It was just about two weeks ago (but seems like ages) when U.S. Sen. Martha McSally brushed off a CNN reporter as a liberal hack in a brief exchange outside a committee room, an encounter that dominated the hysterical news cycle. Apart from a few exceptions, is there any other kind of reporter?
Fake News, Fake Outrage CNN
In any event, CNN used up a lot of bandwidth pretending to be outraged about what the Arizona Republican lawmaker and U.S. Air Force veteran said.
Content challenged CNN is a network with TV ratings circling the drain, which would be worse if it wasn’t paying airports to show the channel in departure gates.
McSally used the encounter as a reelection fundraising vehicle, and even offered T-shirts to commemorate it (see above), so maybe it was a win-win.
Obsessively anti-Trump CNN never gets worked up when a Democrat politician trashes a right-leaning journalist, though.
Pearl Clutching, Part 1
David Marcus of The Federalist sized up the situation accurately:
“After the incident, much of the minimal airtime left over from trashing Donald Trump all day was expended in defense of [CNN correspondent Manu] Raju and the network, which they clearly feel, has been unfairly besmirched. I’ve got two words for them: toughen up.
“A statement from their PR department said, ‘It is extremely unbecoming for a U.S. Senator to sink to this level and treat a member of the press this way for simply doing his job.’ Oh no, not unbecoming. What is it when Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez calls Fox News’ Tucker Carlson a ‘white supremacist sympathizer?’ Is that unbecoming or is that speaking truth to power?…
“As a guy who grew up in Philly I’d like to inform CNN that you don’t get to come to the playground, smack everyone around and then run to the teacher when they hit you back..
“Look, Manu Raju seems like a nice fellow, and nobody likes to get called mean things, but if CNN can’t understand why GOP lawmakers don’t want to stop and chat with people whose sole purpose is to make them look bad, then it needs a reality check. The network sees itself as a font of unvarnished truth, the Oracle of Atlanta, but it’s really a propaganda machine for Democrats and Never Trumpers…
“Martha McSally did everyone a huge favor by calling these clowns out. The visceral hypocrisy of CNN clutching their pearls when Trump attacks the news media while they themselves throw haymakers at conservatives and accuse them of duping the American people needs to be exposed, and it needs to be exposed often.
Pearl Clutching, Part 2
In an Op-Ed for Arizona Central, Sen. McSally herself responded to the controversy over the encounter:
“Frankly, as a combat veteran who survived situations where foggy communications could get people killed, I don’t have time for the language games they expect you to play in Washington. I had a reputation in the military for speaking candidly, sometimes in an edgy way, and often on what others were thinking but not saying out loud…
“Predictably, his entire industry melted down. How dare someone – a woman, perhaps? – ‘lash out’ at a reporter like that! In a hallway, no less! The pearl-clutching was more over-the-top than I could have ever imagined.
“Look, I’ve actually been attacked. For real in combat. This was no attack. It’s just the truth.
“And that’s fine! When did we become allergic to the truth? I think everyone is pretty aware that Republicans – especially ones who work with President Trump to make a difference – are covered by reporters and most media outlets a certain way, and Democrats and Republicans who don’t like Trump are covered a totally different way…
“It’s just that I think it is ridiculous that the liberal media won’t be honest with themselves or you. They have a bias for Democrats. They hate the president. They would prefer if Republicans lose. They try to help make that happen by skewing what they report and how they report it…
“On any given day, there is hardly any distinction between what the DNC talking points are, what the paid “tracker” activists and mobs are saying and asking as they chase Republicans with video cameras to get a gotcha moment on tape for future campaign TV ads, and what the liberal media is asking.
“It’s as if they all got the same memo and have a common goal…”
Candidate McSally
After Maricopa County, Ariz., Democrats stole the election from then U.S. Rep. McSally in the 2018 midterms, she somewhat disingenuously, as it turned out, solicited donations for a recount. In the unfortunate manner of other Republican office-seekers around the country who inexplicably and meekly accept a rigged loss, she never actually challenged the results and conceded the election for six-year term to Kyrsten Sinema, the Democrat. Sinema’s margin of “victory” was less than three percent. Each received over one million votes.
Perhaps McSally already knew from back-office channels that that Gov. Doug Ducey would appoint her to finish out the late John McCain’s term as a consolation prize.
Ducey made the appointment official on December 18, 2018. The downside is that under Arizona law, she has to run for reelection this year to keep the senate seat and finish out McCain’s term. If successful, she can seek a full, six-year term in 2022. That means she will [potentially] be on the ballot in three consecutive elections.
Martha McSally, the first American woman to fly in combat, has a reputation for being a RINO, and is currently apparently neck and neck with Democrat opponent Mark Kelly according to polling. She has been a solid vote for the Trump agenda on Capitol Hill, however. President Trump will no doubt campaign in Arizona, would should be a boost for the McSally campaign and help her overcome Democrat vote fraud.
