In the A-block of Wednesday’s The ReidOut, MSNBC host and racist Joy Reid claimed Kentucky Attorney General Daniel Cameron (R) supports the indiscriminate killing of fellow black people in their homes because, according to Joy, Cameron thinks Breonna Taylor’s “death was akin to a drowning or accident or being hit by a bus.”
Reid went further, implying with the help of panelists that Cameron’s investigation did the bidding of the GOP and mentor/Senator Mitch McConnell (R-KY) to emphasize that the lives of “black Americans” don’t matter, along with their rights to justice, keep and bare arms, and the rule of law.
In response, one panelist referred to Cameron as having given “a Bull Connor speech in 2020” and engaged in collusion (presumably with police and/or white people) to deny Taylor justice.
After expressing anger with the officers not having been charged with her death, Reid moved to Cameron by dismissing him as “a protégé of Senator Mitch McConnell, who was at his wedding in early August” and maligned his press conference as “highly politicized.”
Worse yet, she falsely claimed Cameron only believed Taylor’s death was no worse than “a drowning or accident or being hit by a bus.”
Since Reid won’t, here’s some excerpts from Cameron’s press conference in which he talked about Taylor (click “expand”):
I want to once again publicly express my condolences. Every day, this family wakes up to the realization that someone they loved is no longer with them. There’s nothing I can offer today to take away the grief and heartache this family is experiencing as a result of losing a child, a niece, a sister, and a friend. What I can provide today are the facts, which my office has worked long and hard to uncover, analyze and scrutinize since accepting this case in mid-May. I urge everyone listening today to not lose sight of the fact that a life has been lost, a tragedy under any circumstances. The decision before my office as the special prosecutor in this case was not to decide if the loss of Ms. Taylor’s life was a tragedy. The answer to that question is unequivocally yes. There is no doubt that this is a gut wrenching emotional case, and the pain that many people are feeling is understandable. I deeply care about the value and sanctity of human life. It deserves protection. And in this case, a human life was lost. We cannot forget that.
(....)
I certainly understand the pain that has been brought about by the tragic loss of Ms. Taylor. I understand that. As an Attorney General who is responsible for all 120 counties in terms of being the chief legal officer, the chief law enforcement officer, I understand that. I understand that as a black man, how painful this is, which is why it was so incredibly important for make sure that we did everything we possibly could to uncover every fact....My heart breaks for the loss of Ms. Taylor. And I’ve said that repeatedly, my mother, if something was to happen to me, would find it very hard. And I’ve seen that pain on Ms. Palmer’s face. I’ve seen that pain in the community.
After listening to a clip of Cameron denounce outside groups seeking to lecture Kentuckians about how the case should have proceeded, Reid asserted that, in climbing into the minds of Cameron and the grand jury, “Breonna Taylor's life did not matter.”
She continued to seethe and assert Cameron believeed in the killing of fellow black people at the leisure of police:
According to the theory of the law that was voiced today by Attorney General Cameron, police have the perfect right to bust into your home in the middle of the night if you have any association that police are looking for, even if they've already found them. And they can shoot and kill you in your bed and walk away with no legal repercussions. The only problem that these police will have is if they don't aim properly at you and they endanger your neighbors. And about that right to bear arms and defend yourself in your home, you know, that conservative rallying cry, Second Amendment? Oh, that doesn't apply to black people, sorry. The rule of law? That doesn't apply to black people. Justice? Eh, that doesn't apply to black people. That was the message we heard from the state of Kentucky today.
NBC legal analyst Paul Butler piled on, declaring Cameron to have viewed himself “as judge and jury,” possessed the belief that police officers are “above the law,” and was a lackey implementing “Trump's talking points.”
Reid replied with even more sneering, hilariously claiming that, with Republicans, one has to especially worry about one’s political party being their “religion” and that, for Cameron, it’s more important to be Republican than black.
