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Op-Ed: Seddique Mateen Attended a Clinton Rally, and That’s Okay

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“I Love the United States,” U.S. Citizen Seddique Mateen Said

Seddique Mateen attended Hillary Clinton’s rally on Monday in Kissimmee, Florida.

Kissimmee is around 30 minutes south of Orlando. Mateen’s attendance is in the news because he is the father of the Pulse Nightclub shooter, a terrorist responsible for the deaths of 49 people and the injuries of 53 more in the deadliest anti-gay hate crime in U.S. history, the deadliest terror attack since 9/11, and the deadliest mass shooting in modern U.S. history.

Tory Dunnan of WPTV first broke the news of Mateen’s attendance at the rally, which began with Clinton expressing her gratitude for “the leadership and the people of Orlando and Central Florida for [their] love and compassion.” She continued, “I know how many people, loved ones and friends, are still grieving… I want them to know that we will be with you.”

Clinton, who visited the site of Pulse Nightclub personally and privately met with the families and friends of the victims in an unpublicized event, offered that “we will be with you as you rebuild your lives, as you rebuild hope for the future, because we can’t ever let that kind of hatred and violence break the spirit, break the soul, of any place in America.”

When asked if Clinton’s campaign knew he would be attending, or if that they knew he was sitting directly behind her, Mateen advised that “it’s a Democratic party, so everyone can join.”

Clinton’s campaign released a statement to WPTV today, advising “[the] rally was a 3,000-person, open-door event for the public. This individual wasn’t invited as a guest and the campaign was unaware of his attendance until after the event.”

The Clinton campaign has since denounced his support.

A co-worker shared with me a few of the news stories which were beginning to circulate concerning the matter, knowing that I am both gay and a Hillary Clinton supporter. “This might make you mad,” he warned.

It did.

Not for the reason some may have thought; not because Seddique Mateen had the “audacity” to attend. Because that in opposition of factual data and research, conservative media outlets and failed politicians took to social media to offer their position on the matter, sharing false information to boot: 

As a registered Democrat and as someone who has subscribed to receive email from Hillary Clinton’s campaign, I can attest to being made aware of her visit to my own city days before she was scheduled to appear (and subsequently make her Kissimmee appearance.) I RSVP’d in hope that I could attend, just as any interested party could have done for Kissimmee’s event:

Screen_Shot_2016-08-09_at_1.16.11_PM.png

After you RSVP, you receive a confirmation email providing the specifics: when, where, parking, arrival details and security information, the last of which likens the event to airport-style security. (They do not, however, check your ID.) The email begins, “Friend, you are receiving this email because you have RSVP’d to join Hillary Clinton…”

My email did not begin with “Ryan Jent,” and thus, Seddique Mateen’s wouldn’t have begun with his name. This mirrors the statements that both the campaign and Mateen made: RSVPs do not a personal invitation make.

Even if they did, however, Seddique Mateen is a human being. The father of another human being responsible for unforgivable, heinous actions, yes, but a human being and a United States citizen just the same. WPTV inquired about his attendance at the event, asking if he thought it may surprise others. “Why should they be surprised?” he asked. “I love the United States, and I’ve been living here a long time.”

His right to attend a public rally, particularly during an election cycle featuring a candidate who has demonized the entirety of the Muslim community (going so far as to attack even the parents of a fallen soldier), is unquestionable to me.

His right to support a candidate who lobbies for common sense gun control, when he himself has denounced the actions of his son, is unquestionable to me. 

It’s understandable that some may see his attendance, or at least his position directly behind Clinton, as being in poor taste. (Though I’m forced to wonder if Timothy McVeigh’s parents, or the parents of a Columbine shooter, would face the same scrutiny.) But we cannot rally against Seddique Mateen simply because he was there. We cannot rally against him because he’s Muslim, or when the only crime he’s “guilty” of is that he’s the father of a madman. We cannot rally against him for the politically-infused videos he’s posted on YouTube, which the Associated Press has found “did not show support by Mateen for the Taliban,” and are often publicized as incoherent or pro-Taliban due to their (perhaps spastic) nature.

We cannot even rally against him because of his oft-misquoted comment on homosexuality, in which he actually said that ‘on the issue… it can be punished only by God, it is not the business of a person. [Omar] has killed those people, and I am so saddened.”

This is not the same thing as saying that homosexuality will be, or should be, punished by God. It is not denouncing the LGBT community, it is denouncing his son’s actions. It is not courting to anti-LGBT hate groups, in which Donald Trump is again scheduled to do. 

