MSNBC’s Kasie Hunt on Midterms: Colorado ‘Rejected More Inflammatory Conservatives In 2010’
Kasie Hunt, MSNBC’s Political Correspondent, appeared on Thursday’s Morning Joe to promote her recent trip to Colorado, where she covered the highly contentious Senate contest between incumbent Democrat Mark Udall and his Republican challenger Congressman Cory Gardner.
Hunt began her prepackaged report by playing up how “Washington Republicans were thrilled when Gardner decided to run against Udall. His easy manner and moderate tone seemed like a good match for Colorado. It’s a purple state that rejected more inflammatory conservatives in 2010.”
Oddly enough, the MSNBC reporter’s decision to call 2010 Republicans “inflammatory” seems remarkably similar to a series of ads Planned Parenthood is currently running where they attack so-called “strident” GOP challengers in Colorado and North Carolina.
As the segment continued, the MSNBC reporter made sure to highlight how “Udall is still trying to paint Gardner as an extremist” before going after going the Republican’s pro-life record:
MARK UDALL: A big smile's a nice thing. I think we all have big smiles. But your record matters. Your actions matter. Congressman Gardner’s positions would move us backwards.
KASIE HUNT: The primary focus, women. More than half of Udall's ads have been focused on abortion and contraception.
UNKNOWN PERSON [campaign ad]: Gardner even championed an eight-year crusade to outlaw birth control.
HUNT: Gardner has backed away from a state personhood initiative that could have outlawed popular forms of birth control. And he supports making contraception available over the counter. But he'd also rather change the subject.
Hunt then showed a clip of herself confronting Gardner over the issue of personhood where she repeatedly pressed the Republican on the issue:
HUNT: Your name is still on a federal bill the “Life at Conception Act.”
CORY GARDNER: Well, there is no federal personhood bill. They are two different pieces of legislation. And I understand Senator Udall, he wants to run away from the failed economy.
HUNT: Do you still support the “Life at Conception Act?”
GARDNER: Well again, that is not a federal personhood bill.
HUNT: So do you support it?
GARDNER: Well, I'm still on the bill.
Hunt did briefly challenge Senator Udall’s efforts to distance himself from President Obama by pointing out how “it doesn't make sense to say they’re worried about you coming across that lawn when in fact you’re one of the only lawmakers who’s played golf with the president.”
Unsurprisingly though, the MSNBC reporter concluded her coverage by allowing Udall to give one last pitch to voters:
HUNT: Still, it's not clear it will be enough to withstand the national head winds or whether the senator who once had to turn back from the summit of Mt. Everest will come up short again.
UDALL: The point is to come home alive. Doesn't count if you touch the top of the mountain and you don't make it back to civilization.
See relevant transcript below.
MSNBC
Morning Joe
October 2, 2014
JOE SCARBOROUGH: Well, Kasie [Hunt] obviously is joining us. MSNBC Political Correspondent, Kasie Hunt. There's a lot of movement in some key races this morning, and let’s start in Colorado. President Obama of course won Colorado easily in 2012 but now his unpopularity is making it really tough for Senator Mark Udall to keep his seat. Kasie traveled to Colorado over the weekend to catch up with both candidates.
MARK UDALL: Congressman Gardner’s a nice guy.
CORY GARDNER: My opponent Mark Udall is a real nice guy.
KASIE HUNT: There's no disagreement. Mark Udall and Cory Gardner are both real nice guys. But in one of the year's closest Senate races, that's pretty much where the civility ends.
GARDNER: In fact, the President of the United States was in Colorado in July to host a fund-raiser for Mark Udall. Mark Udall was so ashamed of his record that he couldn't even show up with the president when he was here in Colorado.
UDALL: He's the tenth most right wing member of the House of Representatives. He's more conservative than former Congressman Tancredo with which takes some doing.
HUNT: Washington Republicans were thrilled when Gardner decided to ran against Udall. His easy manner and moderate tone seemed like a good match for Colorado. It’s a purple state that rejected more inflammatory conservatives in 2010. But Udall is still trying to paint Gardner as an extremist.
UDALL: A big smile's a nice thing. I think we all have big smiles. But your record matters. Your actions matter. Congressman Gardner’s positions would move us backwards.
HUNT: The primary focus, women. More than half of Udall's ads have been focused on abortion and contraception.
UNKNOWN PERSON [campaign ad]: Gardner even championed an eight-year crusade to outlaw birth control.
HUNT: Gardner has backed away from a state personhood initiative that could have outlawed popular forms of birth control. And he supports making contraception available over the counter. But he'd also rather change the subject. Your name is still on a federal bill the “Life at Conception Act.”
GARDNER: Well, there is no federal personhood bill. They are two different pieces of legislation. And I understand Senator Udall, he wants to run away from the failed economy.
HUNT: Do you still support the “Life at Conception Act?”
GARDNER: Well again, that is not a federal personhood bill.
HUNT: So do you support it?
GARDNER: Well, I'm still on the bill.
HUNT: Gardner wants to focus on Udall's ties to President Obama who's deeply popular in Colorado. In a debate, Udall tried to back away from the White House.
UDALL: Congressman let me tell you, the White House, when they look down the front lawn, the last person they want to see coming is me. I've challenged this White House on a whole set of policies where they've been wrong.
HUNT: It doesn't make sense to say they’re worried about you coming across that lawn when in fact you’re one of the only lawmakers who’s played golf with the president.
UDALL: At the time I’d made that statement, over the last six months, I’ve been a thorn in their side on the NSA, on the VA, on the CIA. They haven't always been happy to take my phone calls over there.
HUNT: Both sides do agree it's been a close race since March and that it will stay that way through November.
GARDNER: 40 days out, we've got a ground game here that we've never seen in an off-year election.
HUNT: Still, it's not clear it will be enough to withstand the national head winds or whether the senator who once had to turn back from the summit of Mt. Everest will come up short again.
UDALL: The point is to come home alive. Doesn't count if you touch the top of the mountain and you don't make it back to civilization.
— Jeffrey Meyer is a News Analyst at the Media Research Center. Follow Jeffrey Meyer on Twitter.
