As a right-wing “news” outlet whose first duty is to advance conservative narratives over reporting the news, CNSNews.com has been pushing negative coverage of newly elected Democratic Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and trying to find ways to attack her. For instance, a Dec. 4 column by the Heartland Institute’s Justin Haskins insisted that Ocasio-Cortez’s claim that insurance companies effectively act as “death panels” by not covering certain conditions by insisting 1) they don’t do that, and 2) a person can easily find an insurance company that does. (Haskins seems unaware that many Americans are locked into an employer’s insurance and can’t shop around.)
Of course, CNS is not above taking cheap shots at Ocasio-Cortez. For instance, an anonymously written Jan. 14 post highlighted Ocasio-Cortez’s struggle to find an affordable place to live in Washington while she’s serving in Congress, snarkily adding that she “is now being paid a salary of $174,000 as a member of Congress.” CNS didn’t say when her first paycheck would arrive –presumably after she started her job, not before — or mention that housing in Washington is notoriously expensive (which CNS should know, given that it’s headquartered in the D.C. metro area).
(A couple days later, CNS disdainfully noted that Ocasio-Cortez had been named to the House Financial Services Committee. But as CNS itself acknowledged way back in July when it complained she was “tweeting about income equality — obliquely,” she has a degree in economics.)
On Jan. 15, Melanie Arter gave space to a right-wing comedian who complained he can’t make unfunny jokes about liberals like Ocasio-Cortez:
During an appearance on Fox News’ “Greg Gutfield” show, comedian Jimmy Failla complained that society has taken political correctness too far.
For instance, he joked, “We’ve become so obsessed with words, you can’t even call a moron, a moron anymore. You have to call them Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, and moron was quicker. Moron was quicker.”
Arter didn’t explain why this was funny.