CNN’s Chris Cillizza’s Take on Beto Hijacking Presser Shows Just How Far Left Will Go – Opinion

We reported on Wednesday about Beto O’Rourke trying to hijack a press conference that Texas officials were giving to people, including parents and families of the victims of the shooting.

Some reports even suggested that Beto may have used seatholders to grab a front row spot so he can confront officials from the stage.

.@JanetShamlian reports on Beto O’Rourke confronting Gov. Abbott during presser: “There were two people across the aisle from me and a moment before the press conference started, they got up from their seats when Beto walked in … This seems something very clearly staged.” pic.twitter.com/eaAxrZP6Gt

— CBS News (@CBSNews) May 25, 2022

Now, most would understand that this isn’t the time or the place to stage such a political stunt to promote oneself. But not Beto — and Beto even got called out by one of the audience members as O’Rourke was interrupting the event.

Some on the left praised Beto’s actions, including Rep. Dean Phillips (D-MN) who tweeted comparing him to the man who stood against the tanks during the Tiananmen Square Massacre in 1989, labeling the comparison “Speaking truth to power.” He later deleted the tweet.

But CNN’s take on the confrontation from Chris Cillizza was a stark window into how they truly think. Abbott was referring to the families.

“There are family members who are crying as we speak, there are family members whose hearts are broken, there is no words that anybody shouting can come up here and do anything to heal those broken hearts,” said Abbott. “We all, every Texan, every American has the responsibility. We need to focus not on ourselves and our agendas.”

These are the usual responses to mass shootings. Politicians — usually Republicans — insist that it’s not the time to discuss gun-related public policies after a mass shooting. Anyone who does this is in some way disrespecting the lives of those who are already gone.

It’s time — actually past time — to put that way of thinking behind us.
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My point here, though, is broader than all of that: Don’t let politicians tell you that there’s no place for politics in moments like these. This is the perfect moment to discuss politics.

Politics revolves around momentum. That’s because politicians tend to be a reactive species. Politicans are careful not to go too far in a direction that would cause them to lose touch with their constituents. A politician will be most comfortable in the middle or behind his or her constituents.

The reason Republicans think this way is because they’re putting the concerns of the families first, not politics. If you are thinking about politics at this point, you’re doing it wrong. If people being killed is about politics, you’re putting your own political agenda over the people.

“Politics is about momentum.” That says it all. They see the shooting as giving their gun control cause “momentum.” What’s the saying? “Never let a crisis go to waste.” Or in this case a horrible tragedy. They don’t want to take the time to focus on the families or the victims because they want to use the “momentum” of the anger now. It’s hard to get more wrong than that.