The MAGA Kid Needs to Own It

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©Scott Sines
I’m about done with this controversy about the MAGA kid and the Native American activist.

I have no interest in getting into a tit-for-tat argument with anyone over the bias of the liberal media vs. the veracity of right-wing news outlets. It’s a circular argument that doesn’t move us forward.

It’s a fact that many news outlets mistakenly reported that Nathan Phillips served in Viet Nam, when in fact he said he served during the Viet Nam era. Phillips’s critics cite his “carefully” worded description of his service to discredit him as if he’s trying to deceive someone. The fact is the reporting was sloppy and many if not all, of those organizations have published corrections.

At the same time, conservative outlets are sharing posts from places such as Powerline that report Phillips tried to disrupt a Mass at the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception. Apparently “twenty people (led by Phillips) tried to get in and they had to lock the doors and everything.” We know this because the CNA reported the account from an unnamed security guard. What is the CNA? Certified Nurses Association? Communist News Association? Catholic News Agency? And who was this security guard? If an editor wanted to call the guard to confirm, who would they call?

The fact is Phillips has to own his record and he doesn’t seem to be shrinking from it. No doubt Nick Sandmann is nothing but a product of his own environment, parents, peer group and school, but now Nick has to man-up and own it.