It is one man’s opinion, an opinion which we have the opportunity to change with our actions and our reactions.

I wouldn’t have Seddique Mateen afraid to show his face anywhere, let alone at a rally for American citizens supporting a candidate and party that promises inclusion and unity rather than the party that promises extradition and despair.

This isn’t news. It shouldn’t be news. Do not make it news. And certainly do not use it as news to deflect another presidential candidate’s calls for the assassination of his opponent. Last night, Senior Advisor to the Trump campaign Boris Epstein did just that on “The Last Word with Lawrence O’Donnell.”

When pressed on Trump’s comments, he deflected, “I’d also love to talk about issues like the Orlando killer’s father being at the Hillary Clinton event, front and center… right behind her… saying he was invited there by the Democratic party. What does that say about where she stands on terrorism, and where she stands on safety?”

I had the opportunity to ask O’Donnell what he thought about Epstein’s deflection via his Facebook Live broadcast which followed the episode, seen below at the 5:57 mark:

Posted by The Last Word With Lawrence O'Donnell on Tuesday, August 9, 2016

“That’s a separate subject,” O’Donnell responded candidly. “…at a rally with thousands of people, you’re not responsible for everybody who shows up. I think you are responsible for the kind of people who show up on a regular basis, and when you regularly attract white supremacists and people like that… or any group that you regularly attract, you can say there’s something this campaign is doing to attract them.” 

We’ve seen groups that the Trump campaign has continuously attracted, and David Duke has long been a supporter. As a U.S. citizen, I know which campaign rally I’d rather attend, and I can say that it’s likely Seddique Mateen went for similar reasons. 

I’ve said before that criminalizing the Muslim community for the actions of one man is not okay, and likewise, criminalizing even one man for the actions of another isn’t okay either. The LGBT community has been the Muslim community, we’ve been in Seddique Mateen’s position: hated, feared, misunderstood. Questioned, berated, threatened, afraid.

We must never condone treating an entire community, nor even one man, as poorly as the LGBT community has been treated, and certainly not because of the actions of one man. When you come for one minority, you come for us all.

Clinton’s full Kissimmee speech can be seen below. In it, Clinton advises that “this election really does come down to what kind of people we are in our country. What kind of values we really cherish. And I am proud to be on the side of those who want to build a positive, optimistic future.”

Seddique Mateen is visible in the video, along with dozens of others who attended the 3,000-person event. Dozens of others who advocate that as a community, as a people, as a nation, yes: we are stronger together.

All of us.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=se4EGsU7pFQ

 

Image: Screenshot via YouTube

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OPINION

‘Hunger Games at NBC News’: New McDaniel Revelations Have ‘Enraged’ Staffers, Report Says

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The backlash from NBC News’ hiring of Ronna McDaniel is not over. New reporting from Puck, CNN, and The Washington Post reveals the considerable efforts from top NBC and MSNBC brass to recruit, hire, and support the former RNC chair who promoted false election claims, was allegedly involved in helping Donald Trump’s efforts to overturn the 2020 election results, and refused to say Joe Biden had been elected fairly.

Staffers at NBC News and MSNBC were outraged at McDaniel’s hiring, but new details about behind-the-scenes efforts reportedly have increased that outrage.

Some critics are either calling for resignations of NBC News and MSNBC  leadership, or questioning how long they can ride out the mess.

“What is Brian Roberts going to do?” CNN‘s Oliver Darcy asks. “The Comcast boss is watching an unceasing five-alarm fire rage at 30 Rock, scarring the reputation of NBC News and threatening to consume multiple parts of the Cesar Conde-run NBC Universal News Group.”

“Conde has lost control of his organization, prompting industry insiders to wonder how he continues to remain in his role as chairman of the NBC News Group. In the words of one veteran media executive I spoke to Wednesday, ‘It’s inconceivable that he should,'” Darcy writes, saying Conde’s actions and those of his top executives have “hosed gasoline” on the scandal.

READ MORE: Lawmaker Slammed for Claiming College Basketball Players Were Actually ‘Illegal Invaders’

That scandal involves these revelations from Puck’s Dylan Byers, who reports, “bringing McDaniel to 30 Rock had been part of a nearly two-month-long effort that was spearheaded by Budoff Brown and her boss, NBC News President Rebecca Blumenstein, with buy-in from Conde and his deputies at both NBC News and MSNBC.”

“Rashida Jones,” he adds, “the president of MSNBC, was very interested in having McDaniel appear as a contributor on her network, as well.”

