After almost a week of feasting off the cold bodies of nine innocent people murdered in a racist terror attack in Charleston, South Carolina, CNN primetime is right back in third place behind MSNBC.

Monday total primetime viewers: Primetime: FNC: 1.771 | CNN: 598 | MSNBC: 767 | HLN: 231

Like every tragedy that involves dead innocents, the left-wing CNN went on a rampage to exploit the tragedy into a political weapon against the GOP. Whether it is dead school children, dead train passengers, or dead parishioners, this is CNN’s playbook — even though it’s done almost nothing to improve their dismal ratings.

CNN beats MSNBC in the demo, but that’s an inside-inside number about advertising rates. Total viewers equals impact, and CNN has less of an impact during the all-important primetime hours than — lol — MSNBC. Neither CNN nor MSNBC have anywhere near the viewership to stay afloat only with ad revenue. Without carriage rates from bundled cable, CNN would be off the air faster than My Mother the Car.

Also, CNN and MSNBC are in a tug-of-war over the same pool of left-wing viewers. As CNN’s viewers dip, MSNBC’s viewers increase, and so on.

Fox News, as usual, beats both MSNBC and CNN combined.

As is usually the case, CNN received a temporary bump in ratings at the height of its left-wing hate frenzy last week. This is part of the reason CNN regularly does everything in its power to foment division, riots, and violence. In order to eke out a Pyrrhic victory over sinking MSNBC, CNN chief Jeff Zucker desperately needs victims (preferably black), villains (preferably White, always Christian and conservative), set against a backdrop of burnt out black neighborhoods.

Hate is exhausting, as are the serial-nitwit antics of dim bulbs like Don Lemon and Chris Cuomo. CNN knows this but aiding Obama’s Cloward-Piven strategy is more important than growing viewership.

Follow John Nolte on Twitter @NolteNC