Posted on 02/26/2013 2:22:39 AM PST by Kaslin
Freshman lawmaker Joe Salazar, (D. Thornton) became an embarrassing distraction for the liberal juggernaut in Colorado last week when he blurted out what he really thinks of the Second Amendment, the right of self defense, and the faculties of women in peril.
Hint: His views are appalling. As backlash developed, Salazar offered a defensive, non-apology. Then, the liberal power structure went into a defensive goal-line line crouch to contain the damage. The whole drama offers a two act play: embarrassment, then farce.
Embarrassment hit when Salazar argued women should be barred from bearing arms for self defense on campus. Debating a bill to carve colleges and universities out of Colorado’s concealed carry laws, Salazar intoned: “It’s why we have call boxes, it’s why we have safe zones, it’s why we have the whistles. Because you just don’t know who you’re gonna be shooting at.”
He wasn’t done. “And you don’t know if you feel like you’re gonna be raped, or if you feel like someone’s been following you around or if you feel like you’re in trouble when you may actually not be, that you pop out that gun and you pop … pop a round at somebody.”
Of course, happens all the time.
This perfect distillation of paternalistic liberal hostility to arms and self defense, wrapped in contempt for the stable judgment of women under stress wasn’t immediately reported. (Who can imagine why such sexy nuggets went unseized by Colorado’s scribes?)
The bill was part of an extensively covered slate of anti-gun measures, but Denver’s media tried to ignore the blunder. The blockade broke the following week when the political website Revealing Politics posted the clip on YouTube and criticism caught fire on social media.
As the flames licked around him, Salazar hastily offered the classic non-apology: I’m sorry if people were offended because they misunderstood.
“We were having a public policy debate on whether or not guns make people safer on campus,” he said. “I don’t believe they do. That was the point I was trying to make. If anyone thinks I’m not sensitive to the dangers women face, they’re wrong. I am a husband and father of two beautiful girls, and I’ve spent the last decade defending women’s rights as a civil rights attorney.”
Denver’s old media couldn’t keep ignoring the story, but at least instead of “Lawmaker trashes self-defense; ridicules women.” the scribes could announce: “Lawmaker apologizes.”
Of course, it wasn’t an apology, defined as “the acknowledgment of error coupled with an expression of regret.” Salazar actually doubled down: Critics misunderstood. He’s a sensitive guy, just explaining why guns are unsafe.
Exactly. The offensive words perfectly explain the policy Colorado Democrats are ramming into law: Self defense is undesirable. Public measures like call-phones, “safe zones,” or screaming “help!” are preferred. Because, you don’t know whether you’re really vulnerable to assault or just jumpy. You don’t know who you’ll shoot; likely you’ll “pop” a harmless stranger.
Salazar can’t truly apologize, because he means it. His position depends on it. If he disavowed, he’d have to support the right of arms for defense. But no: every ugly word was sincere.
Enter the farce.
The wagons circled quickly. Colorado’s House Speaker pronounced Salazar a “great legislator” and praised his “taking responsibility.” Governor Hickenlooper approved the “apology” and went silent.
Then, old media turned from the revealing blunder to attacking the errors of its critics. The second article on the situation from The Denver Post snarled about “false” claims in social media, spitting at errant tweets that got facts wrong.
This is remarkable. Never before –not in the 2010 scrums involving Colorado’s GOP gubernatorial or senatorial candidates, or the 2012 nationally bandied miscues of other candidates– has the Post ever trolled social media, hunting overstatements against the targeted politician, in order to slap them down. Not on day two of coverage. Not in the story lead. Not ever. Different standards are at play here.
Next, the Post editorialized, this was no Todd Akin style gotcha! Salazar’s words might be subject to criticism, but didn’t rise to Akin levels. Period. Akin, after all, sought to undermine the sacred: “a woman’s right to choose.”
