Given the chance to press Nancy Pelosi on her fellow Democrat’s shocking sex joke at the expense of Kellyanne Conway, the journalists at CBS This Morning on Tuesday punted. Instead, the co-hosts stuck to other topics as they talked to the House Minority leader. At a dinner last week, Congressman Cedric Richmond remarked on a photo of Conway kneeling on a couch in the White House, saying, “She really looked kind of familiar there in that position.”
Despite six and a half minutes of air time, the co-hosts never challenged Pelosi on the comments. In contrast, when Democratic Senator Kirsten Gillibrand in 2014 wrote a book detailing sexism from fellow colleagues, co-host Gayle King expressed outrage on her behalf: “Polls show that Americans have a very low opinion of Congress and this next story is probably not going to help that very much. New York Senator Kirsten Gillibrand says fellow legislators made rude and sexist comments to her about her weight.”
On the August 28, 2014 show, Nancy Cordes raged, “These men are still in a world of their own...I can't imagine a woman senator saying to a male senator of whatever weight, you know, 'you're looking a little porky.'”
Tuesday would have been a good time to grill Pelosi about her Democratic colleague living in a "world of his own."
(Credit should go to CNN’s Jake Tapper who actually mentioned the crude remarks on Sunday's State of the Union. He lectured, "Leader Pelosi, that joke was sexist. It was disgusting. Shouldn’t the Congressman apologize to Kellyanne Conway and, honestly, where is the Democratic Party in expressing outrage about this?”)
Instead of discussing the Congressman’s comments, the CBS journalists highlighted ObamaCare. King related, “I've heard the Democrats rallying cry now is ‘Make America sick again.’” On the subject of the Republican repeal, she wondered, “So what is your reaction to what you're hearing this morning? What concerns you most?”
It was left to Anthony Mason to gently push: “Congresswoman, premiums for mid-level plans under the Affordable Care Act were estimated to increase an average of 25 percent this year.... Can you say that ObamaCare is working?”
A transcript of the questions to Pelosi is below:
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CBS This Morning
3/7/17
8:03
GAYLE KING: Democratic Congresswoman Nancy Pelosi is the House Minority Leader. She was Speaker of the House when the Affordable Care Act passed back in 2010. Congresswoman, welcome to the table at CBS This Morning.REP. NANCY PELOSI: Good morning.
KING: Mick Mulvaney was here earlier. It’s no surprise to you that he said this is a better plan than ObamaCare. I’ve heard the Democrats rallying cry now is “Make America sick again.”
PELOSI: Yes.
KING: So what is your reaction to what you’re hearing this morning? What concerns you most?
PELOSI: Just when you think you've see it all, Republicans go to a more extreme place.
...
KING: But the plan that does keep in place some elements of ObamaCare, coverage for preexisting conditions, allowing children to remain on their parents' plan until they're 26 years old. No lifetime cap. So isn't it better than at least scrapping the whole thing?
...
NORAH O’DONNELL: But you don't see the insurance companies lining up against this. Why not?
...
ANTHONY MASON: Congresswoman, premiums for mid-level plans under the Affordable Care Act were estimated to increase an average of 25 percent this year.
PELOSI: Yes, that’s right. Maybe.
MASON: Can you say that ObamaCare is working?
...
KING: Do you see any way that the two sides can work together? Because the Democrats will say this. The Republicans can say this. We can do this for days and days. At some point, don't the two have to sit down and say what can we do to figure this out?
...
O’DONNELL: You are the longest serving member of the House Intelligence Committee, right?
PELOSI: Yes.
O’DONNELL: As you know, the President has alleged that President Obama ordered the wiretapping of Trump Tower. You have seen evidence of that in your role on intelligence committee?
...
O’DONNELL: Because it [wiretapping] has to go through the Justice Department and then of course the FISA court that is appointed by the chief justice.
PELOSI: FISA court.
...
KING: Do you think he’s [Trump] just making this up? Do you think he’s making this up?
PELOSI: Yes, I think he is.
MASON: Do you think FBI director James Comey should speak publicly on this?
...
O’DONNELL: You think he's [Trump] been ineffective in terms of job creating?
