While discussing the Roy Moore allegations on Monday’s Good Morning America, ABC’s chief political analyst, faux Republican, and nasty politico Matthew Dowd ironically informed co-host and former Bill Clinton official George Stephanopoulos that, when it comes to sexual misconduct incidents, “the default position ought to be believe the women.”
Of course, the reason for the irony is due to the vastly different tactics the liberal media took almost 20 years ago with the Bill Clinton accusers, whether it was ignoring, barely covering, or dismissing them.
“[L]et me begin with these Roy Moore allegations. Really seem to have split the Republican Party, some senators now saying they believe the weight of evidence goes against Roy Moore but they seem to be in a damned if you do, damned if you don't situation with the Senate candidate,” Stephanopoulos wondered before tossing to Dowd.
Dowd replied by continuing to gently encourage Republicans to examine backing Democrat Doug Jones:
[S]o I think there’s options left for Republicans. They could either support a write-in candidate or support the Democrat Doug Jones in this race because at this point in time there is no way it looks like Roy Moore is going to get out of the race. Those are the only two options. Push for a write-in or support a Democrat.
Dowd also focused on the allegations, claiming that there’s a binary choice of having “to pick between winning a race and principles in the course of this” and, regarding women coming forward, he argued that “my feeling about this is the default position ought to be believe the women.”
“There has never been an incident where multiple women came forward to accuse a powerful man that turned out to be not true in this,” Dowd added.
Upon perusing the Media Research Center’s archives of CyberAlerts, Media Reality Checks, and Special Reports, Bill Clinton’s accusers were given far different treatment.
Here’s one example. A January 1999 Media Reality Check centered around Gennifer Flowers, Paula Jones, and Hustle’s Larry Flynt that included these findings:
ABC did not extend a morning show invitation to Flowers for six years -- until March 16, 1998.
ABC never invited David Brock or R. Emmett Tyrrell of The American Spectator or the Arkansas state troopers when Troopergate broke at the end of 1993.
ABC did not interview Paula Jones when she announced she was sexually harassed in February 1994. When Jones was interviewed for Prime Time Live by Sam Donaldson in June, Good Morning America co-host Charles Gibson asked Donaldson: "Why does anyone care what this woman has to say?... Bottom line, Sam. Is she not trying to capitalize on this, in effect to profit from impugning the President?"
Also speaking of ABC, the MRC’s News Analysis Division wrote this in a Media Reality Check dated August 13, 1999 on allegations of cocaine use by Clinton and George W. Bush:
And if reporters feel any potential President ought to be pressed to answer if they've broken a law, shouldn't they keep pressing the current President for an answer to Juanita Broaddrick's charge of sexual assault?
In July, Washington Post reporters Lois Romano and George Lardner asked: "We need to ask the cocaine question. We think you believe that a politician should not let stories fester. So why won't you just deny that you've used cocaine?"
On July 27, Romano went on ABC's Good Morning America to dismiss Bush's non-answer: "He's basically declared that his life began at 40 and that we're supposed to not ask that other fellow before 40 and I don't know if he can hold to that position." Romano interviewed Juanita Broaddrick, and she never showed up on TV to address how another "fellow before 40" got away with nothing better than a lawyer's denial.
Despite his assertion to USA Today in 1992 that "no candidate in history" has had a press as tough as he faced, Clinton faced no coke queries in 1992 or 1996.
Back to the present, The View’s Meghan McCain was also on set, agreeing with Dowd and declaring that Moore is only further proof that “the Republican Party has a woman problem” and those still in the party “should be worried about the kind of messaging that sends across the country, given the climate we’re in right now.”
“And let me just say — four women on the record, 30 off the record. This isn't a witch-hunt from the liberal media. This is something we’re going to have to deal with and I think that it's unfortunate for people like Matt and I who really just want to see good candidates be put into place,” McCain noted (which Dowd doesn’t since he’s not actually a Republican).
Stephanopoulos put a button on the topic by touting how “[t]his problem is not going away,” which is the exact opposite sentiment of what the media did when talking about the Hillary Clinton e-mail scandal (for examples, see here and here).
Here’s the relevant transcript from ABC’s Good Morning America on November 13:
ABC’s Good Morning America
November 13, 2017
7:09 a.m. Eastern[ON-SCREEN HEADLINE: Live on GMA; GOP Senate Candidate Stands Defiant; Refusing to Drop Out of Race Amid Allegations]
GEORGE STEPHANOPOULOS: Let’s get more on this now from our chief political analyst Matthew Dowd and Meghan McCain from The View and, Matt, let me begin with these Roy Moore allegations. Really seem to have split the Republican Party, some senators now saying they believe the weight of evidence goes against Roy Moore but they seem to be in a damned if you do, damned if you don't situation with the Senate candidate.
MATTHEW DOWD: Well, the problem they have is that they have to pick between winning a race and principles in the course of this and my feeling about this is the default position ought to be believe the women. There has never been an incident where multiple women came forward to accuse a powerful man that turned out to be not true in this, so I think there’s options left for Republicans. They could either support a write-in candidate or support the Democrat Doug Jones in this race because at this point in time there is no way it looks like Roy Moore is going to get out of the race. Those are the only two options. Push for a write-in or support a Democrat.
STEPHANOPOULOS: Meghan, it doesn’t seem like that’s where the majority of the party is going right now and this could cause a big problem for Republican going into next year's election especially with women voters.
MEGHAN MCCAIN: 100% but I also think what's fascinating about this is Roy Moore is a Steve Bannon pick, bred, tried and true and if this ends up sort of blowing up in our face and, by some miracle, he doesn't end up becoming a senator it puts a silver bullet into these candidates that Steve Bannon is putting up across the country. I will say the Republican Party has a woman problem in general right now and this certainly isn't helping things. When you’re talking about the difference between a 14-year-old and a 16-year-old and the age of concept, to say this isn't the messaging we should be on right now — [INAUDIBLE]
STEPHANOPOULOS: Yeah, he said he didn't generally date high school students when he was in his 30s.
MCCAIN: It's disgusting, obviously, and I think all women, especially if you're a young conservative woman, you should be worried about the kind of messaging that sends across the country, given the climate we’re in right now. And let me just say — four women on the record, 30 off the record. This isn't a witch-hunt from the liberal media. This is something we’re going to have to deal with and I think that it's unfortunate for people like Matt and I who really just want to see good candidates be put into place and, unfortunately, when you care just about populism and winning the primary and not so much about winning the general, this is where we're at.
STEPHANOPOULOS: This problem is not going away.
