Jake Tapper is moving from ABC to CNN, or in media terms, he’s going from left to a little bit more left. Many on Twitter, across the political spectrum, have congratulated CNN for their hire.
Frankly, the Washington Free Beacon summed it up best for me: Former Dem Spokesman Joins Third Place Network.
Tapper’s big break in media was having dated Monica Lewinsky shortly before Bill Clinton made her and her dress famous. Tapper wrote about dating her. That’ll make ya famous and “accomplished” in Washington.
That’s not to take anything away from what has made Mr. Tapper popular lately, even among conservatives. He asks Barack Obama tough questions, when most in the media won’t. That’s not nothing. He does stand out, along with Ed Henry and a few others, for not taking the White House’s line with mind-killing consistency. He makes Jay Carney earn his paycheck.
But his latest tough question to Obama came from the point of view one might expect from someone who once worked for Handgun Control, Inc. Knowing that fact helps explain what I’m about to say next.
On Wednesday, after President Obama announced he was placing VP Joe Biden atop a new gun control effort in the wake of the Sandy Hook massacre, Tapper asked: “This is not the first incident of horrific gun violence of your four years. Where have you been?”
Do you see the spin built into that question? Apparently many very smart conservatives do not.
Is this a question conservatives who favor gun rights ought to be praising? It’s a tough question, alright, but it’s tough from the left and anti-gun point of view. It spurs Obama to defend his record, from a gun control point of view, not a Second Amendment or liberty point of view.
A better question might have noted that Connecticut already has an “assault weapons” ban in place and it didn’t stop the Sandy Hook killer, so what makes the president think renewing the federal ban would do any good? Or, Mr. President, in your opinion, just what is an “assault weapon?” Or, given Biden’s poor record managing the stimulus, what makes the president think he’ll do any better on a gun control commission? Or, you once said that you were working on gun control measures “under the radar.” What were those, and do you judge them successes or failures at this point?
I could go all day like this. No one in the mainstream media, which includes both CNN and ABC, ever does.
Tapper is the Mikhail Gorbachev of journolists
I’m sorry Mr. Tapper apparently thinks ordinary folks must be ruled by the lowest-common-denominator, as far as their liberties go. Of course, when rights guaranteed by Constitutional amendment must be curtailed, but free birth control for all is a Holy Grail worthy of sacrifice and coercion, then perhaps CNN is the best place for him.
The man has a modicum of integrity. We will see how long it lasts there. At any rate, I wish him the best as he and his brethern continue their attempt to rule America for the Americans.
So what’s wrong with forcing Obama to defend his record from a gun control point of view? Obama’s a liberal, and would love to confiscate all the guns in the country, so let the light shine on that. There’s no doubt in my mind that Tapper leans left, but this is not a great example of the lefty mindset. What’s the difference than if he had simply said “Why now?”.
That was fast! Looks like ABC received their marching orders from the White House pretty quick and let him go.
– Horner in his corner, pleased with himself.
Cover the news or cover for those who refuse to cover the news? Perhaps CNN is trying to look “more balanced” by bringing on board an anchor who has earned some respect on the right, in a manner similar to the NYT taking David Brooks as a columnist to give itself a bit of a conservative varnish, rather thin and transparent at that. That would be the worst case. The best case would be Tapper significantly shifting the coverage at CNN in a way to become more competitive with Fox News and bring some new revenues.
If something like this happens, I would credit Andrew Breitbart’s breakthroughs and his legacy in the good works of his brave followers.