Breaking news! Liberal activist Sandra Fluke will
be voting for
President Obama! CNN thought this announcement not only worthy of a
CNN.com op-ed [1], but hosted Fluke in person for an interview during the 9 a.m. EDT hour of Newsroom on Thursday.
Fluke was welcomed [2] on cable news after she was publicly defamed by Rush Limbaugh -- and was published on CNN.com [3]
-- and on Thursday CNN's Carol Costello hailed her as the "woman who
became the face of the fight over whether insurance plans should cover
contraceptives." So the religious organizations who were affected by the
HHS birth control mandate were not also the faces of the debate?
As she began the interview, Costello had to tee Fluke up one more time about the Rush Limbauh controversy, playing the "slut" remark. "So, when you hear that stuff from Rush Limbaugh today, what goes through your mind?" she asked the liberal activist.
In her special to CNN.com that Costello twice mentioned, Fluke sounds the alarm about how "rights that generations of women fought so hard to achieve could be rolled back easily," and hits Romney for offering "only frightening promises to send us backward."
Costello did press her guest over the youth unemployment rate under
Obama – before referring to her CNN.com article one more time. "But when
you look at the unemployment figures for young people, they are pretty
abysmal. Why should young people, the millennial generation,
enthusiastically support this president?"
A transcript of the segment, which aired on June 14 on CNN Newsroom at 9:15 a.m. EDT, is as follows:
CAROL COSTELLO: So when you hear that stuff from Rush Limbaugh today, what goes through your mind?
SANDRA FLUKE, activist endorsing Obama: The same thing that went
through my mind when I heard it earlier. Just that it's an attempt to
silence women, to take them out of the conversation. But, you know, as
you introduced, I'm here today to talk about the President and why I'm
voting for him for re-election. And why his policies are so important to
young women like me.
COSTELLO: You were a Georgetown student. Now you're a full-blown
political activist. And, like you said, you wrote this op-ed for
CNN.com. You endorsed the President. Do you think people will take your
endorsement seriously?
FLUKE: Well, I think that they can take it for what it's worth. I have
looked very closely at these policies. And I take very seriously
anything that I take a position on. That's actually why I waited until
now to endorse anyone in this presidential election. I felt that a lot
of people were looking to me for my opinion, following these
controversies. And I wanted to remain nonpartisan and to just
specifically look at which policies I could support.
But I have just concluded that Governor Romney must not be looking for
the vote of people like me because he's not taking a stand on issues
that are really important to me. Issues like the Paycheck Fairness Act
or, you know, so many other things that I'm concerned about.
COSTELLO: Well, by the same token, Mitt Romney's favorability rating
among women is rising. And if he doesn't care about these things that
you're talking about, why do you suppose that is?
FLUKE: I think that he's recently been selected as the Republican
nominee. And there's inevitably a consolidation around a nominee when
that occurs, and that's what we're seeing. That said, for months now we
have seen the President having a considerable lead among women. And
that's because they know that he is a strong leader for the policies
that we care about. Policies like affordable access to education, in
terms of student loan rates. And policies like the Paycheck Fairness
Act, the Violence Against Women Act.
COSTELLO: But when you look at the unemployment figures for young
people, they are pretty abysmal. Why should young people, the millennial
generation, enthusiastically support this President?
FLUKE: Actually, I saw something on ABC recently that things are
increasingly – that this is the best time for employment opportunities
for young college graduates since this recession started. And I think
that the difference between Governor Romney and President Obama is that
both of them are very focused on improving the economy for all of us,
but President Obama is focused on improving it for all of us, not just
for a select, wealthy few, and he's focused on making sure that we have
the rights and protections that we need in those jobs and in that
workplace.
COSTELLO: I'm not sure that many college students who have just
graduated would agree that the employment picture is looking any
brighter.
FLUKE: The ones I have spoken to do, actually.
COSTELLO: Really, what do they say? Are they finding jobs? Because the
college students that we talk with are having a difficult time.
FLUKE: Well, I have talked with lots of folks who I graduated with, in
terms of law school graduates. This is the first year that things are
looking up for them at increasing rates. And I am hearing that from
graduates across the country.
COSTELLO: Although I must say graduating from Georgetown might have a
certain bit of cache and maybe you can find a job easier because you
went to such a great school. But students who went to public
universities or community colleges, they are having a terrible time.
FLUKE: I have actually talked to students from across the country. So, I'm not just referring to Georgetown.
COSTELLO: Okay. Thank you so much –
FLUKE: But I think – what your point is, is how important the
investment in education is for folks to be able to find employment when
they graduate, and that's why the President's policies around student
loans are so critical. He increased Pell Grants, our investment. He
doubled that. And he is fighting to keep interest rates low. So for
students who are going to any university or college, that's critical for
them.
COSTELLO: Okay. So your op-ed appears on CNN.com.
FLUKE: It does.
COSTELLO: Okay. Thank you so much. Sandra Fluke joining us live this morning.
FLUKE: Thank you.