MSNBC Morning Joe co-host Joe Scarborough reached deep into his bag of outrageous analogies on Wednesday in order to accuse Republicans of turning America into Iraq, Afghanistan, and Vietnam because they refuse to pass gun control.
Mike Barnicle set the table for Scarborough’s remarks by also blaming the GOP for recent mass shootings, "It's inexplicable why, as you point out, largely the Republican Party is responsible for standing in the way of any substantive progress, even the smallest elements of progress in terms of getting control of this virus that is crippling America, the gun virus. It is truly inexplicable, there's no way you can talk about it without-- there's no way you can understand what their motives are. Are they that afraid of one outfit, the National Rifle Association?"
That Barnicle was unwilling to even consider that people honestly and sincerely do not agree with him was not even close to the worst part of the discussion as Scarborough began his remarks, “It's just inexplicable. It's just inexplicable and Willie, we're now seeing images that resemble a film that we saw out of Vietnam, video that we saw out of Fallujah. Video that we saw out of Kandahar. Video that we see when our soldiers are fighting foreign wars, and they take gunfire.”
One would hope that Scarborough does not seriously believe that the situation in the United States is anything like an actual war or that other countries do not have dramatic moments of law enforcement. Yet, he would proceed to blame Republicans for this alleged war-like atmosphere:
Except this is happening in local banks. It's happening in elementary schools, it's happening at country music concerts, it's happening in churches, it's happening in synagogues, it's happening in grocery stores, it's happening in colleges, it's happening everywhere Americans live. The war-- you know, Republicans always said we got to fight them over there so we don't have to fight them over here okay, well, we're fighting them over there, but we're fighting ourselves over here."
Continuing with the war references, Scarborough added, “We're fighting a Republican Party that will not do what 90 percent of Americans want them to do on universal background checks. Will not do what a majority of Americans want them to do, overwhelming majority Americans want them to do nationwide on red flag laws, who will not take a serious look at regulating weapons of war.”
Speaking of Fallujah, knives could be considered weapons of war, so Scarborough’s “weapons of war” phrase is meaningless. Nevertheless, Scarborough then doubled down on his earlier analogies, “So they are not just handed over to people who have-- who are in the middle of mental crises, but that's where we are, we're seeing video that looks like it's from Afghanistan or Iraq or Vietnam. It is really sickening.”
When law enforcement has to clear entire cities of a-Qaeda, then Scarborough’s claim can be taken seriously. Until then, he’ll continue to engage in outrageous comparisons while wondering why nobody listens to him.
This segment was sponsored by Audi.
Here is a transcript for the April 12 show:
MSNBC Morning Joe
6:39 AM ET
4/12/2023
MIKE BARNICLE: But the ache, the heartache and the loss that was expressed in the clip the that we just showed, that lasts forever, it affects a community forever and it's inexplicable why, as you point out, largely the Republican Party is responsible for standing in the way of any substantive progress, even the smallest elements of progress in terms of getting control of this virus that is crippling America, the gun virus. It is truly inexplicable, there's no way you can talk about it without-- there's no way you can understand what their motives are. Are they that afraid of one outfit, the National Rifle Association?
JOE SCARBOROUGH: It's crazy.
BARNICLE: I mean, it's inexplicable. I don’t know what else to say.
SCARBOROUGH: It's just inexplicable. It's just inexplicable and Willie, we're now seeing images that resemble a film that we saw out of Vietnam, video that we saw out of Fallujah. Video that we saw out of Kandahar. Video that we see when our soldiers are fighting foreign wars, and they take gunfire.
Except this is happening in local banks. It's happening in elementary schools, it's happening at country music concerts, it's happening in churches, it's happening in synagogues, it's happening in grocery stores, it's happening in colleges, it's happening everywhere Americans live.
The war-- you know, Republicans always said we got to fight them over there so we don't have to fight them over here okay, well, we're fighting them over there, but we're fighting ourselves over here.
We're fighting a Republican Party that will not do what 90 percent of Americans want them to do on universal background checks. Will not do what a majority of Americans want them to do, overwhelming majority Americans want them to do nationwide on red flag laws, who will not take a serious look at regulating weapons of war.
So they are not just handed over to people who have-- who are in the middle of mental crises, but that's where we are, we're seeing video that looks like it's from Afghanistan or Iraq or Vietnam. It is really sickening.
