Katie Couric is on the warpath, so to speak.
In her "Evening News" interview with Attorney General Eric Holder last night, Couric pushed Holder several times to commit to heightened restrictions on access to firearms. This comes in light of her recent biased blog post on Couric and Co., which NewsBusters noted yesterday.
First, Couric pressed Holder on reinstating the assault weapons ban, noting that he expressed support for that during his confirmation hearings. Holder dodged the question like a champ:
COURIC: What about reinstating the assault weapons ban and closing the gun show loophole. Do you think that would stop the flow of weapons into Mexico from the U.S.?
HOLDER: Well, I think the thing we need to do is come up with those things that we can do right away. And we're going to be moving a hundred A.T.F. agents to the border, about twenty-six D.E.A. agents to the border, and that will happen over the course of the next thirty days or so. And I think that will have a pretty dramatic impact on reducing the flow of weapons into Mexico.
Couric then pivoted, setting up her next question with commentary on the domestic issues surrounding the assault weapons ban. To Holder, Couric wondered forlornly if someone had told him to stop pushing for such restrictions:
COURIC, narrating over B-roll: But another major issue is guns being purchased and used in this country. Given a recent series of mass shootings from southern Alabama to upstate New York have killed fifty-seven people. While the Attorney General said he supported reinstating the assault weapons ban during his confirmation hearing, he's been silent on the subject since.
Couric on camera, to Holder: Did someone tell you back off?
HOLDER: No. No one's told me to back off. I understand the Second Amendment, I respect the Second Amendment. I think we need to use common sense tools to keep the American people safe.
One might note that assault weapons were used in only one of the shootings that Couric pointed out. The weapons more typically used were relatively common handguns. Grouping the two classes of weapons together is disingenuous, and smacks of issue campaigning. Lastly, Couric hit the old liberal standby, the so-called gun show loophole:
COURIC: What about gun shows? In over 30 states, people can simply walk into gun shows and buy a gun, sometimes from unlicensed dealers, without a background check. Would you support closing the gun show loophole?
HOLDER: Well, again, these are issues that we'll have to discuss. The President will be the one who will ultimately set policy, things that are politically salable and things that will ultimately be effective.
COURIC: Does closing the gun show loophole fall into those categories?
HOLDER: That will be one of those things I'll talk about with the President.
While watching Holder bob and weave like Rocky Balboa was entertaining, one wonders why he was not asked what he thought common sense tools might be necessary to enforcing the law. One might also wonder why he was not asked about ammunition controls - logically, firearms are useless without ammunition, so why did Couric not ask about that? Why were there no questions about the drug cartels importing weapons from El Salvador and Guatemala?
There are a host of unasked questions, and a true journalist would have asked at least one of them. Instead, Couric chose to push an agenda.
One wonders what the "Evening News" ratings would look like if Couric tried to actually be a journalist rather than a liberal mouthpiece disguised as one.
