CNN's chief political analyst freaked out about the sequester cuts on Tuesday afternoon's Newsroom, calling them a "man-made disaster."
"It is a man-made disaster. Not a natural one," Borger
insisted. She compared them to the massive snow storm currently hitting
the Midwestern states: "And just watching those pictures of Erin in the
snowstorm, I was thinking, it's like we know this huge storm is coming to the country, but nobody is buying a shovel."
[Video below. Audio here [1].]
"Nobody is getting together and talking. They're trading charges.
They're playing a pre-blame game if you will. And each side is sticking
with its own vision," Borger lamented.
Borger's hype came after anchor Brooke Baldwin relayed the Obama
administration's alarm over the budget cuts to various agencies, touting
"All kinds of scary scenarios we've been hearing."
"So now we have heard from Attorney General Holder. We've also heard
from Ray LaHood, Transportation Secretary who says the cuts will cause
all kinds of flight delays. The Agriculture Department warning of food
inspection furloughs, and possible closures of meat and poultry plants,"
Baldwin reported.
(H/T Jim Geraghty [2])
A transcript of the segment, which aired on CNN Newsroom on February 26 at 3:06 p.m. EST, is as follows:
BROOKE BALDWIN: Attorney General Eric Holder is the latest Obama cabinet chief to warn about the effects of impending budget cuts.
(...)
BALDWIN: So now we have heard from Attorney General Holder. We've also
heard from Ray LaHood, Transportation Secretary who says the cuts will
cause all kinds of flight delays. The Agriculture Department warning of
food inspection furloughs, and possible closures of meat and poultry
plants. Gloria Borger, she's in Washington. All kinds of scary scenarios
we've been hearing. Other than issuing these dire warnings, is anyone
doing anything to try to prevent the cuts from kicking in by Friday?
GLORIA BORGER, CNN chief politial analyst: No. And just watching those
pictures of Erin in the snowstorm, I was thinking, it's like we know
this huge storm is coming to the country, but nobody is buying a shovel.
Okay. Nobody is getting together and talking. They're trading charges.
They're playing a pre-blame game if you will. And each side is sticking
with its own vision. I think the President is really making a
calculation here that once these cuts go into effect, and, again, we
have to say it's not all going to happen at once, it would happen
gradually, but once these things go into effect, the President believes
that the country is going to blame the Republicans more than it will
blame him.
BALDWIN: Talk about the President, we saw him speaking earlier this
afternoon, in Virginia. He's warning of this -- his words, trickle-down
effect of defense industry cuts. Meantime, House Speaker John Boehner,
he went out, essentially said that the President's just trying to score
political points, even started swearing. Gloria, how are the two sides
crafting the message here so that everyone thinks it's the other guy's
fault, you know, once the pain kicks in.
BORGER: You know, I think that's what – that's exactly what they're
trying to do. But my point is that at a certain point, if these cuts
kick in, and if they're hurtful, as we think they will be, I think what
the public is going to start to ask is why didn't you do something to
prevent it, and that's where I think the risk of the White House is,
because the President is, after all, President of the United States. And
so at a certain point, and it is very hard to tell, Brooke, when that
happens, but at a certain point, public opinion starts to shift. Right
now it looks like most people would blame Republicans. More people would
blame Republicans than the President. But, that can really shift
easily. You see that poll there, 45 to 32. But it could shift if people
don't like what they see and they say, either a pox on both houses or
perhaps maybe the President ought to have found a way to lead out of
this.
BALDWIN: We've known about this for some time, haven't we, Gloria Borger?
BORGER: We have. It is a man-made disaster. Not a natural one.