As its name suggests, MSNBC’s The 11th Hour airs at 11:00 Eastern, which on Tuesday was well after the bombshell report that the Colorado Springs shooter identifies as non-binary. Still, host Stephanie Ruhle wondered how to combat conservatives who are “dehumanizing” anyone who isn’t a white heterosexual. Later, irony died as she labeled Rush Limbaugh ‘the king” of misinformation.
During an interview with Colorado State Rep. Leslie Herod, who Ruhle introduced as the first elected black LGBT in the state, Ruhle unwittingly asked two contradictory questions, “Then where does the hate come from? We obviously do not yet know the motivation of this shooter. But if people don't support a community, why not just not part not participate in it? Where does this anger, where does the violence stem from?”
Ruhle should’ve stopped after admitting the motive remains unknown, especially with the new revelations from the defendant’s lawyers. However, that would’ve defeated the purpose for Herod’s appearance.
For her part, Herod wasted no time escalating the rhetoric, “Well, a lot of the violence and the anger does come from the elected leaders that choose to target LGBTQ people, especially transgender youth in their rhetoric, in the bill, in the legislation that they choose to pass. It is extremely, extremely problematic and quite frankly it's dangerous.”
Escalating even further, she claimed, “So, this rhetoric and what we see on social media, in the press, all of that does add up to creating an atmosphere not only of hate but of dehumanizing people and making it seem okay, okay that their lives, and their lives that don't matter, right? And make it seem like it's okay for them to be murdered.”
Instead of pushing back on the outrageous allegation that conservative lawmakers want people murdered, Ruhle eagerly accepted the premise, “Then what do you do about that, right? That the far-right is dehumanizing, right? It's demoralizing the LGBTQ community. And truthfully any ‘other’ community that is not white, heterosexual, and straight. It's happening all across the country. Given that, where do we go from here? Where do you do in your position?”
While “heterosexual” and “straight” are redundant, Herod spoke of needing to go beyond legislation to counter allegedly hateful rhetoric.
Later, during a segment on Salem Media and conservative talk radio and against a chyron that read “"Right Wing Disinformation On The Radio", Ruhle asked The Bulwark’s Charlie Sykes, “Charlie, you know the space so, so well. You were a longtime radio host. None of it's new, right? Rush Limbaugh was the king of this kind of misinformation for decades. But for many of those decades he was the only one out there doing it. Why has it gotten so much worse? Because there's so many Rush juniors out there?”
Sykes responded by lamenting the state of talk radio, “But it's also interesting to watch the transformation. It used to have hosts who were reasonable, thoughtful hosts like Michael Medvedev, now they have people like Charlie Kirk and Seb Gorka. They still feature Hugh Hewitt, who continues to peddle misinformation, Dennis Prager has become more MAGA.”
After that segment with Herod, Ruhle has no right to call anyone the king of misinformation.
These segments were sponsored by the U.S. Postal Service.
Here is a transcript for the November 22 show:
MSNBC The 11th Hour with Stephanie Ruhle
11/22/2022
11:26 PM ET
STEPHANIE RUHLE: Then where does the hate come from? We obviously do not yet know the motivation of this shooter. But if people don't support a community, why not just not part not participate in it? Where does this anger, where does the violence stem from?
LESLIE HEROD: Well, a lot of the violence and the anger does come from the elected leaders that choose to target LGBTQ people, especially transgender youth in their rhetoric, in the bill, in the legislation that they choose to pass. It is extremely, extremely problematic and quite frankly it's dangerous. In the General Assembly, we saw an uptick in the number of anti-LGBTQ legislation being introduced. Now, though it has been stopped by progressives in the General Assembly, we know that that rhetoric does seep into the hearts and minds of so many.
So, this rhetoric and what we see on social media, in the press, all of that does add up to creating an atmosphere not only of hate but of dehumanizing people and making it seem okay, okay that their lives, and their lives that don't matter, right? And make it seem like it's okay for them to be murdered.
RUHLE: Then what do you do about that, right? That the far-right is dehumanizing, right? It's demoralizing the LGBTQ community. And truthfully any “other” community that is not white, heterosexual, and straight. It's happening all across the country. Given that, where do we go from here? Where do you do in your position?
HEROD: Yeah, you know, I don’t think it’s as simple as a piece of legislation. You know, we have passed progressive legislation throughout Colorado. In fact, a lot of folks find Colorado to be a safe haven, a sanctuary state for folks who are seeking refuge because of their transgender stratus, definitely embracing of immigrants as well.
…
11:39 PM ET
RUHLE: Charlie, you know the space so, so well. You were a longtime radio host. None of it's new, right? Rush Limbaugh was the king of this kind of misinformation for decades. But for many of those decades—
CHARLIE SYKES: Yes.
RUHLE: -- he was the only one out there doing it. Why has it gotten so much worse? Because there's so many Rush juniors out there?
SYKES: Yeah. There's a little bit-- there's a little bit of room in the space. And Salem is a juggernaut. But it's also interesting to watch the transformation. It used to have hosts who were reasonable, thoughtful hosts like Michael Medvedev, now they have people like Charlie Kirk and Seb Gorka. They still feature Hugh Hewitt, who continues to peddle misinformation, Dennis Prager has become more MAGA. You know, one of the things about radio is it's a very intimate media-- medium.
It actually has—there’s a different relationship between the host and the listener than you will find on television or social media, because you are in people’s ears. You are in their lives. And therefore they do have that sort of credibility. So it is based on trust and if that trust is abused aggressively, you get the kind of results we are talking about tonight.
