CNN’s S.E. Cupp And Stephanie Cutter In Explosive Brawl Over Voter ID

 

Two of the four co-hosts of CNN’s Crossfire, S.E. Cupp and Stephanie Cutter, engaged in heated exchange during Tuesday’s The Situation Room with Wolf Blitzer over the necessity of voter identification laws. The conversation devolved into crosstalk when Cupp attacked Cutter for demeaning conservatives who insist voter identification is a solution in search of a problem.

“Unfortunately, there hasn’t been voter fraud in North Carolina,” Cutter insisted. “It’s virtually a problem that doesn’t exist.”

She went on to imply that other election reforms are aimed at suppressing the minority vote and, more specifically, the Democratic vote in the Tarheel State.

“When we have troops overseas dying for our right to vote in free and fair Democratic election every day, not a funny issue, and dying for the rights of other people, then one case of voter fraud should be significant enough to address policy changes,” Cupp said.

She conceded that opponents of voter identification have valid concerns about disenfranchisement. However, Cupp lamented that opponents of voter ID insist that concerns about fraud are “phony.”

“When one side is trying to create a problem that doesn’t exist,” Cutter began before Cupp interrupted her.

RELATED: Don’t Know Much About Voter ID: Matthews Exposes Ignorance About Laws ‘Only Republicans’ Pursue

“You keep saying on both sides, Stephanie, but you also keep saying ours is a problem that doesn’t exist,” Cupp insisted. “You can’t have it both ways.”

When Cutter said that North Carolina had identified only 100 cases of in-person voter fraud, Cupp said that this proves her point. “You can’t say that this is a problem that doesn’t exist,” she asserted.

Cutter and Cupp argued over whether the former campaign advisor to President Barack Obama insisted that there voter fraud “is a problem that doesn’t exist.”

The panel exploded when Cutter asserted that they get to the heart of the issue and discuss the fundamental right to vote. Blitzer asked Cutter to clarify why she insists that “hundreds of thousands” of voters will be disenfranchised when the state’s governor insists that this will not be the case.

“Why not give it a shot?” Cupp asked.

“Why not give policies that fit the problem a shot,” Cutter fired back.

“What problem?” Cupp replied. “You don’t think there is a problem.”

“We can have that same conversation again, S.E.,” Cutter shot back. “I’m not sure your monitor is working.”

Watch the debate below via CNN:

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An experienced broadcaster and columnist, Noah Rothman has been providing political opinion and analysis to a variety of media outlets since 2010. His work has appeared in a number of political opinion journals, and he has shared his insights with television and radio personalities across the country.