Over the past week, we have seen the left become triggered by Trump drinking water from a glass and a humorous video that was edited to mock the corporate press. Indeed, the Democrats and their allies in the establishment media have cynically and deceptively used these stories to smear the president. But it is important to remember that Democrats are not only using these tactics against Trump; they are also employing them against Republicans in local offices as well.

This reality recently emerged in Austin, TX, when Media Matters, along with Texas Democrats, attempted to smear a leader in the Travis County Republican Party (TCRP) and a conservative candidate running for city council. It started when the county GOP held an executive committee meeting on June 16 that was attended by InfoWars host Owen Shroyer, among others.

Near the end of its meetings, the TCRP typically allows people to come up and briefly address the group. During this particular gathering, Shroyer took some time to say a few words in support of Trump, urging the audience to support the president.

It didn’t take long for Media Matters to step in and do what they do best: Lie about Republicans. The supposed media watchdog outlet used Shroyer’s appearance to falsely smear the TCRP, along with Travis County GOP Chair Matt Mackowiak and Mackenzie Kelly, who is currently running for city council.

The issue at hand is the fact that Shroyer is known for peddling various conspiracy theories and is part of the lawsuit against Alex Jones for claiming that the Sandy Hook shooting was a hoax. The journalist has also perpetuated the notion that the death of George Floyd was somehow staged. Media Matters is trying to link both Mackowiak and Kelly to Shroyer, intimating that they might be on board with the reporter’s ridiculous theories.

In a piece titled, “Texas county GOP group hosted Infowars anchor who promoted claims that George Floyd’s death was a hoax,” author Timothy Johnson deceptively claimed that “The Republican Party of Travis County, Texas, invited Infowars host Owen Shroyer to speak at a meeting of the group’s executives on June 16.”

Later in the article, Johnson states that, “The group’s invitation to Shroyer comes as several leaders of Texas county GOP groups have stoked national outrage by promoting the conspiracy theory that Floyd’s death was staged.”

The author is referring to the fact that four top Republican officials in Texas were criticized for putting forth the theory that Floyd’s death was a staged act designed to erode black support for President Trump.

Johnson then pointed out that after Shroyer had finished speaking, he “handed the microphone to Travis County GOP Chair Matt Mackowiak, who he had thanked for inviting him to the event. The author included a tweet from Mackowiak in which he criticized Bexar county GOP Chair for promoting the Floyd hoax conspiracy theory.

She has been an embarrassment for 2 years. With this deleted FB post last night, she is now an embarrassment to @TexasGOP and @gop.

She must resign now.

Bexar GOPers must support John Austin for chair in the runoff. @GregAbbott_TX @tedcruz @JohnCornyn @DanPatrick @georgepbush pic.twitter.com/XD11Cy7oKG

— Matt Mackowiak (@MattMackowiak) June 3, 2020

The author also included a tweet from Kelly in which she indicated that Shroyer was already familiar with her before the meeting.

I met Owen Shroyer tonight at the Travis County Republican Party Executive Committee Meeting and he knew who I was before I recognized him. pic.twitter.com/x8pgwepIQn

— Mackenzie Kelly ❗️ (@mkelly007) June 17, 2020

The strategy here is apparent; Media Matters is attempting to paint Mackowiak as a hypocrite who invited Shroyer to speak at the meeting after lambasting an official who was spreading the same lies about George Floyd. Additionally, the author seems to be trying to link Kelly with Shroyer as well.

But it wasn’t just the supposed watchdog organization that tried to smear the GOP. The Texas Democratic Party also joined the fray with a press release that repeated the outlet’s false accusations.

ICYMI: Travis County Chair @MattMackowiak hosted Infowars anchor who promoted claims that George Floyd’s death was a hoax. He should resign immediately.

Read more: https://t.co/xiPmWx1Yx9 pic.twitter.com/3aDbU6Vmo3

— Texas Democrats (@texasdemocrats) June 19, 2020

However, neither Media Matters nor the Texas Democratic Party is being intellectually honest. For starters, their claim that the TCRP party invited Shroyer to the meeting is false. According to Andy Hogue, TCRP’s Communications Director was a guest that was brought by one of the chairmen in attendance. In a statement given to RedState, he explained:

“TCRP routinely allows a wide variety of guests to speak at executive committee meetings, including recently Democrats Mayor Steve Adler and Tax Assessor-Collector Bruce Elfant.

Activist Owen Shroyer spoke for a couple of minutes at the tail end of our meeting on June 16. He was not a featured speaker but the guest of just one of our 120+ precinct chairmen. He asked several of our leaders if he could speak and we advised him to share information during the announcements portion, which we typically do not screen.

Shroyer’s brief announcement included nothing about his errant opinion on George Floyd but was an appeal to support President Trump in November.

Shroyer’s other personal or professional views do not reflect the views of TCRP or the chairman in any way. We defer any criticism to him directly, where it belongs.”

So, not only did Media Matters lie about the TCRP inviting Shroyer to the meeting, they also never bothered to reach out to either Mackowiak or Kelly to get their side of the story. Fortunately, RedState did.

Mackowiak already tweeted his repudiation of the mini-smear campaign.

No I didn’t host anyone. He was a guest of another precinct chair. At the end of our meetings we have announcements and anyone who wants to speak gets 30 seconds.

Maybe you guys can focus on trying to win a statewide election in TX for the first time since 1994. https://t.co/mezQywmBTD

— Matt Mackowiak (@MattMackowiak) June 19, 2020

Moreover, the fact that Mackowiak has slammed InfoWars on his Twitter account would also indicate that he has no love for the news outlet, wouldn’t it?

Mackenzie Kelly also gave a statement to RedState regarding her meeting Shroyer. The candidate was unaware of the reporter’s conspiracy theory about George Floyd’s death. “I had no idea Shroyer said that and honestly, I think it’s ludicrous to insinuate in any way that Floyd’s death was a conspiracy,” she said.

It’s important to note that Media Matters could have easily reached out to all of the parties involved to find the truth, but they didn’t. Why? Because it was more important to push a blatantly false narrative to deceive their base. Media Matters is known for lying about conservative politicians and pundits, and this is yet another glaring example of their penchant for dishonesty.

As the nation is typically focused on politics at the federal level, it is still essential that as conservatives, we pay attention to what is happening in our city governments. We have seen the lengths to which the Democrats will go to enforce their agenda in our national government, but they are doing the same in our cities, towns, and municipalities. Without our diligence, they will get away with it.

Let me know what you think in the comments below.

Follow me on Twitter: @JeffOnTheRight