Meghan McCain is supposed to be the conservative voice on The View.
But being conservative doesn’t have to mean being like Donald Trump — you know, always playing the victim, creating confusion with whataboutism, and using your own “alternative facts.”
And unfortunately that’s what the host has been doing WAY too much of lately, and she finally got busted on it this week — by one of the stars of Queer Eye!
Video: Queer Eye Season 3 Trailer
During an interview segment with Democratic presidential hopeful Jay Inslee on Monday, Meghan went after an apparent pet peeve of hers: politicians talking about plans to save the world from man-made climate change.
Here’s the video of that:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2-BoRxPsudI
We’ll save you the time and some of the frustration of watching; basically it went down like this:
After saying climate change wasn’t even in her top 30 concerns when voting, she also quoted some statistics about the Green New Deal:
“It would cost $93 trillion or to every person in this room, $600,000 per each of your households. Do you think that plan is practical or have you endorsed it or do you have another option? Because when I hear that the average American is going to have to spend $600,000 for a New Green Deal you can understand how people like me don’t think that’s logical.”
Oof, where to begin?
While investment into initiatives to move away from fossil fuels is always going to be costly, it also will pay off with TONS of new jobs in growing industries. Not to mention IT WILL SAVE THE PLANET WE ALL HAVE TO LIVE ON!
Oh, and also those numbers are B.S.! We can’t even find studies that approach that high! Well, Inslee didn’t go that far. He simply told her the figures were inaccurate:
“Well, this is a lot like the death panels you heard about in Obamacare. We don’t have death panels and we don’t have $600,000 costs.”
Then Meghan came back with more talking points:
“We’re talking about $51 trillion, the elimination of planes, the elimination of cows, a railway, no planes, I guess nobody can go to Hawaii anymore. It doesn’t sound rational to me.”
Finally Inslee said with more politesse than we would have been able to muster:
“It doesn’t sound rational because those are the things that Donald Trump said. We are not going to eliminate cars. We are not going to eliminate trains. We’re going to have what I have in my driveway today which is a blue GM Bolt made in Michigan with American workers.”
The important point about Meghan’s presentation?
She just spewed talking points at the man. She didn’t listen to what he had to say. She wasn’t interested in learning, she was interested in furthering her message.
That’s what Bobby Berk couldn’t let her get away with. He took to Twitter after watching the exchange to write:
Today, u @MeghanMcCain were everything wrong w/journalism. Presented w/the fact that u were quoting incorrect data abt the #GreenNewDeal u continued 2 say it. Why perpetuate the #fakenews problem we have in this country? Maybe it’s time 2 take your lies2 @FoxNews & leave @TheView
https://twitter.com/bobbyberk/status/1102647375800221696
She responded:
“Hey Bobby –
1. I am NOT a journalist, it makes me sad and scared so many people confuse this. I am a conservative political commentator – I represent the most conservative point of view in the country, which is my job every day on The View….
2. I am and have been a big fan of queer eye and hope you’re okay with me continuing to be a fan of the show.
3. Instead of getting in a snark fight on twitter, I welcome any opportunity to discuss with you why I think the green new deal is illogical and dangerous in person. xo”
Hey Bobby –
1. I am NOT a journalist, it makes me sad and scared so many people confuse this. I am a conservative political commentator – I represent the most conservative point of view in the country, which is my job every day on The View…. https://t.co/2q1SKK9qO1
— Meghan McCain (@MeghanMcCain) March 6, 2019
2. I am and have been a big fan of queer eye and hope you're okay with me continuing to be a fan of the show.
3. Instead of getting in a snark fight on twitter, I welcome any opportunity to discuss with you why I think the green new deal is illogical and dangerous in person. xo https://t.co/2q1SKK9qO1
— Meghan McCain (@MeghanMcCain) March 6, 2019
Not a journalist? That’s your argument?? You are on TV every day giving people information. You may not be a journalist, but your job is one aspect of their theirs, and that’s communicating information to the masses.
No one is asking you to dig up stories, to beat the streets and find sources — but you have an obligation to do some homework about whatever it is you’re speaking on.
And Bobby wasn’t OK with her defense of simply repping a “point of view.” He shot back:
“Blatant lies are not a point of view honey! There are just a way to rile the base just like Trump does. I used to have a lot of respect for you and not lump you on with the likes of him, but you were literally repeating his lies and are becoming no better”
https://twitter.com/bobbyberk/status/1103423751327268868
PREACH!
Meghan hit back by withdrawing her fandom, saying:
“That is not what I was doing, I was pointing out the financial implications an average American would feel if the green new deal were enacted – but clearly I won’t be changing your mind. I also guess I won’t be watching queer eye anymore. 🙁 Have a nice day.”
That is not what I was doing, I was pointing out the financial implications an average American would feel if the green new deal were enacted – but clearly I won't be changing your mind. I also guess I won't be watching queer eye anymore. 🙁 Have a nice day. https://t.co/VYXNmguMQu
— Meghan McCain (@MeghanMcCain) March 6, 2019
Again, Meghan was absolutely not doing that.
At best she is displaying a fundamental lack of understanding of economics, at worst she’s being intellectually dishonest.
Here’s a clear example of what she’s doing: many of the costs of proposed programs, like universal health care, are presented by their opponents simply by their cost, as if it’s going to cost that much MORE, when in fact that cost projection is smaller than that of NOT implementing it.
For instance, a study found one Democratic medicare for all plan would cost Americans $7.35 trillion a year by 2031! That sounds terribly expensive! Until you also point out under our current healthcare system the cost will by $7.61 trillion. See, the study actually found the plan would save billions of dollars, but if you twist the info just the right way… and on TV to millions of viewers?
Not hard to do the math on that…
https://giphy.com/gifs/ohdY5OaQmUmVW
And saying over and over “the average American will have to pay X” implies someone who is in the middle can expect that cost. Even if those numbers were anywhere near accurate, the cost to the “average” (median) American wouldn’t come close to the “average” (mean) cost.
The thing about the top 1% having more wealth than the bottom 90% means they are obviously going to have to pay in way, WAY more. For those who think everyone should pay the same, well — tough. The world can’t live that way.
Literally. The world cannot live without fixing climate change.
[Image via Adriana M. Barraza/WENN/The View/YouTube.]
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