In promoting the most vile anti-choice propaganda, Fox “friends” Brian Kilmeade and Ainsley Earhardt told the GREAT, BIG, (and debunked) anti-choice lie that Virginia’s governor and Democrats endorse “infanticide” – a lie that was validated by actor Dean Cain, who now has a starring role as a Fox News anti-abortion propagandist.
As the media mouthpiece for the anti-choice movement, Fox News is doing its best to portray Democrats who oppose the recent spate of anti-choice laws as infanticide-supporting extremists – an inflammatory lie also promoted by Donald Trump.
Yesterday, the big lie was featured on two Fox & Friends segments which featured a defense of the Georgia “Heartbeat” Law and an attack on Hollywood for their opposition to it.\
In an interview with Georgia Senator David Perdue, cohosts Earhardt and Steve Doocy reported that Hollywood production companies and actors have promised to boycott filming in Georgia in protest of the law. Perdue said that law reflects the will of Georgia voters.
Anti-abortion zealot and misinformer, Doocy showed a map of states with Heartbeat laws and explained that the laws establish “personhood” at about six weeks. He didn’t mention that these laws have been blocked by courts. Not surpisingly, he didn’t mention that standard for “life,” as per the landmark Roe v. Wade decision, is viability and this is why “Heartbeat” laws have been stalled in court. He also didn’t mention that these types of laws would prohibit abortion often before a woman even knows she’s pregnant. (Silly details!!)
Earhardt framed the the anti-Hollywood/anti-abortion message: "Senator, I grew up in the South and I have a feeling if this were happening in my state in South Carolina, the voters there or the people who live there would say babies are more important than Hollywood coming to our state. ‘We don’t care if they choose not to be here.’ Is Georgia similar?"
After Perdue called it “a moral issue” and praised Trump’s selection of conservative judges, Earhardt finished up with THE GREAT BIG LIE: “I think it backfired on those Democrats when they all said you can have an abortion even after the baby is born or kill the baby after the baby is born.”
Later, the same talking points about the Georgia law (including video of Perdue) was provided on another Fox & Friends segment. Dean Cain, fresh off his role in the anti-abortion propaganda film, “Gosnell,” got into his newest role as Fox News' anti-Hollywood/pro-Heartbeat law spokesperson and anti-abortion liar.
Earhardt introduced Cain, making sure to list his “Gosnell” credits. Cain took a page from Perdue’s script about Georgia, saying there shouldn’t be a problem because the law was passed by legislators and and signed by a governor put in place by Georgia voters.
Cain criticized Hollywood for coming to Georgia and demanding that Georgia embrace (OMG) Hollywood values - a stance which, according to Cain, reflects Hollywood’s ignorance of civics. (Cain obviously doesn’t understand the free market.)
Cain said, “Whether you agree with the bill or not…that’s what the state decided…” He called it “an absolute joke” that Hollywood is “pretending to be a bastion of, like, of moral superiority … because Hollywood is not, by any stretch of the imagination.”
Kilmeade segued into the GREAT BIG LIE by asking whether Cain would be willing to work in Virginia where the governor is “OK with the baby being born and slowly taking its life.”
Cain expressed a willingness to work there despite his disagreement with Gov. Ralph Northam who, according to Cain, endorsed something that “Gosnell did.” (Another GREAT BIG LIE – Dr. Gosnell’s abortion practice was criminal. Northam was clearly not endorsing illegal, third trimester abortion but rather, what happens after the “late term” birth of a medically compromised fetus.)
Cain, however, asserted that he would “never tell a state what to do” in the same way that Hollywood is doing to Georgia.
Watch the lying below, from the May 13, 2019 Fox & Friends.
Northam, for all his faults, did not misspeak – his comments were taken badly out of context, and he repeatedly made clear what he was discussing. The problem is that Fox News and angry Right Wingers on AM Radio openly lied about what Northam said and why. Even after he publicly shamed Fox News for this propaganda attack, they ignored him and continued lying about it. This action is one that will be remembered for decades after the Pence White House is voted out of office, hopefully as soon as next December – and the Right Wing will not be able to walk this stuff back. They’ll have to live with the consequences of their viciousness.
