In what has become routine business at CNN, New Day on Thursday played and then praised a Jimmy Kimmel Live skit mocking Republicans. The skit was a trailer spin-off of Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets only instead of Harry Potter, it was Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY). The idea being that the GOP’s Senate bill is a secret that will wreak havoc on America:
NARRATOR: Buried, deep in a hidden chamber.
CHUCK SCHUMER: In such darkness, behind such closed doors.
NARRATOR: Lies a mysterious plan.
CHRIS MURPHY: Why are my constituents not allowed to see the details of what's about to happen to their lives?
NARRATOR: That could wreak incalculable destruction.
COREY BOOKER I think it's one of the most terrifying thing that's about too happen.
NARRATOR: And only one man knows its mysteries -- ♪♪ Mitch McConnell and the Chamber of Secrets. Coming to America, much too soon.
Basically, it was an ad for the Democratic Party which delighted New Day co-host Alisyn Camerota. She described the mocking clip as “hilarious” and “true.”
Surprisingly, political correspondent Dana Bash pointed out that Democrats did essentially the same thing:
Look, certainly the process now to repeal ObamaCare in the Senate versus actually putting ObamaCare in place is very different. It was lengthy. There were, you know, scores of hearings and so on and so forth. But I cannot tell you how many blisters I got on my feet standing outside closed-door meetings that Democrats were having about what they were putting together in the final days of the ObamaCare legislation...
CNN has been trying to pin down Republicans on this for weeks. See Rick Santorum shoot them down here. Remember, the referenced GOP legislation did not exist. Now that the draft has been completed, it should be discussed. But the standard the Democrats and the media are holding Republicans to is absurd. So if a Congressman wants to draft his own bill, does he have to invite the rest of the chamber to submit their input?
Liberty Mutual, TripAdvisor, and Atlantis ran ads immediately before the segment.
The more complete transcript is below:
8:51 AM ET
ALISYN CAMEROTA: Senate Republicans set to release details of their highly secretive health care plan today and comedian Jimmy Kimmel had his own unique take on it.
[SKIT PLAYS]
NARRATOR: Buried, deep in a hidden chamber.
CHUCK SCHUMER: In such darkness, behind such closed doors.
NARRATOR: Lies a mysterious plan.
CHRIS MURPHY: Why are my constituents not allowed to see the details of what's about to happen to their lives?
NARRATOR: That could wreak incalculable destruction.
COREY BOOKER I think it's one of the most terrifying thing that's about to happen.
NARRATOR: And only one man knows its mysteries -- ♪♪ Mitch McConnell and the Chamber of Secrets. Coming to America, much too soon.
[SKIT ENDS]
CAMEROTA: Let's get the bottom line now with CNN Chief Political Correspondent Dana Bash. That's hilarious.
DANA BASH: Yes it is.
CAMEROTA: Yet true. I mean it's very hard to report on something, we have such scant details of. But what have you learned about what's going to happen today?
BASH: Well, we're going to hopefully get to see the legislative text in a little more than a half an hour. Look, certainly the process now to repeal ObamaCare in the Senate versus actually putting ObamaCare in place is very different. It was lengthy. There were, you know, scores of hearings and so on and so forth. But I cannot tell you how many blisters I got on my feet standing outside closed-door meetings that Democrats were having about what they were putting together in the final days of the ObamaCare legislation...
