Trick or Treat Today for Megyn Kelly

For Megyn Kelly's first (and perhaps last) year with NBC News, the highly paid anchor was coerced to dress up like  Shania Twain.  Unbeknownst to her, Ms. Kelly's karaoke was interrupted by an ambush by the country superstar.

Ellen De Generes on Donald Trump

One can understand why a partisan might be chary about giving a political foe a platform. However, De Generes cited dangers which she feels as a homosexually oriented woman. It might have been educational for her to chat with Mr. Trump, as he has been the most friendly national Republican ever to the LGBTQQ? community, so her feelings of being in danger may well be chimeras. 

On Earned Media and Enabling

Campaigns must be able to spread the word about their campaigns when doing wholesale politics.  Thus campaigns must either buy media spots (paid media) or generate free media coverage (earned media).  This may be accomplished from  a spectacular campaign event, an unusual comment which is considered "newsworthy" or from media hits.

The 2016 Republican field has used different media strategies to varying effect. For example, former Governor Jeb Bush (R-FL) and his independent (but sympathetic) Right to Rise Super-PAC gathered a huge war chest to sway voters.  The Jeb! strategy was to earn legitimacy in Republican voters eyes by amassing a cornucopia of endorsements and shape the field by flooding the airways with paid media.

Obviously, this strategy did not work out well for the Bush scion.  Pointing to a score of retired generals who endorsed Jeb did not prove to have much sway.  Some of the name endorsements, like former Senator Bob Dole (R-KS) really seemed dated.  And Jeb bringing out his mother and former President brother in South Carolina smacked of desperation. This was too little too late and did not generate significant (or particularly positive) earned media

More telling was the money that Jeb and the Right to Rise Super-PAC burned through tens of millions of dollars on paid media.  The Jeb campaign and Right to Rise  flooded the airwaves in Iowa, New Hampshire and South Carolina but Bush fell in towards the back of the pack and suspended his campaign early in the voting.

The Washington Post published a telling graphic to illustrate the cost benefit of Republican Primary campaigns on paid media and actual votes.

The only campaign which spent more per vote than Jeb Bush did is Dr. Ben Carson. But as Carson Campaign's Business Manager (tellingly NOT a Campaign Manager) Armstrong Williams knows, branding can be quite expensive.  But it can also be lucrative for those charged with placing the ads.  Bush confidant Mike Murphy worked at the Jeb oriented Right to Rise Super-PAC but reportedly earned $14 million for buying the earned media.  Nice job if you can get it.

On the other end of the campaign publicity spectrum,  there is earned media.  Capitalizing on earned media has been one of the keys of Donald Trump's current success in the 2016 Republican Presidential Primary race.  Donald Trump has been a master creating controversy to keep the spotlight focused on him and earning lots of earned media. During the summer of 2015, Trump received saturation media coverage by the networks.   Trump's experience doing reality television already established name recognition and a branding of successful businessman in the eyes of many non-political low information voters.  By saying outrageous things and constantly attacking opponents who threaten his perch, Trump generates tons of earned media.

Another characteristic of the 2016 Trump campaign is a persistent attack on the media. Trump complains seemingly whenever a media organization reports something critical.  Trump will label them nasty, unfair or stupid.  Trump has gone so far to eject credentialed media with whom Trump does not like the line of their questions.

Trump has a trend of disparaging journalists who challenge him, from benign interviews with Katy Tor to hostile news conference exchanges with Jorge Ramos.  Most famously, Donald Trump launched myriad mysogenic slurs against Megyn Kelly, a Fox News anchor who questioned how Trump treated women. Several months later, Trump claimed that he was boycotting Fox News debates because of Megyn Kelly's inclusion, but later relented when Trump discovered that missing debates could hurt him amongst the electorate. To be fair, it might also have been a Trump technique of truthful hyperbole to further self promotion.

The attack dog mentality plays well for the angry electorate but Trump's tirades against Fox News seem somewhat counter-intuitive. Fox News has long been considered the major media outlet most friendly to Republican voices. Despite what Trump-eteers trumpet on social media, much of Fox News is friendly towards Donald Trump.  Trump has long done weekly call ins with Fox & Friends.  Judge Janine Pirro has a longstanding friendship with Trump and has formally endorsed him.  In addition, Sean Hannity is a personal friend, as is Bill O'Reilly.  Both are happy to give the Manhattan mogul airtime, but these shows do not necessarily endorse the candidate, although O'Reilly was obsequious in begging Trump to participate in debates (even promising to take milkshakes off the ledger).

