Virginia Foxx Issues Second Non-Apology.

I've spoken before about the astonishingly inappropriate comments of Virginia Foxx regarding the death of Matthew Shepard, who she claimed was killed as part of a robbery; he was actually killed because he was gay, a point which Foxx denied, using him as an example of the way the need for a hate crimes bill was being fueled by "hoax" claims.

Having been set upon by Keith Olbermann and others, Foxx has now offered a non-apology apology:

“In the heat of trying to handle the rule on the floor, anybody can use a bad choice of words. Saying that the event was a hoax was a poor choice of words,” Foxx said. “I’ve apologized for that. I never meant in any way to harm the family or offend the family or anybody else for that matter.”

Perhaps I am mistaken, but it looked to me as if she was reading this statement. Nor does she appear to be genuinely sorry for what she has done, for she appears to be casting herself as the victim of the piece:

Another indication?

“It is very unfortunate that these calls have come in. I would say 99 percent of them are from outside the district and it is unfortunate that people have taken this position.”

Foxx is not taking responsibility for her comments, and is playing the victim. “It is very unfortunate that these calls have come in.” Really? Unfortunate? How about saying something like, “I’m sorry for what I said. I have rethought my comments and done more research regarding Matthew Shepard’s murder. I was wrong. His was not murdered because he was being robbed. He was murdered because his killers knew he was gay and targeted a 5’ 4” one hundred pound gay college student.”

“I would say 99 percent of them are from outside the district and it is unfortunate that people have taken this position.” Again, really? Rep. Foxx is under the mistaken concept that she is the Representative for her district. She does not grasp the fact that she is a United States Congresswoman who may be elected by a portion of the citizens of North Carolina, but she represents every American.

"It is unfortunate that people have taken this position"? That's hardly accepting that what she said was despicable and wrong. She now appears to be insinuating that people have chosen to misread what she said.

She maligned a dead man and did so whilst his mother was sitting in the gallery. And the best apology she can offer is to insinuate that the rest of us have somehow chosen to take an "unfortunate" position on the matter?

The person who took the "unfortunate" position on this matter was Foxx. In her desire to prove that there is no need for a Hate Crimes Bill in the United States she chose to take the position that the examples given to prove this need were, in fact, "a hoax".

That's not a "poor choice of words", that's a popular right wing argument, and it's based on a big fat lie.

Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz (D-Fla.) summed up the situation perfectly:

"It's just sad the Republican caucus has been reduced such a fringe," she said. "It's sad they would go out of their way to prevent people from getting justice."

Foxx is the perfect example of the lunatic fringe which is now the Republican party. A group of mean, nasty individuals who always behave as if they are the ones being picked on.

UPDATE:



Here, Matthews mother talks to Rachel Maddow. As Judy Shepard says, "Foxx is apologising for semantics."

Click title for source.

Tags: Virginia Foxx, Matthew Shepard, Hate Crimes Bill