Anderson Cooper Explains: Bill Bennett had mentioned earlier that Brigadier General Keith Kerr had been on a steering committee of Hilary Clinton’s office. CNN looked into the claim and apparently there was a press release about six months ago from the Hilary Clinton camp that Bill Bennet was on the committee. “Certainly had we had that information … uh … we would have … uh … acknowledged that … uh … in … uh … in using his question if we had used it at all.”
FLASHBACK:
CNN was heavily criticized for being easy on Hillary Clinton in their last CNN-televised debate. Wolf Blitzer’s questions to Hilary Clinton, US Senator from New York, were publicly praised by her campaign.
LAST NIGHT:
It appears CNN allowed Keith Kerr — a “Clinton plant” — airtime, giving him a microphone and allowing the military veteran prime airtime to push his agenda. Keith Kerr of Santa Rosa, Calif., who revealed himself as gay, challenged the eight candidates on the right of gays and lesbians to serve openly in the U.S. military via video message and on stage at the CNN/YouTube debate in Florida.
Broadcast of Question 25: Keith Kerr at CNN/YouTube Debate of Republican Candidates November 28, 2007 in Florida.
The broadcast, however, failed to mention that Kerr, who served as a brigadier general in the reserves, is a member of a gay and lesbian steering committee for Democratic candidate Hillary Rodham Clinton.In the post debate analysis, CNN commentator Bill Bennett told CNN host Anderson Cooper that the former soldier apparently works for Clinton. That’s when Anderson Cooper realized he had to patch up CNN’s guilt or appearance of guilt and claim that CNN did not know about Keith Kerr’s work with the Hilary Clinton campaign.
Keith Kerr, retired Colonel., U.S. Army; retired Brigadier General, California National Reserve submitted a YouTube question August 23, 2007 about gays in the military (below). He is actually a member of Hillary Clinton’s Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transexual Americans For Hillary Steering Committee.
Keith Kerr is also part of a film production crew trying to overturn the “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” policy.
On Keith Kerr’s YouTube profile, the retired Colonel., U.S. Army; retired Brigadier General, California National Reserve declares he has had 43 years of military service and that he is an openly gay man: “I want to know why you think that American men and women in uniform are not professional enough to serve with gays and lesbians?”
The YouTube video by Keith Kerr in August elicited a flurry of comments in his comment section comparing the gay policy to racism. Most comments are either against gays or against people who think “the government can tell people who they can love.”
Anderson Cooper has remained private about his personal life and sexual orientation, but in May 2007, Out magazine ranked him second among “The Most Powerful Gay Men and Women in America.”
Keywords: Anderson Cooper transcript November 28, 2007 debate admitting Kerr worked for Hilary Clinton.
SOURCES:
The Power 50: The Most Powerful Gay Men and Women in America. Out (May 2007).