For much of Monday, MSNBC had disgraced anchorman Brian Williams hosting their Las Vegas shooting aftermath coverage. During the five P.M. hour, which was usually reserved for MTP Daily, Williams had Connecticut Democratic Senator Richard Blumenthal on to smear Congressional Republicans a “complicit” the murder of 59 people and injury of 527 others. He even used the deaths of the first graders in Sandy Hook to do it.
After introducing Blumenthal, Williams immediately jumped into his guest’s calls for gun control now. “So you heard what was said from the podium, Senator, as we welcome you on the broadcast. You happen to believe this is the time to have this discussion,” he teed up his guest.
“The president called what happened in Las Vegas pure evil. If he believes it was pure evil, now is the time to lead,” Blumenthal sneered. “We saw this evil in Newtown just a few years ago, nothing has changed since Newtown. Congress has been complicit.”
Williams lamented about how the murder of little kids didn’t spur the Republican ran Congress to act. “Why don't we act? What is the problem? What was it about first graders losing their lives that wasn't sad enough to result in changes?”
Blumenthal blamed it on the NRA boogeyman. He claimed that “the grip, in fact, stranglehold of the NRA and other special interests on the Congressional process has undermined our efforts, in fact, blocked them.”
Williams also demanded to know when Americans would be tired of the Second Amendment. “When do you believe the American people will have had enough; enough to push back against the edges of the Second Amendment argument enough to say we can live under the Second Amendment but there should be limits,” he asked his liberal guest.
“I believe that we're reaching a tipping point but remember also between the time that Ronald Reagan was almost assassinated and the Brady Law there were ten years, so it's a marathon, not a sprint and we have to be in it for the long haul,” Blumenthal explained.
Both of them also proved just how little they actually understood about firearms when they tried to discredit the use of suppressors. “What is your understanding of the argument—and this has already been tied in today—the legislative effort to legalize silencers or some silencers in some cases,” Williams prefaced, hyping an uneducated tweeted by failed presidential candidate Hillary Clinton.
“What a travesty when you think the reason those folks ran from those gunshots is they could hear them. This legislation ought to be a non-starter like the concealed carry legislation,” Blumenthal lamented. But the fact of the matter is, a suppressor can only reduce the sound of a gunshot to the decibel level of a jackhammer, that’s still pretty loud. They don’t work how Hollywood and video games depict them.
Clearly, they were only interested in pushing gun control and not having a serious debate using the actual facts.
Transcripts below:
MSNBC
MTP Daily
October 2, 2017
5:17:55 PM Eastern(…)
BRIAN WILLIAMS: So you heard what was said from the podium, Senator, as we welcome you on the broadcast. You happen to believe this is the time to have this discussion?
RICHARD BLUMENTHAL: The president called what happened in Las Vegas pure evil. If he believes it was pure evil, now is the time to lead. We saw this evil in Newtown just a few years ago, nothing has changed since Newtown. Congress has been complicit. We ought to honor the victims by acting. And, of course, our condolences, hearts, prayers, grief, go out to the families. And I saw those images and I've seen them all day in horror the unspeakable tragedy that we remember too well. But we also ought to be angry. I'm furious that congress has been complicit. Now is the time for action.
WILLIAMS: Why don't we act? What is the problem? What was it about first graders losing their lives that wasn't sad enough to result in changes?
BLUMENTHAL: The grip, in fact, stranglehold of the NRA and other special interests on the Congressional process has undermined our efforts, in fact, blocked them. But I really believe we can honor these victims and we can arrive at a tipping point where we change America. America will feel the same fury that I felt watching these images.
WILLIAMS: What is your understanding of the argument—and this has already been tied in today—the legislative effort to legalize silencers or some silencers in some cases? What's your understanding of that argument?
BLUMENTHAL: The argument for silencers?
WILLIAMS: For legalizing the use of silencers on weapons.
BLUMENTHAL: Making the purchase or use of silencers easier is supposed to be good for the ears of the folks who are shooting. What a travesty when you think the reason those folks ran from those gunshots is they could hear them. This legislation ought to be a non-starter like the concealed carry legislation, what a travesty and a tragedy that the supposed reforms that Congress is considering now are the silencer legislation and concealed carry proposal.
We ought to have an agenda of common sense steps to stop gun violence, including a ban on assault weapons and the high-capacity magazines that are used for these mass killings. Assault weapons have no purpose but to maim and kill human beings, they're weapons of war and, of course, background checks for everyone who buys a gun especially to keep them out of the hands of dangerous people.
WILLAMS: When do you believe the American people will have had enough; enough to push back against the edges of the Second Amendment argument enough to say we can live under the Second Amendment but there should be limits?
BLUMENTHAL: I'm a law enforcer by trying and career. I believe in the Second Amendment because it's the law of the land, but those common sense measures would in no way infringe on any constitutional right and the vast majority—more than 80 or 90 percent-- believe we ought to have background checks to keep these weapons out of the hands of dangerous people.
I believe that we're reaching a tipping point but remember also between the time that Ronald Reagan was almost assassinated and the Brady Law there were ten years, so it's a marathon now a sprint and we have to be in it for the long haul. The courage and strength of the Newtown families and of the families in Las Vegas and Orlando will inspire America, I believe, along with the horror of this unspeakable tragedy.
(…)
