First things first: That photo of a bunch of high school boys kissing, “choking,” and giving the thumbs-down to a cardboard standup of Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez was stupid and unhelpful, and of course she made an issue of it.
Team Mitch responded, noting that the boys were high schoolers, not campaign staff, and adding, “Team Mitch in no way condones any aggressive, suggestive, or demeaning act toward life-sized cardboard cutouts of any gender.”
Even though Team Mitch’s statement was printed in plain English, The Daily Beast interpreted it this way:
Mitch McConnell's campaign manager essentially says boys will be boys in response to that image of teens groping and choking a cutout of @AOC https://t.co/kRrAKUkf60
— The Daily Beast (@thedailybeast) August 6, 2019
What? One more time? “Mitch McConnell’s campaign manager essentially says boys will be boys?” Where is that in the statement? Why not quote it instead of making stuff up and saying it’s “essentially” what he said?
And of course, Ocasio-Cortez was all over that too.
“Boys will be boys.”
Is that also the reason why you’ve chosen to block the Violence Against Women act too, @senatemajldr?
It prevents dating partners w/ records of abuse + stalking women (also an early warning sign from many mass shooters) from obtaining a gun. https://t.co/shWCRmEv60
— Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (@AOC) August 6, 2019
So The Daily Beast fabricates a quote, Ocasio-Cortez quotes it verbatim and then uses it to grandstand about the Violence Against Women Act.
Again, the photo was stupid, but to draw a line from that through the McConnell campaign’s response to the Violence Against Women Act is utterly disingenuous.
That’s not at all what he actually said, you gutless lying fraud https://t.co/1zGmqJL2EQ
— Matt Walsh (@MattWalshBlog) August 6, 2019
Pretty clear the McConnell statement was not "boys will be boys" but "why the hell are you, a major media outlet, asking us about the actions of children who have no formal ties to our campaign" pic.twitter.com/w2PQRrdw7x
— Alex Griswold (@HashtagGriswold) August 6, 2019
I'm as guilty as the next guy and gal of doing this, but any writer can tell you what the "essentially" is doing here https://t.co/ppZKE9PuIK
— Alex Griswold (@HashtagGriswold) August 6, 2019
Lying isn't cool. Lying about children is even worse.
AOC: "boys will be boys."
Accurate quote: https://t.co/gO2mXICX9k
— Scott Greenfield (@ScottGreenfield) August 6, 2019
Nowhere did they say "boys will be boys", as AOC claims.
Quotes:
"These young men are not campaign staff, they are high schoolers."
"Team Mitch in no way condones any aggressive, suggestive, or demeaning act toward life sized cardboard cut outs of any gender…"
— ???????? ???? (@logicbot3000) August 6, 2019
1. GOP issues statement
2. News org lies about statement
3. Dem quotes said lie as if it was from the statementIt's a great playbook pic.twitter.com/SllZtrS7co
— F. Bill McMorris (@FBillMcMorris) August 6, 2019
AOC is lying, again
AOC suggested McConnell was paying a group of boys who made gestures next to a cardboard cut out of her
McConnell's campaign condemned the acts and said the boys do not work for them, they're high schoolers
AOC falsely claims they said "boys will be boys" pic.twitter.com/isglWxNe0M
— Ryan Saavedra (@RealSaavedra) August 6, 2019
Hell of a day for The Daily Beast. Now they made up a quote from McConnell's team that comes nowhere near matching what they actually said, which @AOC seized on and spread. pic.twitter.com/yfXOsiicl2
— (((AG))) (@AG_Conservative) August 6, 2019
"Quote marks. How do they work?"
— AOC— Victor Morton (@vjmfilms) August 6, 2019
Per usual, @AOC is a liar.
— Dennis Wayne ?? (@DennisWayne79) August 6, 2019
Always the victim…
— Kyle (@N7_Paratrooper) August 6, 2019
… with an assist from the media, of course.
* * *
Update:
And now Newsweek is reporting on the McConnell campaign’s nonexistent “boys will be boys” defense, apparently using Ocasio-Cortez’ tweet as their source. So now we’re one step further removed from reality, despite the statement existing in print for anyone to read.
.@AOC slams McConnell campaign's "boys will be boys" defense: "Boys will be held accountable for their actions" https://t.co/FCs3zNgYwl
— Newsweek (@Newsweek) August 6, 2019
* * *
Update:
And the New York Daily News:
And now the New York Daily News also reported the fake quote, claiming the McConnell campaign "literally" said something they did not say. pic.twitter.com/Q84l2QNwgB
— (((AG))) (@AG_Conservative) August 7, 2019
They literally did not say that. But gotta protect the narrative.
Related:
'Cocaine Mitch strikes again'! Team Mitch's response to AOC's cardboard cutout tantrum is straight-up gold [pics] https://t.co/4slgOeuZC8
— Twitchy Team (@TwitchyTeam) August 6, 2019
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