CNN's chief political analyst freaked out about the sequester cuts on Tuesday afternoon's Newsroom, calling them a "man-made disaster."
"It is a man-made disaster. Not a natural one," Borger insisted. She compared them to the massive snow storm currently hitting the Midwestern states: "And just watching those pictures of Erin in the snowstorm, I was thinking, it's like we know this huge storm is coming to the country, but nobody is buying a shovel." [Video below the break. Audio here.]
"Nobody is getting together and talking. They're trading charges. They're playing a pre-blame game if you will. And each side is sticking with its own vision," Borger lamented.
Borger's hype came after anchor Brooke Baldwin relayed the Obama administration's alarm over the budget cuts to various agencies, touting "All kinds of scary scenarios we've been hearing."
"So now we have heard from Attorney General Holder. We've also heard from Ray LaHood, Transportation Secretary who says the cuts will cause all kinds of flight delays. The Agriculture Department warning of food inspection furloughs, and possible closures of meat and poultry plants," Baldwin reported.
(H/T Jim Geraghty)
A transcript of the segment, which aired on CNN Newsroom on February 26 at 3:06 p.m. EST, is as follows:
BROOKE BALDWIN: Attorney General Eric Holder is the latest Obama cabinet chief to warn about the effects of impending budget cuts.
(...)
BALDWIN: So now we have heard from Attorney General Holder. We've also heard from Ray LaHood, Transportation Secretary who says the cuts will cause all kinds of flight delays. The Agriculture Department warning of food inspection furloughs, and possible closures of meat and poultry plants. Gloria Borger, she's in Washington. All kinds of scary scenarios we've been hearing. Other than issuing these dire warnings, is anyone doing anything to try to prevent the cuts from kicking in by Friday?
GLORIA BORGER, CNN chief politial analyst: No. And just watching those pictures of Erin in the snowstorm, I was thinking, it's like we know this huge storm is coming to the country, but nobody is buying a shovel. Okay. Nobody is getting together and talking. They're trading charges. They're playing a pre-blame game if you will. And each side is sticking with its own vision. I think the President is really making a calculation here that once these cuts go into effect, and, again, we have to say it's not all going to happen at once, it would happen gradually, but once these things go into effect, the President believes that the country is going to blame the Republicans more than it will blame him.
BALDWIN: Talk about the President, we saw him speaking earlier this afternoon, in Virginia. He's warning of this -- his words, trickle-down effect of defense industry cuts. Meantime, House Speaker John Boehner, he went out, essentially said that the President's just trying to score political points, even started swearing. Gloria, how are the two sides crafting the message here so that everyone thinks it's the other guy's fault, you know, once the pain kicks in.
BORGER: You know, I think that's what – that's exactly what they're trying to do. But my point is that at a certain point, if these cuts kick in, and if they're hurtful, as we think they will be, I think what the public is going to start to ask is why didn't you do something to prevent it, and that's where I think the risk of the White House is, because the President is, after all, President of the United States. And so at a certain point, and it is very hard to tell, Brooke, when that happens, but at a certain point, public opinion starts to shift. Right now it looks like most people would blame Republicans. More people would blame Republicans than the President. But, that can really shift easily. You see that poll there, 45 to 32. But it could shift if people don't like what they see and they say, either a pox on both houses or perhaps maybe the President ought to have found a way to lead out of this.
BALDWIN: We've known about this for some time, haven't we, Gloria Borger?
BORGER: We have. It is a man-made disaster. Not a natural one.