So there. Akin misstated a biological consequence of rape, and unforgivably disrespected a right the Supreme Court discovered in 1973 by a 5-4 vote. It had been a moot, contrived question in any event, since Akin’s particular view is in the distinct minority in the Senate and was a nonstarter as long as the court upholds Roe v. Wade.
In contrast, Salazar mocked the idea of self defense embodied in actual constitutional text, and called women potential hysterical killers. He and Colorado Democrats are pushing hard to codify this view.
By many measures, Salazar’s words are more offensive and consequential than Akin’s. The Post’s decree otherwise was both arrogant and unnecessary. If Salazar’s words merit criticism, as the Post conceded, then criticize!
What news judgment made extensive comparison with Akin the relevant story? If anonymous social media commenters overreached, ignore them, or, in a concluding paragraph, express disagreement with the more breathless critics.
Only willful or unconscious sympathies to protect a beleaguered lawmaker, a philosophy, and an ongoing legislative agenda that the Post endorses explain the unprecedented shift from reporting Salazar’s gaffe to discrediting social media critics.
The Farce Train heads to Colorado’s Senate next week.
If enough women started asking Democrats flat out if they believe that they are entitled to defend their lives with guns, this mess would quickly end.
Get them on record either admitting it or refusing to give a straight answer. Then let the girls club take over. It’s one thing for a man to try convincing a lib woman of something. But another woman can. And what sane man or woman believes ame should control their right to live and defend that life with any means available?
Get to the core issue. Stop talking all around the problem.
Ame = Anyone
I think folks have have deactivated them since I seldom hear them anymore.......I know I have but nobody wants to steal a little two seater rustbucket anyway,.
(Who can imagine why such sexy nuggets went unseized by Colorado’s scribes?)
No need to imagine - this is the very essence of the Liberal view of women, and no news organ is going to make the speaker look foolish when he’s just echoing what everyone on the Left already believes.
I’ve never once heard a car alarm and thought it was anything but a Harley having rode by it or something like that. Never thought it was a robbery. Never read or heard anything about any robberies from those times either.
I would think a woman being raped would be thinking about doing something other than searching her purse for a rape whistle. Then again, I’m not a Democrat. But their ability to ignore logical thought impresses me to no end.
What the hell does that mean? What a bizarre statement.
AMEN!
It just drives me batcrap crazy that the Right is now just as PC as the left. Most of the crap would stop dead in it’s tracks of we just had the guts to call the left on the BS. And how much courage does it REALLY take to say
“Excuse me Congressman/Senator/Mayor/whomever, But do you believe as a matter of policy, or personally that I have to subject my life/defense to your political agenda?”
And make the bastards answer. As many times as it takes for others to do the same.
But, if people are all good with slavery, they should publicly name their price and others can buy them outright.
All except the right of his wife and daughters to defend themselves.
Those car alarms make a great sound, all going off in the parking lot at the 10pm fireworks show every night of the Ventura County Fair, CA, in Aug.!
I like the car security systems they have in South America...flamethrowers under the rocker panels that BBQ anyone trying to break in ;)
Less noisy and cooks up some fine long pig....
If we had the guts....
Hell; we are ALLOWING the teaching of backing down in our schools!
Oh; you poor widdle thing; someone PICKED on you!
What ever happened to MEN in this country?
Did their balls get removed as well when they got a vasectomy?
Well if women cannot Whistle, Puke n’ Pee at the same time it sounds like they should leave the Democratic Party. Come to the Conservative Side. Get a gun and become a new voting block for Truth, Justice and the ability to defend yourself. BANG!
“What ever happened to MEN in this country?”
My daughter asks me that often. Seriously. She has more testosterone than any 5 random guys you’d pick from a crowd. Seems lately many women do.
Must be the soy....
Yeah, right. I think too many women love the right to kill unborn children more than a right to defend themselves. It’s an unholy alliance we’re seeing here.
Democrats are always so intent to disarm the victims and coddle the criminals, you’d almost think they are on the side of the thugs. /s
What I wouldn’t give to hold down a corner in Mark Steyn’s brain while he read these words of Salazar.
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