If I had enough energy, I might send CNN some silly putty over this:
Prominent conservative commentator and RedState.com editor Erick Erickson will join CNN as a political contributor, appearing primarily on CNN’s new show John King, USA¸ the network announced Tuesday.
Erickson, a self described “obsessive news junkie” who grew up in Dubai and rural Louisiana, will also provide perspective and commentary on other programs across the network.
“Erick’s a perfect fit for John King, USA, because not only is he an agenda-setter whose words are closely watched in Washington, but as a person who still lives in small-town America, Erick is in touch with the very people John hopes to reach,” said Sam Feist, CNN political director and vice president of Washington-based programming.
You know what, though? This is about what would I expect from a show called “John King, USA”.
Update. The more I think about it, the more I realize this would piss me off a lot more if I were a Republican. As it is, I think it’s mostly funny. But if they added Jane Hamsher, I would be livid.
Ash Can
Gee, I wonder why CNN closed the comments on their announcement…
Trinity
Well they had to find someone appropriate to fill Lou Dobb’s shoes over there.
meh
I stopped watching CNN a long time ago.
Xecky Gilchrist
I won’t send any silly putty but I’ll continue my 18+ year tradition of never watching cable news voluntarily.
r€nato
puke retch vomit
Yeah, remember when millions of Americans sent rock salt to Olympia Snowe because Erick Erickson told them to?
For fuck’s sake.
And you know what? The teabaggers and rightards will STILL call it, “Communist News Network”.
Sucking up to the right is a fool’s game, but the media keeps doing it.
Comrade javafascist
If I were a conspiracy nut I might believe that CNN is actually hugely liberal and is simply putting the most vile, looniest RWNJs they can find to discredit that movement. But then I remember that being a Republican means having no shame (See Vitter, D., et al.) Bring on the crazies!
EdTheRed
I for one welcome our new conservative overlord, and eagerly await his trenchant-as-hell analysis writ large on a grander platform:
“You know, John, before we move on, I really need to emphasize again just how big a goat-fucking child molester former Justice Souter is.”
“John, I’m not surprised you couldn’t line up any liberal commentators for this segment – they’re all busy collecting welfare checks and aborting babies.”
To paraphrase Erick Son Of Erick himself: at what point do the people tell the news networks to go to hell? At what point do they get off the couch, march down to John King’s house, pull him outside, and beat him to a bloody pulp for being an idiot?
Jerry 101
Erick Erickson grew up in Dubai?!?
How do we know he’s not a double-plus secret islamofacist terrorist pretending to be whitey in order to spread secret islamofacist terrorist propaganda?
Where’s the birth certificate?
How do we know he didn’t go to a Madrassa and get indoctrinated in Jihad?
Where do Erick Erickson’s loyalties really lie?
Come on, these are important questions. Did CNN perform a proper background check? Might as well give Osama bin Laden a show, too.
And, that name…Erick Erickson…you can’t trust someone with a name like that. Which is it? Is he Erick? Or is he the Son of Erick?!! What’s his middle name? Bin?!
Erick bin Erickson?
Sentient Puddle
I thought about it, but I just can’t be arsed to muster up the effort on this one. All I can offer up is ambivalent outrage.
El Cid
Erickson, a self described “obsessive
newsCheetos junkie”RED STATE TRIKE FARCE, ACTIVATED!
FORM OF… A CONSTIPATED WATER BUFFALO!
Max
Yet another reason why I never watch CNN. Ever. It’s unwatchable.
It pisses me off that MSNBC isn’t on Sirius radio. Only Fox and CNN. Gives me a major sad.
flounder
Sad thing is, something like this probably ups the collective intelligence of any project involving John King.
phantomist
In touch with the very people John hopes to perform a reach around?
Can’t forget the Cavuto mark.
joes527
This is beyond depressing.
I knew that CNN was the 24 hour tool network, but Erik Erikson????
We aren’t at peak wingnut yet, but they do have 2 networks.
flukebucket
Wow. Where is he currently growing up?
Loneoak
LOL, who the fuck in D.C. listens closely to Erick bin Erickson? I doubt even Michele Bachmann reads that crap.
Ash Can
John King probably threatened to quit if they hired someone smarter than him.
ruemara
Jiminy freaking christmas. Why do they validate these idjits so much?
Yossarian
You know, as bad as the sucking up to conservatives is, in some ways it’s even more annoying when the major networks do their “we’re proto-populist small-town Americans, too, you know!” routine. It’s one reason why dudes like Dylan Ratigan annoy the shit out of me even on those rare occasions when I may agree with his substantive take on something.
TV commentators of right, left, or center political persuasion– please stop being outraged on my behalf. You do not know what outrages me, you are not smart enough to understand the details of any particular outrage, and I do not go to news to get my outrage pumped up artificially. Just shut the fuck up and explain the who, what, when, where and why of a story, and I’ll decide what my goddamn emotional reaction is. On top of which, you are too insulated and wealthy to even get what truly outrageous stuff looks like, so it’s false and lame in addition to being blatantly pandering.
