CNN’s Wednesday edition of New Day lamented that the GOP midterm strategy for winning the Senate involves trying to win elections even if that means putting “party over country” by supporting “dumpster fires.”
Host Brianna Keilar lamented that this is a party-wide phenomenon, “We just had Governor Asa Hutchinson on, who sometimes has some constructive criticism for members of his own party. He has really been critical, obviously, of former President Trump and I asked him about the Georgia Senate race and Herschel Walker and did he believe Herschel Walker's denials when it came to this story that he had paid for an abortion by a former girlfriend of his and he basically said, you know, to take him at his word or he's giving him the benefit of the doubt.”
She further mourned, “it just struck me that some of these things, you know, years and years ago, would have been completely disqualifying for Republicans and they certainly no longer are.”
Senior political analyst John Avlon, who was on with Don Lemon the last time CNN condemned Republicans for trying to win elections, decried “the new litmus test, particularly three weeks out because you’re right, Asa Hutchinson typically would tell truth to power, when he thought it was right, but three weeks out why are you going to write off a Senate candidate in what’s still a close race, if you might, possibly want to run for president.”
Avolon further accused Hutchinson and other Republicans of having “politically-driven willful ignorance” when they “give Herschel Walker the benefit of the doubt on this stuff at this point ignores all the facts and all the evidence, but it is the current environment, is causing people to put party over country and power of principle. That is the new marching orders.”
Chief political analyst Gloria Borger agreed and added Sens. Tom Cotton and Rick Scott to the conversation, “They're out there because they realize they can’t lose this seat… so they’re out there because the party, this is the goal: they want control of the Senate and that is above all else and so they will stand by Herschel Walker and there's no other choice for them right now, they believe.”
Like Avlon with Hutchinson, Borger saw presidential aspirations as being a key reason Cotton and Scott are campaigning for Walker, which led Avlon to declare, "The fact is they've gotten used to campaigning with dumpster fires and they're willing to say that, ‘you know what’ -- Republicans say, ‘look, what do you expect me to do, endorse a Democrat?’ Again, the idea that used to drive things when it comes to independents in elections is thinking about voting for the person not the party and now it's party above all else even the candidate you’re backing is a conspiracy theorist crackpot or someone who’s manifestly incompetent."
Beginning to wrap up, Borger lamented “that’s because it's not the party, you know, it's control and so it's not Herschel Walker… It’s just about control of the Senate.”
After Avlon agreed, Keilar brought the segment to a close, “I will leave it at this. When you campaign with a dumpster fire, at some point you will be down wind.”
Speaking of dumpster fires, it’s funny that CNN refuses to cover allegations against Raphael Warnock considering they are such big believers in putting country over party.
This segment was sponsored by Google.
Here is a transcript for the October 19 show:
CNN New Day with John Berman and Brianna Keilar
10/19/2022
8:15 AM ET
BRIANNA KEILAR: We just had Governor Asa Hutchinson on, who sometimes has some constructive criticism—
GLORIA BERGER: Yup.
KEILAR: -- for members of his own party. He has really been critical, obviously, of former President Trump and I asked him about the Georgia Senate race and Herschel Walker and did he believe Herschel Walker's denials when it came to this story that he had paid for an abortion by a former girlfriend of his and he basically said, you know, to take him at his word or he's giving him the benefit of the doubt.
And it just struck me that some of these things, you know, years and years ago, would have been completely disqualifying for Republicans and they certainly no longer are.
JOHN AVLON: That's right, because the new litmus test, particularly three weeks out because you’re right, Asa Hutchinson typically would tell truth to power, when he thought it was right, but three weeks out why are you going to write off a Senate candidate in what’s still a close race, if you might, possibly want to run for president.
So, what you have is politically-driven willful ignorance. The idea you give Herschel Walker the benefit of the doubt on this stuff at this point ignores all the facts and all the evidence, but it is the current environment, is causing people to put party over country and power of principle. That is the new marching orders.
BORGER: You have Senator Cotton and Senator Scott going to campaign with Herschel Walker. They're out there because they realize they can’t lose this seat. They can’t replace him at this point, right?
AVLON: Right.
BORGER: They can’t replace him, so they’re out there because the party, this is the goal: they want control of the Senate and that is above all else and so they will stand by Herschel Walker and there's no other choice for them right now, they believe.
KEILAR: Gloria, they go to campaign with him and they end up standing behind him--
BORGER: Yeah.
KEILAR: -- while he's talking about a bull getting lots of cows pregnant. I mean, they're standing behind him in the middle of this whole scandal and I can't even imagine what they were thinking as he was saying that.
BORGER: Thought bubbles.
KEILAR: The thought bubbles would have been amazing, but that is what they have to contend with when they put themselves out for these candidates.
BORGER: You make that decision, don't you?
AVLON: But.
BORGER: You make that decision whether you're going to do that. Now, Scott runs the campaign committee, he’s got a lot at stake here for himself personally.
KEILAR: Sure does.
BERGER: Both these guys want to be president, right? So, they have to think of that.
AVLON: Yeah, but look, when you're campaigning with a dumpster fire, you've got a fundamental problem particularly when that thought bubble goes off. The fact is they've gotten used to campaigning with dumpster fires and they're willing to say that, “you know what” -- Republicans say, “look, what do you expect me to do, endorse a Democrat?”
Again, the idea that used to drive things when it comes to independents in elections is thinking about voting for the person not the party and now it's party above all else even the candidate you’re backing is a conspiracy theorist crackpot or someone who’s manifestly incompetent.
KEILAR: We have to—
BORGER: That's because—once sec—that’s because it's not the party, you know, it's control and so it's not Herschel Walker.
AVLON: No, that's right.
BORGER: It's just about control of the Senate.
AVLON: It’s the letter after the name. Of course.
KEILAR: I will leave it at this. When you campaign with a dumpster fire, at some point you will be down wind.
