CNN’s S.E. Cupp had some harsh words for members of the liberal media on the Wednesday May 7, Crossfire about their treatment of Hillary Clinton.
Appearing alongside co-host Van Jones and guests Penny Young Nance, president of Concerned Women for America, and The Washington Post’s Ruth Marcus, Cupp condemned the media for how they cover Hillary: “It seems as if there is a bubble around Hillary. Liberals are very cagy. There's a whole list of things you cannot bring up when it comes to Hillary Clinton. Her past is one of them.” [See video below.]
Cupp’s comments came in response to a discussion of the recent story in Vanity Fair magazine by Monica Lewinsky in which Marcus asserted that “the timing of it is actually healthy for the Clintons and a potential Clinton run.”
Cupp then went on to eviscerate the media's attempts to protect Hillary:
Let me just satisfy everyone at the table that Republicans will have plenty more to talk about when it comes to Hillary. There's Benghazi, her relationship with Goldman Sachs, her missing State Department record. I mean there's plenty to go after.
Despite Cupp’s insistence that Hillary has plenty of baggage, she concluded her take-down of the liberal media by mocking their demands of how Ms. Clinton should be portrayed in the news: “You can't bring up Benghazi. We're over that. It was two years ago, dude. You can't bring up her past scandals. It was the '90s. I mean, it really reeks of insecurity. This is a woman who I think can defend herself.”
See relevant transcript below.
CNN
Crossfire
May 7, 2014
6:45 p.m. Eastern
VAN JONES: We've got Ruth Marcus. We've got Penny Young Nance. I'm going to go to you first. Something about the Clinton’s just drives Republicans nuts. Listen to this. The past couple of days, past couple of weeks we've heard conspiracies from the right wing. Chelsea Clinton is pregnant. Why? Because it's about Hillary becoming president. There was a guy on FOX who said Hillary Clinton deliberately knocked herself on the head so she wouldn't have to testify about Benghazi. Which is totally ridiculous. Somebody said that the shoe that was thrown -- that was all staged. And now, you've got Lynne Cheney saying stuff like this about this recent "Vanity Fair" article. She says, "I really wonder this isn't an effort on the Clinton's part to get that story out of way. Would 'Vanity Fair' publish anything of Monica Lewinsky that Hillary Clinton wouldn't want in 'Vanity Fair'?"What is wrong?
S.E. CUPP: Probably a fair question.
(CROSSTALK)
PENNY YOUNG NANCE: They do care about Gwyneth Paltrow but they probably don't care about Hillary Clinton. You know, look --
(CROSSTALK)
NANCE: Well, you know, look --
JONES: It's a crazy conspiracy theory?
NANCE: We’re going to keep you off the blogs, first off. And secondly, I would say that, you know, I think timing is everything. I don't think they hate it that it's out now. I don't know that they could control that. But I don't think they hate it. They don't like being reminded. But they know it's going to be a part of the conversation. They'd be foolish not to actually get it over with and have it now.
RUTH MARCUS: Lynne Cheney is conjuring up this world in which Hillary Clinton or one of her many minions calls up Monica Lewinsky and says, this would be a good time. Come on. I do agree that this is actually -- we -- Rand Paul is making a big mistake. You should encourage him --
JONES: To do more of it.
MARCUS: Keep doing more of it. Exactly. Raise it every time you get.
CUPP: Let me remind everyone at this table that Republicans didn't write the "Vanity Fair" article.
MARCUS: Right. But I do think the timing of it is actually healthy for the Clintons and a potential Clinton run.
CUPP: To get it out of the way.
MARCUS: You know, asked and answered. Inoculation is the best medicine in American politics. So even though we're all, you know, we cannot resist a good Monica Lewinsky story and reliving it and reliving it and re-reliving it, there's only so many times we're going to be able to sit around this table.
CUPP: Oh, from your lips to God's ears Ruth Marcus --
(CROSSTALK)
MARCUS: On her fourth piece in "Vanity Fair", perhaps we won't be talking about it. So I think it's healthy for a Clinton presidential run to have this discussion now.
CUPP: Let me just satisfy everyone at the table that Republicans will have plenty more to talk about when it comes to Hillary. There's Benghazi, her relationship with Goldman Sachs, her missing State Department record. I mean there's plenty to go after. But, Ruth, be honest with me. It seems as if there is a bubble around Hillary. Liberals are very cagy. There's a whole list of things you cannot bring up when it comes to Hillary Clinton. Her past is one of them. Doesn’t that wreak--
MARCUS: I never got that list, S.E., I don’t know what you're talking about. Maybe it's in my spam.
CUPP: Oh, it’s everywhere. You can't bring up Benghazi. We're over that. It was two years ago, dude. You can't bring up her past scandals. It was the '90s. I mean, it really reeks of insecurity. This is a woman who I think can defend herself.
MARCUS: She totally can defend herself. But honestly I don't know what list you're talking about. If I had an interview with Hillary Clinton, I wouldn't be scared of bringing up anything.
CUPP: You’d ask? I mean this stuff is fair game, right? This is part of her history.
MARCUS: I think there are a lot more things that are a lot more important to ask about than some of the things that you had on your list, but one question that I would ask Hillary Clinton right now is what do you say you were quoted by Diane Blair as calling her a narcissistic loony tune? What did you think? Did you -- she's had this piece in "Vanity Fair," you might not have read it but surely you heard about it. What do you think about it? And I think it would actually --
CUPP: Ruth, I'd like to see you ask her that.
MARCUS: I'd like to see me ask her that, too.
CUPP: If she's watching, you have an invitation.
