Liberal members of the media are using the Twitter hashtag #MassacreMoscowMitch, endorsing violence against Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell.
Wajahat Ali, a CNN contributor and New York Times contributing writer tweeted, “#MassacreMoscowMitch is trending. I still have faith in America.”
Oh just a CNN contributor and NY Times contributing writer tweeting completely normal stuff pic.twitter.com/QpNfFjYWCe
— Jon Levine (@LevineJonathan) August 6, 2019
The hashtag was created in the wake of two events. The first being the two mass shootings that occurred this past week in Dayton, Ohio, and El Paso, Texas., and the Senate sitting on gun control legislation. The House of Representatives passed two bills focused on gun control and universal background checks, but these bills have been tied up in the Senate since February.
Many gun rights advocates say even if the Senate had passed the bills, these shootings would have still occurred. Meanwhile, many gun control advocates say these shootings happened because the Senate has not passed these bills.
Now gun control advocates are blaming McConnell for the two mass shootings and are calling to end violence — by spreading a hashtag affirming a massacre of McConnell.
The second event that sparked the #MassacreMoscowMitch hashtag was a picture of seven young men wearing “Team Mitch” shirts while some were inappropriately holding a cardboard cutout of Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y.
Ocasio-Cortez was quick to respond to this picture from a third-wave feminist perspective.
Hey [McConnell] – these young men look like they work for you. Just wanted to clarify: are you paying for young men to practice groping & choking members of Congress [with] your payroll, or is this just the standard culture of #TeamMitch? Thanks.
Hey @senatemajldr – these young men look like they work for you.
Just wanted to clarify: are you paying for young men to practice groping & choking members of Congress w/ your payroll, or is this just the standard culture of #TeamMitch?
Thanks. https://t.co/ysRJuwonUx
— Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (@AOC) August 6, 2019
Team Mitch responded with its official condemnation of the picture, saying, “Team Mitch in no way condones any aggressive, suggestive, or demeaning act toward life sized cardboard cut outs of any gender in a manner similar to what we saw from President Obama’s speechwriting staff several years ago.”
McConnell’s statement on this OWNS:
“Team Mitch in no way condones any aggressive, suggestive, or demeaning act toward life sized cardboard cut outs of any gender in a manner similar to what we saw from President Obama's speechwriting staff several years ago.” pic.twitter.com/6nMS3oEKSl
— Caleb Hull (@CalebJHull) August 6, 2019
When Barack Obama ran against Hillary Clinton for the Democratic nomination for the 2008 election, two Obama speechwriters were pictured groping and kissing a Clinton cardboard cutout.
The #MassacreMoscowMitch hashtag certainly runs contrary to calls for ending gun violence in this country.