So why does Trump peseverate on complaining about Fox News? The answer may be several fold. Trump loves positive news stories about himself. Despite all of the earned media, news hooks and friendly airtime through the auspices of Fox News, Trump has not won over Megyn Kelly thus he feels justified to rail against Fox.  Cynically, Trump might deduce that attacking Trump may appeal to his "silent majority" of blue collar (Reagan) Democrats that are poised to support a populist like Trump but their perspectives have been poisoned by constant Democrat lambasting of Fox News.  From a Machiavellian mode, by intimidating a strong opponent, it sends a bully message to the rest of the media and harbors a hint that they might lose access if they do not say nice things about Trump.

For running a comparatively shoe-string budget campaign, Trump has done well trading on celebrity, controversy and earned media access.  Cable channels love to run with Trump quips because they attract eyeballs and create controversy, which improves ratings. Trump tends to speak unscripted, so you never know what he is going to say.  As many campaign rallies have been at large venues, live media coverage can be justified as being newsworthy. Trump is not shy about doing interviews with those he can rely upon not to be hostile interviews, so he gets lots of airtime.

It is a curiosity that progressive channels like MSNBC and CNN have also been Trump obsessed. Is it because it is newsworthy? Does it attract eyeballs? Or could it be media manipulation to help pick the Republican nominee who will be easiest for a progressive to beat? Enabling through earned media isn't always an endorsement.

Some might conclude that Trump is brilliant in leveraging earned media to his advantage in the 2016 Election. But glowing coverage and earned media can only get a candidate so far.  And those who live by the media can perish by the media.  Senator John McCain had such a chummy relationship with the media on his Straight Talk Express, but the media mob turned on him after he won the 2008 Republican nomination. NBC News has bought all of the footage from Selena Scott's BBC documentary on Donald Trump but is holding the damning information until after the convention. The Lamestream Media has not focused on some of the business connections of the real estate tycoon.

Unless the Republican electorate is convinced that it is a Trump landslide, it is difficult to see how an earned media oriented strategy works to appeal in nine separate primary races during the so called SEC primary on March 1st.  Then on March 15th, there are several big winner take all states in Florida, Ohio and Illinois which have many media markets and are not built for quick barnstorming campaigns.

But Trump is not the only seriously competitive candidate in the Republican nomination race.  Senator Marco Rubio (R-FL) campaign relies heavily on endorsements and paid media.  Rubio and his independent (but aligned) Conservative Solutions Super-PAC had amassed a vast war chest.  Moreover, Senator Ted Cruz (R-TX) and his four independent (but aligned) Keep the Promise Super-PACs have raised lots of money and have been have resisted the temptation to blow the war chest early.  This paid media, combined with strategic earned media news hooks and organized Get Out the Vote drives, could deflate the Trump balloon.

Trump is short on specifics but loves to taut his poll ratings and his greatness on media availability, might not look as promising for earned media if the so called Trump Train is slowed down.  For example, Donald Trump accepted his second place finish in the Iowa Caucus' gracefully and did not use social media much the next day.  Consequently, Trump disappeared from the media spotlight.  The next day, Trump cranked up the smear machine questioning Cruz's eligibility and other outrageous claims that Carson had votes stolen from him during the Iowa Caucus.  That media circus strategy works well  for Trump when everyone is concentrating on the next state.  But when there are many simultaneous contests in diverse regions, that might not be a successful strategy, especially if the media (or the establishment) has anointed the new "golden boy" for saturation coverage.

Looking forward to the General Election, once the Republican nomination is decided, even friendly foils in the media become fierce foes. This is to maintain impartiality, to create controversy to become newsworthy and often reflects the liberal Lamesteam Media bias.  If a candidate is overly reliant on earned media from chaos campaigning and chummy Manhattan media ties, it could endanger the viability of such a candidacy. Oppo research leaks to the media about a candidate's shortcomings (or even silly stuff like crating a dog on top of a station wagon for a summer vacation) can dominate the media landscape and besmirch the reputation of a former media darling. While such jaundiced journalism would not alienate the hardened core of Trump supporters, it would bolster the ceiling of popularity and drive the debate to terra incognita. 

Tool Time: Kasich A Republican Democrats Would Like

Tim Allen, the star of Home Improvements and Last Man Standing, is one of the relatively few outspoken Republicans in Hollywood. Allen recently skewered the Clinton's as something from which American just can't get away. 

