Journolist is no more. In 2010, the online forum where leftist journalists congregated to decide on the liberal talking points of the day was shut down by its founder Ezra Klein when the group was exposed.
And yet, leftists still manage to spout remarkably similar lines. When it comes to the Texas abortion law, the liberal trope of the times is the poor, besieged, "Uber driver." The notion is that Uber drivers who transport women to abortion clinics will be sued by private citizens under the law, seeking an award of up to $10,000.
On Friday's Morning Joe, MSNBC liberal analyst Jonathan Lemire, who also poses as a "reporter" for the Associated Press, mouthed the "Uber driver" line. We've put together a mash-up of multiple liberal worthies, starting with Lemire, all trotting out the "Uber driver" trope. leftists prefer to focus on supposedly beleaguered Uber drivers even though very few are likely to be sued because they want to deflect attention from what the true target of the law would be: the abortionists themselves.
Among those making appearances are Joy Behar, Gloria Allred, Laurence Tribe and Chris Hayes. Most egregious is CNN's Ana Navarro, who whines that an Uber driver could be sued by "a deer hunter in Alaska." Nice two-fer, Ana: not only sliming those crazy pro-lifers, but somehow working in a swipe at Bambi-killing gun nuts!
The "Uber driver" trope is a flaming red herring. It would be difficult if not impossible for a plaintiff to prove that a driver knowingly transported a woman for purposes of an abortion. The plaintiff would first have to prove that the driver knew that the woman was pregnant. According to Planned Parenthood, 92 percent of abortions are performed within the first 13 weeks, when pregnancy might well not be visible.
And even if it could be proved that the driver somehow knew that the woman was pregnant, the plaintiff would also have to prove that the driver knew that she was going to seek an abortion. After all, Planned Parenthood claims that only three percent of its services are abortion. For all the driver knew, the woman was going for one of the other 97 percent of services. Bottom line: few if any people are likely to waste their time suing Uber drivers.
Here's the transcript of various journalists and media personalities uttering the talking point. Click "expand" to read more.
JONATHAN LEMIRE: President Biden wanted a full-of-government response here . . . To crack down on the vigilante aspect of this law, in which people even like, say, an Uber driver could be fined for giving a ride for someone to an abortion clinic.
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GLORIA ALLRED [feminist lawyer]: The idea, that any stranger could sue an Uber driver.
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ANA NAVARRO [CNN commentator]: A deer hunter in Alaska could call up the hotline in Texas and snitch on some Uber driver.
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LAURA BASSETT [editor of feminist website Jezebel]: It's deputizing citizens to enforce this law by spying on each other. I mean, you can sue an Uber driver who brings a woman to an abortion clinic.
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JOY BEHAR [co-host The View]: You know somebody who is getting an abortion, and she's getting an Uber to drive her to the abortion clinic. The Uber driver can be turned in, and the person who turns him in can get $10,000.
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ALI VELSHI [MSNBC host]: This law allows kind of anybody to sue anybody who was involved in helping a woman get an abortion in Texas. So, they sue an Uber driver.
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LAURA COATES [CNN host]: Even Uber drivers who take women to abortion appointments: they can all face lawsuits.
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LAURENCE TRIBE [Harvard law prof]: You get $10,000 from anybody: a friend, a neighbor, the ex-lover, the Uber driver.
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CHRIS HAYES [MSNBC host]: Who will enforce it? Ah-ha! Private actors will . . . maybe someone who sees your Uber drive by.
