October 25, 2018

On Morning Joe, Mika tried to make professional wingnut Noah Rothman, Conservative Intellectual Classic Edition (™), admit that Trump was fanning the flames of violence.

"We had a situation with Steve Scalise, obviously. But the reaction is, Democrats condemned it. The president condemns it. There is a stark difference here," Mika said.

"I've seen Republicans condemn these acts, too," Eager Noah said. (Really, Noah? I must have blinked and missed it.)

"What they're not saying is the president is responsible for them. I don't think I recall seeing Democrats in 2017 saying, 'this is our fault.' You can't expect that. I don't think that's reasonable to expect politicians to say 'this act of violence is my fault.' You can, however, expect these politicians to come together and demonstrate bipartisan unity and patriotism and put aside partisan differences in these moments. I think that's a reasonable request. It's not reasonable for them to assume blame for an act of violence committed by someone else," he said.

So, so reasonable, our Noah!

"But you are completely avoiding the fact that the president is inciting more hatred at this moment, that this violence reflects his rhetoric, when he targets the press and the Democrats in a violent way and he promotes and supports violence against them. You really can't make the parallel here. I reject it completely," Mika said.

"I want to stick to the facts. I don't want to get highly emotional about this. But you can't look at me in the face and say this president has done absolutely nothing to set the scene for something like this to happen with his words."

You know you're bad when even Mika's chiding you.

Now, let's talk about stochastic terrorism, Noah. Since you're an intellectual, and all.

Stochastic terrorism, as described by a blogger who summarized the concept several years back, means using language and other forms of communication "to incite random actors to carry out violent or terrorist acts that are statistically predictable but individually unpredictable."
David S. Cohen, Rolling Stone, 9 Aug. 2016

Stochastic means "random" or "involving chance or probability." Stochastic terrorism has been defined as the use of language "to incite random actors to carry out violent or terrorist acts that are statistically predictable but individually unpredictable."

You know that, Noah. You can't be a conservative and not know your group's history. Remember Lee Atwater?

Any conservative who is not actively opposed to Trump and his cues to the unhinged is a liar and a shill. (If the designer wingtip fits, Noah, wear it.) I'd rather deal with the open insanity of Sean Hannity than the insidious work of people like Noah Rothman, who use the cover of intellect to say the exact same hateful things -- in a calm and soothing voice.

And let's talk about Steve Scalise, since it is literally the only possible defense for nervous Republicans.

James T. Hodgkinson, who opened fire on congressional Republicans' baseball practice, was a criminal with a history of domestic violence. (Women keep pointing out this common thread in mass attacks, but for some reason, no one listens.) And Democrats denounced it!

That is very, very different from a Republican president who cheerleads violence. And if you can't bring yourself to condemn that, Noah, well, you're part of the problem.

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