Conservative News Network Hires Yet Another Conservative

While CNN began with a reputation for being a liberal network, it has increasingly become the Conservative News Network since being sold by Ted Turner. While certainly not as far right as Fox, and preserving some degree of journalistic integrity, CNN has hired far more Republicans than others in the past several years. There is yet another addition–Erick Erickson of Red State.

Steve Benen finds this pick to be far worse than all the other conservatives which CNN has hired in recent years:

This is easily the worst decision CNN has ever made. That the network probably reviewed Erickson’s work before hiring him, and offered him a job anyway, suggests CNN’s professional standards for what constitutes “an important voice” have all but disappeared.

The point here isn’t that it’s disappointing to see CNN hire yet another conservative voice, adding to its already-large stable of conservative voices. To be sure, it’s frustrating, but it’s nothing new.

The problem here is with Erickson himself.

For example, it wasn’t long ago when Erickson explained his belief on why the left has a stronger online presence than the right. He attributed it to an asymmetry in free time, since conservatives “have families because we don’t abort our kids, and we have jobs because we believe in capitalism.”

This is the same Erickson who recently called retiring Supreme Court Justice David Souter a “goat f–king child molester,” referred to two sitting U.S. senators as “healthcare suicide bombers,” praised protesters for “tell[ing] Nancy Pelosi and the Congress to send Obama to a death panel” (he later backpedaled on that one), and described President Obama’s Nobel Prize as “an affirmative action quota.”

And perhaps my personal favorite was the time, just last year, when Erickson was angry about new environmental regulations relating to dishwasher detergent. He told his readers, “At what point do the people tell the politicians to go to hell? At what point do they get off the couch, march down to their state legislator’s house, pull him outside, and beat him to a bloody pulp for being an idiot?”

There was a point when major professional outlets would look at a voice like this as an “extremist,” to be shut out of the mainstream of America’s civil discourse. CNN, however, considers this record of radical rhetoric, and concludes it should pay him to offer on-air political commentary.

CNN will no doubt hear about blog posts like this one, and assume that liberals are angry because the network hired a right-wing blogger. But that’s not it — there are thoughtful, intelligent conservative bloggers in the country, who occasionally have insightful things to say. The problem here is that Erick Erickson isn’t one of them.

20 Comments

  1. 1
    Rebecca (Becky) York says:

    Conservative News Network Hires Yet Another Conservative http://bit.ly/d6M3lE

  2. 2
    Journey James says:

    @rebeccay RT Conservative News Network Hires Yet Another Conservative http://bit.ly/d6M3lE The new name for @CNN #FAIL

  3. 3
    Cat says:

    RT @kimroc1 @rebeccay RT Conservative News Network Hires Yet Another Conservative http://bit.ly/d6M3lE The new name for @CNN #FAIL

  4. 4
    Journey James says:

    RT @TopsyRT: Conservative News Network Hires Yet Another Conservative http://bit.ly/cJHAou Why not just give Lou Dobbs his job back? @CNN

  5. 5
    Vernice Bennett says:

    RT @rebeccay: Here's a blog abt CNN and why we are banning it: http://bit.ly/d6M3lE

  6. 6
    Mari DiMarco-Temkin says:

    Crazy to hire this not case…Jeepers.RT @rebeccay: Here's a blog abt CNN and why we are banning it: http://bit.ly/d6M3lE

  7. 7
    Kimberly Davis says:

    RT @kimroc1: RT @TopsyRT: Conservative News Network Hires Yet Another Conservative http://bit.ly/cJHAou Why not just give Lou Dobbs his job back? @CNN

  8. 8
    Phillygirl1441 says:

    RT @rebeccay Here's a blog abt CNN and why we are banning it: http://bit.ly/d6M3lE

  9. 9
    Joseph J. Santorsa says:

    RT @sweetcop95: RT @rebeccay: Here's a blog abt CNN and why we are banning it: http://bit.ly/d6M3lE #p2

  10. 10
    Mary Smith says:

    » Conservative News Network Hires Yet Another Conservative Liberal Values http://bit.ly/cJHAou I have to give up on CNN, too Fox lite.

  11. 11
    Dana Winkey says:

    RT @BrwnIzOfMine: » Conservative News Network Hires Yet Another Conservative Liberal Values http://bit.ly/cJHAou I have to give up on C …

  12. 12
    Edrie Irvine says:

    RT @Marnus3: RT @sweetcop95: RT @rebeccay: Here's a blog abt CNN and why we are banning it: http://bit.ly/d6M3lE #p2

  13. 13
    Monica Lashley says:

    RT @rebeccay: Here's a blog abt CNN and why we are banning it: http://bit.ly/d6M3lE #p2 /glad I don't watch it!

  14. 14
    rorylane says:

    RT @rebeccay: Here's a blog abt CNN and why we are banning it: http://bit.ly/d6M3lE

  15. 15
    topsy_top20k_en says:

    CNN aka Conservative News Network Hires Yet Another Conservative–Erick Erickson of Red State http://bit.ly/cJHAou #p2

  16. 16
    Mary Smith says:

    RT @Marnus3: RT @sweetcop95: RT @rebeccay: Here's a blog abt CNN and why we are banning it: http://bit.ly/d6M3lE #p2

  17. 17
    Arthur says:

    RT @TopsyRT: Conservative News Network Hires Yet Another Conservative http://bit.ly/cJHAou It's about ratings & the $

  18. 18
    brian j conway says:

    Might the reason for the hiring be this? CNN looked around and saw that the FOX share of the cable market exceeds both the CNN and MSNBC shares combined.

    Brian Conway
    Valatie, N. Y.

  19. 19
    Ron Chusid says:

    Perhaps but if so I don’t think it will help them. MSNBC did terribly during the years in which they tried to imitate Fox. While still not doing the greatest, they are doing much better with counter-programming. After all, if people want to watch Fox they will watch Fox as opposed to watching other cable networks even when they imitate Fox.

  20. 20
    James Chase says:

    People who look for their news from these opinion pieces really amaze me. We have a massive group in our democracy who look for the truth they “know” and just want to hear someone reassure them while bashing everyone else. All of these issues are so complicated and everyone’s viewpoints are valid. These people really do great harm to our democracy and yet people can’t get enough of it!
    Fox profits grew 19% last year. That is astounding considering what they offer (in my opinion)!

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