Liberals -- like Joe Lockhart on CNN on Monday -- claim Fox News is a "corrupt enterprise" and not "journalism" because it was created "to promote conservative Republican political ideas." For the contrast, see MSNBC's most popular host Rachel Maddow on Monday night promoting the passionate liberal/Democrat boilerplate of Dr. Leana Wen, the new leader of Planned Parenthood, and the pro-abortion protests planned for Tuesday.
It's like the abortion-rights version of a Larry King infomercial on arthritis medication. This was the first "question," for example: "So tell me about the plan specifically for tomorrow, and then let's talk about the broader issue of what's happening in these states."
She followed up with another softball. "How do you think that demonstrations in the streets, how do you think that the type of organizing effort that you're doing right here, how do you think that affects the overall legal fight here and the overall dynamic in terms of how successful these efforts might be?"
Then she asked about "radical and draconian bans" on abortion like Alabama's:
MADDOW: Is part of what's going on here the creation of the expectation that only the most radical and draconian bans should fail, right? We've seen President Trump and other Republican anti-abortion, anti-abortion rights politicians say, "I'm pro-life. I'm against abortion. But there has to be exceptions for rape and incest. That's the only problem with the Alabama law. All these other bans are fine."
Is what's going on right now essentially an effort to redefine what counts as radical, as if any other abortion ban wouldn't be radical provided it had a rape exception?
WEN: That seems what is President Trump is trying to do, but he is going to fail at it. Because the whole reason these unprecedented number of extreme bans are being introduced is because of Trump, it's because of Kavanaugh, it's because these anti-women's health politicians are emboldened in a way that they have not been before. And the American people see through it.
We say to President Trump, if you want to make abortion access and women's health and rights an issue for the 2020 election, then bring it on. Because this is a winning issue for us, and people are rising up all over the country to speak out against you.
MSNBC promoted the interview online with the promotional headline "Extreme anti-abortion laws spark reproductive rights protests." A viewer would have no concept whatsoever that Maddow and Planned Parenthood are dancing on the opposing extreme, that there is no abortion that should be stopped, as long as mother wants the baby destroyed.
[Thanks to MRC intern Emma Fantuzzo for finding the exchange.]
