The easiest way to tell that many in the mainstream media live in a bubble is by their steadfast inability to gauge the mood of Republican voters. In their eyes, anyone with an “R” after their name has automatically won the unconditional loyalty of right-leaning voters. Maybe that’s how it works for Democrats and left-leaning voters, but conservatives can be a stubborn bunch with a solid independent streak, and most on the right broke away from the establishment wing of Republicans long ago. CNN’s Dana Bash, however, doesn’t seem to have gotten that memo.
Bash hosted Sen. Tom Cotton (R-AR) on Sunday morning’s “State of the Union” and explained why former Vice President Dick Cheney’s recently announced endorsement of Vice President and Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris would raise eyebrows on the right. Cotton deftly dismissed the idea.
Dana Bash: You don’t think supporting Dick Cheney will make a difference?@TomCottonAR: I really don’t. That’s probably partly because Donald Trump beat his daughter by 39 points. 🔥 pic.twitter.com/uwJ74szNqT
— Trump War Room (@TrumpWarRoom) 8 September 2024
Dick Cheney follows Liz’s example and supports Harris as presidential candidate
Democrats’ reaction to Dick Cheney’s support for Kamala Harris
and expose yourself in the process
The Republican Party is dead, long live the Republican Party
From their exchange:
BASH: Dick Cheney was Vice President of the United States for eight years. He was a senior member of the House of Representatives. He was Chief of Staff to Gerald Ford. He worked tirelessly to advance Republican policies for a long time. Don’t you think his support of a Democrat with that background will make a difference with swing voters?
COTTON: No, Dana, I really don’t think so –
BASH: Or Never-Trump voters who were unsure about Harris?
COTTON: Well, I mean, part of it is probably because Donald Trump beat his daughter by 39 points in the last election.
I think most Americans will look at this campaign and compare their performances so far. Again, it’s a very unusual campaign when you have a president who has been in office and brought good times to America, and you have Kamala Harris, a liberal from San Francisco, who has brought America exactly what you see in San Francisco.
Despite trying to portray Cheney’s support as effective, Cotton deftly shattered Bash’s illusions and shifted the focus where it belongs: on the candidates’ respective achievements.
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Cotton once again demonstrated his skills as a Republican surrogate by also bringing up the issue of election interference when Bash raised it in featherlight of the Justice Department’s recent statement regarding Russian interference.
COTTON: People should not knowingly accept money from the government of Russia or Iran or China or other adversarial countries to try to influence the election. But I also think it’s fair to say that in the enormous flood of political commentary, a few memes or videos aren’t going to make much difference in this election – and that hasn’t been the case in past elections either.
What made a difference in the last election was the lies about Hunter Biden’s laptop, which more than four dozen former intelligence officials lied about in the middle of the campaign. And most networks, including this one, believed that lie to the last word. That made a difference in the election. But I think a few videos or comments – which, as I said, you shouldn’t do when you’re writing election commentary – aren’t going to make a difference in the huge flood of comments you see.
Cotton is right in every respect.
