Liberal reporter Michael Tracey is no stranger to taking aim at the idiocy that engulfs the illiberal and increasingly unhinged progressive Left. He goes after conservatives as well, but it’s when he criticizes the Left’s tendencies that pandemonium ensues. He was an original Trump-Russia collusion skeptic, often mocking the many nothing-burger bombshells that arose from that media-manufactured myth.
What got progressives reaching for the pitchforks to roast him this time related to the Instagram Live segment Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) streamed where she addressed the Capitol Hill riots and people saying we should move on from it. Recently, she essentially accused Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) of trying to kill her for voicing skepticism and opposition to the 2020 Electoral College results.
The January 6 riot occurred when Congress was certifying the 2020 results. We knew there would be objections to the Electoral College allocations from three states, prompting a two-hour debate for each objection, with a final vote being held to settle the matter. With Democrats controlling the House and enough Republicans willing to join Democrats in guaranteeing Joe Biden the election, this was a symbolic exercise, but one that was meant to drag out certification for as long as possible. Then, pro-Trump supporters stormed the Capitol Building.
Ocasio-Cortez said that the "move on" mantra is akin to what abusers say — and revealed that she was sexually assaulted in the past. Here’s a recap as told by New York Magazine:
On Monday night, New York Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez went on Instagram Live to discuss how she is coping with her experience during the Capitol riot, during which she had previously said that a “close encounter” in the attack made her think she was “going to die.”
During the video, the congresswoman explained why calls to “move on” from the event in which five people were killed are inappropriate, saying that the language — “Can you just forget about this so we can do it again?” — parallels that of abusers
“The reason I’m getting emotional in this moment is because these folks who tell us to move on, that it’s not a big deal, that we should forget what’s happened, or even telling us to apologize — these are the same tactics of abusers.
And I’m a survivor of sexual assault and I haven’t told many people that in my life, but when we go through trauma, trauma compounds on each other…
[…]
Ocasio-Cortez also provided more details surrounding the insurrection, stating that a man broke into her office in Congress on January 6, during which she was hiding in her bathroom. “Where is she? Where is she?” she recalled the man asking. “This is the moment where I thought everything was over … It felt like my brain was able to have so many thoughts in that moment between these screams and these yells. I go down and … I thought I was going to die.”
Looking through the door hinge from the bathroom, Ocasio-Cortez recalled seeing “a white man in a black beanie open the door of my personal office.” Though she says the person did not identify himself, he was a Capitol police officer. “He was looking at me with a tremendous amount of anger and hostility.”
Yeah, hit the pause button. Right there — the Capitol Police Officer part is where the eyebrows should be raised.
The odds of a Capitol police officer bursting into AOC’s office to stare her down and make her fear for her life while the Capitol building is literally being stormed is slim to none. Just saying. Don’t buy it.
— Micah Rate (@Micah_Rate) February 2, 2021
Even just from reporter tweets, tens of thousands of people got the impression tonight that the mob broke into AOC’s office trying to get to her while she hid in the bathroom. Many failed to note it was actually a police officer evacuating her. pic.twitter.com/uVCMJiHbas
— AG (@AGHamilton29) February 2, 2021
Plot twist pic.twitter.com/E5vcLXvHg3
— Michael Tracey (@mtracey) February 2, 2021
First, bravo to AOC for telling that part of her story. She sure showed her attacker that, well, she wasn’t going to let him (or her) define her life. She’s a member of Congress now. She took down a top Democrat in a primary challenge to get here. Love her or hate her, she’s smarter than she looks, and I never liked the "she’s a bartender" mockery our side doled out. That’s an indelibly American story. I only mention this because that line will certainly fall flat when we have to draft tons of attack material in preparation for her eventual presidential run. Meanwhile, right now, she appears to have weaponized rape as a way to win an argument, a tacit acknowledgment that the liberal media will not push back on her in any way, shape, or form. She knows what she's doing.
