CNN host Chris Cuomo was wearing his emotions on his sleeve during his Closing Argument at the end of Thursday’s edition of Cuomo Prime Time. He was raging against Republicans for allegedly not caring about the apparent voter fraud in North Carolina and allegedly trying to “subvert” the will of voters in Wisconsin and Michigan.
Earlier in his show, Cuomo asserted that he was given his prime-time program as part of CNN’s “mandate” to put “facts first.” But he started his closing segment with lies. He suggested the only reason Republicans were interested in voter fraud was that they were using it to stoke fear of the “brown menace.”
“The studies, the legal actions, they all reflect the reality that voter fraud is statistically insignificant,” he declared. “Trump doubles down. Uses your money to form a commission to look into these hollow allegations and is forced to shut it down because it was a sham.” But that was false too. The voter fraud commission was set up to investigate all forms of voter fraud and it was shut down because states refused to turn over the requested data.
Cuomo then used it to springboard into the apparent voter fraud case in North Carolina (click “expand” to read):
Then what happens? North Carolina's 9th District, the congressional race, still hasn't been certified. Why? Allegations supported by significant proof that someone connected and hired by the Republican candidate potentially rigged a number of absentee ballots.
(…)
The Democrat has now withdrawn his concession in the race because of these allegations and the facts that have come out. The state, as I said, hasn't certified the election. You heard me talk earlier to a state senator, they’re trying to figure out what happened. Then they're going to try to figure out what to do about it.
“And all those Trump supporters who were supposed to be so determined to expose fraud, crickets. Where are you now,” he shouted. “The only response from the GOP locally so far has been to call for voter ID as a remedy. How would that help keep someone from harvesting absentee ballots?”
He continued to lecture: “Come on! The hypocrisy! The Greek gave us the word ‘hypocrisy’. It comes from the word ‘to pretend’. And this is pretending to care. If you care about keeping elections fair, you would call this out.” Again, more lies. The state senator he talked with was a Republican and he was treating the case very seriously and was willing to investigate what was going on.
While Cuomo was touting the state for not certifying the election, he failed to mention that the state’s election committee (which was half-Republican, half-Democrat, with an independent tie-breaker) was unanimous in that action.
And during Thursday’s CBS Evening News, they spoke with state GOP Executive Director Dallas Woodhouse, who told them: “All Republicans across the state are horrified by this. This is against everything that our activists stand for.”
Then Cuomo turned his ire to the Republican legislatures in Minnesota and Wisconsin over allegations they were trying to steal power from the incoming Democratic governors. Claiming the right a trying to “nullify the people's will”, he suggested, “now we see, again Republicans, trying rush in laws to keep the people (…) from getting the change that they voted for.”
“Ignoring the fraud in an election is one thing. But manifestly and intentionally trying to subvert the loft will of the people to reinforce what they elected, that is beneath contempt,” he proclaimed. “You expose yourselves as frauds.”
As he was wrapping up his program, Cuomo’s discontent for Republicans burned bright. “And given all the barriers to entry and the toxicity in our political culture that is already creating such disaffection, you doing this is the worst. (…) Shame on you,” he spat. He then warned: “We will call it out. We will stay on it to make sure it doesn't happen if the people have anything to say about it. Because that is the right thing to do and what you are doing is wrong.”
The transcript is below, click "expand" to read:
CNN’s Cuomo Prime Time
December 6, 2018
9:55:53 p.m. EasternCHRIS CUOMO: For months the President and his echoes on the right did their damnedest to convince you of the lie that millions voted illegally in the 2016 election. “That's why he lost the popular vote and it's one more reason that you must condemn the brown menace,” as they have become, “Latinos, who enter the country illegally. They're the ones who perpetrated the fraud in California.”
None of it was true. It was as ugly as it was obvious. The studies, the legal actions, they all reflect the reality that voter fraud is statistically insignificant. People who aren't supposed to vote who do. Trump doubles down. Uses your money to form a commission to look into these hollow allegations and is forced to shut it down because it was a sham.
Then what happens? North Carolina's 9th District, the congressional race, still hasn't been certified. Why? Allegations supported by significant proof that someone connected and hired by the Republican candidate potentially rigged a number of absentee ballots.
(…)
The Democrat has now withdrawn his concession in the race because of these allegations and the facts that have come out. The state, as I said, hasn't certified the election. You heard me talk earlier to a state senator, they’re trying to figure out what happened. Then they're going to try to figure out what to do about it.
And all those Trump supporters who were supposed to be so determined to expose fraud, crickets. Where are you now? Is it that fraud only matters when you can play it to your advantage? What about all the President's high-minded rhetoric about the sanctity of the process? And making sure the count is right.
The only response from the GOP locally so far has been to call for voter ID as a remedy. How would that help keep someone from harvesting absentee ballots? Your solution is to create more of a burden to participation. Come on! The hypocrisy!
The Greek gave us the word “hypocrisy”. It comes from the word “to pretend”. And this is pretending to care. If you care about keeping elections fair, you would call this out. Because it's a real case of potential election fraud. Instead of selling people on a lie.
And then we see this carried through. Into another truly egregious action, another hypocrisy. These vulgar moves in Wisconsin and Michigan to nullify the people's will. We always say elections have consequences. We say it all the time on this show. People will complain, say “I don't like this administration's policies, I don't like what the president said.” Too bad. Vote someone else in.
That is a key. It's a cornerstone to what motivates turnout on election day. The ability to influence the outcome of change. It's a right, not a privilege. But now we see, again Republicans, trying rush in laws to keep the people from those two states, Michigan and Wisconsin, from getting the change that they voted for.
Imagine this. Last-minute legislative moves to limit the power of the offices they lost. And to reserve powers in the places they have a majority. They are literally codifying changes, or trying to, to directly contradict the mandates delivered in their statewide elections.
Ignoring the fraud in an election is one thing. But manifestly and intentionally trying to subvert the loft will of the people to reinforce what they elected, that is beneath contempt. The people who are doing that in Michigan and Wisconsin, you embarrass your party. You expose yourselves as frauds. And you will damage the will of people to participate.
And given all the barriers to entry and the toxicity in our political culture that is already creating such disaffection, you doing this is the worst. We see you. We see what you're doing in Michigan and Wisconsin. Shame on you. We will call it out. We will stay on it to make sure it doesn't happen if the people have anything to say about it. Because that is the right thing to do and what you are doing is wrong.
