A liberal, NBC smugfest invaded CNN on Wednesday. Former Today co-host Meredith Vieira appeared with her husband, journalist Richard M. Cohen , on Piers Morgan. Cohen railed against Christian conservatives as the "American
equivalent of the Taliban." In another segment, CNBC regular Donny
Deutsch, who guest-hosted for Morgan, bashed "vicious bully" Rush
Limbaugh.
Deutsch began a discussion on Republican chances in 2012 by playing a
clip of a new Planned Parenthood ad attacking the GOP. Cohen, a former
producer for CBS and CNN, smeared, "...They remind me of sort of
the American equivalent of the Taliban. You know, they want to drag
women back to a different point in time."
His wife, a longtime anchor at NBC, didn't refute this attack. [MP3 audio here .]
Vieira dodged, trying not to respond to her husband's comments. She
allowed that "there are women who don't believe in Planned Parenthood"
and added, "But I walk a fine line because I am a journalist. I can't
really give my opinion."
Regarding a supposed anti-woman, prejudiced attitude amongst
Republicans, Deutsch insisted, "The Republicans can not win with a 20
percent gender gap. They've gone from five to 20 percent down."
Deutsch himself got into trouble for a racially tinged remark on February 23, 2010 . Appearing on the Joy Behar Show,
Deutsch mocked then-candidate Marco Rubio as a "coconut." According to
Urban Dictionary, this is someone who is "tan on the outside" and "white
on the inside." He later apologized.
In a previous segment, Deutsch interviewed Michael J. Fox. He bashed
Rush Limbaugh as "more than bully. That's a vicious bully."
A partial transcript of the March 14 segment can be found below:
9:49
DONNY DEUTSCH: Okay, DNC, a new ad. I want to watch it and I want you guys to talk about it.
MITT ROMNEY (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Planned Parenthood, we're going to get rid of that.
DEUTSCH: Okay, Richard, you're a political writer. The Republicans can
not win with a 20 percent gender gap. They've gone from five to 20
percent down. You see that ad, forget politics aside, what is your
reaction, just from getting somebody elected?
RICHARD M. COHEN: Planned Parenthood for the Christian right
is a symbol. And all he has to do is say those two words. You know,
they- they remind me of sort of the American equivalent of the Taliban.
You know, they want to drag women back to a different point in time.
And yes, there's this huge gender gap. And they're not just going to
lose independents. They're going to lose Republican women.
DEUTSCH: Meredith, as a journalist, as a woman, you see -- and we can
play hours of various candidates, various both media people on the left
and right and candidates, but mostly on the right, just basically saying
women, we don't -- you know, on a mass level, that's okay. What am I
missing here. They can't win this way?
VIEIRA: I agree with you. But they obviously appeal to a certain
segment of the population, including some women who would agree with
that statement. There are women who don't believe in Planned Parenthood.
And I think that they're speaking to them as well. But I walk a fine line because I am a journalist. I can't really give my opinion.
DEUTSCH: It's neither a question of whether you're pro-choice or
anti-abortion. It's a question of strategically, I can't understand how
these guys think they're going to get elected just taking such a staunch
line there. They've got to play the base obviously now. But is it going
to come back to bite them?
COHEN: I have never seen the Republican party dragged this far to the
right in the primary process. And I think it's the influence of
Santorum. And I think people are afraid of him. I think he has an appeal
to the activists who tend to be -- the activists tend to be the
pro-life people, the Christian right.
DEUTSCH: I will have to say one thing that is very interesting, and
this goes back to a theory I have always, that people vote for people
and not issues. I disagree with just about everything Santorum stands
for.
VIEIRA: We just had this conversation. He's authentic.
DEUTSCH: He's a real guy. I don't dislike him. Whereas Romney is up
there, and that's what he's connecting with. I stand up there and I just
go, but I respect the guy. I disagree with everything he says. And
that's what people want.
VIEIRA: But his story remains true. He's always true to who he is. And
I think you feel that whether you agree with him or not.
-- Scott Whitlock is the senior news analyst for the Media Research Center. Click here to follow him on Twitter.
