Thursday, Joe Biden renounced his support for the Hyde Amendment, which restricts use of federal funds for abortion unless it’s in cases of incest, rape, or to save the life of the mother. This flip-flop should come as no surprise based on the radical leftist position on abortion, but for CNN's New Day, it was because President Trump “shattered” the rules of politics.
The lack of decency and consistency in politics didn’t begin with Trump, and it certainly isn’t his or the Republican Party’s fault that Biden lost his spine on abortion. That didn’t stop co-host Alisyn Camerota from arguing that the President was to blame: “I'm just wondering, has President Trump's ever-changing moods, to quote the style of counsel, made it -- has that allowed Democrats to flip more easily?” Former Clinton press secretary turned CNN political analyst Joe Lockhart eagerly agreed:
It's just the whole landscape of abortion politics is changing and it’s changing right in front of us. It used to be, as you said, that the independents in the middle wanted a more moderate position. This is really now splitting more on gender lines and even if you look at the numbers, even those in the middle are taking a stronger position towards pro-choice and a woman's right to choose and control their body, because of the attacks, you know, that are coming from individual states, from Republican lawmakers.
Lockhart’s memory seems to be faulty, because these pro-life laws weren’t only passed by Republicans. Democratic Governor of Louisiana John Bel Edwards signed a heartbeat bill into law after being passed with resounding bipartisan support. Evidently, you can always trust “the most trusted name in news” to misrepresent pro-life legislation.
Also noteworthy was the utter lack of self-awareness on CNN’s network. They seemed to have completely forgotten that a poll CNN Newsroom cited the day before proved the narrative that “even those in the middle” oppose the Hyde Amendment was wrong. The poll was conducted for Politico by Harvard’s T.H. Chan and states; “Overall, only 36% of likely voters favor allowing Medicaid funding to be used for abortion services, while a majority (58%) oppose.”
The morning show hosts went further when they suggested that Trump was at fault for flip-flopping in politics. John Berman wondered: “Has President Trump so shattered the rules of politics, flip-flops don't matter anymore? We know that is the case – was the case in the Republican primary. Will that be the case in the Democratic field this time?” Camerota shot off that “voters have gotten accustomed” to a lack on consistence in the age of Trump. In reality, changing one’s stance has existed since the advent of politics. Trump is no more responsible for Biden’s lack of integrity than he is for half of what the liberal media accuses him of, but that won’t stop CNN from trying to pin every issue in the country on him.
Perhaps the most troubling aspect of the coverage was that CNN’s reaction to known plagiarist Biden finally having a unique opinion was to lambast him until he fell in line with the rest of the Democratic Party.
Here’s an excerpt from New Day’s airing:
CNN's New Day
06/06/2019
6:23 a.m. EasternALISYN CAMEROTA: It's interesting, Joe, because we -- I think we had talked about how that was a good position for the general, because public polling suggested that people were still opposed to federal funding for abortion, but not for the primary, so when all of his opponents did not support the Hyde amendment. But I'm just wondering, has President Trump's ever-changing moods, to quote the style of counsel, made it -- has that allowed Democrats to flip more easily?
JOE LOCKHART: I don't know if it's his ever-changing moods. I think the speed at which the President changes the subject allows anyone to move on quickly from a decision like this. So I don't expect this to have a lasting impact in the primary race and I think you saw most of the leaders in the pro-choice movement yesterday lauding the change. They could have taken a more cynical approach and said, you know, we don't think you're a true believer. But he received across-the-board support for this. It's just the whole landscape of abortion politics is changing and it’s changing right in front of us. It used to be, as you said, that the independents in the middle wanted a more moderate position. This is really now splitting more on gender lines and even if you look at the numbers, even those in the middle are taking a stronger position towards pro-choice and a woman's right to choose and control their body, because of the attacks, you know, that are coming from individual states, from Republican lawmakers. So I think this position reflects something that works for Biden in the primary. I actually think it's going to work for him in the general, too. And that's the sort of political shift that I think went on in their minds. Recognizing that the facts on the ground have radically changed politically.
JOHN BERMAN: I was thinking the same thing you were, though. Has President Trump so shattered the rules of politics, flip-flops don't matter anymore? We know that is the case -- was the case in the Republican primary. Will that be the case in the Democratic field this time?
CAMEROTA: I mean, voters have gotten accustomed to it over the past two and a half to three years, and so maybe there is no political price anymore.
