September 30, 2019 CNN is under fire, and deservedly so, for this short segment on a group of moderate House Democrats who shifted their position from no to yes on an impeachment inquiry of President Donald Trump. “These five freshman congresswomen changed history by becoming unlikely leaders on impeachment,” runs the headline.
The group in question are seven first-time representatives, all of whom have national security and/or military bona fides, and who explained their decision in a collective opinion piece published by The Washington Post.
“We have devoted our lives to the service and security of our country, and throughout our careers, we have sworn oaths to defend the Constitution of the United States many times over. Now, we join as a unified group to uphold that oath as we enter uncharted waters and face unprecedented allegations against President Trump,” they write. They detail their thinking which boils down to this: “The president of the United States may have used his position to pressure a foreign country into investigating a political opponent, and he sought to use U.S. taxpayer dollars as leverage to do it.”
It was signed by Reps. Gil Cisneros of California, Jason Crow of Colorado, Chrissy Houlahan of Pennsylvania, Elaine Luria of Virginia, Mikie Sherrill of New Jersey, Elissa Slotkin of Michigan, and Abigail Spanberger of Virginia.
The CNN segment focuses only on the five women, who are true and legitimate “badasses,” and who have all served the country in extraordinary ways. And, they are continuing to do so in their conservative-leaning swing districts. This fact is truly unimpeachable.
But the story was not merely an inspiring one of female friendship navigating a strange new world — parts of which are terrific.
It also frames them as surprise saviors of the republic, erasing the many people who have been far ahead of them on this issue, not to mention their two male colleagues who are taking a similar political risk.
Things truly fell apart for me around the three-minute mark, when journalist Dana Bash asked if the group of lawmakers should be considered “the anti-squad.”
What was clearly implied was that they were civilized antidotes to four other first-time members—Reps. Ilhan Omar of Minnesota, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York, Rashida Tlaib of Michigan, and Ayanna Pressley of Massachusetts—all women of color who have been loudly calling for the President to be held accountable on a number of fronts.
And all of whom have been the subject of vicious and racist attacks from the president himself.
The comments on the segment were unsparing.
“This is truly unacceptable. Give the credit to @RepAlGreen for being the first to seek articles of impeachment & doing so repeatedly, & @RepRashida & @RepMaxineWaters for boldly demanding impeachment early & fearlessly facing down Trump's brutal taunting & insults in response,” tweeted Sherrilyn Ifill , the President & Director-Counsel of the NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund.
“This piece talks about how supporting impeachment puts their seats at risk. Meanwhile, the women of color who have been leading the way on this are getting DEATH threats, left and right. I wish I were numb enough not to be frustrated by this totally predictable mess," tweeted activist, educator, writer, and Pod Save The People co-host Brittany Packnett.
To make matters worse, the women profiled appeared to take the bait.
“None of us is ever going to get in a Twitter war with anyone else,” Slotkin told CNN, in response to “the squad” question. “If we have a concern with someone, we’re going to go right up and talk to them about it and we’re not going to add unhelpful rhetoric to an already bad tone coming out of Washington.”
“I don’t care who has the headlines,” Spanberger said. “I care about the legislation that we prioritize and I don’t think any of us want to be the loudest voice in the room. I just want to be one of the most effective.”
Ouch.
Politics is a tough business, and everyone needs to speak to their voter base. I'd like to believe that there is some six-dimensional chess playing going on behind the scenes, and this is political theater. I'd like to believe that everyone is in on the joke.
That said, the optics of this entire episode is unfortunate.
The best thing I can say is that it was a missed opportunity to share the credit on an issue of vital national interest and to help pull fellow Congressional newcomers out from under the wheels of a very dangerous bus. Right now, it feels like politics as usual.
Ellen.McGirt@fortune.com
@ellmcgirt
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