House Minority Whip Steve Scalise suggested Wednesday the Democrats’ rush to silence conservative-leaning media outlets smacks of hypocrisy.
In a congressional hearing on “Disinformation and Extremism in the Media,” the Louisiana Republican said Democrats should be just as concerned about the misinformation coming from liberal-leaning media organizations.
“We all need to call out political violence wherever we see it because it is not acceptable in America — from the left or right,” Mr. Scalise said.
Mr. Scalise also questioned where Democrats’ outrage was when the “Russian collusion” narrative was prevalent in the news media, and why Democrats didn’t express similar levels of disgust after a gunman in 2017 opened fire on a congressional softball team, leaving him seriously wounded.
“The gunman was motivated by hyper-charged rhetoric that he was hearing from the left — from high prominent elected officials as well as media personalities,” Mr. Scalise said, holding up a report from the FBI. “I don’t blame those other people. I blame the shooter. The shooter is the one who should be held accountable.”
Mr. Scalise called on his colleagues should be consistent in their outrage and “not try to suggest disingenuously that it only comes from one side of the political spectrum.”
• Seth McLaughlin can be reached at smclaughlin@washingtontimes.com.
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