When interviewed on Fox New's The Kelly File, Allen offered some serious remarks regarding the Republican Presidential primary campaign.  The analogy that Governor John Kasich (R-OH)  is a Republican that Democrats would [almost] like will be tested tomorrow in the South Carolina Primary.  

It is dubious that there will be many crossover votes for Kasich, considering the populist appeal for Trump-eteers and the close nature of the Democrat's South Carolina Primary on February 27th.   

Despite Kasich picking up endorsements from two prominent South Carolina's newspapers, I suspect that Allen's offhanded endorsement may be the kiss of death for the Ohio Governor in the Palmetto State.  Nevertheless, I would not suspect that Kasich would drop out before March 15th, when the winner take all Ohio primary occurs.  Maybe a favorite son candidate like Kasich could win 99 delegates.  This would help him if there is actually a constested convention for the Republicans in Cleveland.

Considering Cruz' New York Values Charge

As the first contents in the 2016 Republican Presidential Primaries are less than a month away, the campaign has become hard hitting.  Brash billionaire New York real estate mogul and reality television celebrity Donald J. Trump has been questioning Iowa front-runner Senator Ted Cruz (R-TX) as to whether he is a "natural born citizen".

Trump passive aggressively alleged that Democrats and other legal scholars will dispute if Cruz is legally qualified to become President, as Cruz was born in Calgary Alberta Canada to an American mother.  Trump trolls that the definition of "a natural born citizen" is still not settled law, as the Supreme Court has not ruled on it.  Hence, Trump claims that Cruz' status will be in legal limbo which may dissuade voters and draw attention away from the issues.

Senator Cruz had strived to follow Reagan's 11th Commandment of not criticizing other Republicans. In fact, Cruz refused to jump on the bandwagon of disparaging Trump during earlier outrages over illegal immigration and other controversies.  This may be attributed to the hope of eventually gaining the support of Trump supporters.  However,  Trump's attacks have diminished the lead Cruz held for the Iowa Caucus but putting doubt into undecided Hawkeye Republicans' minds.

With this in mind, Senator Cruz tried a new tact by charging that Donald Trump embodied New York values.



When asked to elaborate, Cruz played coy, yet he played up the cozy relationship that Trump had with the Clintons in the liberal high tax land of Wall Street.


This seemed like a prudent,calculated risk as there would be little hope of carrying the Empire State in the general election and it would likely swing to Donald Trump in the Republican primaries, The downside would be offending New York nebbishes like Peter King.

King's verjuice venom towards Cruz is unsurprising, as King denounced the  flying flip budgetary shut down strategy in 2013 as well as King's tendency to lash out against non-establishment Republican.

The kink in this strategy is the fact that Cruz partially financed his 2012 Senate campaign by liquidating the assets from an account accrued through his wife Heidi's employment through Goldman Sachs.  Cruz had burned his conservative credentials by running against Wall Street ad their New York values. While there may be no merit to the association, the name Goldman Sachs will muddy the waters (much like Trump's natural born citizen slime).

The Fox Business debate in North Charleston, South Carolina will be pair Trump and Cruz at center stage.  While the bromance will be over, it will be interesting if the top two candidates will have tete-a-tete attacks over New York values and natural born citizens or if the fireworks from the debate will come from other candidates trying to change the momentum in the race.

Carly Fiorina on Tough Questions

Trumpetteers may complain that this is piling on their brash, blunt talking primary hero but the ad hominem, misogynistic attacks allow for other Republican Presidential candidates to impeach the character of their opponent. 

Carly Fiorina won the happy hour GOP Debate by being forceful, substantive and not afraid to civilly distinguish herself from certain candidates.  Fiorina's portfolio as a Washington Outsider and businessman would stand to gain if Donald Trump fades.  Nevertheless, Fiorina is more apt to gain the womens' vote than one who smears about hormones "She was bleeding from wherever". 

Betwixt Bluster and Boorishness

The first prime time 2016 Republican Presidential debate featured the top ten candidates based on national polling.  Some complained that having so many politicians on the stage gave short shrift to substantive consideration about the issues, in so far that candidates would have ten minutes or less each in the spotlight.  Still the exercise allowed America to become acquainted with the aspiring GOP nominees, discern their demeanor as well as shed some light on where they stand politically. 

