Questlove Condemned Politicians Who Express Sorrow Over The Vegas Shootings But Take Money From The NRA

It’s sad that the cycle has become so old hat and predictable, but it’s almost assured that after a mass shooting incident like the one Sunday night in Las Vegas, public figures from entertainers to athletes to politicians will take to social media to express their condolences and offer their “thoughts and prayers” for the victims and survivors and their families.

Except that many of those politicians accepted donations from the National Rifle Association and regularly vote against stricter gun access laws, so really, what are their “thoughts and prayers” actually worth?

The Roots drummer and bandleader Questlove is just as fed up as anyone. Using data from a Splinter piece that lists every sitting member of Congress who took money from the NRA, he began to retweet each of those who tweeted their thoughts and prayers with a notation of how much money they received from the “gun rights” organization.

For instance, when Senator Rand Paul tweeted, “Tragic news out of Las Vegas this morning. Kelley and I send our prayers and deepest condolences to all those affected,” Quest was quick to respond, “$9,900 from NRA.”

He followed up by tweeting out the link to the full Splinter list, which can be read here. Questlove’s tweet thread can be seen below.