She invoked her alleged sexual assault in order to shame as abusive those who don’t uncritically affirm her histrionic account of what occurred at the Capitol. If you don’t see the manipulativeness inherent in that rhetorical tactic, you are delusional https://t.co/maQoomIe9W
— Michael Tracey (@mtracey) February 2, 2021
She made an accusation that Ted Cruz tried to have her killed. Rather than defend that allegation, she accused the people criticizing her of being like sexual abusers. Get it? https://t.co/gffqao6uQK
— Amber Athey (@amber_athey) February 2, 2021
Last week, after Ted Cruz offered to work with her on regulating Wall Street, she accused him of conspiring to have her murdered. This week, she invokes sexual assault in order to tarnish as a "trauma"-inducing abuser anyone who casts doubt on that outlandish theory https://t.co/9IQgnR13ta
— Michael Tracey (@mtracey) February 2, 2021
Now, the second part is a bit of a stretch. And again, it wasn’t just conservatives saying so. Tracey said this whole segment was a masterclass in emotional manipulation, which sparked the progressive meltdown. He later clarified that remark adding, "to all those lashing out in deliberate bad faith, I wasn't specifically referring to her sexual assault claim here -- but rather to the entire interweaving presentation, where invoking 'trauma' automatically mandates accepting a politician's incendiary claims at face value."
This is a masterclass in emotional manipulation -- a genuine political/rhetorical skill. Gotta hand it to her https://t.co/77aBDoMuSr
— Michael Tracey (@mtracey) February 2, 2021
To all those lashing out in deliberate bad faith, I wasn't specifically referring to her sexual assault claim here -- but rather to the entire interweaving presentation, where invoking "trauma" automatically mandates accepting a politician's incendiary claims at face value https://t.co/lQuGkYn9kw
— Michael Tracey (@mtracey) February 2, 2021
People in media are the biggest ever suckers for emotionally manipulative political rhetoric when the rhetoric happens to align with their niche cultural sensibilities
— Michael Tracey (@mtracey) February 2, 2021
Good to know that any loopy delusion expounded by a politician must now be respected and "believed" under the aegis of "trauma"
— Michael Tracey (@mtracey) February 2, 2021
Oh, and he wasn’t backing down from the trolls that follow him.
"If you don’t fawn over AOC’s every word, Twitter regards it as so astounding that they’ll make it into an editorially customized trending topic," he said.
If experience tells me anything, hysterical raging Twitter mobs are outlandishly wrong about 99% of the time, so keep it coming motherfuckers ??
— Michael Tracey (@mtracey) February 2, 2021
Lunatics, lol pic.twitter.com/lcAKoYyNeQ
— Michael Tracey (@mtracey) February 2, 2021
If you don’t fawn over AOC’s every word, Twitter regards it as so astounding that they’ll make it into a editorially customized trending topic. Impressive
— Michael Tracey (@mtracey) February 2, 2021
"If experience tells me anything, hysterical raging Twitter mobs are outlandishly wrong about 99% of the time, so keep it coming mother**kers," Tracey added.
While not a compliment, he was aptly noting that Ocasio-Cortez has exceptional communication skills, knows how to use social media platforms to reach a large audience, and all of that should have conservatives keeping an eye on her — a serious eye. AOC took the side of the WallStreetBets crowd, where populist waves crashed into Wall Street. Cruz tried to show solidarity, saying he agreed with her, and out comes the dagger with the "you almost had me murdered" swipe regarding the Capitol Building storming.
The Capitol Police side of her story may or may not be true. Who knows? The point is, if you question her on that, you’re a heartless bastard with zero empathy for the survivors of sexual assault. You cannot doubt any aspect of the story because of that. That doesn’t mean you cannot; this is America. But the messaging war on this is a messy one, which the GOP will probably eat pavement on so keep an eye on that too. In the meantime, Mr. Tracey threw a pitch and is enjoying the show.
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