Caving to the Left: CNN Changes Republican Editor's Title After Liberal Backlash
I’m not particularly enamored with the Washington-to-media establishment pipeline, if only because of the swampy coziness of the arrangement.
This opinion, I’ve noticed, seems more pronounced among members of the right because the general migration statistics tend to favor liberals.
Unsurprisingly, nobody on the left is particularly upset that former Bill Clinton administration adviser George Stephanopoulos is one of ABC News’ most prominent figures.
They will get themselves in a snit, however, when one of their favorite outlets deigns to bring on a Republican in a serious role.
A few weeks ago, CNN announced that former Department of Justice spokeswoman Sarah Isgur Flores would be joining their team.
“Sarah Isgur, who served as the Justice Department’s lead spokeswoman under Attorney General Jeff Sessions, is joining the network as a political editor next month, where she will coordinate political coverage for the 2020 campaign,” Politico reported last month.
“Isgur joined the administration in 2017 after overcoming resistance from the president, who balked at bringing on a political operative who had trashed him on the campaign trail. As deputy campaign manager for Carly Fiorina’s presidential campaign, and in the months after Fiorina bowed out of the race, Isgur laced into Trump.”
However, Politico noted that the fact she was joining CNN as an editor could be seen as controversial.
“While it is common for departing administration officials to join cable news networks as analysts or contributors, it is less common for them to oversee news coverage. Isgur has no experience in news but a long history as a political operative, most recently with the Trump administration and the Fiorina campaign,” Politico said. “Before that, she worked for the Republican National Committee and on Mitt Romney’s 2012 presidential campaign, according to her LinkedIn profile.”
It didn’t take long for the outrage machine to kick into high gear:
CNN’s biggest sin is it continuously hires complete frauds like Sarah Isgur Flores who was last seen in Trump administration literally pledging her loyalty to 45. CNN is not above criticism. But it’s no state TV like FOX News.
— Keith Murphy (@murphdogg29) March 4, 2019
CNN’s biggest sin is it continuously hires complete frauds like Sarah Isgur Flores who was last seen in Trump administration literally pledging her loyalty to 45. CNN is not above criticism. But it’s no state TV like FOX News.
— Keith Murphy (@murphdogg29) March 4, 2019
As much as I appreciate and admire Don Lemon and Anderson Cooper, until Sarah Isgur Flores (former Trump aide & Sessions spokesperson) is no longer CNN Political Editor for the 2020 campaign, I cannot in good conscience watch CNN. 😔.
— deborah garcia (@deborah4bp2001) March 2, 2019
@AlexWitt CNN once again biased on Bernie, You brought us Trump with your manipulations. #nhpolitics #BernieInBrooklyn. hiring unqualified conservative political hacks like Sarah Isgur Flores, sad and disappointing.
— David Holt (@DavidAHolt) March 2, 2019
So, lo and behold, CNN decided to change Isgur’s role to that of a political analyst.
The new role is something The New York Times said is “a more traditional entry-level role for government officials who pursue television careers. She will also occasionally write commentary for the network’s website.”
“Several journalists at CNN voiced concerns about the hire,” The Times reported Friday. “They questioned how a partisan spokeswoman and recent alumna of President Trump’s administration, who had stayed on at the Justice Department after Mr. Sessions’s departure in November, could be granted a senior journalistic role at the network.”
“And representatives of several presidential candidates contacted the Democratic National Committee to ask if CNN, with Ms. Isgur in a senior editing position, could be trusted to cover their campaigns fairly. CNN is set to host a Democratic primary debate in July; the network eventually issued statements saying that Ms. Isgur would not play a role in debates or candidate town halls.”
Well, those candidates don’t have to worry now (the idea that CNN wouldn’t be covering them “fairly” is a bit of a laugh, but then this is also the party staying away from Fox News for its debates.
This still didn’t quite quell political Twitter, particularly users who see the former DOJ spokeswoman as “far-right.”
CNN relegates far-right hack Sarah Isgur Flores from editor down to pundit
– @THR https://t.co/VVDntcjxaqhttps://t.co/4YnT7br8EE— Justin’s Political Corner [#JPCTumblr] (@JPCTumblr) March 8, 2019
#CNN bonehead decision to find a DT sycophant for 2020 political director, changed by backlash as Sarah Isgur Flores gets demoted https://t.co/1F9aWVFoxc #media #news
— Balkingpoints.com (@Balkingpoints) March 9, 2019
Now, here’s a question for you: Would any of this have happened if she were a Democrat?
No, becoming a political editor right after leaving government isn’t a typical move, but were she a Democrat I doubt a single story would have appeared about this in the mainstream media.
Yet, since she was once a member of the Trump administration — albeit a spokeswoman for Jeff Sessions, a man Trump didn’t particularly like — there was a hue and cry.
Liberals don’t care about whether or not she’s coming into CNN at “a more traditional entry-level role for government officials who pursue television careers.”
They care about the fact that CNN is hiring a “far-right hack,” which is anyone more conservative than David Axelrod.
The hypocrisy is rank — and yet, totally unsurprising.
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