If ever someone spouts so much half-witted half-truths mixed in with outright lies that you don't know where to begin, you've been Gish Galloped. It's an informal name for a debating technique that drowns your opponent in a torrent of lies and straw-man arguments that the opponent cannot possibly answer every falsehood that's been raised. By responding you are giving the person the credibility they probably don't merit. This is most assuredly the case when Joe Johns, the CNN host attempts to portray an argument that is valid on both sides. Unfortunately CNN is looking a lot like Fox News when Lisa Boothe, the GOP-side representative babbles on armed without a single fact.
Mercifully, Maria Cardona, the Democratic guest, was allowed to speak first about this "scandal" regarding government email versus private email usage when Hillary was Secretary of State.
"I think she did the most important thing, Joe, which was essentially say that she wanted the emails to be made public and that the State Department is now reviewing that to make sure that happens as quickly as possible. I don't think she needs to say anything more until she announces her campaign. At that time, sure, she will be asked these questions and she will answer them. But what she will also do, Joe, is put forward a very aggressive and forward-looking strategy and platform as to why she should be President of the United States."
Surprisingly, she was allowed to explain herself further.
"And what's so puzzling to me, Joe, is that what people are not focusing on, is she did not do anything different than what her predecessors did at the State Department and in fact she has gone above and beyond; because when the State Department requested for all previous Secretaries of State to make their emails public or to forward them to the State Department for preservation, she so far, had been the only one to comply. When you look at the opposition, Jeb Bush had his own private email account and disclosed only 250,000 of 3,000,000 emails. Rick Perry destroyed email after seven days. Scott Walker had private email that was investigated because he was doing campaign work. ...Either we hold her to the same standard or let's dispense with the hypocrisy.
Johns ignored the entire statement by Cardona and asked,
"why just send out a tweet and nothing more? And Lisa, I'll ask you. Does this just sort of energize Republicans and people on the Right who can make the case that Hillary Clinton is not being transparent; even as she's moving closer to what could be a presidential run?"
Let the Galloping begin. Boothe oozed her slimy,measured, half-truths.
"The fact of the matter is (code for there are no facts in my brain matter) she had top secret information that she was emailing through a non-secure server. It is incredibly problematic for Hillary Clinton because this underscores the narrative that Hillary Clinton is an out of a touch elitist. The Obama Administration has been marred with a lack of transparency and Hillary Clinton is a part of that.
In thirty seconds she Gish Galloped so quickly, no one could counter that garbage that anyone should acknowledge, because it's merely Republican talking points based on nothing.
Don't worry, Boothe is armed with another "the fact of the matter is" and this time she gallops even more ridiculously.
She's an extension of an unpopular president who has a failed record in the eyes of the American people because, as we say in the 2014 elections, his policies were soundly rejected by "historic proportions."
And yadda yadda yadda ya. Cardona says this whole manufactured garbage will help her, and if this the only problem they can underscore, bring it on Republicans. She dared her to name a single voter who won't vote Hillary over this email problem and boom. Cardona knocks out Boothe in the tenth round. Facts mercifully won over GOP-mandate talking points, but I'm sure that will change as the GOP truly feels desperate in the 2016 election.
