Last week, filmmaker Michael Moore was asked by MSNBC’s Chris Hayes whether he agreed with the view that Americans “need to tamp down the rhetoric on both sides.” Moore responded by suggesting that “our side needs to rev it up.”
The problem with Moore’s recommendation, apart from the obvious, is that the needle on the Left’s rhetoric meter maxed out, registering “shriek” earlier this month. There’s nowhere left for liberals to go but down.
We saw another brutal example of their hyper-charged rhetoric on CNN’s “The Lead” on Monday. One of the panelists was GQ columnist Julia Ioffe, who posted this message on Twitter shortly after the first reports of synagogue massacre in Pittsburgh were issued:
Will this presidential election be the most important in American history?
And a word to my fellow American Jews: This president makes this possible. Here. Where you live. I hope the embassy move over there, where you don’t live was worth it.
— Julia Ioffe (@juliaioffe) October 27, 2018
On Monday, she amped up that sentiment, stating:
I think this president, one of the things that he really launched his presidential run on is talking about Islamic radicalization. And this president has radicalized so many more people than ISIS ever did.
That way he winks and nods to these groups. ‘I know I’m not supposed to say it, but I’m a nationalist.’ The way that he hems and haws when he has to condemn these people and gritting his teeth, kind of says, ‘fine, okay, I condemn this.’
Conservative commentator David Urban, who was also on the panel, was aghast, and shot back, “That’s just — it’s unconscionable for you to say that.”
The exchange can be viewed beginning at 1:06 in the video that follows.
After the show, Ioffe walked back her comments, tweeting:
I clarified and apologized on air, but I’ll say it again here. This has been a very emotional and painful time, but I absolutely should not have gone with such hyperbole on the air. I apologize.
— Julia Ioffe (@juliaioffe) October 29, 2018
But that was essentially closing the stable door after the horse had escaped.
