With the Iowa caucus results so far showing Joe Biden solidly in fourth place, it’s really no surprise that his campaign wanted to cast some shade on the process. And yesterday Kate Bedingfield, the Deputy Campaign Manager and Communications Director for the Biden campaign, went on CNN and said, “We have real concerns about the integrity of the process.” She added that there were “significant concerns” which should “raise concerns for voters.” “If you have a process where you can’t be confident that the results that are being reported are reflective of the votes that people cast last night…that’s a real concern,” Bedingfield said.
Today CNN got another bite at the apple, so to speak, when Biden spokesperson Symone Sanders appeared on Brianna Keilar’s show. Keilar asked Sanders about Bedingfield’s statements and when Sanders refused to give a clear answer it quickly spiraled into an on-air battle.
Keilar: Yesterday your comms director Kate Bedingfield was raising concerns about the legitimacy of the results. Is that a concern you still have?
Sanders: Look, I stand by Kate Bedingfield’s comments and I would also underscore that the integrity of this process is very important…
Keilar: So you’re saying the results that we are currently—Symone, this is very important…
Sanders: Brianna. Brianna, if I may…
Keilar: This is important Symone and we’re running out of time…
Sanders: If you would allow me to finish…
Keilar: The results that we’re seeing—No, because you’re not answering my question.
Sanders: Brianna, what I’m saying is that the results that we have seen are partial results. We do not have all the data but we are moving forward…
Keilar: But the data that you have, are you—the data that you have, are you putting that into doubt?
And that’s just the start of this knock-down, drag-out showdown. After another testy back and forth Keilar just started talking over Sanders saying, “Do you believe the results? Do you believe the data that you’re seeing?…Do you believe the data is correct? Why can’t you say if the data is correct or incorrect?”
Eventually, Sanders stopped filibustering and Keilar put the question to her again. Sanders dodged: “Don’t try to paint this as we’re trying to say this is some kind of conspiracy theory, okay?” Keilar interrupted her again and this time asked producers to play the clip of Bedingfield’s statement about the integrity of the results.
After the clip Keilar made a point which I rarely if ever see mentioned on CNN: “For detractors of President Trump, including you, including a lot of Democrats, one of their major concerns with him is that he throws into question the legitimacy of institutions, not the least of which is the election process and that appears to be what you are currently doing now by saying—by no saying that we can trust the numbers we’re seeing.”
The left-wing of the Democratic party has been openly discussing the need to pack the Supreme Court and get rid of the electoral college. One of the losing candidates for office in 2018, Stacy Abrams, repeatedly refused to admit she had lost the election. She was celebrated for this by her fellow Democrats.
And that’s not even to mention Hillary Clinton who has offered a litany of excuses for her 2016 loss that never seems to end. It was Russian interference, James Comey, the DNC, and on and on. Hillary has literally said that Trump is an “illegitimate president.” She has also warned that Democrats could have the election “stolen” from them in 2020.
The point is that Democrats have been questioning election results both past and future and yet it rarely seems to strike the hosts at CNN that maybe the Democratic Party is questioning the legitimacy of institutions. So kudos to Keilar for at least raising the point. The point would have been even better if she’d mentioned some of these other previous examples.
Eventually, Sanders conceded, “I guess we’ll have to take the Iowa Democratic party at their word, Brianna.” But it took about six minutes of being hammered relentlessly to get her to say it. Here’s the clip (this was pulled by the Washington Free Beacon):