Leave it to Peter Doocy to try to paint unhinged, violent, threatening "parents" as sympathetic protesters exercising their first amendment rights.
October 7, 2021

Another day, another chance for Peter Doocy to show that he's not only an idiot, but an a$shole. In a clear attempt to make violent, anti-science, astroturfing "parents" seem sympathetic, while they scream and threaten teachers and school board members, he asked the following of Jen Psaki:

"A week ago, the National School Board Association wrote to the president to say that their teachers feel that some parents protesting recently could be the equivalent to a form of domestic terrorism, and then the attorney general put the FBI on the case. So, does the administration agree that parents upset about their kids' curriculums could be considered domestic terrorists?"

He wasn't asking me, but my answer would be an unequivocal "YES."

She answered, "Well, let me unravel this a little bit, because the National School Board Association is not a part of the U.S. government. I'd point you to them. What the Department of Justice said, in a letter from the attorney general, is that, quote, 'Threats against public servants are not only illegal, they run counter to our nation's core values.' That is true. These were threats against public servants, threats against members of the school board. Regardless of the reasoning, threats and violence against public servants is illegal. That's what he was conveying from the Department of Justice."

"But the Department of Justice does now have the FBI on this. Something that the school boards association is asking for, is for the administration to consider using the Patriot Act to investigate some of these school board protesters, so would the administration be okay with the FBI using the Patriot Act to surveil these parents if that is what they decide?" asked Doocy.

Seems to me that turnabout is fair play. Republicans are super keen on labeling Black people "terrorists" when they are protesting rights as fundamental to their existence as exercising their right to vote unmolested, or perhaps not getting shot by police officers on sight. Because of the Patriot Act, local police and law enforcement have access to tons of personal data about us, for which they'd otherwise need a warrant. Has Doocy ever raised his hand to sound the alarm when cops surveil Black and brown people for far smaller reasons than threats of violence?

Psaki responded, "I don't speak on behalf of the National School Board Association, I speak on behalf of this government. The attorney general has put out a letter. They will take actions they take, and I would point you to them for more information."

Then Doocy asked the Doociest of all Doocy questions.

"Something that you said on Monday after some protesters hounding Kyrsten Sinema into a rest room, you said, 'The president stands for the fundamental right of people to protest, to object, and to criticize.' So does the president support the fundamental right of these parents to protest at school board meetings?"

He did that. He compared protesters following Kyrsten Sinema into the restroom — because she was NOT doing her job, refuses to meet with them or hold a town meeting, IS doing all she can to be an absolute chaos agent, breaking every campaign promise, and abandoning her legislative duties to hobnob with wealthy donors — to "protesters" who threaten teachers with violence for daring to teach students that slavery was bad, and to "protesters" who ambush school board members for voting to protect the community from a deadly pathogen. Many of these "parents" don't even have children in the districts where the meetings are being held.

Psaki used small words to try to help him understand.

"Of course, but he doesn't stand for the fundamental right, I assume you don't either, for people to take violent action against public servants. And that's what the threats are about. So, no, he doesn't stand for that. No one should."

She's giving him a lot of credit, there. I don't assume he's against violence against public servants. He is employed by Fox, after all.

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