Pedro Molina – Counterpoint Media
Utah Senator Mike Lee, apparently mistaking double murders for open mic night at a CPAC roast, decided the Minnesota shootings were the perfect moment to debut his latest stand-up material: blaming Democrats, mocking Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, and inventing Marxist boogeymen. Unsurprisingly, the audience—consisting of grieving families and horrified colleagues—didn’t laugh.
The Mormon Church-owned Deseret News, not usually known for harsh words toward Utah Republicans, took the extraordinary step of publicly dragging Lee for his grotesque lack of empathy, calling his social media diarrhea “unacceptable for anyone, let alone from a member of the Senate.” Translation: Mike, we expect a certain level of soullessness in politics, but you managed to overshoot it.
Democratic Senator Tina Smith—whose friend was murdered—confronted Lee in person to remind him that victims’ families tend to prefer condolences over political drive-bys. Lee reportedly stood there, apparently stunned to learn that his own-the libs trolling had real-world consequences beyond likes and retweets from anonymous basement dwellers.
Even some of Lee’s fellow Republicans managed to locate a moral compass long enough to call him “insensitive” and “not even true.” High praise from a party that usually considers cruelty part of the job description.
After being scolded by grieving colleagues, national media, and his own hometown newspaper, Lee finally deleted the posts—the political equivalent of shoving the bloody brass knuckles under the couch and hoping nobody notices. The Deseret News helpfully suggested that maybe an apology could follow, though expecting a shred of humanity from Lee at this point is probably wishful thinking.