Liberals always want to “start a conversation.” They want to “create a dialogue.” They want people to “talk about their differences.” That is, as long as you already agree with them. If not, you’re an enemy and you must be shunned.

Bigotry is bad, unless the target is a Republican. Christine Brennan, USA Today:

Vice President Pence is set to arrive [in Pyeongchang, South Korea] soon to lead the official U.S. delegation to the 2018 Winter Olympic opening ceremony… He was so concerned about the criticism he received from U.S. Olympic figure skater Adam Rippon that his staff went to the extraordinary length of asking the U.S. Olympic Committee to set up a conversation between the two – an offer Rippon turned down…

The spat between the vice president and the figure skater began when I asked Rippon last month about Pence’s selection for the ceremonial role…

“You mean Mike Pence, the same Mike Pence that funded gay conversion therapy? I’m not buying it,” Rippon said.

This is interesting for two reasons: 1) Pence has never funded gay conversion therapy or expressed any interest in doing so; and 2) Rippon is now a liberal hero for refusing to talk to Pence.

Just look at this nonsense:

White House tried to silence gay Olympian who criticized Pence’s homophobia https://t.co/xdL5p7Puty by @owillis — Shareblue Media (@Shareblue) February 7, 2018

Oh no, that homophobe Mike Pence tried to silence the gay guy! By, um… asking him to sit down and talk about what’s bothering him.

It’s now an article of faith on the left that Pence hates gays and wants to torture them until they stop being gay. Never mind that there’s absolutely no evidence to support the claim. That’s what they believe, and they’re not going to listen to anybody who tells them otherwise. Their entire sense of self is wrapped up in the idea that their opponents are evil and must be stopped from destroying the world. So of course, if Pence tries to set up a meeting with a gay Olympic athlete who criticizes him, he must have some malevolent purpose.

I don’t know much about figure skating, but I know it’s a lot harder than it looks, and anybody who can get all the way to the Olympics has my respect. Good for Adam Rippon. But he’s also an ignorant bigot, and that’s not so good.

Fortunately for Rippon, he hates the people he’s supposed to hate, the ones who are hated in most of America’s newsrooms. He shares the media’s biases and preconceived notions about the world. So when he refuses to talk to somebody he loathes, out of nothing but his own bigoted beliefs, they frame it like this:

VP Mike Pence was so stung by Adam Rippon’s criticism that he tried to set up a conversation with him. Not backing down, Rippon refused. My @usatodaysports exclusive on the bizarre battle between the VP of the United States — and a figure skater. https://t.co/N1ti0xdIXf — Christine Brennan (@cbrennansports) February 7, 2018

That’s simply Orwellian. Rippon didn’t back down, by… literally backing down.

The only way this framing makes any sense is if any offer by Pence is inherently threatening. “It’s a trap!” cried the journalist. Yeah, Pence probably has a car battery and jumper cables set out in a damp basement somewhere in PyeongChang, ready to lure in Rippon and shock the gay right out of him. It’s a good thing the kid saw through Pence’s nefarious ruse, huh?

It isn’t a news story, it’s confirmation bias with a word count.

If this were Trump, he’d just fire off a stupid tweet about how Rippon is a crappy skater and his hair looks dumb. But Pence tries to be presidential. He tries to make peace, and his offer gets rejected by a bigot. Now libs will twist reality to make Pence the bad guy anyway.

Like Ronald Reagan said: “It isn’t so much that liberals are ignorant. It’s just that they know so many things that aren’t so.”

P.S. Pence responds.

Headed to the Olympics to cheer on #TeamUSA. One reporter trying to distort 18 yr old nonstory to sow seeds of division. We won’t let that happen! #FAKENEWS. Our athletes are the best in the world and we are for ALL of them! #TEAMUSA — Vice President Mike Pence (@VP) February 8, 2018

I could do without the #fakenews tag. But I believe Pence wants Rippon to win. Because he’s an American. That’s the only thing that matters.