But this bombshell has drawn a good deal of attention. Noting how Chuck Todd led off the very public pushback against the hiring of McDaniel, Byers reports, “On Sunday, Budoff Brown reached out to McDaniel’s aide and former chief of staff at the R.N.C., Richard Walters, to see if there were any friends or colleagues who could speak up on her behalf.”

“The two sides also discussed having these folks call attention to what they saw as a double standard—after all, this was the same network that was turning Psaki, a former Biden White House Press Secretary, into a Maddow-adjacent prime time star. Walters later assured Budoff Brown that they’d been able to advance conservative pushback on social media against Todd, specifically, and that this might give NBC News some cover, for which Budoff Brown thanked him.”

CNN, pointing to those details, adds, “staffers inside NBC News are enraged at the fact an executive would have engaged in such behavior.”

Former Chicago Tribune editor Mark Jacobs, who now writes about politics and the media, called for the firing of Jones, Blumenstein, and Budoff Brown.

Other critics are expressing concerns on multiple fronts.

READ MORE: Ronna McDaniel Is Just a ‘Normal’ Person Who ‘Never Denied the Election’ Says Hugh Hewitt

“It’s like the hunger games at @NBCNews. Every day new, horrible stories of journalism & corporate malpractice. Every single one of these managers must go,” observed Jennifer Schulze, a media critic who was a Chicago Sun-Times executive producer, WGN news director, and adjunct college professor of journalism.

She also highlights a Washington Post report that ropes NBC Nightly News anchor Lester Holt into the mess.

“Every @NBCNews exec who thought hiring a reputed liar & phony elector co-[conspirator] needs to resign or be fired,” Schulze says.

“The @NBCNews managers who recruited & signed an election denier should be out the door, too,” she adds. “Not only was it downright offensive to hire Ronna, it was journalism AND corporate malpractice.”

Pointing to his newsletter, former Obama senior advisor Dan Pfeiffer writes, “NBC’s ill-fated decision to hire Ronna McDaniel is a story of a media outlet unwilling to accept the ways Trump changed politics, but it’s also one of the best arguments for Dems need to build our media ecosystem ASAP.”

READ MORE: Comer Refuses to Investigate Trump Family Member Over ‘Influence Peddling’ Allegation

He calls McDaniel’s hiring “evidence” the media has “yet to accept the reality that this is not a normal election between a Republican and a Democrat.” And adds, “An [industry] that prizes objectivity above all else, is incapable of accurately covering an election where one candidate is a normal politician and the other is an insurrectionist. Many in the media would rather stumble into autocracy than take a side.”

Veteran journalist and Sirius XM host Michelangelo Signorile observes, “We couldn’t have asked for a better situation to shine a bright light on the corruption of the corporate media—and its impulse to legitimize MAGA extremism and lawbreakers for profit—than NBC’s hiring former RNC chair, election denier, and Trump enabler Ronna McDaniel.”

And he warns, “The forces that made the coup-plotting former RNC chair a paid contributor are still shaping news and information about this pivotal election.”

 

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News

Lawmaker Slammed for Claiming College Basketball Players Were Actually ‘Illegal Invaders’

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Michigan MAGA Republican state Rep. Matt Maddock is under fire after claiming three buses were “loaded up with illegal invaders.” The buses, according to multiple reports, were actually loaded with the Gonzaga University basketball team arriving for March Madness.

“Happening right now. Three busses just loaded up with illegal invaders at Detroit Metro. Anyone have any idea where they’re headed with their police escort?” Rep. Maddock wrote on social media Wednesday evening, tagging far-right former U.S. Congressman Pete Hoekstra, who served as U.S. Ambassador to the Netherlands under Donald Trump and is now the state’s Republican Party chair.

Informed of his error on social media, Rep. Maddock doubled down, and attacked.

READ MORE: Ronna McDaniel Is Just a ‘Normal’ Person Who ‘Never Denied the Election’ Says Hugh Hewitt

“Probably teams for the NCAA Mens Sweet 16 playing at LCA on Friday and Sunday,” a user on X wrote.

“Sure kommie. Good talking point,” Maddock quickly shot back.

ABC affiliate WXYZ executive producer Maxwell White, responding to the Maddock’s original post wrote: “Just to be clear, this was the Gonzaga basketball team. Photos show Gonzaga getting on an Allegiant plane to Detroit for the Sweet 16, and Flight Radar shows a plane from GEG to DTW landed at 7:25 p.m., around the time this photo was posted.”

“This is a wild tweet,” White added, before adding more evidence.

