I’ve changed my mind about this episode. Until this moment I viewed it as a pitifully cynical attempt to convert right-wing grievances about the media (particularly CNN) into cash. She clearly doesn’t have any real beef with reporter Manu Raju. He was a target of opportunity because Trumpers in Arizona don’t much like her and aren’t giving money to her and if that doesn’t change soon we’re going to have two Democratic senators from Goldwater country.

And in both cases they’ll have defeated Martha McSally to make it happen. She could singlehandedly turn Arizona blue.

She needed to give Trump fans a reason to donate to her so she manufactured that reason. Simple as that. Sad, as the president might say.

But then I watched this video and now I feel better about her “liberal hack” stunt. She’s totally owning this grift. How “cynical” can a moneymaking political ploy be if the pol behind it is all but wearing a “LET ME GRIFT YOU” t-shirt? She can barely get through the clip with a straight face, so transparent are her motives.

It’s downright wholesome. We need more honesty like this in American politics.

I’ve had enough of the media’s political smears and I’m not afraid to push back.

If you have too, help me amplify my message and hold liberal media hacks accountable –> https://t.co/Qm2uLij1C9 pic.twitter.com/WNJZgu3wlz

— Martha McSally (@MarthaMcSallyAZ) January 17, 2020

She should take it to the next level and start setting fundraising goals tied to particular insults for particular reporters. You want to see her call Jake Tapper an A-hole? Then she needs your help to raise $500,000 by next week.

Want her to call Jim Acosta a pussy? One million bucks by the end of the month.

If we make it to $2 million she’ll do it by crashing one of his live segments for CNN at the Capitol on the night of the State of the Union.

I’m surprised Trump didn’t think of this idea first, frankly. He could do it with foreign leaders too. “Send me $1 million in an hour and I’ll tweet my best ‘Kim Jong Un is a cuck’ material.”

By the way, I didn’t realize it until I read this post by Tiana Lowe but CNN was even more obsessed with the McSally/Raju exchange yesterday than I assumed. It wasn’t just Wolf Blitzer and Cuomo grumbling about it. It was … everyone, really. Here you go. Watch, and never forget: There’s nothing the media likes to talk about as much as the media.

Sen. Martha McSally called CNN's Manu Raju a "liberal hack" when he asked her about considering new evidence for President Trump's impeachment trial in the Senate. So @AndersonCooper is placing her on the #RidicuList https://t.co/Rnazk3swlJ pic.twitter.com/FgCW3L0CF5

— Anderson Cooper 360° (@AC360) January 17, 2020

Video: Talking again about McSally's "disgusting statement" to Manu Raju, CNN's Wolf Blitzer seems to be giving an indirect show of support for McSally opponent/Democrat Mark Kelly, ruling that this "won't" "score political points" in Arizona because they're "smarter than that" pic.twitter.com/OF7fm6j7zk

— Curtis Houck (@CurtisHouck) January 16, 2020

CNN's Chris Cuomo: Martha McSally acted like a "punk" and "did a disservice to herself" for calling a reporter a "liberal hack."

This is from a guy who threatened to throw someone down a flight of stairs because he thinks "Fredo" is the n word for Italians. pic.twitter.com/NWM9F22x47

— Julio Rosas (@Julio_Rosas11) January 17, 2020

.@SenMcSallyAZ calls CNN's @mkraju a "liberal hack" for simply doing his job. pic.twitter.com/ZkVfQmQmkG

— CNN Early Start (@EarlyStart) January 17, 2020

Sen. Martha McSally called CNN's @mkraju a "liberal hack" when he asked her if the Senate should consider the new evidence in the impeachment trial.
Laura Ingraham of Fox News later asked Sen. McSally the same question. Here's how she answered.https://t.co/WH243RzMyU pic.twitter.com/apTgYWO0sC

— New Day (@NewDay) January 17, 2020