Look What CNN Is Outraged Over Now

Big media have had plenty to be outraged over during the tough times they have been living through in the age of Trump the Terrible. When the New York Times writes its version of the history of Western civilization, today will be at the epicenter of what the paper will describe as the dark ages. The media are outraged over the silly, like how President Trump gets two scoops of ice cream or doesn't have a pet dog in the White House. They are also incensed over what they believe is serious, that Trump colluded with Putin to steal the election from Hillary Clinton, despite there being not one iota of evidence supporting their belief. It's much like believing that Elvis and Bigfoot are regularly splashing around with the Loch Ness Monster.

There is plenty the media could be outraged about but are not. Where is the outrage over the Obama administration spying on its political opponent's presidential campaign, then, when caught, using unverified opposition research to obtain a FISA warrant to cover its misdeeds? Followed by finagling a special counsel appointment to put the blanket of investigational secrecy over its illegal and treasonous activities? No outrage. The media swallowed the Jussie Smollett hoax hook, line, and sinker, without scrutiny, investigation, or hesitation. When it turned out to be not only a hoax, but also a preplanned and rehearsed drama, much like Smollett's former TV show Empire, the media felt let down, but not outraged. Now that Smollett has been arrested for his hoax, the media will slither away from this story as fast as they can. What little indignation they have is directed toward "[t]he celebrity press and among activists and among Twitter people", as explained by CNN's own activist and Twitter person, Brian Stelter. Oh no, it wasn't us real journalists here at CNN and other major media outlets peddling the false Jussie Smollett story endlessly, and of course blaming President Trump; it was everyone else. Nice try, but that won't sell, since there is plenty of evidence, as Twitchy chronicled, of big media rushing to judgment. There are plenty more examples of media outrage over false stories that the media dutifully presented only one side of as part of their agenda journalism. These include the Duke lacrosse team; the University of Virginia rape case; "hands up, don't shoot"; and the Justice Kavanaugh accusations — all discredited, but reported as undisputed gospel truth by the lazy and corrupt media. There is no outrage over biased and malicious reporting, just the fake humility of acknowledging they were duped, again, then quickly moving on to the next outrage. This is exactly why Rush Limbaugh calls them the "drive-by media": they drive by a story, sputter fire and brimstone for a week or two, then quickly drive on after the story is debunked. This week's outrage is from CNN itself over the fact that the network hired someone who worked in the Trump administration. Here is the apparent problem. CNN says it is hiring Sarah Isgur Flores, who most recently served in the Justice Department as Jeff Sessions' spokesman, to be a political editor in the Washington bureau. Flores is a longtime Republican political operative who previously worked for Carly Fiorina, Ted Cruz and Mitt Romney. CNN employees, led by one of their gadflies, Brian Stelter, are fit to be tied, "[q]uestioning whether her sudden leap from the Trump administration to the CNN newsroom is an ethical breach." Oh, the outrage of a "revolving door" between administrations and newsrooms. And the family relationships between Democrat administrations and journalists. How about these "ethical breaches"? CNN's senior vice president of newsgathering, Virginia Moseley, is married to Thomas R. Nides, who was a deputy secretary of state in the Obama administration. ABC News reporter Matthew Jaffe is married to former Obama deputy press secretary Katie Hogan. Obama's national security adviser, Susan "Benghazi was caused by a YouTube video" Rice, is married to former ABC News executive producer Ian Cameron. David Rhodes was president of CBS News during the Obama administration, at the same time his brother Ben served as a deputy national security advisor to President Obama. During those same years, Ben Sherwood was president of ABC News while his wife Karen was deputy secretary of energy in the Obama regime. Claire Shipman is the senior national correspondent for ABC's Good Morning America. She is married to Jay Carney, Obama's former White House press secretary. Obama's director of National Intelligence, James Clapper, neck deep in spy-gate, is an official CNN correspondent whom CNN host Chris Cuomo welcomed to the "family." Laura Jarrett, daughter of Obama consigliere Valerie Jarrett, is a CNN correspondent. This pattern is not unique to Obama officials. George Stephanopoulos, co-anchor of ABC's Good Morning America, was a former senior Clinton White House adviser and member of the famous Clinton War Room. The pattern of an incestuous relationship between Democrat administrations and big media is long and robust. Many believe that the mainstream media are an arm of the Democratic Party. Or vice versa. K Street lobbyists are an arm of the U.S. Congress, or vice versa. That's the way Washington, D.C. works. Laws could be written to prevent such a revolving door, but in a free society, people are free to work where they want, but that's another discussion. For CNN to be outraged over a former Trump administration official joining its ranks is both hypocritical and silly. It does clearly illustrate where CNN comes down on news versus politics. Only in the hyper-partisan world of CNN could the hiring of a seemingly smart and accomplished Trump administration official be controversial and worthy of outrage. There are plenty of things for CNN staffers to be "up in arms" about, but this is not one of them. Too bad they slept through all the real outrages and woke up only when their far-left political bubble is poked by someone they perceive as a political enemy, once again reinforcing their reputation as fake news. Brian C Joondeph, M.D., MPS is a Denver-based physician and writer. Follow him on Facebook, LinkedIn, and Twitter. Image: Ken Lund via Flickr.