Republican Tennessee State Representative Micah Van Huss filed a resolution Wednesday in the state’s General Assembly that explicitly recognizes CNN and The Washington Post as “fake news,” and condemn them for “denigrating our citizens,” The Daily Caller reports.
“A RESOLUTION to recognize CNN and The Washington Post as fake news and condemn them for denigrating our citizens,” the bill’s summary reads.
“I’ve filed HJR 779 on behalf of a constituency that’s tired of fake news and Republicans who don’t fight,” Van Huss wrote on his Facebook page.
The resolution recalls incidents from each news outlet in 2019 where a host or editor without evidence referred to supporters of President Donald Trump as “belonging to a cult” or “cult-like.” The resolution includes an incident a CNN guest “suggested that Trump supporters belong to a cult and that our president is using mind control.”
“WHEREAS, it is fascinating to see this latest ‘cult-of-Trump’ meme coming from the left, because they are the true masters of deploying mobs to demand total conformity and compliance with their agenda,” the bill reads, “because they are the true masters of deploying mobs to demand total conformity and compliance with their agenda; and WHEREAS, any thoughtful observer can see the cult-of-Trump meme as a classic case of psychological projection; after all, accusing someone’s perceived opponent of exactly what one intends to do is a very old tactic; and WHEREAS, the mainstream media is in a panic because President Trump has opened the eyes of many average Americans who are tired of politics as usual.”
https://twitter.com/MicahVanHuss/status/1222656020259966977
Since the “cult diagnosis draws a line between Trump opponents and Trump supporters” and “oversimplifies the way people think and feel about their own beliefs and those on the other side of that line,” the bill reasons, the media outlets should be recognized by the State of Tennessee as “fake news and part of the media wing of the Democratic Party.”
“BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that we condemn them for denigrating our citizens and implying that they are weak-minded followers instead of people exercising their rights that our veterans paid for with their blood,” it concludes.
Van Huss served in the Marine Corps for six years, has been deployed three times to Iraq and once to Afghanistan. Huss has represented Tennessee’s 6th district in the state’s legislature since 2013.
“I remember when the news was informative and honest,” Van Huss told the Daily Caller, explaining that he filed the bill on behalf of his constituents. “CNN continues to divide this country in an era of significant political polarization.”
The Daily Caller reports, the Tennessee lawmaker said his fellow Republicans have seemed “excited” about the bill, although it’s too early to gauge its prospects for passage. “I have not received any negative feedback,” he said.