Earlier today, Kristen Welker sat idly by as Elise Stefanik, the third highest ranking Republican in the House of Representatives, blithely referred to the criminals who overran the Capitol building on January 6th as "hostages."
In the course of that interview, Stefanik made herself the martyr. "And I believe that we're seeing the weaponization of the federal government against not just President Trump, but we're seeing it against conservatives, we're seeing it against Catholics," she told Welker. "And that's one of the reasons why I'm so proud to serve on the select committee on the weaponization of the government."
REALLY? When is the last time you heard of any persecution of Catholics in this country? Their child-molesting priests got off with no prison time, instead being permitted to fade into retirement. No one is outside Catholic churches claiming they're being replaced, unlike the antisemitism Jews routinely experience. The antisemitism, by the way, that Elise Stefanik claimed to care about. Calling those people "hostages" is an invention out of whole cloth and cynical Stefanik knows it.
Indeed, Stefanik is simply echoing the sentiments of her Lord and Savior Trump, who just last night called for Joe Biden to "release the J6 hostages" during a rally speech in Iowa. Her ache for the VP slot is obvious, and her heartbreak will be complete when it goes to Kristi Noem.
This is shameless gaslighting, and it must not go unanswered. It's not enough to "bothsides" that statement, which is what Welker did. Language matters, and these criminals who have been proven to be guilty of their crimes and are serving time in jail for them must be called what they are: Criminals. They are not hostages; they're insurrectionists. Trump doesn't give a damn about the folks in jail; he's just setting the stage for his own conviction, so he can martyr himself for the idiots like Stefanik to mourn.
Watch the video.
It's the same thing we watched in real time. Everyone saw it, Kristen. These people committed CRIMES. They aren't patriots and they aren't hostages. They're criminals and insurrectionists and Elise Stefanik's Lord and Savior led them in rebellion against the government in order to remain in power.
Repeat it in front of the mirror, Kristen. Over and over until it's automatic that the words leave your lips every time one of these lying idiots comes on your show and lies the way Stefanik did.
The liars have Fox News, Newsmax and OANN to push their lies on cable, and countless outlets to do it through direct mail, email and podcasts. The truth needs to be the default baseline for the rest of the press. Period.
Our democracy literally depends on it. If you all are going to be cowards who won't tell your audiences the truth, then just step down and let someone else take over.
