NYT’s Haberman Cries: GOP Litmus Test on Guns, Christie Fires Back

New York Times senior political reporter Maggie Haberman kicked off ABC’s This Week’s “Powerhouse Roundtable” with some hilarious irony on Sunday morning. With a straight face, Haberman claimed that the Republican Party is conducting a “purging of anybody who goes against a certain orthodoxy.” Apparently unaware that her own party is doing the same thing by primarying the few “moderate” members it has left. 

When discussing the ongoing Senate negotiations on gun control, anchor George Stephanopoulos turned to Haberman and remarked “talk about moral courage Maggie Haberman, Chris Jacobs, Republican Congressman from New York comes out for an assault weapons ban after the Buffalo shooting he has to drop out of his race.”

Haberman whined “it’s a really remarkable moment in the Republican Party. It’s essentially a purging of anybody who goes against a certain orthodoxy.” Referring to Jacobs’s New York congressional district, she complained “there’s a gun culture, it’s not entirely surprising that it has become this litmus test issue in this direction.”

Pretending that her own party isn’t currently issuing litmus tests for the “Green New Deal” or defunding the police, Haberman wailed “it’s not entirely surprising that it has become this litmus test issue in this direction is really I think the course of the last decade and it speaks to why there’s inaction in Washington.” 

Haberman dramatically added that “we are in an extreme moment.”

Stephanopoulos later asked Chris Christie, a former New Jersey Republican governor to reply to Haberman’s comments. Proving that he’s a Democrat Party propagandist and not a news anchor, Stephanopoulos claimed “it does appear there’s been a hardening in the Republican Party around this issue.”

Christie shot back that “there’s been a hardening on both sides” and Joe Biden’s “speech this week reflected that as well on the Democratic side.”

“People in each party have decided there’s no compromise here, because there’s no one on the other side willing to compromise. And they say that about each other and point fingers both ways” Christie added before Stephanopoulos jumped back in and disputed Christie’s characterization that both sides refuse to compromise. 

“Is this really a both sides issue though?” Stephanopoulos whined. 

Christie correctly responded that Biden’s rhetoric on guns has poisoned the well: “I think both sides create the atmosphere, so when the President is saying the stuff he said in his speech the other evening this week, and the emotion that he says it with, he’s essentially trying to imply people who disagree with him are immoral.”

Walmart endorsement enabled this biased segment to be possible. They are linked. 

To read the relevant transcript click “expand”: 

ABC’s This Week
6/5/2022
Eastern 9:09 a.m. 

GEORGE STEPHANOPOULOS : After the Buffalo shooting, Chris Jacobs (Republican Congressman from New York) calls for an assault weapons ban. 

MAGGIE HABERMAN : This is a truly remarkable moment for the Republican Party. It’s essentially a purging of anybody who goes against a certain orthodoxy. Because it is in a place with gun culture it is not surprising it has been made a litmus test. It is indicative of Washington’s inaction over the past decade. The President’s current situation is very dire. D.C. has become a place where things have been frozen. Some Democrats want him to do something different in terms of how frozen things are here. It would be an acknowledgement of our extreme situation to issue an executive order that can be challenged in court. 

(…) 

STEPHANOPOULOS – Chris Christie: Maggie said we discussed guns as a vote issue. However, it seems that there has been some hardening of the Republican Party on this topic. 

CHRIS CHRISTIE: Well, I think there’s been a hardening on both sides, George, I think the President’s speech this week reflected that as well on the Democratic side. Maggie also mentioned the possibility of taking executive action. This is not only a questionable legal move, but it also shows how hardened the left has become. It’s a constant sign of the current state of the country. This is just one example, but it shows how many other issues are being dealt with. Each party has decided that there will be no compromise because no one else wants to compromise. Both sides point fingers at each other while they say the same thing about their fellow citizens. 

STEPHANOPOULOS. Is this really a two-sided issue? 

CHRISTIE (No, I think so). George, I believe both sides make the atmosphere. So when the President says the things he spoke the other night and with the emotion he expressed, it’s clear he is trying to suggest that people who don’t agree with him are morally wrong. It’s important to win when it reaches that point. If you refuse to agree, you are immoral.