If CNN’s S.E. Cupp was male, would a male opponent have referred to her as “my dear?” It’s tough to imagine. But this is what happened on Sunday’s “Reliable Sources.”
The program pitted her against James Zogby, president of the Arab American Institute.
Cupp’s main point? The media is too fair with Hamas when reporting the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
“In discussing the demands that Hamas has in negotiations with Israel, most reporters omit the fact that Hamas’ stated main priority is the total destruction of Israel and the destruction of the Jews,” she said. “…I think it’s something that should be said any time you are discussing what Hamas wants. Most of the time you hear Hamas wants a cease fire, Hamas wants a Palestinian state, Hamas wants the blockade in Gaza lifted, Hamas wants its tunnels left alone.”
This is when Zogby spoke to Cupp as if she were a dumb high school cheerleader they happened to randomly find for the segment.
“I’m sorry, I would like to be polite, but that’s one of the most bizarre arguments I’ve heard,” he said, talking to down to her. “Let me say that if we adopted that line of argumentation, then every time we mention Netanyahu we’d have to include parenthetically what they believe. …There is a total claim for the entire land of Israel without Palestinians present.”
Cupp reiterated her argument. This is when Zogby responded to her gender.
“Look at the Likud charter my dear,” he said.
She soon replied, “Your condescension aside, I’m not suggesting we need to go back thousands of years. There is a desire in the media to create a balance in this story between Hamas and Israel. …the balance simply does not exist.”
At least one watcher, HotAir‘s Jazz Shaw, noticed the gender-based insult, saying, “I think this pro-Hamas guy just screwed up by calling @secupp ‘my dear.’ You won’t like her when she’s angry. #CNN.”