GOP Candidate In Nevada Wants To ‘Go After’ A Mass Shooting Survivor (TWEETS)

Lately, some right-wingers have taken to accusing the survivors of the horrific Valentine’s Day shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida of trying to have it both ways. To hear some right-wingers talk, the Stoneman Douglas kids aren’t afraid of dunking on their critics, but can’t take being called out themselves.

For instance, earlier this week black conservative teen CJ Pearson wagged his finger at David Hogg, one of the leaders of the Stoneman Douglas survivors, for not being willing to accept Laura Ingraham’s apology to him unless she denounced the pigweed the survivors have faced over the last month-plus. Pearson mused that Hogg wants a “safe space” to speak out, and needs to know that part of being a public figure is being able to take criticism.

What Pearson doesn’t know is that Hogg and his friends have had more than their fill of being harassed, trolled, and threatened just for speaking out. These kids have been called “crisis actors” and puppets, and have been accused of not doing their part to keep Nikolas Cruz from turning into a killer. All these kids want is basic civility.

A lovely example of what Hogg and friends have to deal with comes from a Republican candidate for the Nevada Assembly. She actually believes it should be open season on Hogg.

Gianna Micelli is the Republican candidate for Nevada’s 11th Assembly District in downtown and northern Las Vegas. She’s hoping to unseat four-term incumbent Democrat Olivia Diaz. Based on the numbers, Micelli already had her work cut out for her. She’s running in a 68 percent Latino-majority district that voted for Hillary Clinton by a punishing 78-18 margin over Donald Trump–Hillary’s second-best showing in the state.

But in a sane world, Micelli’s chances of winning this seat should have gone from slim to none on Thursday. As Ingraham’s advertisers were heading for the exits, pro-Trump blogger and Pizzagate peddler Jack Posobiec asked his Twitter followers what Ingraham ought to do next. Micelli’s response?

https://twitter.com/GiannaMiceli/status/979455742280257537

Excuse me, Gianna? Are you saying that Hogg deserves to be targeted with more pigweed like what he has faced since February? And are you saying it’s perfectly okay because “he is not our peer”?

Another user reminded Micelli that attacking a mass shooting victim isn’t going to play well, especially in a city that is still healing from its own bloodbath.

Micelli’s attempt at an explanation reveals even more about the kind of person she is.

https://twitter.com/GiannaMiceli/status/979732146116902912

She was referring to the conspiracy theory that claims Hogg wasn’t really hiding out in the closet as Cruz roamed through campus. As it turns out, that story arose from an out-of-context fragment in a CBS documentary about the shooting, which made it appear that Hogg was out of school that day and hightailed it over there when news of the shooting rolled across his Twitter feed.

But Hogg was actually referring to how he came back to school that night to document the aftermath of the carnage he’d seen earlier in the day. Moreover, multiple witnesses have corroborated that Hogg was actually in class when Cruz started his rampage. Based on this evidence, Snopes has rated the claim that Hogg wasn’t really there as “False,” while Politifact rated it “Pants on Fire.”

This alone would prove that Micelli is, for lack of a better term, a deplorable. But a look at her Twitter feed puts it beyond any doubt. She frequently retweets a number of users railing about Pizzagate and its derivative, “The Storm.” Take this for an example.

https://twitter.com/GiannaMiceli/status/980303509001191425

In light of this latest pigweed from Micelli, a question she asked in her announcement video is rather apt.

https://twitter.com/GiannaMiceli/status/978783008311267328

Micelli’s run for this seat would amount to a Hail Mary in any event. But the mere fact she’s still even in the race after saying that it’s perfectly fine to direct personal attacks at a mass shooting survivor–especially a teenager–says a lot about the state of our politics.

Had this been Australia, Canada, or the UK, Micelli would have been forced out of the race before the weekend was out. Certain things that are dismissed as “just politics” here are simply not tolerated elsewhere, in part because there is a higher standard for acceptable behavior from our elected officials.

I repeat what I told Micelli on Sunday.

It doesn’t matter if this seat would elect a comatose Democrat. There is no place in our politics for people who think personal and below-the-belt attacks on a mass shooting survivor are even remotely acceptable.

If Micelli has anything at all in her, she will apologize to Hogg–while she’s getting out of the race.

(featured image: screenshot courtesy Twitter via Raw Story)

Darrell is a 30-something graduate of the University of North Carolina who considers himself a journalist of the old school. An attempt to turn him into a member of the religious right in college only succeeded in turning him into the religious right's worst nightmare--a charismatic Christian who is an unapologetic liberal. His desire to stand up for those who have been scared into silence only increased when he survived an abusive three-year marriage. You may know him on Daily Kos as Christian Dem in NC. Follow him on Twitter @DarrellLucus or connect with him on Facebook. Click here to buy Darrell a Mello Yello.