Click “expand” to see more of Reid’s bile and how BLM co-founder Alicia Garza calling Cameron a 2020 reincarnation of Bull Connor:
REID: I think you have to always look at party. Party is the religion now in America, especially for Republicans. Don't look at the fact that this guy is black. He is a Republican through and through. He spoke at the RNC. He told you who he was. Believe him. Alicia Garza, this guy did manage to get out a few words about celebrities and he's upset that people are going to speak out on behalf of Breonna Taylor. He finds that offensive. Maybe he's still mad that Tina Knowles owned him on pumping off and doing his marriage thing and having Mitch McConnell as his guest of honor and enjoying his life while Breonna Taylor lay cold in the ground, maybe he's still mad at Tina Knowles, but what do you make of his performance today and what do you think is going to happen in terms of the activism around Breonna Taylor going from here?
GARZA: Well, Joy, you said it best. I mean, this was an atrocity and I watched that press conference this morning, and noticed that there were more words and more time given to activist celebrities and influencers who don't know what's happening in Kentucky than there was giving the actual facts of what was happening in this case, giving condolences to this family that, just last week, was paid out $12 million in a civil suit because it acknowledges that there was wrongdoing here. And so, again, I think what I saw this morning was a — a Bull Connor speech in 2020. And you're right, unfortunately, it was being given by a black prosecutor....And unfortunately, I think what we're seeing here is a case of collusion. This is what — this is how police officers are not held accountable in — when they commit crimes in our communities and what we found in the black census is that that is what black communities want to see. Police officers being held accountable when they commit crimes in our communities and so to answer your question about what is going to happen in this — in terms of activism, people are going to keep fighting.
Once Reid said that “Cameron hasn’t done a damn thing” to change policing, Al Sharpton jumped in and concurred by opining that Kentucky has shown Americans “this black woman [didn’t] matter” to them and only likes outsiders when it comes to the Kentucky Derby.
He added that, when it comes to paying tribute to Taylor, Kentuckians should vote out McConnell. Uh-uh.
Before going to break, Reid agreed and added Cameron to the equation for when he faces voters again in 2023 because he behaved in a “very southern, old-fashioned,” and “antebellum sort of way” to conclude “that a bullet in the wall is more of a crime than a bullet — six bullets inside of the body of Breonna Taylor.”
Reid’s assertion that Cameron supports black people being shot indiscriminately in their homes without consequence was made possible by (and thus the views were supported by) advertisers such as ClearChoice, Lincoln, and Olay. Follow the links to the MRC’s Conservatives Fight Back page.
To see the relevant transcript from September 23, click “expand.”
To see the relevant transcript from September 23, click “expand.”
MSNBC’s The ReidOut
September 23, 2020
7:02 p.m. EasternJOY REID: After these findings were announced, Kentucky Attorney General Daniel Cameron who, by the way, is a protégé of Senator Mitch McConnell, who was at his wedding in early August, called Breonna Taylor's death a tragedy. As if her death was akin to a drowning or accident or being hit by a bus. But then proceeded to make a highly politicized speech that included calling out those who dare to use their platforms to seek justice for Breonna.
ATTORNEY GENERAL DANIEL CAMERON (R-KY): There will be celebrities, influencers and activists who, having never lived in Kentucky, will try to tell us how to feel, suggesting they understand the facts of this case and that they know our community and the commonwealth better than we do, but they don't. Let's not give in to their attempts to influence our thinking or capture our emotions.
REID: You know, I said it earlier today and I'll say it again, tonight’s — today's ruling states that in legal terms, Breonna Taylor's life did not matter. That message was heard loud and clear and not just by black Kentuckians, but by black Americans everywhere. That, according to the theory of the law that was voiced today by Attorney General Cameron, police have the perfect right to bust into your home in the middle of the night if you have any association that police are looking for, even if they've already found them. And they can shoot and kill you in your bed and walk away with no legal repercussions. The only problem that these police will have is if they don't aim properly at you and they endanger your neighbors. And about that right to bear arms and defend yourself in your home, you know, that conservative rallying cry, Second Amendment? Oh, that doesn't apply to black people, sorry. The rule of law? That doesn't apply to black people. Justice? Eh, that doesn't apply to black people. That was the message we heard from the state of Kentucky today.
(....)
7:11 p.m. Eastern
PAUL BUTLER: We know that the attorney general was a conservative Republican who spoke at the GOP convention, and this stinks of politics. This decision is consistent with President Trump's talking points about protecting the police and blue lives matter, but it's inconsistent with justice.
