Tuesday on Morning Joe, the gun control conversation continued in the wake of terrorism in Orlando. However, MSNBC didn’t put the spotlight on the FBI for taking Omar Mateen off the terrorist watch list, nor did they call out Congress for letting the federal assault weapons ban expire. Rather, they targeted Ronald Reagan. Unsurprisingly, MSNBC hosts saw this as an opportunity to joke about the conservatism of Reagan and how they imagine he would react to this attack.
While Scarborough did his usual dance of egoism and self-praise, the ever-aghast Brzezinski was dumbfounded at the number of assault rifles being purchased at a store in Atlanta.
MIKA BRZEZINSKI: What? What in the world? This is what, I’m sorry I must be completely in a bubble. I don’t understand. That was the owner of a gun shop in Georgia who says he is selling more AR-15 style rifles, that’s the kind that was used in the massacre—
MIKE BARNICLE: Yeah.
BRZEZINSKI: In an hour right now than he typically does in the day. Why? Why do people need those? Why would they run out and get that?
As it turns out, Brzezinski comes from a self-proclaimed “family of hunters” who, according to Scarborough, have “guns all over the place.”
BRZEZINSKI: Well I’m from a family of hunters.
JOE SCARBOROUGH: To hunt. I just. I’m sorry. They don’t.
BRZEZINSKI: Rifles and shotguns.
SCARBOROUGH: This is not a part of a gun culture. It’s not about you living in a bubble. I know that your brothers and your family has guns all over the place. Shooting.
BRZEZINSKI: They hunt. Well, they hunt. They have some guns. Yeah.
Sorry to burst the bubble, but this is the crux of the gun control debate. There is a strong divide between the various types of gun-owners who comprise the gun culture. Whether it be for hunting or for personal protection, there is no hierarchy of rights when it comes to gun ownership. The problem isn’t responsible gun owners; the problem is mentally unstable gun enthusiasts who hunt innocent people for sport.
As per usual, viewers simply cannot rely on MSNBC to accurately report all dimensions of an issue. What they can expect is ill-timed, unfounded humor, as they rounded out the segment by mocking late President Reagan and his efforts to ban assault rifles.
SCARBOROUGH: You know what Ronald Reagan said about the AR-15? Ban it. That’s what Ronald Reagan said, but then again—
BRZEZINSKI: Ten an hour.
SCARBOROUGH: Ronald Reagan wasn’t a real Conservative, was he?
BRZEZINSKI: What do you need this for?
SCARBOROUGH: Reagan wasn’t a real conservative. You know, Reagan also supported background checks. Commie.
NICOLLE WALLACE: And amnesty.
SCARBOROUGH: Yeah.
BARNICLE: He was weak.
SCARBOROUGH: Weak sauce.
This is a cheap shot, fired at a president who survived an assassination attempt on his life only months after taking office in 1981. The double standard in the mainstream media has reached new heights. Had this been an FNC anchor who joked about the progressive policies of FDR, there would be widespread outrage and criticism from every angle. Lest we forget the wrath of MSNBC is just around the corner.
For the last few weeks, Scarborough has repeatedly demanded that Republicans in Congress “stand up and be counted.” Well, it is time for him to do the opposite. Stand down, Joe, and walk away from those repugnant comments.
View Full Transcript Here:
06-14-16 MSNBC Morning Joe
6:23:44 AM – 6:26:20 AM
[Video of a Gun Shop Owner in Atlanta Being Interviewed]
ERIC WALLACE (Adventure Outdoors): Normally we might sell three or four a day, but we’ve been selling about ten an hour and then right around lunch time we were selling about fifteen an hour.
[End of video]
MIKA BRZEZINSKI: What? What in the world? This is what, I’m sorry I must be completely in a bubble. I don’t understand. That was the owner of a gun shop in Georgia who says he is selling more AR-15 style rifles, that’s the kind that was used in the massacre—
MIKE BARNICLE: Yeah.
BRZEZINSKI: In an hour right now than he typically does in the day. Why? Why do people need those? Why would they run out and get that?
BARNICLE: I can understand. I think there is probably a fear among gun owners, legitimate gun owners, that they're going to be taken off the market, and so you want to get one before they think wrongly that congress might act to ban the sale of AR-15’s.
NICOLLE WALLACE: [Laughs] They got nothing to worry about.
SCARBOROUGH: But yeah they’ve got nothing to worry about, first of all but you say legitimate gun owners, they’re gonna say. Again, I grew up—
BARNICLE: Yeah.
SCARBOROUGH: --I grew up, I was born in Georgia—
BARNICLE: Yeah.
SCARBOROUGH: --around hunters—
BARNICLE: Yeah.
SCARBOROUGH: --moved to rural Mississippi where people would go out at night and shoot at trees, target practice
BARNICLE: Sure.
SCARBOROUGH: --out in the woods. I grew up around them, Meridian, Mississippi. Outskirts of Meridian. That's rural Mississippi. And lived in Tuscaloosa, Alabama, lived in Northwest Florida. Surrounded by people who went hunting every week and took their five year olds hunting, six year olds hunting, were responsible about it. I got to say I was born, bred and raised in that culture, the guys I all knew growing up, guys that I’ve known for 53 years, they get rifles and shotguns.
BARNICLE: Sure.
SCARBOROUGH: To shoot at deer.
BRZEZINSKI: Well I’m from a family of hunters.
SCARBOROUGH: To hunt. I just. I’m sorry. They don’t.
BRZEZINSKI: Rifles and shotguns.
SCARBOROUGH: This is not a part of a gun culture. It’s not about you living in a bubble. I know that your brothers and your family has guns all over the place. Shooting.
BRZEZINSKI: They hunt. Well they hunt. They have some guns. Yeah.
SCARBOROUGH: They hunt, yeah.
BARNICLE: You know what Stan McChristal says about the AR-15? Former General Stanley McChristal?
SCARBOROUGH: What’s that?
BARNICLE: It’s used for one thing and one thing only. Killing people.
BRZEZINSKI: Yeah.
SCARBOROUGH: You know what Ronald Reagan said about the AR-15? Ban it. That’s what Ronald Reagan said, but then again—
BRZEZINSKI: Ten an hour.
SCARBOROUGH: Ronald Reagan wasn’t a real Conservative, was he?
BRZEZINSKI: What do you need this for?
SCARBOROUGH: Reagan wasn’t a real conservative, you know, Reagan also supported background checks. Commie.
WALLACE: And amnesty.
SCARBOROUGH: Yeah.
BARNICLE: He was weak.
SCARBOROUGH: Weak sauce.