Breezeblock
All this will result in is making the jobs of the writers on Daily Show and Colbert even easier.
As if their jobs weren’t already incredibly simple (he said with envy).
El Cid
“Quick! What we need is an asshole right wing blogger from Macon, Georgia, so as to make Fox News viewers more happy!”
Kryptik
Don’t worry, I’m sure they’re working their hardest on hiring a liberal voice that’ll be a perfect counterbalance to Erickson. In fact, I hear that Lady Lynn Forester de Rothschild is already in contract negotiations!
Citizen_X
Erickson, Schmerickson, I can’t even get that upset over that at this point.
But when I become dictator, everyone even slightly associated with coming up with, or okaying that name for the show, is going to go to the wall.
Kryptik
@Breezeblock:
Really? I’d figure it makes their job that much harder. I mean…how hard must it be to do proper satire when the satire comes off as more down to earth than the crazy ass reality?
Legalize
CNN is circling the drain.
Anya
@Jerry 101: As someone who has cousins in Dubai, everyone goes to Madrasa there (school in Arabic), so ya, he is a sleeper cell. What is the best disguise for Jihadists, white male.
Yossarian
“We here at CNN understand what Real Americans are concerned about. This is why we have called one of our flagship shows ‘John King USA’. Here is a picture of a farm to prove we are on your side.”
cleek
the only person Erick’s in touch with is himself.
two minutes on RS should be enough to convince anyone that the guy doesn’t have a fucking clue about what anyone else thinks.
hopefully, giving him airtime on CNN will only serve to discredit Republicanism. i can’t wait till CNN starts getting emails with Erickson’s greatest hits… like, when he encouraged his readers to start “investigating” and exposing journalists who didn’t toe the conservative line.
Mike
For some reason I’ve got Erick Erickson’s name attatched to the mental image of Charles Johnson.
Too bad that’s not reality, because it would be an awesome sight to behold John King stroke his chin thoughtfully while being lectured by a 50 year old man with a ponytail about totalitarian marxists and their marble countertops.
Shygetz
I am so sick of the media setting up douchebags like this as representative of small-town America. It’s insulting. Erick’s a nutter, and he is not typical of small-town America.
John S.
Since Erick is a friend of John Cole’s, maybe he sent him a congratulatory email, something to the effect of:
Erick-
Congrats on your new gig over at CNN. Now that you will have tons of national exposure, do try not to make a giant ass of yourself.
Cheers,
John
Bulworth
“…but as a person who still lives in small-town America, Erick is in touch with the very people John hopes to reach.”
Sigh. Think I’m about to go Galt.
El Cid
DEMONS! DEMONS I SAY! Well, mostly I say Demons. Pretty much. Possession, at least.
GET THEE BEHIND ME SEITAN!
Dollared
Um, what’s the significance of silly putty? Did I miss an Internet Tradition?
Elvis Elvisberg
Small-town America isn’t that special or important; it’s just where a bunch of whites live.
Those people are relying on the world’s least efficient affirmative action program, the US Senate, to suck down the tax dollars of the productive states. And they call themselves real America.
Catsy
“Erick’s a perfect fit for John King, USA, because not only is he an agenda-setter whose words are closely watched in Washington”
LOLWUT. Erick can’t even set the agenda for the Macon City Council of which he’s a member. Every attempt he’s made at money bombing a candidate has ended up being more like a wet fart.
The guy’s a useful idiot. I look forward to this clown facing down someone like Josh Marshall or Alan Grayson who has command of the facts and the ability to shut down Republican talking point dispensers.
John S.
Nice to see that Republicans have some self-awareness.
FlipYrWhig
Isn’t Irk Irksome also a lawyer and a city councilman? I mean, this “small-town” ridiculousness might make sense if you were interested in talking to actual people who make their livelihoods in actual small towns, rather than the Larry The Cable Guy of internet punditry.
FormerSwingVoter
Wtf?~!?!?!
How is Erick Erickson, of all people, considered to be something like a serious person? His site is nothing but a steaming pile of birther conspiracies and unbridled hate!
And he’s considered a voice that anyone in the world should pay attention to? …What the fuck is WRONG with people??!?!?
FlipYrWhig
@Dollared: Erikson has announced several campaigns to mail various small objects to various politicians who run afoul of RedState petitions, using Amazon links so that RedState got kickbacks. I forget who was supposed to get packages of Silly Putty. I remember the “rock salt to melt Snowe” effort.
FlipYrWhig
Also, I can’t see “John King, USA” without reading it as, “John, King of the USA.”
El Cid
FWIW, Macon has over 230K people and is the 4th largest metro area in Georgia.
This is surely proof of Macon, GA being an elite East Coast city that Mitt Romney should condemn at the next Republitard convention.
They need to find commenters from towns with under 100 people.
Carnacki
John King? He should be called Joe King. Get it? Joking?
