Appearing twice in as many days on CNN, The Hill’s Rising co-host and former MSNBC host Krystal Ball attempted to breakthrough the CNN machine and their establishment crowd by calling out Hillary Clinton for referring to 2020 Democrat, Congresswoman, combat veteran, and Hawaii Army National Guard Major Tulsi Gabbard as a Russian asset.

Further, Ball attempted to make the argument that if droves of people were repeatedly accused of being Russian assets or ideas or campaigns were deemed Russian-backed, then nothing is. Unfortunately, CNN’s Zuckerbots weren’t interested in this point of view.

Ball appeared first on Sunday’s Reliable Sources with anti-Trump host Brian Stelter fretting that such political division was what America’s political adversaries wanted. Ball replied that the person to tell that to would be Hillary Clinton and her team (click “expand,” emphasis mine):

You mean like from the Hillary Clinton side? I mean, look, whether you're a fan of Tulsi Gabbard or not, there is zero evidence that she is some Russian plant and I think it just makes the whole Russian conspiracy thing look absurd, that it's gone this far. That you would, as Hillary Clinton, a major figure in the Democratic establishment to this day, baselessly smear an American veteran who served in the Iraq war as a medic, and still serves in the Hawaii army national guard as being groomed by Vladimir Putin, I mean, that's disgusting and absurd.....It helps our adversaries, but there's also this trend now on the left, of which I'm a part of the left, to smear anyone who dares tell the truth about, you know, ugliness that's happening in America or disagree with the sort of military industrial complex or bipartisan, pro-war consensus, to smear those people as Russian plants. It's happened to all sorts of people online and that Hillary Clinton, someone that prominent, would take it to this level a presidential candidate, I just think it's disgusting.

Fast-forwarding to Monday’s New Day, Ball reiterated that, whatever one’s views may be about Gabbard (who, it should be noted, was still an anti-Trump, Assad-apologizing, far-left, pro-impeachment, progressive), it’s more of the same from Clinton making excuses when the Russians didn’t keep her from ignoring Michigan and Wisconsin.

When co-host Alisyn Camerota asked if Gabbard’s policy positions are worth merit (which they were), Ball replied that’s not so much the point as underlining the seriousness of Clinton’s charge, which equated to treason and punishable by death for someone who believed her time as a leader of the Democratic Party has passed.

Ball was opposite CNN and New York Times contributor Wajahat Ali, who made a somewhat reasonable argument against Gabbard, but sullied his case by largely agreeing with Clinton, calling Gabbard “a useful idiot” because Russian-owned media outlets, certain Trump supporters, and racists like David Duke and Richard Spencer have said positive things about her.

Duke had also trumpeted anti-Semitic Congresswoman Ilhan Omar (D-MN), but it’s safe to say Ali won’t level those same charges against her.

Ball hit back that those who supported the Iraq War weren’t thought to be Russian stooges, so the same shouldn’t be made against Gabbard and especially because of how she’s a U.S. soldier (and thus someone who’s taken two oaths to uphold and defend the Constitution) (click “expand”):

She's ruled that out and this was — I mean, this is guilt by association. You remember when the right tried to do this to Barack Obama with Rev. Wright, et cetera, et cetera, and because you've been in a room with these people you must believe their views. They must support you and because they support you that means you're out of bounds. It's a red-baiting smear. Look, nobody has been more helpful to Russia than all the people who pushed the Iraq War, okay, to include Hillary Clinton. So does that make her a Russian plant? No, of course not. We can't run around saying oh, because this person supports you, because we don't like your views on this — which again, I'm not supporting her views, but to say she's being groomed by Russia by Russia — to accuse her of treason — an American military veteran who served in Iraq stitching up and mending our brothers and sisters who fell in that war thanks to people like Hillary Clinton, I think that's just wrong....Do not smear and dismiss her as a Russian asset. What is your evidence that Russia is grooming her? I mean, that was the specific language here. That's accusing a veteran of treason, a crime that is punishable by death.

Camerota stepped in to defend Clinton, taking the statement Clinton spokesman Nick Merrill at face value and, in response, Ball took a cheap shot insinuating George W. Bush was a war criminal who escaped prosecution. But dealing with the matter at hand, she noted that “Nick Merrill also said if the nesting doll fits,” so this entire discussion “is absurd” even if you don’t like Gabbard.

To see the relevant transcript from CNN’s Reliable Sources on October 19 and CNN’s New Day on October 20, click “expand.”

CNN’s Reliable Sources

October 20, 2019

11:17 p.m. Eastern BRIAN STELTER: There's another Clinton-related story. That's Hillary Clinton versus Tulsi Gabbard. Clinton suggesting on a podcast that Tulsi Gabbard is somehow a Russian agent or something. Now, this seems to me, Krystal, I know you support — you're a fan of Tulsi Gabbard, it seems like a disinformation situation, where the Russians want this kind of disinformation out there. KRYSTAL BALL: You mean like from the Hillary Clinton side? I mean, look, whether you're a fan of Tulsi Gabbard or not, there is zero evidence that she is some Russian plant and I think it just makes the whole Russian conspiracy thing look absurd, that it's gone this far. That you would, as Hillary Clinton, a major figure in the Democratic establishment to this day, baselessly smear an American veteran who served in the Iraq war as a medic, and still serves in the Hawaii army national guard as being groomed by Vladimir Putin, I mean, that's disgusting and absurd. STELTER: I just always think to myself, this is what foreign governments want. When there's this kind of — kind of vitriol and venom in American politics. BALL: But that's — sure, right? It helps our adversaries, but there's also this trend now on the left, of which I'm a part of the left, to smear anyone who dares tell the truth about, you know, ugliness that's happening in America or disagree with the sort of military industrial complex or bipartisan, pro-war consensus, to smear those people as Russian plants. It's happened to all sorts of people online and that Hillary Clinton, someone that prominent, would take it to this level a presidential candidate, I just think it's disgusting. MATT LEWIS: I just think the truth is that Tulsi Gabbard does advance some of the same talking points that Turkey wants to advance right now in Syria. Some of the same talking points that Russia — STELTER: Tulsi Gabbard, President Trump, they have that in common. LEWIS: — they have — they actually have a lot in common, but the other thing I would say, is I do think it's a bridge way too far for Hillary Clinton to imply that she's an asset. That — that to me was crossing the line.