For quite a while, the public could see a headline that read something like, “GOP lawmaker says something nutty,” and make certain assumptions about who the Republican was. More often than not, the quotes in question seemed to come from Michele Bachmann, Louie Gohmert, or Paul Broun.
But the torch has now been passed to a ridiculous new generation. Now, “GOP lawmaker says something nutty” can refer to any number of newer members of Congress. Take Rep. Claudia Tenney (R-N.Y.), for example.
Many mass murders are perpetrated by Democrats, New York Republican Rep. Claudia Tenney said Wednesday in a radio discussion on gun control following the recent mass shooting at a Florida high school.
“Obviously, there’s a lot of politics in it,” the congresswoman told the “Focus on the State Capitol” podcast hosted by Fred Dicker. “And it’s interesting that so many of these people that commit the mass murders end up being Democrats, but we don’t want to, the media doesn’t talk about that either.”
Now, Claudia Tenney’s name may not sound familiar to a national audience — she’s only been on Capitol Hill for a year — but the New York Republican is slowly earning an unfortunate reputation. She argued two weeks ago, for example, that Democratic reactions to Donald Trump’s State of the Union address were “un-American,” adding, “And they don’t love our country.”
Last week, Tenney offered a strange defense of former White House Staff Secretary Rob Porter, who’s faced allegations of violence against women.
But yesterday was yet another step away from decency for the GOP lawmaker. After the interview, Tenney added in a statement, “I am fed up with the media and liberals attempting to politicize tragedies and demonize law-abiding gun owners and conservative Americans every time there is a horrible tragedy.”
So, in response to those who politicize tragedies, the congresswoman wants to say most mass murderers are Democrats?
To date, neither Tenney nor her office have presented any evidence to bolster her claim, but then again, Tenney’s brief record suggests she’s not exactly taking an evidence-based approach to her duties.
Steve Benen is a producer for "The Rachel Maddow Show," the editor of MaddowBlog and an MS NOW political contributor. He's also the bestselling author of "Ministry of Truth: Democracy, Reality, and the Republicans' War on the Recent Past."