JenJen
A perfect way to cap off the start of my day, which began listening to a millionaire panel of Jim Cramer, Mort Zuckerman, Lawrence O’Donnell and Joe Scarborough cry about their taxes on “Morning Joe.” Scarborough’s story was particularly touching, as he came to New York (to get rich) from Florida and is shocked, shocked I tell you, at how much more of his income he hands over to the government. Cramer’s anecdote was more cutesy: “I work for the government until about September of every year, and then the rest of the year my money is actually mine!” O’Donnell is upset that the halcyon days of getting $40K-a-year insurance plans as tax-free income may be coming to an end. Mort Zuckerman frowned throughout the segment but then said something about how Desiree Rogers is a very nice person toward the end.
Teh cable news is awesome.
Fergus Wooster
@El Cid:
. . . And put it in gently. . .
El Cid
@JenJen: Hey, like Bill O’Reilly, who was born deep in a coal mine in Levittown, they’re jus’ lookin’ out for tha folks.
Punchy
Will Erickson be allowed to blam/ban any callers/emailers who piss him off?
Mike in NC
As in “Useless Scumbag Asshole”?
Kryptik
To note:
Markos is such a DFH he’s relegated to not-terribly-regular guest spots on Olbermann and Ed Show.
Erickson…why, he’s a clear-eyed realistic in touch with regular America, worthy of a political contributor’s job on the ‘Most Trusted Name in News’!
So…when are they going to buy out Free Republic and hire the folks there as their ‘Heartland Contributors’ huh?
demo woman
@John S.: How can a giant ass make a giant ass of himself?
Enquiring minds want to know!
Billy K
Why do only people who live in small towns matter?
Roger Moore
@El Cid:
Why? Do you suffer from celiac disease or something?
Elizabelle
This is just shameful.
I don’t watch CNN (or cable news at all), but it’s ridiculous for them to give him a platform.
The network that could not use Aaron Brown’s talents.
Kryptik
@Billy K:
Because people who live in Metro areas get exposed to things like multiculturalism and people who don’t think that socialism is instantly evil. You know, them un-American folks.
Kryptik
@Billy K:
Because people who live in Metro areas get exposed to things like multiculturalism and people who don’t think that soshulisms is instantly evil. You know, them un-American folks.
(Away with ye, Mod Hell)
JenJen
@Billy K: John King loves talking to small-town folk. Ever seen his “Dummies in a Diner” segment? Yes, that’s a bit shrill of me, but it’s as if he seeks out the most uninformed, unimaginative people one could possibly find in any given dining establishment at any given time, and then allows them to spout their opinions, and at the end of the segment pronounces these views as somehow “representative.”
All things considered, maybe Cole’s right: CNN’s new hire shouldn’t come as a surprise to anyone, really.
El Cruzado
They’re making Colbert’s job too easy for comfort.
Nellcote
Did CNN neglect to read Eric’s blog? If not, are they endorsing the sentiments found there?
Jim, Foolish Literalist
Holy god, there’s so much stupid in that single sentence from Feist, including his job title, that you could write a small book unpacking it.
licensed to kill time
@Kryptik:
If you want to use the word sociaIism in your comment, replace the small L with a capital i – it looks the same but fools the spam filter.
sociaIism SociaIism SOCIAIISM! see ? ;-)
JenJen
@licensed to kill time: Tip of the Year!! Thank you, you sociaIisism-loving SociaIist!
licensed to kill time
@JenJen: We are all sociaIists now! Take THAT, WP!
John S.
@demo woman:
You’d have to ask our host. Erick is his pal, not mine.
Billy K
@Kryptik:
OK, good, then. Cause I was worried that the 20% of the rural population making the calls for 80% of the urban population might not do a good job. I feel better now.
@JenJen:
I don’t even know who John King is. Been blissfully cable-free since 1996.
asiangrrlMN
@licensed to kill time: Great tip. I prefer sockulism myself.
As for Erick the son of Erick, really, CNN, REALLY? Good thing I don’t have cable. I would really hate to have to put my foot through my TV. I broke a remote by throwing it at…I think it was Ratface Pawlenty. I can’t imagine what I’d do if I stumbled across Erick bin Erick during one of my late night channel wanderings (‘coz if I had cable, I’d definitely be channel-wandering at three in the morning).
asiangrrlMN
@Dollared: Erick bin Erick has had his readers send rock salt to Olympia Snowe (through his Amazon link) and other silly things to pols he’s mad at. Silly putty is pretty representative of Erick spawn of Erick, so I think that’s the gist of DougJ’s statement.
ricky
Dubai and Rural Laffazana (Vote for the Crook -It’s Important). Since John can’t make his touch screen work yet,
he needs that extra touch.
Peter Principle
Erickson, a self described “obsessive news junkie” who grew up in Dubai and rural Louisiana, and was too ignorant and reactionary for either of them . . .
Dollared
Thanks asiangrrlMN (and others), I was just making sure that I hadn’t missed somebody sending silly putty with a timer attached to Nancy Pelosi’s office, or something like that.
I think we should just revert to my own Minnesota days, and just send manila envelopes full of wood scraps and sawdust. Makes a mess, and everybody spends time trying to figure out what you sent packed in that sawdust….