Based upon polling popularity for the blockbuster Fox News debate was Donald Trump, the billionaire businessman who bravado and brash campaigning has stolen much of the early political coverage.  As the front-runner, he got the most attention and harsh questions from the moderating panel. Early in the debate, Megyn Kelly inquired about how Mr. Trump he referred to women --

“Mr. Trump, one of the things people love about you is you speak your mind and you don’t use a politician’s filter. However, that is not without its downsides, in particular, when it comes to women.

You’ve called women you don’t like 'fat pigs, dogs, slobs, and disgusting animals.'"

Trump tried to brush off the challenge by qupping that he was only referring to Rosie O’Donnell. This was neither well received by the booing audience nor Megyn Kelly who insisted that these degrading insults were directed at more than the so called “Queen of Mean”. Trump shifted his argument to noting that America is too politically correct and we do not have time for that. 

Bluntness and being anti-PC reflects the anger of the so called Silent Majority who have propelled Trump to the top of the summer polls. But this retort was unsatisfactory to an abrasive executive who seems oriented to intimidation. Trump interjected that he thought that Megyn Kelly was disrespecting him and not being nice. Trump asserted that he had always treated her well and Trump passive-aggressively asserted he might have to rethink that consideration, but that he would never do that.

After the debate ended, Trump (or his staff) was up until 3:45 a.m.  tweeting. This social media sharing attacked Megyn Kelly and he also retweeted a message declaring that Kelly was a bimbo.

 Not to be outdone, during a day after media appearance on CNN, Trump berated the Kelly File host by saying: “You could see there was blood coming out of her eyes. Blood coming out of her wherever.” 

Whatever could Mr. Trump meant (sic)?  The best the Trump team could spin on that pointed choice of phrase was that Mr. Trump meant “whenever”.  Sure. 

Aside from boorish bimbo eruptions concerning Megyn Kelly, some Trump-etteers complain that Kelly is not a conservative.  That may well be true, but over 90% of the press corps is liberal. Tim Russert was a liberal from upstate New York who would ask hard gotcha questions of both sides hoisting a politico by their own petards  Megyn Kelly seems cut of the same cloth, though it was troubling to hear post debate softballs which Kelly tossed with DNC Chairwoman Debbie Wasserman Schultz.

It is foolish to expect as a Republican, which Trump now says that he is, that he will receive fawning treatment from the political media. But if Mr. Trump feels threatened by pointed political questions, how would he react in the Oval Office against our adversaries or even allies?

There was scuttlebutt that big GOP donors and the Republican establishment had ordered a take down of Trump. Instead of the assault  mainly coming from Trump’s rivals to the “Game of Thrones”, the attack stemmed from the biased panelists of Fox News. Granted, they do have Karl Rove on all the time, it is dubious that FNC takes their marching orders from “the Architect”.  How about aggressive journalism which asks tough questions, trying to create controversy and attract eyeballs?

In response to the misogynistic musings  coming from “The Donald”, Eric Erickson uninvited Mr. Trump from participating in the the Red State Gathering in Atlanta.   Erickson wrote:  

“[I] also think that while Mr. Trump resonates with a lot of people with his bluntness, including me to a degree, there are just real lines of decency a person running for President should not cross.

His comment was inappropriate. It is unfortunate to have to disinvite him. But I just don’t want someone on stage who gets a hostile question from a lady and his first inclination is to imply it was hormonal. It just was wrong.”  

Now Trump-etteers discount Erickson as just a tool of the establishment.   It seems in Trump territory, it’s always someone else’s fault.  That seems like such a familiar modus operandi, except there was no rush to blame Bush (for now).

Res ipsa locquitur is a Latin phrase for “It speaks for itself”.  Trump’s pugnacious predilections to berate women whom he dislikes epitomizes the “war on women” gist of Kelly’s hard question. Implying that Kelly’s questions stemmed from menses is sexist, disrespectful an degrading. Suggested synonyms from Webster's dictionary for boorish are: course, uncouth, loutish, churlish. 

The derogatory demeanor in the exchanges with Megyn Kelly speaks directly to Trump’s reputation for dealing with women with whom he disagrees.  This was not a off the cuff quip, this is a persistent pattern of behavior.  Are these qualities which Americans wish to see stemming from the Oval Office.

This derogatory demeanor speaks directly to Trump’s reputation for dealing with women with whom he disagrees.  This was not a off the cuff quip, this is a persistent pattern of behavior. 

