Manchin gives Democrats a reality check on gun control



Democratic lawmakers are calling for new gun control legislation in the wake of the racially motivated massacre in Buffalo, New York, last weekend, but once again Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.) is standing in the way of the most fervent progressives.

President Joe Biden went to Buffalo on Tuesday and visited with the families of 10 people who were killed and three others wounded by a white supremacist gunman. In a speech, the president denounced the attack as an act of "domestic terrorism," condemned white supremacy, and renewed calls for a federal ban on so-called "assault weapons."

“There are certain things we can do. We can keep assault weapons off our streets. We’ve done it before. I did it when I passed the crime bill,” Biden said, referring to the 1994 Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act, which included a 10-year assault weapons ban.

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.), also speaking in Buffalo Tuesday, vowed that Democrats would "work towards finally ridding our streets of weapons of war."

But Manchin, speaking to reporters shortly before Biden spoke, gave his realistic assessment that in the 50-50 Senate, the only gun control legislation that has a chance of passing is a bipartisan compromise on background checks that previously failed. That bill, named for Manchin and his chief co-sponsor, Sen. Pat Toomey (R-Pa.), would expand federal background check requirements to all advertised commercial sales, including sales at gun shows and over the internet.

“I support the Manchin-Toomey, I’ve always done that,” Manchin told reporters, according to The Hill. “The Manchin-Toomey is the one. I think if you can’t get that one, then why try to do something just for basically voting for the sake of voting?”

While some Democrats want action on a universal background check bill that passed the House in March last year, the West Virginia moderate has previously said that bill goes too far because it would extend to private transactions, such as those between neighbors, hunting buddies, or even family. The Manchin-Toomey bill exempted those transactions.

“The best piece of legislation that we’ve ever had, that most people agreed on, was the Manchin-Toomey. We didn’t infringe on anyone’s rights privately,” Manchin said.

But if Manchin-Toomey was the bill "that most people agreed on," that wouldn't mean much — the bill failed in 2013, coming six votes short of the 60-vote threshold to overcome a filibuster at a time when a stronger Democratic majority held the Senate. Only two Republicans voted for it, Toomey and Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine).

It is far more unlikely that 10 Republicans would cross the aisle to vote for any sort of gun control bill this year, especially before the midterm elections in November.

Seth Meyers blames Tucker Carlson for inspiring Buffalo massacre — but Megyn Kelly issues blistering rebuke over politicizing the tragedy



Late-night TV host Seth Meyers unloaded on Fox News' Tucker Carlson on Monday night, saying that the conservative TV host helped to inspire the horrific massacre that took the lives of at least 10 people at a Buffalo, New York, supermarket on Saturday.

Meyers made the remarks on the same day that broadcaster Megyn Kelly hit out at media figures attempting to politicize the tragedy.

What are the details?

Meyers addressed the mass killing during Monday night's "Late Night with Seth Meyers," saying that he believed that Carlson was complicit in helping spread a conspiracy theory known as the Great Replacement.

NPR defines the theory as stating "that non-white individuals are being brought into the United States and other Western countries to 'replace' white voters to achieve a political agenda."

“With prominent figures on the right embracing and parroting the dangerous white nationalist conspiracy theory known as the Great Replacement, it’s worth noting that in addition to being deeply racist, bigoted, and dehumanizing, it’s also incredibly stupid,” Meyers said during a Monday night segment.

He accused Carlson of being guilty of downplaying right-wing domestic terrorism. In 2019, Carlson addressed white supremacy terrorism as small-scale and said that the movement's "combined membership of every white supremacist organization in this country would be able to fit inside a college football stadium."

Meyers zeroed in on those remarks during the segment, saying, “First of all, a college football stadium can fit like 100,000 people, which is a ton of people! If I told you, ‘Don’t worry, I rounded up all the white supremacists' and walked you into here, I don’t think your reaction would be, ‘Phew!’”

He added that Carlson has "openly and repeatedly promoted replacement theory on his show.”

“No one is being replaced. There’s no capacity limit here," he said. "It’s not like there’s a bouncer who only lets two in when two leave. Just think about how breathtakingly dumb the logic here is. No one gets replaced when another person enters the country.”

The Right's Embrace of Racist Replacement Theory Is Both Dangerous and Dumb: A Closer Lookwww.youtube.com

What else?

During Monday's episode of "The Megyn Kelly Show," Kelly said that those people trying to politicize the shooting are contributing to division.

“We will not be naming the shooter on this program, consistent with our policy of not naming mass shooters, who in part are out for infamy, and we decline to help," she said during the broadcast. "He’s pleaded not guilty, but he also left behind a trove of information, including a 180-page manifesto filled with racist and anti-Semitic commentary. The shooter was white. Detailing how and why he picked his target.”

She added that media talking heads who tried to blame Carlson and other conservatives for the shooting are "outrageous."

“Some in the media have been quick to point fingers and even place blame on our friend and very popular Fox News host, Tucker Carlson," she pointed out. "It’s outrageous. It’s wrong, both factually and morally."

