Once again, Fox News inadvertently acknowledged the success of the #ResistTrump movement, this time by spending its time attacking Senator Elizabeth Warren and ignoring the behavior of Senator Mitch McConnell who caused Democratic outrage after he censured her for quoting a letter by Coretta Scott King last night.
In case you missed it, Think Progress describes what happened after Warren quoted from King’s 1986 letter, opposing Senator Jeff Sessions’ then-nomination for a federal judgeship, as part of debate opposing Sessions’ current nomination as attorney general:
McConnell said that, by quoting Martin Luther King Jr.’s widow, Warren “impugned the motives and conduct of our colleague from Alabama.” He then invoked Rule 19 to force Warren to stop speaking.
The rule is intended to encourage senators to be polite to each other. But McConnell used it to squelch debate about a man nominated to be the next Attorney General of the United States.
Warren objected, saying she was “surprised that the words of Coretta Scott King were not suitable for debate in the United States Senate.” She asked to continue her remarks. McConnell objected.
The senate then voted to silence Warren. Warren's senate floor speech might have gone unnoticed had McConnell kept his mouth shut. Instead, he turned it into a Democratic rallying cry.
It’s telling to me that the five cohosts on Outnumbered focused on attacking Warren and spent almost no time defending McConnell. It was also telling that this five-person, totally fair and balanced panel, consisted of all conservatives. Afraid of something, Fox?
The show’s #OneLuckyGuy was Fox & Friends host Brian Kilmeade. In a similar discussion this morning, Kilmeade said Warren was “desperate to be noticed.” F&F cohost Steve Doocy sneered, “Now the left is up in arms because those evil Republicans made a woman shut up.”
Now, on Outnumbered, Kilmeade continued his scorn. He said the outrage was all “a big act,” not just from Warren but also the other Democrats who protested on her behalf. He also criticized Warren for not having spoken out against Sessions previously, if she thought he was so bad.
But there’s a big difference about now. For one thing, Sessions was elected by his constituents to represent his state as one of 50 senators. So it was not Warren’s place to criticize his presence. Now, however, he is a nominee to be the attorney general for the United States, i.e. all the people, including Warren's own constituents, and it is her duty as a senator to vote on his nomination.
Of course, nobody pointed that out.
Kilmeade went on to say, “I think it was an embarrassment but she’s going to benefit from it. She’s earning a lot of money off it. She’s doing all the shows today. She’s a martyr to many.”
Instead of criticizing McConnell and the Republicans for making Warren a martyr, the Warren-smearing continued apace.
Cohost Meghan McCain complained, “This is all political theater,” supposedly about Warren’s 2020 presidential run.
MCCAIN: A lot of Democrats aren’t necessarily ready to hitch their wagon to her and she’s forcing her way through … This feminist, leftist rhetoric from the extreme-left feminism - she wants to be sort of the next Hillary Clinton, if you will, except more extreme. And this is all about politics, this is all about hashtags on Twitter and this is all about being on television. This is not about Jeff Sessions because have no doubt, he will be confirmed and he will get through but Democrats are just going to throw tantrums … until this cabinet gets filled.
Dagen McDowell attacked Warren's feminism for quoting Ted Kennedy - because Chappaquiddick and Mary Jo Kopechne. For those who don’t recall this terrible incident, Kopechne’s drowning there in1969 involved very questionable behavior on Kennedy’s part. And while I do not condone Kennedy's behavior, he also had a long and distinguished record in the senate in the 40 years afterward and I’m sure Warren was not saying anything supportive about his Chappaquiddick behavior.
“So that’s your opposition ad right there,” McDowell helpfully added.
She continued contemptuously, “That’s not a Broadway play, that acting is worse than anything in, like, a third grade Thanksgiving pageant.”
So if this was no biggie and just stupid behavior on the part of Democrats, why did these Fox hosts just spend nearly 10 minutes attacking it?
Watch what Republican unease looks like below, from the February 8, 2017 Outnumbered.
Having dealt with an endless number of right-wingers with zero critical thinking skills, I’m sure Fox’s spin plays well with these ‘bubble boys’ but I also know a small handful of fence sitting Fox viewers who are going to start to wonder.
If he allowed her to speak it would have received zero attention from the news and social media, now Senator Warren was able to share King’s 30 year old letter to millions reminding or educating those who don’t know, Session’s past.
The votes are there, and I’m sure Sessions will win conformation tonight, so all they accomplished was making him look racist and weak when it takes the reins.
If you didn’t see it, here’s Senator Warren’s interview on The View, this morning…https://youtu.be/9bm0mMN-MIU