But it’s not the only instance of boorish behavior coming from Team Trump.  Michael Cohen, special counsel to Donald Trump and a Vice President of the Trump Organization, threatened a political reporter who was going after a marital rape allegation by Ivana Trump during her 1980s divorce by suggesting:

"I will make sure that you and I meet one day while we're in the courthouse. And I will take you for every penny you still don't have. And I will come after your Daily Beast and everybody else that you possibly know, So I'm warning you, tread very f---ing lightly, because what I'm going to do to you is going to be f---ing disgusting. You understand me?"

  Politics isn’t beanbag but such bullying behavior is remarkable.  In an environment in which the Lamestream Media lap dogs cower so as not to lose access to the White House, I shudder to see such thuggish tactics employed on professional practitioners of the freedom of the press.  Trump put little distance from his errant aide. After all, Cohen was just doing his boss’s bidding and using intimidation tactics that seem culled from the Art of the Deal (1987).

Then there was the McCain mutiny.  During a candidate forum in Iowa in July 2015, Frank Luntz got Donald Trump to comment on Senator John McCain (R-AZ). McCain had recently called the 15,000 people who turned out at a Trump event in Phoenix as “crazies”.  Trump berated McCain as being a loser and then followed up by insisting: 

“McCain is not a war hero. He’s a war hero because he was captured. I like people that weren’t captured, okay? I hate to tell you that. He’s a war hero because he was captured, okay? And I believe perhaps he’s a war hero but right now he’s said some very bad things about a lot of people.”

 Afterwards, Trump refused to apologize according to the civic script. Professional political pundits thought that the outrageous comments would sink Trump’s candidacy, but it only increased his stature as a primary celebrity.

The campaign is in its early stages and there is a crowded field. It was unrealistic to expect precises platform positions in a first debate, but two hours on center stage can give a feel for the demeanor of a candidate and offer indications on his or her likeability.  

During the debate, Donald Trump was bold enough to raise his hand to say that he would not commit to supporting the eventual Republican nominee (unless it is himself) nor would he rule out being spoiler third party Presidential candidate.  Bold and brash as well as being self centered and unconventional.  These qualities may appeal to anti-establishment political firebands, while potentially alienating the Republican base which actually votes in Republican primaries.  Pugnacious personality who is always spoiling for a fight may make for fun reality television but it is dubious if Americans seriously want that in our living rooms each night as Commander in Chief.

 When someone tells you who they are, believe them. Between the bluster and the boorishness, we are getting the measure of the man. Time will tell if Trump’s braggadocio and bullying can politically cash the checks which his mouth is underwriting.  There is plenty of opposition from the Silent Majority to the craziness contained in Political Correctness, however Greg Gutfeld is right that political incorrectness is speaking the truth but not necessarily lewdness. 

Judging the Judge

In reaction to King v. Burwell (SCOTUScare previously known as Obamacare) and Obergefell v. Hodges (which imposed Same Sex Marriage through out the US) by the US Supreme Court, Senator Ted Cruz offered a modest proposal to remedy judicial activism without recourse--judicial retention elections.

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Richard Kopf, a US District Court Judge for the District of Nebraska and publisher of the blog Hercules and the Umpire: The Role of the Federal Trial Judge, wrote a piece which scathed Senator Cruz and his "modest proposal".

Kopf's piece was provocative and engaging for a policy wonk.  However, an article which Judge Kopft titled:"Senator Ted Cruz is not fit to be President" seems to go beyond responding to a policy proposal and directly into the political field.

One does not have to slog through sometime like Judge Kopf's 474 page opinion in Carhart  et ali. v. Ashcroft (2004) which struck down Partial Birth Abortion bans to read Canon 5(A)(2) of the Code of Conduct for United States Judges which states: "A judge should not . . . make speeches for a political organization or candidate, or publicly endorse or oppose a candidate for public office."  Even the hoi polloi without law degrees can understand that a article like "Senator Ted Cruz is not fit to be President" falls under Canon 5(A)(2).

This illustrates Senator Cruz's point about checks on the judiciary.  In a Congress which can not muster 60 votes to block an Attorney General like Loretta Lynch who vowed not to follow certain lawbreaking by the Obama Administration (such as on immigration), impeachment is unlikely.  So there are black robed politicians who can participate in the political process and even legislate from the bench without recourse by "We the People". 

