Only Fox News would ask the vice chair of the Senate Republican conference to “advise” Sen. Bill Nelson (D-FL) on the air about the Florida recount that was going on - and surprise! She oh-so-sincerely recommended that Nelson concede his election to Republican Rick Scott.
On Sunday, Nelson did concede the race to Scott. But on Saturday, while the recount was still happening, Fox replayed a clip of Sen. Joni Ernist (R-IA) condescendingly “advising” Nelson to get out of the race.
“Any advice for Senator Nelson?” host Neil Cavuto asked innocently, as if he actually thought Ernst would put aside partisanship and offer something heart-to-heart.
Ernst pretended to be speaking like a friend. But despite having just talked up the importance of “integrity” in elections, she showed no concern for making sure the recount finished and that all the votes were counted.
ERNST: I would say, Sen. Nelson, leave a great legacy and leave a positive reflection of your time in the United States Senate. It’s time to say good bye and thank you to the great folks of Florida.
You know that Ernst would never advise a Republican to bow out of an election before the votes were properly counted. She’d be all for fighting to the end like Sen. Nelson did.
Watch the condescension below, from the November 17, 2018 Cavuto Live. The interview was conducted on the November 16, 2018 Your World show. Apparently, Fox News liked Ernst's comments so much, they were aired twice.
Of course Ernst wanted Nelson to run home and hide. And of course Fox News was delighted with Rick Scott taking a pre-victory lap by flying to DC to make sure he was photographed gleefully smiling alongside McConnell for the welcoming events. (By the way, shouldn’t Scott have refrained from running for Senate, since the Right Wing believes in extreme term limits? Why did he run for the Senate at all, if his priority was to just return to civilian life and support another citizen legislator? Of course, we could ask that question of most of the “Tea Party” astroturfers who all promised to not run for re-election and have barnacled their way along for the past several years…)
It’s been more than clear that the Right Wing has wanted to get their gloat on for this midterm as soon as it could. When the House gerrymandering didn’t allow them to keep total control as planned, they turned to dismissing any gains the Democratic candidates made. And they turned to gloating about how they would continue to rule the Senate (including more judicial gargoyles and the upcoming retirement of Clarence Thomas). The fact that Nelson, Gillum and Abrams hung on and exposed the multiple attempts at voter suppression and viciousness was inconvenient for the Right. Granted, the Right Wing succeeded in their efforts in both of those states – which should be a lesson to Democratic voters – that they can’t just take these races for granted and they have to show up in real numbers – there are over a million Democratic voters in each of those states who did not bother to show up for the midterms and who regularly do not bother to show up for elections. Those voters could have ended this nonsense before it started. But even given that situation, the Right Wing’s open glee about demanding the Democratic candidates bow down was fairly rancid to see. Particularly when they made no such demand of Republican candidates who have been filing lawsuits and refusing to concede. (It’s a long-time Republican tradition to refuse to concede out of spite – I still remember Carly Fiorina in California making a point of refusing to concede in 2010.)