Becoming further outraged, Kelly added, "Why do we have to go to that place immediately on these stories? Why can’t we spend two f***ing minutes mourning the people who are dead and trying to understand that we have insane people in this country? We have lunatics. It’s a huge country!”

Kelly pointed out that there's no way to eradicate the "lunatics" from the country, and attempting to politicize such a horrific tragedy will only further divide Americans.

"People have to inject their politics into everything. And this guy had a racist manifesto. There’s no question that doesn’t make it Tucker Carlson’s fault," she insisted. "Just stop it. Just stop it!”

(Content warning: Rough language):

"It's OUTRAGEOUS!" Megyn Kelly on the Gross Rush to Politicize Horrific Buffalo Mass Shooting www.youtube.com

'Detestable': Critics pummel Biden for racing to visit Buffalo in massacre aftermath despite still refusing to visit Waukesha



President Joe Biden announced on Monday that he and first lady Jill Biden would be traveling to Buffalo, New York, on Tuesday to grieve with the community following the horrific race-based massacre there that took the lives of ten and injured three others.

At a Tops supermarket in the city Saturday afternoon, the suspected gunman, 18-year-old Payton Gendron of Conklin, New York, opened fire on the store's mostly black clientele, killing several in the parking lot before entering the store and continuing the violent rampage.

Gendron reportedly told police that he had been planning a violent attack on the black community and has allegedly espoused white supremacist and fascist views online.

Jill and I will travel to Buffalo on Tuesday to grieve with the community that lost ten lives in a senseless and horrific mass shooting.
— President Biden (@President Biden) 1652662465

The vile attack has set the community and the country reeling. After such tragedies, a presidential visit is often a source of comfort and healing. As such, no one appears to be suggesting that Biden should not visit Buffalo.

But critics were quick to point out that Biden's prompt visit to the city reeks of political bias, especially since the president has yet to pay a visit to Waukesha, Wisconsin, where another mass-casualty attack took place late last year.

In that incident, a black convict recently released from jail on questionable terms, Darrell Brooks Jr., allegedly drove his car into a crowd of mostly white people at a Christmas parade, killing six and injuring more than 60 others.

It just so happens that the massacre in Buffalo — in which a white man killed innocent black people using guns — fits Biden's political narrative, while the heinous attack in Waukesha did not, the critics suggested.

In the aftermath of the Waukesha massacre, the White House defended Biden's decision not to personally visit the city by arguing that sending the president to a community "requires a lot of assets." Apparently, plentiful assets are not such an impediment this time.

Daily Wire contributor Matt Walsh called Biden's refusal to visit Waukesha "beyond vile" in light of his speedy visit to Buffalo.

We're used to Democrats being detestable pigs of course but it is just beyond vile that Biden never visited Waukesha. He's running up to Buffalo immediately but he never made a personal appearance in Waukesha because the victims were white.
— Matt Walsh (@Matt Walsh) 1652670215
When a black supremacist committed a massacre at a Christmas parade in Waukesha, the President of the United States refused to visit the victims. Nearly a month after the attack, he sent his wife for a photo op. \n\nBiden will be in Buffalo personally on Tuesday.
— Matt Walsh (@Matt Walsh) 1652671162

Larry Elder and RealClearInvestigations senior writer Mark Hemingway also made note of the president's apparent bias. As did Todd Starnes.

MEDIA BIAS\n\n11/21/21: Black man drives through Waukesha Christmas parade, kills 6, injures 62. Facebook posts praised Hitler, supported BLM and called for violence against whites\n\n5/14/22: White man in a Buffalo supermarket shoots and kills 10, injures 3. Posted racist manifestopic.twitter.com/Y25IyWqTmq
— Larry Elder (@Larry Elder) 1652610820
Remember how six people were killed and 62 injured in Waukesha and Biden wouldn\u2019t visit because politics? Good times.https://twitter.com/nypost/status/1525974074584977409\u00a0\u2026
— Mark Hemingway (@Mark Hemingway) 1652656641
JUST IN: President Biden will visit Buffalo on Tuesday. There's no word yet on when he will visit Waukesha, WI or Orange County, CA or Brooklyn, NY.
— toddstarnes (@toddstarnes) 1652655059

Conservative commenter Candace Owens, too, joined the chorus of those criticizing the president and the media, saying, "Both acts are heinous but they will not earn equal coverage in the media ... they will elevate the Buffalo shooting because white crimes vs. black victims [are] preferred."

Both acts are heinous but they will not earn equal coverage in the media. \nOur dishonest, race-obsessed media should be blamed for BOTH of these massacres.\nThey will elevate the Buffalo shooting because white crimes vs. black victims is preferred. \n\nThe cycle of hatred continues.
— Candace Owens (@Candace Owens) 1652628070

Others on Twitter called Biden's actions "disgusting" and claimed that he is only visiting Buffalo because he believes an appearance there can be "politically advantageous."