GONE WITH THE WIND

George Orwell wrote that “Political language … is designed to make lies sound truthful and murder respectable, and to give an appearance of solidity to pure wind.”  Of course, Donald Trump is sui generis, but more conventional Republicans – both elected officials and their supporters in the conservative press – have a few go-to rhetorical tricks.  Once you crack the code, it’ll be much clearer what they’re trying to say and also what they’re trying to avoid saying.  The beauty of these responses is that they can be employed both by official government spokesmen and also by conservative media

When seemingly preventable tragedies happen on their watch, their first Republican response should always be that “now” is not the right time to talk about whatever went wrong.  That amounts to a “Get out of jail free” card that they can use for two or three days to deflect questions that might lead people to conclude that Republican policies contributed to the problem.

If questions persist during the initial 48 hours, the proper follow-up response is to accuse the questioner of being disrespectful to the victims of the tragedy.  Shame on the press for trying to force the loved ones of those concert-goers in Las Vegas to have to listen to a discussion about how to prevent similar massacres in the future.  If we found a way to prevent or significantly reduce such tragedies in the future, it would be as though the current victims had died in vain.  The only way to honor the dead in Las Vegas is to make sure that nothing gets in the way of more people dying in similar circumstances in the future. 

But there’s an exception to every rule, and this one is no exception. It’s never too early to blame Democrats for whatever went wrong if there’s a remotely plausible chance that Democrats are at fault.  And even if they’re not responsible for the problem, you can probably find someone on “the Left” who made a controversial comment about the incident.  If nothing else, attacking that person is a good way to change the subject.  The press falls for that tactic almost every time.

Mass shootings are particularly tricky because some Democrat is sure to attack the NRA, a valuable source of campaign contributions for congressional Republicans.  Anyone who criticizes the NRA must be denounced immediately, as The National Review did on Monday when Hillary Clinton pointed out that Republicans were pushing a NRA-backed bill to make it easier to buy silencers for guns.  But the laugh was on Hillary, who apparently doesn’t understand the difference between silencers and suppressors, neither of which would have made any difference in the Las Vegas incident.  Lock her up!

There’s a corollary rule that conservatives are required to ignore foolish or inflammatory statements from sources on the Right.  So of course, the National Review has been silent on Bill O’Reilly’s proclamation that mass murders are the price we pay for freedom; on Pat Robertson’s claim that the slaughter in Las Vegas happened because people disrespected the national anthem and Donald Trump; and also on Alex Jones’ speculation that the massacre had been “scripted by deep state Democrats and their Islamic allies.” 

It’s important to differentiate mass murders by white Americans like Stephen Paddock in Las Vegas, from similar incidents in which the perpetrator turns out to be Arabic, Hispanic, or African American.  If the bad guy is white, the main message is Thoughts and Prayers.  T & P, baby.  No one can criticize T & P.

But if the perp is non-white and/or Muslim, it’s fair for the right wing press to invoke the specter of terrorism.  The wrong ethnicity means that you’re guilty until proven innocent – and maybe even after that.  The right wing echo chamber would be irresponsible NOT to speculate about ISIS connections and other conspiracies. 

Finally, even though it’s best to tread lightly when it comes to discussing gun crimes, it never hurts to invoke the Second Amendment every so often.  And in case you’re unclear on the difference between a right and a privilege, the Las Vegas tragedy provides a clear example.  Building a massive private arsenal of guns and ammo is your constitutional RIGHT.  But as Wisconsin Republican Senator Ron Johnson pointed out, health care is merely a PRIVILEGE. 

We can only hope that Stephen Paddock’s 500+ victims have Obamacare or some other form of health insurance.  Otherwise, it will be their PRIVILEGE to spend their life savings on hospital bills on behalf of Stephen Paddock’s RIGHT to keep and bear arms.