It could be argued that  some slack can be cut for  Kopf as the 68 year old Judge  assumed Senior Status in December, 2011.  However, Kopf's public opposition of a candidate for public office seems to be a clear violation of the Code of Conduct for United States Judges.  As a senior status judge, Kopf receives full salary with a reduced case load.  Hence, a senior status is not an honorific emeritus title. So a compromised jurist is still sitting on the bench, unless Judge Kopf does the honorable thing and resigns.

As people become more frustrated with judicial tyranny, reformers may find ways to remedy usurpations of the Constitution.  While it is dubious if judicial retention elections would work on a federal level, Judge Kopf's case epitomizes that the system is broken and the rule of law is unreliable as things stand.

UPDATE 07/09/2015

 Judge Kopf offered a half hearted apology for his "Ted Cruz is unfit to be President" piece.  In a letter to Professor Orin Kerr (also published on Judge Kopf's blog)  Judge Kopf acknowledged the analysis by The  Volokh Conspiracy on the Code of Judicial Ethics Canon (5)(A)(2). However, Kopf insisted that a Second Circuit ruling in Calabresi was not strictly speaking  precedent in in the District of Nebraska. Still Kopf anticipated that the same standard might be applied in his Eighth Circuit.  So, Kopf wrote:  " Consequently, apologize to you, Senator Cruz and everyone else for my error."

Yet rather than have to good grace to admit an error and be gone, Judge Kopf pressed his point about judicial elections of Supreme Court Justices, insisting that such commentary fell under Code of Judicial Ethics (4)(A)(1).   Some apology. I was wrong for going too far but I'll still stand by my political pontifications.

Violators of civil infractions do not get to just say "My bad" and be done.  While an apology is appreciated, it is insufficient. Judge Kopf demonstrated that he does not (or no longer) exercises judicial temperament to have violated such a basic tenant of the profession.  If there were any justice, Judge Kopf would resign his senior status and no longer preside from the bench.  He seems to enjoy publishing.  May he continue to opine on Hercules and the Umpire and enjoy his retirement since he has trouble operating under judicial ethics.

Rudy Giuliani on the Love of Country

 "America's Mayor" Rudy Giuliani created a media firestorm after his remarks on patriotism before Republican donors and Presidential hopeful Governor Scott Walker (R-WI). 

 Some of President Obama's appeal in the 2008 Democratic primary was that he was raised during his formative years in Indonesia, where love of America was not inculcated.  However exploring this credential created cries of bigotry and partisan politics.  

 

Questioning NOW's Dirty Labeling

During a tough interview with Megyn Kelly on Fox News Channel, Patricia Ireland speaking on behalf of the  National Organization for Women (NOW)  sought to justify NOW's labeling of the Little Sisters of the Poor as part of the "Dirty 100" in light of the recent Burwell v. Hobby Lobby (2014) Supreme Court ruling.

Ireland deflected the denigration of the Catholic nuns as being like the "Dirty Dozen" with other corporations, presumably for fundraising efforts.  But Kelly does not let her off than easily, suggesting that the nuns be considered "Groups with whom we disagree".

The former NOW President kept insisting that the Little Sisters could "opt out" of the Obamacare contraception mandate.  Except the alleged work around forces the Sisters to sign the Form 700 document permitting others to provide the abortifacients which are anathematic to their faith. 

Ireland offered patronizing lip service to the nuns' living their faith and helping the indigent infirmed. But what she does not realize is that if the Little Sisters of the Poor are eventually forced to pay for such unwanted services ordered by former HHS Secretary Kathleen Sibelius then they will move out rather than contravene their consciences.  

Ireland insisted that I.U.D.s, which is one of the abortifacients in question, does not kill eggs in the uterus.  Well, that's not quite true.  Generally, inter-uterine devices act as spermicide to prevent fertilization but copper I.U.D.s are touted as an emergency contraceptive for five days after intercourse.  Most sperm dies within two days after ejaculation (even in the uterus), thus the emergency contraceptive quality of such I.U.Ds intimates that it prevents the implantation of the blastocyst thereby killing a fertilized egg. 

Ireland incorrectly asserted that the Supreme Court had ruled on the "opt-out" provision.  Hobby Lobby covered closely held corporations with conscience objections but Obamacare opt-outs for non-profits has not been decided yet (although SCOTUS has offered a unanimous injunction pending appeal on January 24th, 2014). 

Ireland's fatal rhetorical faux pas was her bon mot that Supreme Court decisions do not affect the reality.  The hostess of the Kelly Files jumped in and asked if Roe v. Wade affected the reality. T o borrow an oft uttered Ireland phrase from the interview "Bless her heart."