CNN's Chris Cuomo: Our Job's to Defend These Anti-Gun 'Kids' and Their 'Momentum'

February 23rd, 2018 3:40 PM

Sometimes Chris Cuomo and Chris Matthews sound alike. Back in 2009, Matthews said it was his job to make the Obama presidency succeed. In 2018, Chris Cuomo is saying CNN's job is to "call out" people who challenge the Florida high-school kids pushing for gun control and against the "blood money" of the National Rifle Association. It's CNN's job to prevent conservatives from taking "momentum out of these kids' efforts." 

The "#Never Again Kids" are a protected class of citizens, to be protected and promoted on all occasions by these "Facts First" professionals. 

DAVID GREGORY: That's a longer-term strategy for change that we just haven't seen yet. You know, we've seen billionaires, you know, like Mike Bloomberg in New York saying that he'll go toe to toe with the NRA and spend in election cycles. We just haven't seen it have the kind of impact. Now this is a new start with a kind of a -- you know, a new group of activists who might have some impact.

CHRIS CUOMO: Now, look, I like that point, actually. Because, you know, we are spending time doing what we should, which is calling out people who are attacking these kids. And there is a lot of B.S. going on to try to take the momentum out of these kids' efforts.

And it's not just about them. Right? Ninety-seven percent of people polled said they want something done to make this different. I've never even heard of a number that high on a policy level. And this is on background checks. Right? That's an important question. It's not on gun control; it's not on an assault weapons ban. It's on background checks.

But his point is right: The NRA does kill you with money. There's no question about it. But they don't lead the league in donations. They lead the league in getting people out to go out to politicians and say, "John, you do what you do what you feel to do, but I promise you I will beat you in your next primary if you don't vote the way I want." If people who care about this vote on it, that will change things faster than anything else.

What you had here was a panel of liberals wondering how liberal goals can be accomplished. There was no one on the set at that moment who would take exception to the idea that CNN should, as a policy, attack any conservative who challenges these teenagers and the "momentum" of their wild-eyed speeches, especially when they go on CNN and call gun-rights advocates "child murderers" or compare Sen. Marco Rubio to the school shooter.