Everything is political. Especially death.
The leftist publication The New Republic thought you needed to know that one of the people lost in a submersible at the bottom of the ocean was a Republican. You see, they are human beings trapped in a nightmare but it’s ok because one of them is guilty of wrong think.
The U.S. Coast Guard indicated that as of 7:08 a.m. ET on Thursday, the crew of the Titanic-bound OceanGate submersible had run out of breathable air.
Hours earlier, while oxygen and hope were running dangerously low, the New Republic, a progressive-liberal publication, decided to focus not on the fate of the potentially doomed adventurers, but rather publish an article concerning the Republican affiliation of a suffocating man, crew member and OceanGate CEO Stockton Rush.
The article was met with fierce denunciations online, with some critics suggesting it was a “disgusting” effort to justify partisans’ schadenfreude. The backlash was of such a magnitude that the New Republic yanked its corresponding Twitter post from the platform.
In the article, entitled, “OceanGate CEO Missing in Titanic Sub Had History of Donating to GOP Candidates,” staff writer Daniel Strauss noted, “Public campaign finance records indicate that Stockton Rush, the CEO of OceanGate currently stuck on the missing Titan submersible that was running a tourist expedition of the Titanic wreck, has been a consistent Republican donor over the years.”
Strauss indicated that “Rush was not a Republican megadonor, but his donations over the years leaned heavily toward Republican candidates,” intimating that he was not even redeemable by virtue of possibly being a “RINO.”
The article highlighted how the OceanGate CEO had donated $1,500 to former Republican Rep. John Culberson, noting, “Culberson had a 100 percent scorecard rating from the conservative Family Research Council, a 92 percent lifetime rating from the American Conservative Union, and a 4 percent lifetime score from the League of Conservation Voters.”
Strauss appeared to situate his special focus amid a broader trend of “increasing scrutiny on OceanGate and its top executives.”
Investigative reporter Matt Taibbi responded to the article on Twitter, writing, “Welp, I guess we should hope they all die slowly and gasping in terror, then. Congrats @newrepublic you found a new low on Twitter!”
National Journalism Center program director T. Becket Adams wrote, “Not sure which is more interesting: that this was published by a team, and not one person thought to say, ‘this is extremely gross,’ or the headline’s use of the past tense ‘had,’ as if the New Republic knows something the rest of us don’t.”
Adams added, “The entire article – from top to bottom – is like a work of art. A how-to for how NOT to do journalism. It’s beautiful, really, in a hilariously moronic sort of way.”
Nicholas Fondacaro, associate editor at NewsBusters, tweeted, “The New Republic thinks the CEO of Oceangate deserves to suffocate on the bottom of the ocean because he supported Republicans.”
Radio host Tony Katz of 93.1FM WIBC suggested, “When you lose your humanity, this is what you write about.”
Everything to these people is politics. Everything is viewed through that prism. No one is spared.
I’ll continue praying for a miracle for these folks.
