On Tuesday, PBS's Judy Woodruff did a live interview with Green Party presidential candidate Jill Stein which was carried on Facebook. The entire interview, plus questions asked by viewers, is present at the network's Facebook page.
That interview without the Facebook questions was also broadcast on PBS's NewsHour — but not quite all of it. For some reason, key portions of Stein's answer to Woodruff's final question about whether "literally ... Hillary Clinton is every bit as bad for the country as Donald Trump" are not present. Based on what was edited out, it would appear that the cutouts, at least one of which was done in mid-sentence, were carried out to protect Democratic Party nominee Hillary Clinton's left flank.
Woodruff's final question, and Stein's full response, are in the video below. What is and is not present at PBS's website reflecting its over the air broadcast, both in the individual interview segment and the full program video, is clearly indicated, thanks to work done by leftist YouTube channel proprietor Matt Orfalea, who was upset that Stein's "eloquent" criticism was spiked.
The video during the portions PBS cut out is a bit out of sync, as Orfalea appeared to extract them from the PBS's Facebook video, which it itself not fully in sync (HT Inquisitr.com):
Transcript (what PBS cut out of its broadcast is in italics; bolds are mine):
JUDY WOODRUFF, PBS: You've made it clear you think both Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump would be terrible presidents for the country. So are you saying that literally that Hillary Clinton is every bit as bad for the country as Donald Trump?
GREEN PARTY PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE JILL STEIN: I wouldn't say there are no differences, but the differences are not enough to save your job,
[video cut in mid-sentence]
because Hillary Clinton, you know, and now her transition director Ken Salazar, y'know, they're big proponents of the Trans-Pacific Partnership, which is basically NAFTA on steroids. And, uh, most observers believe that it will send our jobs overseas, as well as undermine American sovereignty by bringing in these international tribunals that get to pass judgment on our laws, on our public health protections, on our worker protections.
So we, you know, we can't count on saving our jobs, saving our lives — 1 in 3 Americans now cannot afford health care under Obamacare — or saving the planet, because Hillary has been a big proponent of fracking, as is Ken Salazar, her transition director.
So we feel that in this election, we're not just deciding what kind of a world we're going to have, but whether we're going to have a world or not going forward, and knowing that the majority of Americans is unhappy with these two party choices, this is the time for us to open up.
Americans have not only a right to vote, but a right to know who we can vote for.
So we're pushing for opening up the debates, and then let's see how the chips fall.
WOODRUFF: Dr. Jill Stein, with the Green Party. We thank you.
STEIN: Thank you, Judy.
The instinct here is that Judy Woodruff did not expect Stein to do as well as she did generally in the interview, and that she especially didn't appreciate Stein's answer to her final "Is Hillary literally as bad as Trump?" question. (Woodruff seemed to have been expecting Stein, like any good lefty, to say, "Of course not!" Oops.) Catch Woodruff's clearly displeased facial reaction shot immediately as Stein spoke of the "right to know who we can vote for":
As to the cutouts, Mrs. Clinton's support of fracking until very recently is not widely known, especially to Bernie Sanders supporters whose candidate gave a flat "no" answer when asked if he supports it. It would hurt her if they knew.
Mrs. Clinton is also hoping that far-lefties whose votes she needs in November don't realize that she was also a fan of the Trans-Pacific Partnership, expressing support for it "dozen of times" until the Sanders challenge came along.
Of all of the portions of the Stein interview which could have been deleted, the ones relating to trade and fracking, as well as her swipe at Obamacare and her "right to know who to vote for" bid to get accepted into the presidential debates, got cut from PBS's broadcast and website videos.
How incredibly convenient.
Cross-posted at BizzyBlog.com.
