Raise your hand if you thought the worst social media reaction to the assassination of Minnesota state Rep. Melissa Hortman, a Democrat, would come from … not President Donald Trump, not Georgia Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, not Colorado Rep. Lauren Boebert, but Utah Sen. Mike Lee.
“Based” Mike Lee, that is. The Republican senator created a second account on Twitter in July 2022, in addition to his official account, SenMikeLee. BasedMikeLee is where the senator vents his spleen and unleashes his id, as though revealing a Jekyll-and-Hyde split personality.
According to Dictionary.com, the slang term “based” originally meant “to be addicted to crack cocaine (or acting like you were), but was reclaimed by rapper Lil B for being yourself and not caring what others think of you — to carry yourself with swagger.”
Presumably, Lee is using the second definition. Presumably.
The first attack occurred around 2 a.m. Saturday, when Minnesota state Sen. John Hoffman (D) and his wife, Yvette, were wounded in their home in Champlin, a Minneapolis suburb. Then came the fatal attack around 3:30 a.m. at the Brooklyn Park residence of Hortman and her husband, Mark. The gunman also shot Gilbert, the Hortmans’ golden retriever (the wounded service dog had to be euthanized).
Independent reporting for Pine Bluff & Jefferson County since 1879.
Police said the shooter was dressed as a law enforcement officer, wearing a tactical vest and body armor, as well as a latex or rubber mask. Within a few hours, the FBI had posted several photos of a suspect.
By late morning Saturday, the entire state of Minnesota was on edge, knowing that the shooter hadn’t been captured and seemed to have a “kill list” of additional lawmakers and other targets.
And how did Lee choose to respond?
At 10:50 a.m. Sunday, he posted a photo of the masked shooter with the message, “This is what happens When Marxists don’t get their way.”
At 11:15 a.m., Lee posted two more photos with the words “Nightmare on Waltz Street.” (Both posts have since been deleted.) Apparently, Lee was taking a jab at Minnesota’s Democratic governor, Tim Walz.
I suppose Lee might argue he was calling attention to the fact that the suspect identified by law enforcement had been appointed to the Governor’s Workforce Development Board, first by former Minnesota governor Mark Dayton, a Democrat, and then by Walz. There’s no indication that Walz knew the suspect in any meaningful way, but, yes, the 2019 appointment includes the governor’s cringe-inducing boilerplate language saying the appointee was chosen “because of the special trust and confidence I have in your integrity, judgment, and ability.”
But it also wasn’t particularly important with a killer on the loose. (The suspect was arrested after a two-day manhunt.) When the governor of a state is dealing with a life-and-death crisis, you can tap the brakes on giving him grief. Ecclesiastes tells us, “To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven.” There is a time to mock governors in the opposing party, and there is a time to keep your trap shut and pray for the families of the slain and wounded. Not every thought you have needs to be broadcast to the world.
At 4:35 p.m. Sunday, Lee’s official Senate account posted: “These hateful attacks have no place in Utah, Minnesota, or anywhere in America. Please join me in condemning this senseless violence, and praying for the victims and their families.”
The responses to that post on X are blistering, and deservedly so. We know exactly what thoughts were going through Lee’s mind when he learned of the shooting. It is not the least bit surprising that one of Minnesota’s two Democratic senators, Tina Smith, sought out Lee for a face-to-face meeting on Monday evening. Smith told The Post: “I think he listened to what I said. He indicated that he of course meant no harm. But of course these things do cause harm. They hurt people.”
The development of this “Based Mike Lee” persona has not been good for the senator. The alternate account isn’t edgy, blunt or fun. It’s obnoxious and venomous, and it revealed that when people were killed, Lee’s first instinct was to dunk on the Democratic governor who has his hands full dealing with a horrific, blood-soaked outrage.
Is this really what Lee aspired to when he decided to run for office?