas), state Lieutenant Governor Dan Patrick, and Don McLaughlin, the mayor of the Texas city of Uvalde, where the recent elementary school shooting took place that’s shaken Americans — lashed out at O’Rourke. “I can’t believe you’re a sick son of a bitch that would come to a deal like this to make a political issue!” McLaughlin yelled. It’s not just a political issue! It’s the potential difference between people living or dying in incidents like what happened in Uvalde. Claiming otherwise is disgraceful. The level of disconnection from reality required to make a statement like what McLaughlin said is simply astounding.
In the new video from The Lincoln Project, which features footage of O’Rourke’s confrontation with those Republican officials, a message displayed on screen says: “Some people say Democrats can’t fight. They’re wrong.” Watch it below:
Democrats: Fight back. Get loud.
Use your righteous anger to save this country.Be like @BetoORourke. pic.twitter.com/epqNiQXJWF
— The Lincoln Project (@ProjectLincoln) May 26, 2022
After O’Rourke was escorted from that press conference by law enforcement, he continued speaking about the situation outside. “[Texas Republican Governor Greg Abbott has] refused to expand Medicaid, which would bring $10 million a year, including mental health care access for people who need it,” O’Rourke told bystanders. “He’s refused to champion red flag laws… He’s refused to support safe-storage laws so young people cannot get their hands on their parents’ weapons… We just can’t accept this theater or business as usual, and accept the next shooting.”
Fuck you @tedcruz you care about a fetus but you will let our children get slaughtered. Just get your ass to Cancun. You are useless. https://t.co/0tArGHosep
— Ruben Gallego (@RubenGallego) May 24, 2022
Following the Uvalde shooting, Cruz has presented familiarly terrible policy ideas, such as making schools have just a single door, which — besides being ridiculous — wouldn’t necessarily even work like Cruz deliriously imagines. Former Department of Homeland Security official Juliette Kayyem, who served in the Obama administration, observed: “The “one door” theory of schools is not how we think about education or design, but it’s also not how we think about security. It actually is bad safety planning. A “psychopath” would then just target the kids backed up in line and waiting for this “one door” to let them through.” Cruz has also promoted the idea of having additional armed personnel on school campuses, a notion that’s been heard before from Republicans. The problem is that cops were apparently there before the shooter entered the school building in Uvalde on Tuesday. Additional guns were already there. It didn’t work.
NEW: The father of Marine Trevor Reed, who Biden got released from Russian prison, just called out his senator Ted Cruz for not helping his son: “He didn't do anything. He’s an embarrassment to the state of Texas. I will work… to defeat that son of a bitch,” per @dallasnews.
— No Lie with Brian Tyler Cohen (@NoLieWithBTC) May 24, 2022
