I have agreed with several posts on this site about how DC is still "hard-wired" to turn to Republicans and conservatives as experts and media guests, despite the fact that they keep getting their backsides handed to them in elections. This morning on CNN was a perfect example: the arrest of four bumbling idiots in Riverdale, NY for terrorism was spun wildly out of control as breathless "breaking news," and the guest politician commenting on the development was Rep. Peter King (R-NY), one of the leading and outstanding a**holes ever elected to public office. His few minutes were a tour-de-force, spinning this minor arest into a major "terrorism is back and gonna getcha" watershed. He even managed to use it to turn the debate back to closing Gitmo and slamming Obama. Say what you want about King - and I got plenty to say about this clown - he provided just what CNN wanted, an over-the-top and breathless political reaction to its "breaking news."

King is Ranking Member of the Homeland Security Committee and was duly noted as such in the interview, so there is some reasoning behind his appearance outside of just being from the NYC area. But Riverdale is actually represented by Eliot Engel, a Dem who also happens to be Jewish (the alleged target was the Riverdale Temple). I don't know if CNN extended an invite to Engel, much less to the Chair of the Homeland Security Committee, but if not it's a symptom  of the "hard-wired" problem. It could also be that both were asked and declined, which would also be a problem. And who is the Chair of Homeland Security, you ask? Guy named Bennie Thompson, who I have never before seen on any TV program.

Bottom line, if Dems want to break through the cycle of the media asking clowns like King to be interviewed, they need to be available and need to make good TV so they'll get asked back.