During a softball interview with Democratic Senator and potential 2020 presidential candidate Elizabeth Warren on Tuesday, MSNBC anchor Andrea Mitchell avoided asking a single question about the left-wing lawmaker’s radical proposal to impose stringent government regulations on any business with over one billion dollars in revenue.
Instead, Mitchell helped promote Warren’s latest legislative push “to end lobbying as we know it and to get corporations out of rule-making, what she calls an anti-corruption initiative.” The host teed up the Massachusetts Senator to bash the Trump administration on the issue: “Now he [President Trump] promised to drain the swamp, memorably, in the campaign. You came out with an initiative today against lobbyists, against government rule-making. Why? Why is it so critical to you now?”
Warren predictably responded:
Though I would like to say this is a problem that only is with Donald Trump, it wouldn’t be true. This is a problem that’s been going on now for decades....So here’s how I see it right now, the Trump administration is the most corrupt administration in living memory. This is the moment when people across this country see what’s happening. They see Donald Trump himself – what happens? Are the Saudis shoveling money into his pocket every time they take a floor at the Trump hotel? We don’t know. We know he didn’t divest himself of these businesses.
The Democrat also attacked officials “throughout his administration,” pointing, in part, to the Environmental Protection Agency: “The head of EPA, right? One has to go out on a corruption scandal. The new one who comes in is a coal lobbyist, that’s where he spent his whole life.”
Mitchell eagerly bolstered the argument: “Well, they have new rule-making today that Jerry Brown says is an outrage against humanity, changing – giving states the role, rather than the federal government, over pollution, when pollution doesn’t observe state boundaries.” Warren replied: “That’s exactly right.”
The anchor fretted that it would be difficult for Warren to get the legislation passed:
Now, what David Wassermann from the Cook Political Report is projecting is that it would take a victory of some 60 seats of a switch on the House side to offset what he anticipates will be a continued Republican control on the Senate side, or a much rougher patch on the Senate side, and really most likely gridlock. How do you get legislation like yours to go anywhere given what’s happening in this Congress?
Though Mitchell did see a campaign advantage for Warren in two years: “Could this be a 2020 issue for you if you choose to run?” While Warren claimed that she was focused on “running for Senate in Massachusetts, 2018," Mitchell hopefully followed up: “You’re not ruling it out?”
Something else that could be a “2020 issue” for Warren might be the fact that just days ago she proposed another bill that would essentially nationalize all large corporations in the United States that bring in one billion dollars of revenue or more. The legislation, given the Orwellian name of the Accountable Capitalism Act, would actually be the antithesis of capitalism. Mitchell wasn’t interested in the topic at all.
If Mitchell’s refusal to challenge Warren is any indication, viewers cannot rely on the liberal media to hold possible Democratic contenders accountable for their extreme policy positions leading up to the 2020 campaign.
Here is a transcript of Mitchell’s questions to Warren during the August 21 exchange:
12:28 PM ET
ANDREA MITCHELL: And welcome back. We are joined now by Democratic Senator Elizabeth Warren, a member of the Armed Services Committee and the Banking Committee, who has outlined new proposals today to end lobbying as we know it and to get corporations out of rule-making, what she calls an anti-corruption initiative. Senator, welcome.
I wanted to ask you first, because you’re straight from a Banking Committee hearing on Russia and sanctions, and we’ve just heard from Brad Smith, the president of Microsoft that they have caught Russia in the act, Russian intelligence in the act of hacking two conservative Republican think tanks who were going up against Putin and calling for more sanctions.
(...)
MITCHELL: So you don’t think they're [the Trump administration] really taking the hammer to Putin?
(...)
MITCHELL: And Reuters interviewed the president yesterday, Jeff Mason and colleagues, and said that he again neglected to blame Russia for the hacking. That he said, “well, if it was Russia.”
(...)
MITCHELL: Now, the president also told Reuters that he could run the Mueller investigation if he wanted to, he could take it over. Is the Senate – are the Senate Republicans, they’re in the majority, are they going to do anything to stop this from happening?
(...)
MITCHELL: Now he promised to drain the swamp, memorably, in the campaign. You came out with an initiative today against lobbyists, against government rule-making. Why? Why is it so critical to you now?
SEN. ELIZABETH WARREN [D-MA]: Look, this is a problem. Though I would like to say this is a problem that only is with Donald Trump, it wouldn’t be true. This is a problem that’s been going on now for decades. As corporations, billionaires, those who have money, the well-connected and the wealthy, keep making more and more of their influence felt in Washington, and tilt one decision after another decision after another decision.
So here’s how I see it right now, the Trump administration is the most corrupt administration in living memory. This is the moment when people across this country see what’s happening. They see Donald Trump himself – what happens? Are the Saudis shoveling money into his pocket every time they take a floor at the Trump hotel? We don’t know. We know he didn’t divest himself of these businesses. And throughout his administration. Betsy Devos heads up the Education Department. What did she do? She used to invest in a lot of for-profit educational outfits, now she maintains three secret family trusts. The head of EPA, right? One has to go out on a corruption scandal. The new one who comes in is a coal lobbyist, that’s where he spent his whole life.
MITCHELL: Well, they have new rule-making today that Jerry Brown says is an outrage against humanity, changing – giving states the role, rather than the federal government, over pollution, when pollution doesn’t observe state boundaries.
WARREN: That’s exactly right. But it’s what the powerful industry wants, because they know regulation will be less effective, then they can go to the state governments, they can lobby the state governments, they make their influence felt there.
(...)
MITCHELL: Now, what David Wassermann from the Cook Political Report is projecting is that it would take a victory of some 60 seats of a switch on the House side to offset what he anticipates will be a continued Republican control on the Senate side, or a much rougher patch on the Senate side, and really most likely gridlock. How do you get legislation like yours to go anywhere given what’s happening in this Congress?
(...)
MITCHELL: Could this be a 2020 issue for you if you choose to run?
WARREN: I am running for Senate in Massachusetts, 2018. We’ve got 77 days to go. I am taking nothing for granted. I just had my 34th town hall.
MITCHELL: You’re not ruling it out?
WARREN: What I'm doing is focusing where we need to focus.
(...)
MITCHELL: Elizabeth Warren. Thank you so much, Senator, thanks for being with us today.
WARREN: You bet, it’s good to see you.
MITCHELL: Good to see you.
WARREN: Take care.
MITCHELL: Thank you.
