White nationalists and Twitter bots fueled the war against Al Franken -- and the Democrats fell for it
February 19, 2018 7:17AM ET
Sarah Burris is a long-time veteran of political campaigns, having worked as a fundraiser and media director across the United States. She transitioned into reporting while working for Rock the Vote, Future Majority and Wiretap Magazine, covering the Millennial Generation's perspective during the presidential elections. As a political writer, Burris has had bylines at CNN, Salon.com, BNR, and AlterNet and serves as a senior digital editor for RawStory.com.
Women in Media Cente
U.S. Sen. Katie Britt (R-AL), who went viral for her misleading State of the Union response in which she implied President Joe Biden was responsible for sexual assaults that happened in Mexico years before he went to the White House, is now facing similar allegations once again.
Britt was initially criticized for her "over-the-top" delivery of her State of the Union response speech, which saw her at various times appearing to laugh as well as weep in despair as she talked about her two children and her husband. After that, an independent journalist uncovered the fact that one of the examples Britt used was from George W. Bush's presidency.
ALSO READ: A neuroscientist reveals how Trump and Biden's cognitive impairments are different
On Thursday, Britt appeared to return to a similar theme as her primetime Biden reply.
"When President Biden refuses to prioritize interior enforcement, every state is a border state, and every city is a border city—including my hometown of Enterprise," she said on Thursday. "How many more families will have to suffer before this Admin finally reverses course?"
AL.com columnist Kyle Whitmire chimed in on Britt's new claim.
"Senator, whipping up fear of sexual violence from brown people for political benefit has a history in our state, which you are now perpetuating. Please stop,' Whitmire wrote on Saturday.
Conservative columnist Quin Hillyer called Whitmire out for what he thought was an unfair comparison involving Britt.
"Oh, come ON, Kyle," Hillyer wrote. "There is nothing racial in this Tweet or in anything she has said. And her point is valid. @KatieBrittforAL."
Whitmire then responded.
"Studies have repeatedly shown immigrants are less likely to commit crimes than native-born citizens and are more likely to be the victim of crimes. But this isn't what Britt shares," Whitmire wrote Sunday to Hillyer.
A federal judge's appearance on CNN to discuss threats he and his family have suffered in the recent past set off some in the MAGA universe.
U.S. District Court Judge Reggie Walton, who presided over some Jan. 6 Capitol riot cases from the District of Columbia court, chatted with CNN's Kaitlan Collins on "The Source."
The judge opened up about how he has been the target of several sinister threats.
ALSO READ: A neuroscientist reveals how Trump and Biden's cognitive impairments are different
"They threatened me one day and then the next day called and made a threat against against my daughter and also indicated they had my address," he said of one of the incidents. "So they obviously had done some research to find out that I had a daughter, what her name was, and also where I live."
While Walton said that he tries to do his duty impartially, the tenor has reached such a white hot state that he's concerned.
"...it is very troubling because I think it is an attack on the rule of law," he said. "When judges are threatened and particularly when their family is threatened — it's something that's wrong and should not happen."
Collins asked Walton about former President Donald Trump's public attacks by speech or on social media taking on judges.
He said "when you have somebody who has status in our society and they make certain statements, it can cause people to act on those statements, even if they don't necessarily intend for someone to do so."
He continued: "So I think it's very important that people in positions of authority be very circumspect in reference to the things that they say so that they're not called causing others to act on what they say and maybe cause injury or death to someone as a result of that."
Despite speaking about himself and not delving into any cases or political realm, the MAGAverse quickly attacked Walton for publicly speaking out at all.
"Wow. Seriously," asked Mike Davis in a post on Twitter/X. "Is this a (bad) joke? This is a sitting federal judge. And he’s commenting on a pending criminal case? Against the leading presidential candidate? During the height of the election season? If so, this is highly prejudicial. And extremely inappropriate."
He later posted: "Dear Judge Reggie Walton: Lawyer up. A judicial misconduct complaint is definitely coming your way."
Edmund Burke called for Walton's impeachment. "A Federal Judge hasn't been impeached by Congress for far too long.
"I wonder if the judge realizes he is compromising a colleague's court decisions," wondered Koko White. "Appeals Court is gonna LOVE this."
And Paul Danner thinks Walton should be sent away. "That judge belongs in Gitmo," he tweeted.
Newt Gingrich is getting torched online for trying to score political points by tearing down President Joe Biden's vow to "move heaven and earth" to rebuild Baltimore's toppled Francis Scott Key Bridge.
"Why would President Biden promise to pay to rebuild the Baltimore bridge when the insurance companies are responsible," the former House Speaker posted on Twitter/X. "Why add a billion dollars to US debt when the big insurance companies exist for precisely this purpose?
"Is there no idea too dumb for the Biden team to embrace?"
ALSO READ: A neuroscientist reveals how Trump and Biden's cognitive impairments are different
On Tuesday, Biden spoke about the tragedy where a cargo ship reportedly lost power and was unable to change direction or stop before slamming into the bridge, claiming at least six lives.
"As I told Governor [Wes] Moore, I’ve directed my team to move heaven and earth to reopen the port and rebuild the bridge as soon as humanly possible," he said. "And we’re going to work hand in hand with the support of Maryland — to support Maryland, whatever they ask for. And we’re going to work with our partners in Congress to make sure the state gets the support it needs."
He specified the source of the funds would be federal. "It’s my intention that federal government will pay for the entire cost of reconstructing that bridge, and I expect to — the Congress to support my effort," he said.
Straightaway, Gingrich was piled on for his myopic dig at Biden.
"Oh, Newt," Norman Ornstein, who has ties to the American Enterprise Institute, a public policy think tank, responded. "Because it is the right thing to do. Because reopening the port is an urgent national priority. Because It is the American way to help Americans who suffer through no fault of their own. Knowing that if this happened in Georgia, you would be demanding federal aid."
Peter Lapin also criticized Gingrich's criticism. "The government [sic] will pay to get it done quickly, then recover the funds from the insurance companies and those responsible.
"You're stirring an empty pot."
"You already know the answer, Newt," writes Catherine Schnurr. "It will likely take years for the insurance companies to settle. Biden is getting us back up and running much sooner. Stop trolling..."
Biden's administration already freed up $60 million in emergency relief funds for rebuilding the bridge hours after the receiving the request from the state of Maryland.
"The federal emergency funds we're releasing today will help Maryland begin urgent work, to be followed by further resources as recovery and rebuilding efforts progress," U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg said in a statement. "President Biden has been clear: the federal government will do everything it takes to help rebuild the bridge and get the Port of Baltimore back open."
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