Friday's CNN Newsroom showed a classic liberal media double standard as a GOP guest was hit from the left substantially more on the gun issue as compared to a later Democratic guest who was just barely hit from the right. In the aftermath of Connecticut Democratic Senator Chris Murphy's recent incendiary claim that congressional members -- referring mostly to Republicans -- who have opposed enacting more gun laws have "complicity" and are "sending a message of quiet endorsement of these murders," CNN host Poppy Harlow hit former Virginia Republican Governor Jim Gilmore almost entirely from the left.
But, then, when Senator Murphy himself was interviewed by phone a bit later, half her questions also inserted a liberal take on the issue, as the CNN substitute anchor did not press him on whether his over the top comments went too far, even when she quoted his words back to him as part of one of her questions. The other two questions to Murphy only mildly pushed back to challenge his call for more gun laws.
In the segment with Gilmore -- out of six questions and follow-up statements made by Harlow - five came from the liberal point of view of those who advocate more gun laws, or were in defense of those who are taking such positions. In three cases, the CNN host quoted statements from gun control advocates -- including Senator Murphy, liberal New York Times columnist Nicolas Kristof, and Andy Parker, father of shooting victim Alison Parker -- and asked for Gilmore's response. The one non-liberal question to the Republican guest came from the neutral point of view of asking Gilmore what he believes is the answer to gun violence.
Harlow also jumped in to challenge the former Virginia governor's suggestion that gun control advocates like Andy Parker are pushing for measures that would weaken the Second Amendment:
FORMER GOVERNOR JIM GILMORE (R-VA): This fellow, this criminal went through a background check. So nibbling away at the Second Amendment rights of all Americans is not the solution to this problem at all. We have to stand for the rights of the Constitution. You can't-
POPPY HARLOW: Well, he didn't say, he didn't say take away their Second Amendment right. That's not what he said.
GILMORE: No, he didn't. He talked about nibbling away, inch by inch, and I'm sorry for his loss. But we can't allow the criminal activity of a person like Flanagan to be leveraged into the diminution of our rights under the Constitution and under the Second Amendment. ...
By contrast, out of the four questions posed to Murphy, only two were mildly challenging toward his liberal perspective, with the other two hinting toward the liberal point of view favoring more gun laws.
Harlow actually read Murphy's incendiary quote back to him, but, rather than questioning whether the remark had gone too far over the line, she simply asked for clarification about whom he was referring to, therefore giving him an unchallenged forum to repeat the assertion. Harlow:
You said, Senator, in an interview with the Huffington Post this morning: "Congress's silence in the face of this rash of mass shooting has become complicity. We are essentially sending a message of quiet endorsements to these murders." Who are you talking about in Congress?
Senator Murphy responded:
I'm talking about the entirety of Congress, especially those that have stood in the way of common sense gun measures like expanded background checks or reforms of our mental health system. The fact is, is that when, you know, our leadership in Congress stands up and says we can't do anything, they are absolutely wrong.
The Connecticut Democrat added:
And I believe that we have become complicit in these murders because people listen to the highest levels of government, and when we say nothing about it, we don't even attempt to change the laws to try to stop this mass slaughter, then people get some signal that it's okay to settle their grievances or deal with their illness through gun violence. I just don't accept that we can do nothing. And I'm speaking directly to the Republican leadership of the House and the Senate. They should be bringing anti-gun violence bills to the floor that can get consensus votes this fall or the Congress is complicit in these murders.
At one point, Senator Murphy oddly complained that Governor Gilmore's emphasis on improving mental health treatment was "feeding the stigma" against those with mental disorders, even though Senator Murphy himself has a recent history of emphasizing mental health issues as part of the debate over preventing gun violence, and had even brought up a desire for "reforms of our mental health system" earlier in the very same segment.
The two questions in which Harlow pushed back a little at Murphy were when she quoted Gilmore's emphasis of mental health improvements, and the fact that the Roanoke, Virginia, shooter does not seem to have a previous history that could reasonably have prevented him from purchasing a gun.
Below are transcripts of relevant portions of the Friday, August 28, CNN Newsroom from the 10:00 a.m. hour:
10:08 a.m.
POPPY HARLOW: As you see, three fathers going through unbelievable grief coming together there. I want to bring in Jim Gilmore is with me. He's a former governor of Virginia. He is among the GOP contenders running for President. He is also on the NRA's board of directors. Thank you for being with me, Governor. ... The father of Alison Parker, you just heard him there, one of the victims of Wednesday's shooting, says he is for the Second Amendment, he's not trying to take everyone's guns away, but he spoke specifically to you and other policy makers, saying we need politicians to be braver and something needs to change. Do you agree with him that something needs to change?
FORMER GOVERNOR JIM GILMORE (R-VA): Well, I think standing up for the Constitution is an act of bravery, Poppy. First of all, I want to express sympathy to this father, to this boyfriend. I think it's a terrible tragedy, but it does need to be remembered that we in Virginia do have background checks. This fellow, this criminal went through a background check. So nibbling away at the Second Amendment rights of all Americans is not the solution to this problem at all. We have to stand for the rights of the Constitution. You can't-
HARLOW: Well, he didn't say, he didn't say take away their Second Amendment right. That's not what he said.
GILMORE: No, he didn't. He talked about nibbling away, inch by inch, and I'm sorry for his loss. But we can't allow the criminal activity of a person like Flanagan to be leveraged into the diminution of our rights under the Constitution and under the Second Amendment. ...
