After CBS and ABC ignored the WikiLeaks revelation that top Hillary Clinton staffers exchanged anti-Catholic rhetoric via e-mail and NBC only offered mere seconds to controversy, one would expect a major U.S. Catholic leader denouncing the comments would draw at least some media attention. However, after New York Cardinal Timothy Dolan condemned the “insulting” remarks and demanded an apology from the Democratic nominee’s campaign on Tuesday, the networks have remained silent.
In sharp contrast, during 7 p.m. ET hour pre-debate coverage on Fox News Wednesday night, anchors Megyn Kelly and Bret Baier provided full coverage of the new development. A report from correspondent Ed Henry featured a soundbite of Dolan’s statement: “The remarks attributed to John Podesta, who is Mrs. Clinton's chief of staff, are just extraordinarily patronizing and insulting to Catholics. What he would say is offensive. And if it had been said about the Jewish community, if it had been said about the Islamic community, within 10 minutes there would have been an apology.”
Henry reminded viewers:
Now, he was lashing out at an email where a Podesta friend went after our own chairman Rupert Murdoch for raising his kids Catholic, charging, quote, “it’s amazing bastardization of the faith. They must be attracted to the systematic thought and severely backwards gender relations and must be totally unaware of Christian democracy.”
Clinton aide Jennifer Palmieri fired back to that, quote, I imagine they think it is the most socially acceptable politically conservative religion. Their rich friend wouldn't understand if they became evangelicals.”
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In the segment that followed, Kelly hammered Clinton’s 2008 campaign traveling press secretary Mo Elleithee on the subject: “Cardinal Dolan coming out and not mincing words. I mean, you heard him there, ‘This is offensive, it's insulting, it's patronizing.’ And you tell me whether he’s right, that if this had been said, something equally offensive about Muslims, there would have been an apology within 10 minutes?”
Elleithee assured her: “Tim Kaine...he’s an incredibly devout Catholic, takes his faith very, very seriously, and he said ‘I don't think an apology is necessary because what they were essentially getting at here was just a difference in opinion with the Catholic hierarchy.’”
Kelly stopped him: “With, ‘It’s an amazing bastardization of the faith,’ that the Catholics must be ‘attracted to systemic thought and severely backwards gender relations’?” Elleithee tried to excuse the offensive remarks as being part of the debate over ObamaCare’s contraception mandate: “...there was a lot of heated pack and forth within the Catholic community over this issue.”
Kelly shot back: “But the government generally needs to shut the hell up about that. I mean, the government's job is not to interfere with how people practice their religion or challenge the tenets of it.”
Baier turned to contributor Marc Thiessen, who rejected the lame defense: “Yeah, apparently Hillary Clinton's basket of deplorables includes all faithful Roman Catholics. This is anti-Catholic bigotry...”
The networks actually have the perfect news hook to cover Dolan's remarks, since he, Hillary Clinton, and Donald Trump will all be attending the Al Smith Catholic charity dinner together in New York Thursday night.
Here is a transcript of the October 20 segment:
7:06 PM ET
(...)
ED HENRY: Then there are those anti-Catholic comments that Cardinal Timothy Dolan decided to tee off on. Watch.
TIMOTHY DOLAN [OCTOBER 18]: The remarks attributed to John Podesta, who is Mrs. Clinton's chief of staff, are just extraordinarily patronizing and insulting to Catholics. What he would say is offensive. And if it had been said about the Jewish community, if it had been said about the Islamic community, within 10 minutes there would have been an apology.
HENRY: Now, he was lashing out at an email where a Podesta friend went after our own chairman Rupert Murdoch for raising his kids Catholic, charging, quote, “it’s amazing bastardization of the faith. They must be attracted to the systematic thought and severely backwards gender relations and must be totally unaware of Christian democracy.”
Clinton aide Jennifer Palmieri fired back to that, quote, I imagine they think it is the most socially acceptable politically conservative religion. Their rich friend wouldn't understand if they became evangelicals.”
(...)
7:08 PM ET
MEGYN KELLY: For more on all of this Marc Thiessen is here, he’s a Fox News contributor and American Enterprise Institute scholar. Mo Elleithee’s also here, he’s a former traveling press secretary for Clinton's 2008 campaign and a brand new Fox News contributor. Great to see you guys.
MO ELLEITHEE: Great to see you.
KELLY: So let me start with you, Mo, on this. And in particular, Cardinal Dolan coming out and not mincing words. I mean, you heard him there, “This is offensive, it's insulting, it's patronizing.” And you tell me whether he’s right, that if this had been said, something equally offensive about Muslims, there would have been an apology within 10 minutes?
ELLEITHEE: Yeah, you know, I don't know. And I thought it was really interesting – as you know, Megyn I’ve got a long relationship with Tim Kaine, the vice presidential nominee and he came out today, he’s incredibly devout Catholic, takes his faith very, very seriously, and he said “I don't think an apology is necessary because what they were essentially getting at here was just a difference in opinion with the Catholic hierarchy.” And so –
KELLY: With, “It’s an amazing bastardization of the faith,” that the Catholics must be “attracted to systemic thought and severely backwards gender relations”?
ELLEITHEE: Well, look, you know, I remember being there watching the battle over the contraceptive mandate, which was – my understanding the timing that's at question here, and there was a lot of heated pack and forth within the Catholic community over this issue.
KELLY: But the government generally needs to shut the hell up about that. I mean, the government's job is not to interfere with how people practice their religion or challenge the tenets of it.
ELLEITHEE: No, but – that's true – but what's also true is you oftentimes see in government efforts to organize groups of people to support a position. And so organizing a group of Catholics to come out in support of this to share their perspective is not the most uncommon thing and both sides do that at various points in the political process.
BRET BAIER: Okay, Marc, you weigh in.
MARC THIESSEN: Yeah, apparently Hillary Clinton's basket of deplorables includes all faithful Roman Catholics. This is anti-Catholic bigotry, I think Archbishop Chaput in Philadelphia called it that, anti-Catholic bigotry. But it’s not just – and if this had been said about Muslims, about Jews, about Hindus, people would be excommunicated politically over this.
But it's not just about religious bigotry, it's also about religious liberty. Hillary Clinton said when she launched her campaign, she gave a speech to a woman's group in which she said that Catholics who hold these views, their religious views have to change. That is the most radical statement against religious liberty uttered by any presidential candidate in modern times. It is not her place to tell Catholics what they should believe. And this is a woman, who if elected, is immediately going to replace Justice Antonin Scalia. She could appoint as many as four Supreme Court justices. And do you think she’s going to appoint people who respect the religious liberty of people who she thinks are backwards? I don't think so.
(...)
