“The show must go on.” It is an old cliche and not always true (9/11), but it is rooted in some legitimate rationale. Indeed, perhaps the show itself can use its power to spurn a needed call to action during tragic times.
The Miami Heat began last night’s Game 5 of the Eastern Conference finals with a moment of silence in honor of the victims of the mass shooting at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas. Of course, they did. The show is not oblivious. But the Heat followed up that moment with something much more powerful. While calling the act “senseless,” the Heat urged fans to contact their state senator in support of “common-sense gun laws” and then went even further by saying they should register to vote. Boos didn’t rain down from the crowd, indeed it was warmly received..
A Florida crowd. A strong majority-Floridian crowd and a national television audience saw this:
The scoreboard at @FTXArena after a moment of silence prior to Celtics vs @MiamiHEAT.
Catch @heydb @McNuttMonica and I choppin it up on @ESPNRadio for game 5. pic.twitter.com/P3AZ6cLKfB— MarkJonesESPN (@MarkJonesESPN) May 26, 2022
Given that Floridians composed the vast majority of the crowd, Marco Rubio would be the recipient of a large number of those calls. According to the Brady Foundation, the gun manufacturing lobby has given Marco Rubio $3.3 million dollars during his tenure in the United States Senate. The jaw-dropping figure puts Rubio in a strong 6th place in the Senate when it comes to recipients of blood money largesse.
Someone has to stand up for guns, apparently. Last night, the duty fell to the guy who has $3.3 million reasons to plead the case for guns.
The @NBA doesn’t like to talk about the billions they make from a China that enslaves Uyghur Muslims and harvests their organs
But they have no problem politicizing a horrific tragedy in America pic.twitter.com/VUXpOBbw7j
— Marco Rubio (@marcorubio) May 26, 2022
Disappointing. In the never-ending process required to keep Republicans distracted while mourning a tragedy, one would think they’d be practiced enough to do a little better. That is pretty remote, Marco. It is also telling. There isn’t much left to say that hasn’t already been said. The band plays on.
Obviously, the tweet generated a massive backlash, few better than rising Democratic star Rep. Eric Swalwell’s message:
What a whiny man-baby Florida has for a U.S. senator. Rubio is threatened by a tribute to 19 slaughtered babies and their teachers? I bet he’d really hate it if you listened to the Miami Heat’s call to action and turned out to vote. RT if you’re voting this Fall. #SorryMarco https://t.co/bAdNn21gZP
— Rep. Eric Swalwell (@RepSwalwell) May 26, 2022
Swalwell brings up a good point. The message didn’t just offend Rubio’s gun sensitivity, it also touched upon an even more venerated “truth” among Republicans, only certain people should vote. Certain people ensure that blood money never clogs.
If one is looking for any semblance of “hope” with respect to this issue, click on Rubio’s message and read through the replies. Maybe this time the Republican show can be halted just long enough.
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