HARLOW: So here's an example. the FBI background check policy, the national policy now is three days for background check to clear. We've seen instances where they don't clear, where there's some confusion, someone is allowed to buy a gun. Look at the South Carolina church shooting. Let me get your reaction to this: In an interview with the Huffington Post, Senator Chris Murphy - who'll be a guest on this program later this hour -- had this to say about Congress.
He said, "Congress's silence in the face of this rash of mass shootings has become complicity. We are essentially sending a message of quiet endorsement of these murders." What is your reaction to that? [GILMORE]
And what is the answer? [GILMORE]
You bring up community mental health, and I think, you know, across the board, so many people agree that more needs to be done on the mental health side. Let me read you this quote from an op ed in the New York Times by Nicolas Kristof. He writes, in part, "We should address gun deaths as a public health crisis...To protect the public we regulate toys and mutual funds, ladders and swimming pools... Shouldn't we regulate guns as seriously as we regulate toys?" Does he have a point? [GILMORE]
But I do want to point you, sir, before I let you go, that there's one Pew study across, you know, party affiliations here, this Pew study. Just in July of this year, what it found is that the vast majority of Americans -- I think we can show it here -- 79 percent of Americans right now favor laws preventing mentally ill from owning guns. What does that -- does that signal to you that Americans want new laws on that front? [GILMORE]
(...)
10:30 a.m.
POPPY HARLOW: We are continuing to follow the tragic murder of two Virginia journalists live on the air -- a murder that has reignited the debate over gun control in this country. But, as the cover of the New York Daily News this morning reminds us, it has happened so many times before, and no major action has been taken by our lawmakers. I want to bring in Senator Chris Murphy. He is a Democrat from Connecticut. Thank you for being with me, Senator. ... Is the Daily News cover right? Will this outrage quickly die down?: Or will change happen?[SENATOR CHRIS MURPHY (D-CT)]
You said, Senator, in an interview with the Huffington Post this morning: "Congress's silence in the face of this rash of mass shooting has become complicity. We are essentially sending a message of quiet endorsements to these murders." Who are you talking about in Congress?
SENATOR CHRIS MURPHY (D-CT): I'm talking about the entirety of Congress, especially those that have stood in the way of common sense gun measures like expanded background checks or reforms our mental health system. The fact is, is that when, you know, our leadership in Congress stands up and says we can't do anything, they are absolutely wrong.
And I believe that we have become complicit in these murders because people listen to the highest levels of government, and when we say nothing about it, we don't even attempt to change the laws to try to stop this mass slaughter, then people get some signal that it's okay to settle their grievances or deal with their illness through gun violence. I just don't accept that we can do nothing. And I'm speaking directly to the Republican leadership of the House and the Senate. They should be bringing anti-gun violence bills to the floor that can get consensus votes this fall or the Congress is complicit in these murders.
HARLOW: Hmm. So here's what former Virginia Governor Jim Gilmore told me on the program earlier today. He said to me that what he needs to change and what he wants to change is more community mental health services. He also said this. Listen:
FORMER GOVERNOR JIM GILMORE (R-VA): -person was even caught yesterday, the left wing in this country was trying to reduce our rights under the Second Amendment. Governor McAuliffe was out there calling for gun control. Hillary Clinton, who is basically the sponsor for Governor McAuliffe, was calling for gun control, the President was calling for gun control. Gun control is not the answer. You're now diverting attention away from the real problem.
HARLOW: I went on to say, "What is the answer?" And he said community-based mental health services and more of that. What is the answer, in your mind, Senator?
MURPHY: Well, let's be honest about what the data shows. We don't have any more mental illness in the United States than any other country in the world has, and yet we have five times the rate of gun violence. So it can't be that mental illness is the only answer. The reality is, is that data that shows up in countries and communities that have more guns, especially have more guns in the hands of criminals, especially have more dangerous assault weapons out on the streets, there's more gun violence. More guns equals more gun violence.
Now, I don't want to stop law-abiding citizens from being able to own guns, but the fact is, is that the left wing of this country, as Mr. Gilmore says, I guess is 90 percent of the country because that's the number of Americans that support something like expanded background checks, so you just can't throw this whole problem on the backs of the mental health system. And you also have to recognize that you're feeding the stigma. The fact is, is there's no inherent connection between mental illness and violence. And that kind of talk just should stop.
HARLOW: What about this shooting and the fact that this gunman, as far as we know right now, did not have any documented history of mental illness. Obviously, something was completely wrong with him. He idolized other mass shooters. But what do you do about this situation, Senator?
MURPHY: I don't think you can craft a legislative solution for every single incident of violence in this country. So I don't think we should expect that anything that we're going to enact in Washington is going to stop shootings, but there are plenty of instances -- including the Connecticut shooting and the South Carolina shooting in which better gun laws could have made a difference. In South Carolina, that guy got a gun because of a loophole in the background checks law that allowed the retailer to give him the gun despite the fact that he hadn't passed the background check.
And this whole culture of mass violence in which Congress does nothing, I think, sends a message to a lot of the individuals who are becoming unhinged in their mind that it's okay to go out and commit these murder because no once seems to be doing anything to stop it. And so why should I think any differently than anybody else that I see on these news carrying out this kind of violence. there is no one legislative solution, but there are changes that will make a difference. And Congress acting, just the action of Congress in any way, shape, matter or form, will have a chilling effect on this trend.
HARLOW: Senator Chris Murphy of Connecticut, appreciate you joining me this morning, sir.
