It’s one thing to have Democratic-sympathetic media figures cheering the passage of the so-called Inflation Reduction Act by the Senate, but it’s another thing entirely to try to trick your audience into thinking Republicans support the bill’s passage. But CNN tried just that on Monday afternoon’s CNN Newsroom, where Rina Shah was described as a “Republican strategist” but advised her supposed GOP colleagues to “just be silent” about the bill and let the Democrats take their victory lap.
Co-host Victor Blackwell discussed the bill with Shah alongside CNN political commentator and NY1 host Errol Louis, with Blackwell introducing her as “senior adviser to Republican Women for Progress.”
Blackwell started by asking Louis whether he believed the bill would have a significant impact on the outcome in November’s midterm elections. Louis hedged his bets: “They’re going to have to really get out there and sell this about what’s going to happen in the future. That doesn’t always necessarily work when Americans are cranky, paying high bills, and not necessarily believing that this is going to work for them.”
When Shah — again, she was labeled by the chyron as a “Republican strategist” — was asked the same question, she largely agreed, but also attacked Republicans who would dare oppose the bill or warn of its potentially harmful effects on the economy:
Shah’s advice to Republicans taking a principled stand against a massive spending bill? Be grateful and shut up!
Blackwell then asked Rina what the strength of GOP senatorial hopefuls like Mehmet Oz, Herschel Walker and J.D. Vance.
Shah heavily criticized the candidates, saying that, “This is not an alarmist post. However, I believe these candidates indicate the demise of democracy as it exists today..”
The “Republican strategist” then offered some political advice to Democrats:
A brief look into Rina Shah’s other media will help clear things up. As noted before, she is the chief adviser of Republican Women for Progress, whose website states, “To ensure that the Party of Lincoln continues to exist, it is necessary to abandon outdated social ideals as well as separatism., develop a space for dialogue, and work towards creating constructive policies instead of pushing political agendas.”
Aside from being a “Big Tent” advocate looking to break one of the legs of the “Three-Legged Stool,” Shah is also not shy about expressing her viewsOn social media
It is not surprising that they disagree with the majority of Republican voters.
And this is who CNN has on air to promote the “Republican” point of view? Who do they think they’re fooling?
Click “Expand” to see the relevant transcript.
CNN’s Newsroom
08/08/22
3.02:35PM ET
VICTOR BLACKWELL: Let’s discuss further with CNN political commentator Errol Louis, he’s political anchor for Spectrum News and a columnist for New York magazine, and strategist Rina Shah is senior adviser to Republican Women for Progress. We are glad to have both of you back.
Errol, I’d like to start by saying hello. That list of achievements that you just saw, does that change the scene for Democrats going into the midterms, or do you not think it?
ERROL LOUIS Is it going to sell? The real question is: Will it sell? There are a lot of — uh, Democrats I think that are already dispirited. They don’t like the way the polls are looking. They understand, frankly, Victor, that — you know, there’s a difference between getting a legislative win — uh, here in August, and somebody seeing it play — uh, play out in their lives.
It’s true that a large number of energy credits can be applied to house improvements such as solar panels or heat pumps. In fact, 30 percent off the annual cost will be deducted. Are those going to get folks excited for the next 90-days, which is really what matters most to congressional Democrats? Not necessarily.
So, it’s going to be — it’s going to be a real — uh, political balancing act. This will require them to be able to sell the idea of what’s coming up in the near future. This doesn’t work if Americans are disillusioned, have high-priced bills and don’t believe that it is possible to make this work.
BLACKWELL: Yeah, the Inf — uh, the Inflation Reduction Act as it’s called, Rina — uh, won’t reduce inflation today or in September. Do you believe the midterms will have an impact on inflation?
RINA SHAH Look, I think the reality is this, Republicans are going to say one thing but they know in the back of their minds there’s another. It was, in many ways, a job bill.
Sen. Manchin of West Virginia can communicate it correctly and get the message across to his constituency. He could say that this will give you options and help your children not to have to do any coal mining. This gives me hope.
It’s not perfect, but it is a good bill. It isn’t. It is a good place to start. Absolutely. This is not the best news. The Republicans will continue to use the same rhetoric. Victor! Oh, Victor, how powerful have fallen. Look at how leader McConnell’s talking about this. Take a look at the way that Senate Republicans talk about it. They are spreading misinformation. They are putting on an ugly facade and discussing the bill in a way I don’t understand. It’s best for them to just sit back and let the Democrats take control of this moment. Let’s talk about how it will change lives for both old and young Americans. The bill can be used by every American in the United States.