REID: Yeah, I think you have to always look at party. Party is the religion now in America, especially for Republicans. Don't look at the fact that this guy is black. He is a Republican through and through. He spoke at the RNC. He told you who he was. Believe him. Alicia Garza, this guy did manage to get out a few words about celebrities and he's upset that people are going to speak out on behalf of Breonna Taylor. He finds that offensive. Maybe he's still mad that Tina Knowles owned him on pumping off and doing his marriage thing and having Mitch McConnell as his guest of honor and enjoying his life while Breonna Taylor lay cold in the ground, maybe he's still mad at Tina Knowles, but what do you make of his performance today and what do you think is going to happen in terms of the activism around Breonna Taylor going from here?
ALICIA GARZA: Well, Joy, you said it best. I mean, this was an atrocity and I watched that press conference this morning, and noticed that there were more words and more time given to activist celebrities and influencers who don't know what's happening in Kentucky than there was giving the actual facts of what was happening in this case, giving condolences to this family that, just last week, was paid out $12 million in a civil suit because it acknowledges that there was wrongdoing here. And so, again, I think what I saw this morning was a — a Bull Connor speech in 2020. And you're right, unfortunately, it was being given by a black prosecutor. I think what's important for us to understand here is that what actually ends up happening is that misdoings and the — the — the actions of these officers get sloughed off onto communities. Communities like this end up paying millions and millions in taxpayer dollars for police misconduct and police violence and police abuse. And unfortunately, I think what we're seeing here is a case of collusion. This is what — this is how police officers are not held accountable in — when they commit crimes in our communities and what we found in the black census is that that is what black communities want to see. Police officers being held accountable when they commit crimes in our communities and so to answer your question about what is going to happen in this — in terms of activism, people are going to keep fighting. People are going to keep organizing, and they're going to keep pushing. We saw something very typical this morning in the press conference where there was a task force announced to study the problem and quite frankly, my mentors have always said that task forces are the places where accountability and good ideas go to die and so that is actually what needs to happen here —
REID: Yep, yep.
GARZA: — and it's deeply unfortunate.
REID: Yeah, that seems like Cameron's goal here is to just let it die.
(....)
7:15 p.m. Eastern
AL SHARPTON: And the thing that was offensive to me is that the whole rallying cry, thanks to Alicia and her two brilliant partners of Black Lives Matter that started the night of George Zimmerman's acquittal, is they came back today saying no, black lives don't matter because the life that was lost was not even addressed in this indictment. It was those that might have had collateral damage why we killed somebody, but we're not going to address there criminality of killing that person, because they don't matter. This black woman doesn't matter. Even though we were not even after her, even though the person we claimed to be after was not there and, in fact, in custody. It doesn't matter on a criminal level. The other thing to say that celebrities and activists and influencers come in that don't know them, we were called in by the people in Kentucky. The family of Breonna Taylor called people in.
REID: That’s right.
SHARPTON: And Kentucky has no problem if we come to Kentucky to go to the Kentucky derby and watch some horses run around behind each other, but don't come in there for a black woman who has been killed or they going to have the activist derby in Louisville, just like they have Kentucky Derby because the value of that black woman's life means more to me than it is a horse. Breonna’s mother — one of her first interviews, if not her first one on PoliticsNation, she spoke at our March just three weeks ago in Washington. They have brought their plea to all of us, and we're going to respond. One of the ways we respond, and I hope we don't have violence because I don't want to see any of us become like what we're fighting, but we need to really understand that this prosecutor and Mitch McConnell are on the ballot this — in about six weeks —
REID: Yes.
SHARPTON: — right there in Kentucky and they need to put some of that energy toward voting and sending a message if, in the name of Breonna, we retire Mitch McConnell as majority leader, that's a step showing how serious we are. It's not justice for that family, but it’s a step that we are serious about what we're doing.
REID: Absolutely and Mr. Cameron should recall that the prosecutors involved in the Tamir Rice case and the Michael Brown case, they lost their jobs based on their behavior, so he's got three — he’s got four more years to go. He just got in. But he should just keep that in mind and it's so very southern that a bullet in the wall is more of a crime than a bullet — six bullets inside of the body of Breonna Taylor. Such a very southern, old-fashioned in an antebellum sort of way.
