Fox News Parenting Poll Backfires Spectacularly
Fox News Host Todd Starnes asks parents how they’d feel if their child ‘ridiculed’ a Senator, immediately regrets it
Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School shooting survivor Cameron Kasky spoke directly with Florida Senator Marco Rubio on Wednesday during a CNN town hall about gun control. One of the most intense exchanges between the two was when the young founder of the Never Again Movement asked the Senator point blank if he would continue to take donations from the NRA.
You can almost feel Rubio biting back the phrases, “Because I said so!” and “Go to your room!” in this clip. He’s a 46-year-old career politician who just got schooled by a teenager whose biggest concern right now should be who he’s taking to prom. Instead he’s been thrust into the national spotlight as a leader of a major movement, and doing a fantastic job spreading their message.
Fox News host Todd Starnes watched the exchange and was not pleased. But it wasn’t the Second Amendment issues at play that made Starnes angry. It was Kaskey’s behavior as a teen speaking to an adult that rubbed him the wrong way. He took to Twitter to ask parents how they’d feel if their own child did what Kasky had just done.
To be clear, nothing Kasky said or did is even close to rude, let alone disrespectful. He addresses Senator Rubio as Senator. He doesn’t scream, he doesn’t curse. He even asks the crowd to settle down multiple times so Rubio can be heard and the discussion can continue. He even offers to contribute personally to Rubio’s campaign if the Senator will agree to stop accepting NRA funds.
Does he speak passionately? Absolutely. He’s allowed to be passionate about the fact that 15 of his classmates and two of his teachers were murdered, and others injured. But he’s not being hostile — he’s pleading with his elected official for a straight answer on the question of whether he’ll continue to take monies from an organization that thinks mass loss of life is a fair exchange so others can own assault rifles for fun.
If Starnes was hoping Twitter would assure him that Kasky deserved to be grounded indefinitely for his behavior, he miscalculated horribly.
There were parents who knew exactly how they’d ‘punish’ Kasky for his behavior.
https://twitter.com/jetpack/status/966513251222605824
Some made the excellent point that anyone who’s ever favorited anything on Trump’s timeline should be very, very careful about accusing others of being disrespectful.
Others said the way Kasky spoke to Rubio changed how they felt about having kids completely.
As glorious as Starnes’ dragging was, some reminded him that right now the primary feeling for most parents is gratitude.
If anything, Starnes is the one who showed his immaturity last night.
I have two-five-year-old sons. I cross my fingers every day that they grow up to be as “disrespectful” as Kasky.
