For some time now, CNN has been an effective mouthpiece for the Bush administration, mostly through innuendo, flag-waving, and omission. Now, with Paula Zahn‘s help, the network’s shift ever farther right has become more overt. Media Matters for America has documented several of Zahn’s recent stunts, including this one:
In a conversation with Paul Begala, Zahn said:
But security is still going to be a huge issue in this country, and whether you like it or not, you’ve got a lot of people out there saying, if you’re Republican, we’re going to keep the country safe, you know, if you vote for a Democrat, that basically you want to be bombed.
Media Matters has also documented Zahn’s cheerleading for Rush Limbaugh. According to Media Matters’ records, in the last six weeks, Zahn has aired clips from the Rush Limbaugh Show five times, and on three of those occasions, she offered no countering argument.
Zahn has often used Republic talking points, referring to Social Security privatization as “Social Security reform,” announcing that Sojourners “admitted” it was a liberal publication, and “confronted” Al Franken with “lying” when he joked that he was writing a book about abstinence education.
The irony is that when Zahn was on Fox News, she was, more often than not, articulate and insightful–the only one on Fox who went beyond the surface of the issues being discussed.
