In case you missed it, Adam Kinzinger is kind of a major douchebag. And he’s a major douchebag largely in the name of opposing the sort of violent rhetoric and incivility championed by former President Donald Trump.
Earlier today, Kinzinger sent a rather uncivil tweet to Ben Domenech. We’ll get to it in a moment, but we’re going to set the stage first so you can see what led up to it.
Over the weekend, Fox News published an opinion piece by Marine vet and U.S. Senate candidate from Missouri Lucas Kunce. In his piece, Kunce castigated Senate Republicans for blocking cloture on the Honoring Our PACT Act, which was ostensibly about helping veterans who had been exposed to toxic burn pits but in reality contained hundreds of billions of dollars in pork.
OPINION: I was exposed to toxic burn pits in Iraq. Republicans turned their backs on veterans like me https://t.co/vrCJa6cUqr
— Fox News (@FoxNews) July 30, 2022
Ben Domenech took issue with Kunce’s position, and he said so on Twitter:
Your position @LucasKunceMO is that we need to get rid of the filibuster because of a vote on burn pits? What authoritarian horsecrap. You do not get to sweep away the tenets of government because it doesn't accord to your wishes. https://t.co/y7dCejhVXc
— Ben Domenech (@bdomenech) July 30, 2022
The contentious back-and-forth continued:
What’s horseshit is when people like you act like some archaic Senate procedure is more important than health care for our veterans. I got sent to Iraq and Afghanistan, so I’ll be damned if some Bush White House toady is going to lecture me about democracy. https://t.co/sY60bmLoNy
— Lucas Kunce (@LucasKunceMO) July 30, 2022
I don't think we needed to pay you to travel across the world and murder brown people, Lucas. You should probably send that money back. https://t.co/Yln3yAuWRx
— Ben Domenech (@bdomenech) July 30, 2022
It’s that last tweet from Domenech that got Adam Kinzinger’s hackles up. So here’s what Kinzinger said to put Domenech in his place:
There are moments i really with i could say much more. But this piece of human garbage @bdomenech is married to John McCains daughter and just said military people murder brown people, re burn pits. Trumpism destroys souls. F you Ben. I wish i could see you in person now… https://t.co/uShosjiA0A
— Adam Kinzinger🇺🇦🇺🇸✌️ (@AdamKinzinger) August 1, 2022
“Trumpism destroys souls.” The same can arguably be said for extreme anti-Trumpism, which is what Adam Kinzinger quite obviously — and proudly — suffers from. Extreme Trumpism and anti-Trumpism are basically a horseshoe. Calling someone a piece of human garbage? That’s something Trump would do. Say “F you” to someone? That’s something Trump would do. Make a thinly veiled threat of violence against someone? That’s something Trump would do.
there is approximately zero reason to destroy an institution of congress and our democracy because you’re mad over a vote.
you and trump deserve one another if that is your position. disgusting. https://t.co/cDSrb5QHDw
— kaitlin, by definition, a woman (@thefactualprep) August 1, 2022
Congratulations, Adam Kinzinger, you have officially become everything you claim to hate.
This is a sitting member of Congress, by the way. https://t.co/zz3sDBPUFF
— Patriots Fan (@PatsFan9999999) August 1, 2022
This is beyond the pale. I'm out. pic.twitter.com/akQXMF1qNI
— Anang Mittal अनंग मित्तल (@anangbhai) August 1, 2022
So is Meghan McCain, apparently. She responded to his nasty tweet by calling him out, and she did a pretty good job of it:
Hi Adam, you know me more than “John’s daughter”, you have my #.
This tweet is beneath you, neither me nor my husband are trumpers.
Also you married and procreated with someone who worked on Trumps campaign and in Pence’s office helping the administration… Let’s not do this https://t.co/8mqt4a9W8V
— Meghan McCain (@MeghanMcCain) August 1, 2022
She was with the Republican National Committee for most of 2016 and served as the press secretary for Hispanic media. After a brief role working for the inaugural committee, she joined the White House staff as a regional communications director during the Trump administration.
According to a June 2017 report on White House personnel, she earned a $62,000 salary in that role. In January 2018, Boza-Holman started working under Vice President Mike Pence’s office as the director of strategic media. She remained in that role for two years before shifting to the Department of Homeland Security. She has also served as the deputy assistant secretary of media affairs until August 2020.
“Let’s not do this” sounds like sage advice for Adam Kinzinger. Actually, he should probably just write that down and look at it every time he thinks about opening his mouth.
good for meghan standing up for herself against adam kinzinger’s petulance. https://t.co/kDwDsxXnwm
— kaitlin, by definition, a woman (@thefactualprep) August 1, 2022
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