BLACKWELL: The most recent — uh, bill passed by the Senate again as Jessica Dean says now has to go to the House. Uh, Errol, that was — uh, passed on just Democratic votes.
LOUIS: Yes.
BLACKWELL: The majority of legislative achievements on this list were bipartisan. Um, I want you to listen to Frank Luntz — uh, he’s a pollster who talks about the promotion of the legislative wins.
[Cuts to clip]
FRANK LUNTZ [on CNN’s New Day, 08/08/22]The problem with this is that they convey a partisan victory instead of a bipartisan triumph. They communicate the differences, tribes and arguments rather than unity, which affects both the House and Senate races as well as our mood.
[End of clip]
BLACKWELL: How do you feel about that?
Frank Luntz, a brilliant man from Louis. His solution to the long-standing problem of America being divided was clear. First of all, there’s a whole bunch of independents who are not necessarily partisan. Uh, but that’s not how you win elections, how you win elections is you get your base excited — uh, and then you see how much more you need, then you adjust to your base, and then you pull in maybe a couple of independents, but you don’t necessarily have to go across the aisle for bipartisan victories at the polls. Bipartisan victory on Capitol Hill is very different from a bipartisan victory — uh, in the streets.
And so — uh, that’s the real problem with the system, it’s really what makes it feel broken because everybody goes to their base. You’re expected to do that. It’s the only way to win elections. We’re asking everyone to complete that task within the next 90-days. It’s going to really cut against this broad — bipartisan in some respects — uh, or I should say broadly popular set of proposals that they just passed in the senate.
BLACKWELL – Rina, we’ll talk about the nominations for Senate by some Republicans. Uh, Rick Scott, head of the National Republican Senatorial Committee, his job is to get Republicans elected so they can — uh, get the majority — uh, was on — uh, CBS this weekend. Margaret Brennan asked Scott about his criteria for electing candidates that they would hire. Let’s take a look at a portion of their conversation.
[Cuts to clip]
MARGARET BRENNAN [on CBS Sunday Morning, 08/07/22]: In Georgia, Herschel Walker, Republican Senate candidate — uh, has lied about the number of children he has, about his business dealings, his ex-wife said he held a gun to her head and said I’m going to blow your effing brains out. Arizona’s Blake Masters called Unabomber an “underrated thinker”. Do you want to hire such people?
SEN. ROCK SCOTT [R-FL]: Well, you would go through each person, and — but I’m not the one doing it. It’s the voters of those states who are doing it. These voters will have to choose.
[End of clip]
BLACKWELL: This isn’t a no. Um and J.D., their second candidate. Vance made some unsavory comments in Ohio. So what do these candidates mean looking ahead to — uh, the potential that the Republicans can win — um, the majority in the Senate?
SHAH And I’m not trying to be — you know, I can’t believe I’m saying that. This Republican Party was where I started my career. The clown cars coming out of the states of candidate that, frankly speaking, don’t merit a second glance are something I have not seen.
Here’s the thing about these candidates, is they have been allowed to get this far. It has become sensationalized that our politics are being discussed. We’ve allowed our electorate to dumb itself down. We’ve said it’s okay to not be engaged. What good is it to try and change an existing system when you aren’t sure how it functions? This is the main goal of local Republican parties. The Republicans are counting on the voters not to be educated about the system so they can just accept it. It will not change, either locally or federally.
Guess what the plan of action is. How people hit back is with real facts, is with a plan of action, and unless Democrats — unfortunately it’s on their shoulders — unless Democrats hit back with the real plan and says don’t worry about this right now, which means this meaning the economy, the prices on the shelf. They will try to penalize Democrats for this, but I need them to see the bigger picture.
The delicate dance between preserving democracy and showing the candidates that they are not too insane or unqualified for office is necessary. They also need to show that their plan will get us back to normal and help people keep more money in their pockets. As I mentioned, it’s delicate.
BLACKWELL – Errol, you’re nodding.
LOUIS: Yes, definitely. It is important to consider whether there is a baseline. What is it that someone can do or say that would disqualify them from being elected? And that has been one of the more unfortunate changes in politics over the last five years, is that — you know, there’s nothing that can disqualify you, and — and for Senator Scott to not even say — you know, the idea that like, yes, some of this is disqualifying — you know, to hedge it in some way and say look, I personally wouldn’t hire these guys. But — uh, it’s not my choice. The voters have the option. This is how it works. However, we are in for very difficult times.
However, I think I am a bit more positive about it. People tend to choose the best choice over time. A lot of — a lot of — uh, a lot of bad characters, a lot of bad candidates come forward, but they ultimately don’t last.
BLACKWELL: Alright. Thank you, Errol Louis and Rina Shah.
(…)
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