CNN spends millions hiring countless “analysts” who invariably come to the same conclusion: Republicans are racists. It seems like CNN could save a ton of money by hiring just one or two “analysts” whose sole job is to call Republicans “racists” 24/7, but who am I to tell CNN how to run their business.
John Harwood, the newest analyst to join CNN, is blaming the Republican opposition’s failure to call modern witnesses in the president’s impeachment trial on, you guessed it, the “old Confederacy.” In a tweet, Harwood wrote that “the old Confederacy is the bulwark of the 21st century Republican Party.” Since Harwood is going to blame every 21st century problem on the “old Confederacy,” CNN should probably find a more sophisticated analyst.
Harwood’s “analysis” isn’t just slothful in its conclusions — it’s slothful in its math, as several people on Twitter have pointed out. Here’s an example:
Considering that only 11 states seceded from the Union, it would be astonishing if they now had more than 22 senators. How did you count 13?
Please, please tell me, @JohnJHarwoodthat you don’t think your native Kentucky was a Confederate state. https://t.co/VYSsBa6UOS
— Dan McLaughlin (@baseballcrank) February 1, 2020
That 11×2 = 25 and that 25 is more than half of 51 are just two of the compelling things I learned from this tweet. https://t.co/4DnCopH7b1
— Charles CW Cooke (@charlescwcooke) February 1, 2020
Others were willing to overlook the mathematics but could not overcome the absurdity of blaming anything on the “old Confederacy,” much less anything to do with the Republican Party that had helped defeat the Confederacy almost 155 years ago.
I can’t imagine how historically oblivious you have to be to think that the most pro-Trump states, like Ohio, Pennsylvania, and West Virginia, were part of the Confederacy.
— Andrew Follett (@AndrewCFollett) February 1, 2020
You hit the nail on the head…voting against hearing witnesses in an impeachment trial clearly means they intend to bring back slavery.
It goes without saying that if you suffer from TDS and take drugs, then this is the case.
— Tim Young (@TimRunsHisMouth) February 1, 2020
Conn Carroll, communications director for Sen. Mike Lee (R-UT), used the opportunity to explain to CNN why it’s so hard to get Sen. Lee on the network.
Hey, so if you are @cnn producer or booker and you want to know why I can’t get my boss to join your station, here’s why. https://t.co/xekPJPwJFc
— Conn Carroll (@conncarroll) February 1, 2020
Now, it appears that John Harwood has deleted his tweet. But if CNN is going to delete every bad analysis, the network has nothing to lose.