Fox's Peter Johnson Jr.: House Gun Violence Sit-In “A Breakdown Of The Rule Of Law”
Johnson: “This Is Historically Stupid, This Is Historically Disturbing, This Is A Bad Example To All Of America”
Written by Media Matters Staff
Published
From the June 23 edition of Fox News' Fox & Friends:
AINSLEY EARHARDT (CO-HOST): Chaos erupting on the House floor as House Democrats stage a sit-in over gun control, sitting on the issue for nearly an entire day. But are Democrats getting their point across or was it all a publicity stunt? Here to break it all down for us is Fox News legal analyst Peter Johnson Jr. Good morning.
PETER JOHNSON JR.: Good morning. It is a breakdown. It's a breakdown of the rule of law. So by spectacle, by chaos, “by bedlam” as The New York Times calls it, the Congress, through the Democrats, are acting in a way that we have really never seen in our American history. I was watching one of the liberal channels last night and they said, “Well this is historic.” Well, this is historically stupid, this is historically disturbing, this is a bad example to all of America. Will Congress next go to the U.S. Supreme Court and sit in there or teach in there? Will they next go to the White House and sit in there and teach in there? Where will they next upset the apple cart? Where will they next say, “Well we're going to go to the state capital in Albany, maybe we'll go in California. We're going to upset the legislative apple cart and say you can't enact any kind of legislation because we're going to sing, we're going to dance, we're going to sit in, we're going to stop it because this is a spectacle that we can't get the attention that we can get at the convention.” It's a floor demonstration and a Democratic convention. It's a street rally. And there is no place in the Congress for a street rally, whether it's Republican or whether it's Democrat. So you think about the great decorum. You think about the great dignity of a Congress, whether it agrees with itself or it doesn't. But now we have absolute chaos and absolute disregard for the rule of law, and it's a bad example for all Americans. No wonder people say this Congress sucks. Because they proved it last night.
EARHARDT: You talk about dignity, when you look at the pictures, it's them like kindergarteners sitting on the carpet down on the floor.
JOHNSON: Well let's -- but you're absolutely right, let's show this side by side. Let's show two iconic pictures that we saw in America this week. People on the left, and that little girl standing on the toilet on the right. What do they have in common? The truth is, that little girl stands on that toilet because Congress, through the Democrats, sit on their behind. So now we invoke a John Lennon and Yoko Ono in a love-in. So now we invoke Dharna protesters in India trying to collect a debt. So now we invoke Occupy Wall Street in the halls of Congress. Let's invoke this iconic symbol, of the signing of the Constitution, one of the most famous symbols in America. They disagreed with each other, but they came together. America can come together. We can stop gun violence and we can stop terror. But the Democrats in Congress have to stop their nonsense first. Stand up for what they believe in. Don't interrupt Congress. It really is deplorable and disturbing, and all Americans they should be calling Congress and say, “Cut it out. Cut it out now.”
Previously:
Morning Shows Give GOP A Pass For Blocking Gun Safety Measures In Senate