As for Roe, it’s only a matter of time before the Roberts SC guts it. Even if the swing state Dems have learned their lesson about showing up for elections, we’re still stuck with the fact that the Right Wing stole two SC seats and rammed complete craven partisans into those slots. We’re just standing by now to hear the inevitable resignation from Clarence Thomas within the next year. But the Right Wing has the votes they need right now to do a massive amount of damage. And even if Thomas refuses to resign, the Right will have those votes at least for another 3 years, which will allow all these various cases to get to the current SC and reach the outcome they want.
I note that Dean Cain was frantically repeating the usual Right Wing talking points about States’ Rights with his constant refrain about how the Georgia law was “the choice of Georgia’s voters”. He’s not doing this by accident. The intent behind all the various anti-women bills being rammed through these gerrymandered legislatures has been to play the State’s Rights card when going to the SC hearing. And the Georgia law actually provides three different avenues of approach, so it’s useful for any of three different rulings we can expect from the Roberts SC. The first ruling, which should come down within a year regarding the Louisiana clinic restrictions, will be exactly on the grounds Cain was asserting. Namely, that under States’ Rights, each state can prevail within its borders to make its own choices about whether they wish to pass laws of this or any other kind. Idea being that the people who live in that state made this choice by electing their representatives, and they have a right to choose their own destiny, etc. Those who disagree can always change the laws by electing different representatives, right? So with that ruling, Roberts won’t completely overturn Roe, but he’ll allow the states to put whatever wild limits they wish into play. Which will obviate the 2016 Hellerstadt decision and allow most of the “zombie laws” to go into effect for the most part across these various states. And now Roberts will have his new precedent to follow.
The second ruling, which will come under one of these more recent state laws, will be about the criminality decision. Roberts being a careful man, he won’t want to immediately deal with the state laws that assign bold criminal penalties at the same time he’s just settling that they can write the laws their voters prefer. But in the second case – possibly the Kentucky one or the Georgia one or the Alabama one, Roberts will be able to extend the first ruling to also note that certain states and counties (or parishes) across the USA have their own specific criminal statutes. In Utah, for example, alcohol is tightly regulated and there are serious penalties for breaking those laws. So with the second ruling, Roberts and the other Right Wingers will be able to cite their new precedent and add the notion that criminal penalties can indeed be assigned.
And then we get to the third ruling, which both the Georgia and Alabama laws are designed to generate – that being this entire notion of “personhood” from within the womb simply because the developing fetus is indicating a heartbeat. With the new precedents in hand, Roberts will be able to note that multiple states across the country are raising this “difficult question”, and that we should remember that the constitution does provide all people with “certain inalienable rights”, and that these rights extend to everyone. Which will then allow Roberts to rule that science establishes the growing fetus has rights – which will then toss out the rest of Roe. We shouldn’t expect this third ruling to come before the next actual president takes office, hopefully in 2021, but that president will be unable to stop it from coming down.
I note that this is but ONE area where the Roberts Supreme Court will be issuing extremely destructive rulings. There are dozens, if not hundreds, of others. Elections Have Consequences.
So it’s no surprise he’s completely botched explaining late term abortions.
There’s a very good chance Roe v. Wade is going to be overturned soon. If Trump gets reelected the chances rise to 99.9%.
Republicans have been so much smarter than Democrats building a powerful propaganda messaging system over decades. They’ve effectively managed state politics realizing the importance of state houses in gerrymandering and driving national politics. This foundation has allowed a decidedly minority party to project political power all the way to D.C. that’s greatly magnified above their tiny voter base.
I see Democrats finally seeing how badly they’ve f—ked up. What I don’t see is Democrats having a remote clue as to how to respond. There is no long-term competitive strategy. Makes me depressed!
