Think Progress Hillary Shill Upset That Hillary Not On Sunday Talk Shows…No, Make That Upset That *Other Women* Not On Sunday Talk Shows…(Because Hillary Might Actually Be Forced To Answer Direct Questions About Pesky Issues She Is Working To Avoid And We Can’t Have That!)
[guest post by Dana]
There was an amusing twitter exchange this morning between Think Progress legal brain, Judd Legum (whom I have previously written about), and CNN’s Jake Tapper:
Featured guests on big 5 Sunday shows today (ABC, NBC, CBS, Fox, CNN):
11 Men
1 Woman
— Judd Legum (@JuddLegum) July 5, 2015
@JuddLegum we had two presidential candidates on. The woman running for the Democratic nomination hasn't sat down to do one Sunday show yet.
— Jake Tapper (@jaketapper) July 5, 2015
@jaketapper If/when Hillary does your show, that won't solve the problem
— Judd Legum (@JuddLegum) July 5, 2015
@JuddLegum c) reducing Bernie Sanders as a guest to "just another white male" reinforces that think progress just a pro Clinton organization
— Jake Tapper (@jaketapper) July 5, 2015
@jaketapper when did I say that? This is absurd
— Judd Legum (@JuddLegum) July 5, 2015
@JuddLegum he was one of my two guests today and you are classifying him as just another white male
— Jake Tapper (@jaketapper) July 5, 2015
@jaketapper You somehow turned that into an argument specifically against Bernie Sanders which I think you know is ridiculous
— Judd Legum (@JuddLegum) July 5, 2015
@JuddLegum you brought up the guests on the Sunday shows today and gender diversity – the guests on SOTU are running for president
— Jake Tapper (@jaketapper) July 5, 2015
@jaketapper congrats! Do you think Sunday Shows should make an effort to book more women as featured guests? Or is there no issue at all?
— Judd Legum (@JuddLegum) July 5, 2015
@JuddLegum I think that your diversity counts would be impacted if your chosen candidate Hillary Clinton did more interviews
— Jake Tapper (@jaketapper) July 5, 2015
@jaketapper My only point is that the Sunday Shows should consider booking more women as featured guests. Sorry if that offends you
— Judd Legum (@JuddLegum) July 5, 2015
@JuddLegum I think pretending as though the presidential field isn't the issue here versus guests is dishonest
— Jake Tapper (@jaketapper) July 5, 2015
@jaketapper I think pretending this is only an issue during presidential election years is dishonest or intellectually lazy
— Judd Legum (@JuddLegum) July 5, 2015
So, what was Legum’s girl, Hillary, up to? Well, she was making sure no solid reporters worth their mettle confronted her with any substantive questions about any number of current scandals involving her – unless of course, they were about ice cream:
Nothing says freedom on Independence Day like corralling reporters with a rope to keep them away from Hillary Clinton as she marches in a July 4th parade.
Clinton’s advance team used a rope to separate the press from the Democratic presidential candidate as she walked the parade route, at times dragging the cranky reporters down the road.
The decision to lasso the media was a reminder of Clinton’s fraught relationship with the press. Pictures of the reporter-roping took on a life of their own on social media and overshadowed what was supposed to be a news-less holiday photo-op in the early primary state.
Republican candidates marched in 4th of July parades “without obstruction from their staff.”
–Dana