Liberal lunacy continues to thrive

OPINION:

Liberals and their media allies continue to peddle outrageous claims, no matter how absurd they sound. But if the last week showcased the left’s best arguments against conservative control of Washington, we’ll be in good shape for the next few years.

The attacks from Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and others on the left against Elon Musk top the list of moronic statements. Mr. Musk responded with images of former President Barack Obama, former Vice President Kamala Harris, former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, and Sen. Elizabeth Warren each making similar gestures with their arms. None of them was criticized for “Nazi salutes.” This is another example of the double standard in corporate media and much of social media.

Interestingly, one of the most iconic photos of the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial shows him with his arm and hand straight out during a speech. Appropriately so, no one ever suggested that the man whose life we celebrated last week was a Nazi sympathizer. Like the gesture made by Mr. Musk, it was just a move of his arm. Unfortunately, liberals have to have something ridiculous to be upset about since the general public rejected their failed ideas.

Then there is the bogus scandal being pushed by many on the left and several media outlets that suggests the husband of Sen. Deb Fischer refused to shake the hand of Ms. Harris at a swearing-in ceremony on Jan. 3. This week, the story picked up steam again as several media sources claimed that the former vice president’s husband, Doug Emhoff, confronted the senator’s husband, Bruce Fischer, at the Capitol.

Either lazy reporting or willful ignorance is driving the narrative as a full view of the swearing-in ceremony shows Mr. Fischer holding a cane in one hand and a Bible in the other — the one he held as his wife took the oath of office. In the initial video, it was not obvious that his hands were full, and it appeared as if he was opting not to shake the hand of the vice president. Once another video of the ceremony was released to the public, it was clear that both hands were full, which prevented him from shaking his hands.

Several members of Congress posted the original video and then went on to attack Mr. Fischer as being sexist or racist. Even after the other video revealed that his hands were full, many of these elected officials and others in the media continued their attacks.

Reports last week suggested that the former second gentleman confronted Mr. Fischer in the Capitol for refusing to shake his wife’s hand. If true, he would be repeating a false statement. If false, it is yet another example of the media perpetuating the false narrative against a Republican.

Or how about the fake scandal that President Trump wasn’t properly sworn in when he did not put his hand on the Bible while taking the oath of office. Anyone watching the ceremony could clearly see that Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr. rushed to swear in the 47th president. He was so quick to administer the oath of office that the Trump family had to run up to join Mr. Trump for the historic moment. Once they got up there, first lady Melania Trump held her husband’s personal Bible, which was given to him by his mother, as well as the Bible that Abraham Lincoln used to take the oath of office at his first inauguration.

While it has been the tradition of the president of the United States to take the oath with his right hand in the air and his left hand on a Bible, there is no legal obligation to do so under the Constitution or statutes. Plus, he was clearly prepared to do so had the chief justice waited for his family to assemble.

Each time I was sworn in as governor of Wisconsin, the chief justice of the Wisconsin Supreme Court administered an oath of office to me. She waited for my family to assemble and for my wife to put up the Bible upon which I laid my left hand. The real question is, why was the chief justice of the United States in such a hurry to administer the oath?

Those who took the time to examine the facts saw that each of these purported scandals was manufactured by either the left or the media — or both. While some grow frustrated by these ridiculous attacks, I say they are a good sign. Leftists don’t have a better line of attack against the new president and his team. Plus, thanks to people like Mr. Musk and his purchase of X, conservatives have effective ways to counter the dumb ideas and outright lies of the left. Most important, none of this seems to bother President Trump as he moves forward with his powerful plans for America.

• Scott Walker is president of Young America’s Foundation and served as the 45th governor of Wisconsin.