On MSNBC's Daily Rundown on Friday, NBC political director and
host Chuck Todd used low attendance at a Conservative Political Action
Conference panel discussion to take a cheap shot at Republicans:
"For a party struggling to change its demographic destiny, this picture
taken by a Brookings Institution fellow of an almost empty ballroom at a
panel on Republican outreach into minority communities, should be a bit
of a warning. You don't want to play into your party's stereotypes
there." [Listen to the audio [1]]
On Thursday, Brookings fellow John Hudak tweeted [2]
during the 2 p.m. ET event: "Big problem for GOP. Most important
#CPAC2014 panel. Topic: minority outreach. View: largely empty room." He
included the picture Todd referenced, a shot from the back of the large
main ballroom at CPAC showing rows of empty chairs.
In an article [3]
posted on the Brookings Institution FixGov blog later that afternoon
entitled "Live from CPAC: The Most Important Panel Everyone Missed,"
Hudak ranted: "If the attendance pictured above reflects the party's
future approach to diversity outreach, it is probably safe to say that
for some the given future, the White House will be a solid hue of deep
blue."
Hudak and Todd failed to mention what attendance was like for every
other CPAC panel discussion. Generally the big-name speakers at CPAC get
the large crowds and the panel events conducted in between – in the
same huge ballroom – tend to get lower attendance.
With that context missing, it gave the impression that CPAC attendees
specifically avoided a discussion on minority outreach rather than
simply favoring the most prominent speakers over lesser-known panelists,
no matter what the topic happened to be.
Here is a transcript of Todd's March 7 remarks on Daily Rundown:
9:09 AM ET
(...)
CHUCK TODD: One more thing, for a party struggling to change its demographic destiny, this picture taken by a Brookings Institution fellow of an almost empty ballroom at a panel on Republican outreach into minority communities, should be a bit of a warning. You don't want to play into your party's stereotypes there. And though CPAC's panel on immigration was well-informed, respectful, and representative of diverse views, it was also attended by just about 50 people.
(...)
— Kyle Drennen is Senior News Analyst at the Media Research Center. Follow Kyle Drennen on Twitter. [4]