Joy Reid might be gone from MSNBC's weekend-morning time slot, but her successor on the weekends, Tiffany Cross, is keeping alive Reid's tradition [documented here] of insulting Republican and conservative guests.
We'll begin by actually giving Cross some credit. In contrast with most MSNBC hosts, who only allow "Republicans" of the Lincoln Project stripe on their shows, Cross had a real Republican on her show this morning: Chuck DeVore, VP Of the Texas Public Policy Foundation.
The topic was what Republicans would call ballot integrity and what liberals like Cross call "voter suppression."
Toward the end of the segment, after DeVore yet again made the factual case about voter fraud, citing recent local elections in Texas and New Jersey that had been overturned because of obvious, documented fraud, Cross shot back:
"It's a pet peeve when people spit in my face and try to convince me it's raining. This is voter suppression by no other name. That's very obvious to us."
"Us," of course, meaning people who agree with Cross! (Or she thinks she's speaking for all black Americans.)
Earlier in the segment, Cross scoffed at DeVore's citation of a Rasmussen poll showing that a great majority of Americans, including almost 70% of black Americans, support voter ID. If Cross is dissatisfied with the reliability of Rasmussen polls, perhaps she'd prefer this 2016 Gallup poll, indicating that 80% of Americans, including 63% of Democrats, support voter ID.
If asking for an ID is "voter suppression," than asking for an ID at the liquor store is "drinker suppression," and asking for an ID before you fly is "traveler suppression."
Please note: DeVore's audio is occasionally choppy--presumably a function of his home camera or internet connection.
MSNBC host Tiffany Cross telling her Republican guest not to spit in her face and tell her it's raining was sponsored in part by Procter & Gamble, maker of Gain, and Liberty Mutual.
Here's the transcript.
MSNBC
The Cross Connection
3/20/21
10:17 am EDTTIFFANY CROSS: In Texas, where more than two dozen of pieces of GOP-sponsored includes tightening voter ID laws rolls and voter rolls, and limiting early voting . . . Joining me now to discuss, LaTosha Brown, co-founder of Black Voters Matter, Chuck DeVore, vice-president of the Texas Public Policy Foundation, who's pushing some of these voter bills, and Texas state representative Jessica González. Thank you, guys, for joining me for this conversation.
And Chuck, I want to thank you for being here. Because you're an advocate of some of these voter-suppression bills, quite frankly. And I think my first question to you has to be, there really has been no evidence of voter fraud . . . Where is all this mysterious voter fraud that only Republicans seem to see?
CHUCK DEVORE: Well I'm glad you brough up voter ID, photo ID, because that is required in the state of Texas, although if you don't, there's a reasonable-impediment document that you can sign.
But what we are talking about here is mail-in ballots. And with mail-in ballots, there is no identification. And you talk about fraud. We had three elections invalidated because of mail-in voter fraud in Texas in 2018, including in the city of Mission, where they had to do the election all over again.
This is like the city of Paterson in New Jersey, where you just had two city council members indicted two weeks ago --
CROSS: [skeptically] Mm-hmm.
DEVORE: -- for massive mail-in ballot fraud in the third biggest city in New Jersey last year.
And what we're talking about is a unilateral expansion of vote-by-mail that doesn't have any reasonable safeguards, and that is why you see something on the order of 79% of Americans approving of needing voter ID to be able to cast a ballot. And that, by the way, includes close to 70% of black Americans, and a vast majority of people of color, because they understand that it is so important to have free and fair --
CROSS: Where are you getting those numbers from? I haven't seen that.
DEVORE: Oh, it's a new Rasmussen poll, just three days ago.
CROSS: [dismissively] Rasmussen—okay.
. . .
CROSS: Talk to me about Texas
DEVORE: I cited three jurisdictions in Texas who had elections invalidated just three years ago. So if there's no voter fraud, why was the election in Mission, Texas, down in the Rio Grande valley, thrown out? Why did that happen? Because of mail-in ballot fraud.
CROSS: Okay, LaTosha. I want to bring you in here. Because it's a pet peeve when people spit in my face and try to convince me it's raining. This is voter suppression, by no other name. That's very obvious to us.