Hoekstra, who was accused of using racism and xenophobia to win his campaign for a U.S. Senate seat (he lost), did not respond directly to Maddock but did repost the apparently false claim.

Michigan State Senate Democratic Majority Whip Mallory McMorrow denounced Maddock’s claim as “dangerous.”

Maddock’s remark also made the national stage when U.S. Rep. Eric Swalwell responded.

READ MORE: Trump Campaign Says It Will Deploy ‘Soldiers’ to Polling Places

“Hey Einstein,” the California Democrat wrote, “your state is hosting the Sweet 16. Could it be a team bus? If it is, will you resign for your spectacular stupidity?”

In 2021 The Washington Post reported, “Michigan state Rep. Matt Maddock and his wife, Michigan Republican Party co-chair Meshawn Maddock, have repeatedly been called out by fact-checking journalists for promoting baseless claims of widespread voter fraud and falsely suggesting that covid-19 is comparable to the flu.”

See the social media posts above 0r at this link.

 

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OPINION

Ronna McDaniel Is Just a ‘Normal’ Person Who ‘Never Denied the Election’ Says Hugh Hewitt

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Right-wing talk radio show host Hugh Hewitt is facing backlash after declaring former RNC chair Ronna McDaniel, who was ousted after her hiring cost NBC News a tumultuous five days, a “normal” person who has “never denied the election.”

Last summer, The Washington Post‘s Philip Bump reported McDaniel “is still elevating 2020 election skepticism,” and “won’t say the election was fair.”

“I don’t think he won it fair. I don’t. I’m not going to say that,” McDaniel had said to CNN.

“CNN teased an upcoming interview between host Chris Wallace and Ronna McDaniel,” Bump wrote. “In the clip, Wallace asks McDaniel when she stopped being an ‘election denier’ — that is, someone who espouses skepticism about the validity of the election results. And, surprise! McDaniel never stopped.”

Bump also explained the danger in election denialism: “McDaniel won’t say Biden was legitimately elected because the base doesn’t want to hear it — but the base doesn’t want to hear it in part because leaders such as McDaniel won’t simply admit without qualifications that Biden won.”

READ MORE: Comer Refuses to Investigate Trump Family Member Over ‘Influence Peddling’ Allegation

“Establishing a system in which any loss can easily be framed as illegitimate means establishing a system in which no loss is accepted as valid,” Bump continued. “It means institutionalizing the idea that elections are inaccurate gauges of public opinion and, therefore, that the winners of those elections have no mandate to serve.”

On Wednesday Hewitt, a Washington Post columnist and former Reagan White House aide, said on Fox News that McDaniel “is a fine Republican. She is not an election denier. She has never denied the election.”

Former Republican Congressman Joe Walsh responded to that clip.

Bullshit Hugh. With Trump, she pressured MI canvassers to not certify the results; with Trump, she pressured other state attorney’s to sue & invalidate results in MI, PA, & WI; she worked with Trump on the fake electors scheme; she lied about charges of voter fraud well after those charges had been debunked. No major party chair in American history has done more to dispute a legit election. Shame on you,” Walsh wrote.

Media Matters’ Eric Kleefeld, also responding to that clip: “Somebody who helped coordinate fake electors and passed a resolution calling Jan. 6 ‘legitimate political discourse’ is not normal, and we must at all steps refuse to treat them as such.”

READ MORE: Greene Says She Won’t Take Responsibility if Johnson Loses Speaker’s Gavel Before Election

Hewitt had also told Fox News, “I don’t know who is going to keep MSNBC informed of what normal people think, because Ronna McDaniel is about as normal as they come. She’s a Michigan mom, she’s been in the job seven years. She represents the Republican Party.”

McDaniel, it could be said, does not represent the Republican Party, not the MAGA America First Republican Party of today, neither literally nor figuratively. Donald Trump engineered her ouster and installed his handpicked replacements, including his daughter-in-law and Michael Whatley, a right-wing attorney who was part of the Bush recount team during the contested 2000 presidential election.

The Atlantic’s Norman Ornstein, an emeritus scholar at the American Enterprise Institute (AEI), blasted Hewitt, calling him “an utter disgrace,” while adding, “shame on those like the Washington Post who showcase him.”

Adam Cohen, vice chair of Lawyers for Good Government, pointedly responded to Hewitt: “Hate to tell you this, but normal people don’t try to foment a coup, or deny the truth about election results Like Ronna McDaniel did.”

Watch the videos above or at this link.

READ MORE: Trump Campaign Says It Will Deploy ‘Soldiers’ to Polling Places

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