Republican presidential candidate Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, speaks during a “Celebrate the 2nd Amendment Event,” Saturday, June 20, 2015, at the CrossRoads Shooting Sports in Johnston, Iowa. (AP Photo/Charlie Neibergall)
A series of Associated Press photos from a 2nd Amendment event in Iowa on Saturday appear to show Republican presidential candidate Ted Cruz (R-Texas) with a gun pointed at his head. Cruz, who was speaking at a “Celebrate the 2nd Amendment Event” in Iowa, was photographed next to a poster of a gun, which looked like it was pointed right between the Texas senator’s eyes.
Remember that whole media freakout about Sarah Palin being to blame for the shooting of Rep. Gabrielle Giffords because her SarahPAC used a crosshairs graphic to single out “targeted” districts? In case you’ve forgotten, ABC News wrote at the time:
Facebook executive Randi Zuckerberg said many people on the social networking site are asking whether Sarah Palin is to blame.
According to Zuckerberg that is the #1 question on the social network behemoth following the Tucson shooting.
Like so much with Palin, the roots are on Facebook. On her Facebook page last year when she posted the a map of 20 congressional districts targeted by SarahPac, the headline of the map: “It’s time to take a stand.”
At the time Giffords reacted to the map in an interview on a cable news program.
“When people do that, they’ve got to realize there are consequences to that action,” Giffords said.
After Twitter lit up with complaints about the photos of Cruz — none of them from the left that I could find — the Associated Press issued a statement Sunday night:
“Presidential candidate Ted Cruz was shown in a series of 14 photos taken by an Associated Press photographer at a ‘Celebrate the 2nd Amendment’ event Saturday afternoon, held at a shooting range in Johnston, Iowa,” the statement said. “Five of the photos published by AP included images of guns seen on a wall in the background so that it appeared a pistol was pointed at Sen. Cruz’s head.”
“The images were not intended to portray Sen. Cruz in a negative light,” the statement added.
No, of course not. The photographer had no idea what he had there when he lined up that shot (no pun intended) and then clicked the shutter. And the editor who approved the images for AP use also had no idea that there might be a problem with a picture of a gun pointed at a Republican presidential candidate’s head. They’d have done the same to a Democrat, right?
If only. Am I right, Texas? http://t.co/RYLGoetezM pic.twitter.com/ueL6ULnRDa
— Deeterlee (@twitta_D) June 22, 2015
On the one hand, we’re told that things like crosshair graphics and Confederate flags incite violence. These images are so menacing– so inherently dangerous — they must be scrubbed from the public square because those images are the reason crazed lunatics kill. On the other hand, if the target is a Republican, then we’re supposed to believe that it’s harmless “art” or “journalism.”
They say you can’t have it both ways, but liberals always manage to find a way to do just that.
On the next page are some reactions to the hypocrisy on Twitter.
@AP posts photo of gun pointed at Ted Cruz’s head. Subtle message there, eh? #TedCruz
— toddstarnes (@toddstarnes) June 22, 2015
@toddstarnes @AP @tedcruz If that image were of the President, it'd be viewed as a threat.
— Skippy 🌺🧢 (@SKIPdaZIP) June 22, 2015
Really, AP? Published Wire Photo Has Gun Graphic Pointing at Ted Cruz's Head http://t.co/pjOzv70th3 Outrageous editorial bias by the @AP
— Joe the Dissident (@joethepatriotic) June 22, 2015
https://twitter.com/psherm07/status/612862227889045504
https://twitter.com/CoFemale/status/612860251642028032
Can the morons at @AP put a gun to #TedCruz's head?
YES THEY CAN!!!
-mao#GunControl #LamestreamMedia #FAIL pic.twitter.com/MFK6ZYVxl6— Quid pro MEEchelleO (@MEEchelleO) June 22, 2015
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