When Pennsylvania voters kicked Rick Santorum out of his Senate seat, I naively thought it meant I didn't have to listen to his right-wing B.S. any more. Silly me.
Chris Cuomo didn't let him get away with much during this faceoff, but there's one big piece missing: "Do you have any clients who have retained you to talk about this issue?" Seems like viewers deserve that kind of pertinent information.
Anyway, asked about his stupid remark that Parkland survivors should "learn CPR," old Rick says he "misspoke." No, he didn't. He meant to sound exactly as dismissive as he did. But whatever.
"The fact of the matter is, I did misspeak in using CPR. (Because when someone has a gunshot wound, doing CPR would pump the blood out of their body, Rick?)
"It obscured the larger point, which is what we have seen from all of these mass shootings is the things that have come out -- the positive things that have come out are organizations and people who have focused on what we can do in our individual schools and communities to actually prevent these types of things, like Rachel's Challenge or Sandy Hook's Promise. and other organizations that have said what can we do in our community to, you know, promote mentoring, stop bullying, to be more aware of the problems.
"What I have seen happen here is avoiding the issues that are really actually unifying. That's really the most disturbing thing."
No, Rick. The most disturbing thing is how craven Republicans are in the wake of this slaughter. But do go on!
Chris Cuomo pointed out we have more guns than any other country, and that has more to do with the problem than bullying. "It seems like you and others on your side of the fence are going after the kids who are survivors in the interest of political expediency."
Rick wants to talk about mentoring, and bullying, instead. Cuomo gets impatient. "You're missing the point, Rick. You just are. Guns matter. Access to the weapons matters."
Rick says we "can have a policy debate about this."
"We actually can't because we are distracted by all of these efforts of attacking the kids, saying they didn't go to the school, likening them to Nazis, making fun of young women, lying about what they do. That's what people are your side of the fence are doing," Cuomo pointed out.
Rick goes directly into "both sides" mode.
"There have been boogeymen on both sides. There are things we can see which is demonization. You point to the right. I would point to the left. Look at Marco Rubio. He has been trying to do everything he can to stop these horrific events," he insisted.
"That's not true. He's doing negotiations. He's not working on a meaningful restriction of access. He is trying to do some red flag work. That's all good and fine. but do not put Marco Rubio as someone at the forefront of the most progressive ways to end these shootings," Cuomo said.
OH NO CHRIS! YOU HAVE HURT RICK'S FEELINGS WITH THE DEMONIZING!
"Access matters. How we do with the mentally ill, if you're talking about mass shootings, which is ignoring the larger problem of gun violence in this country. That's fine. This matters too," Cuomo said.
"It is a discrete issue. It has to be dealt with. On those two issues, Marco Rubio sat at the townhall and says he disagrees about certain controls and background checks, but those are fundamental questions. Don't put him at the top of the leaderboard about who is trying to make the positive changes. However, it would be unfair to say he is doing nothing. I agree with that. I never said he was doing nothing. He's doing things. But to put him at the head, convenience. That's not accurate."
YES MARCO IS DOING THE THINGS! WHY ARE YOU SO MEAN, CHRIS?
Rick does not want to talk about weapons, and who gets them. He wants to talk about bullying in schools, "where there is a sensitivity to people who have problems and be able to identify those problems and be able to get proper care to people. There are lots of things we can be doing in our school -- in fact, are being done --"
"In addition to, not exclusive of. That's the whole point," Cuomo said.
POINT? POINTS ARE SHARP. POINTS ARE WEAPONS. WHY ARE YOU TRYING TO HURT RICK, CHRIS?
But Chris continues throwing pointy facts at Rick, while Rick ducks.
Cuomo then chides Rick for saying the stupid thing about the CPR, and the attacks on the Parkland kids.
"People putting up Nazi effigies. They're lying. They are creating boogeymen. Nobody is calling them out. What do you say to those people who are making the survivors bad people and say they should shut up, no one should listen to them because they are not going to come up with solutions?"
"In the strongest possible terms, I condemn both sides --" Rick says.
DING DING DING! BOTH SIDES! BOTH SIDES!!!! WE WIN!!!!
"You sound like trump after Charlottesville," Chris says.
"Look, you can't get up there and say that many on the left have not been demonizing, as mindless as the NRA. It is happening on both sides."
BOTH SIDES BOTH SIDES BOTH SIDES.
And now Rick goes home and licks the wounds inflicted by Chris and his damned pointy points. Oh, the humanity!
