CNN clearly views Kelly Tshibaka as a legitimate threat to take down Sen. Lisa Murkowski in her bid for reelection in 2022. On April 27, the left-leaning cable network published a hit piece with the goal of painting Tshibaka’s Christian faith and conservative values as out of step with mainstream America.
Earlier this month, Tshibaka stepped down as Alaska’s Commissioner of Administration in order to launch a campaign for Murkowski’s U.S. Senate seat. She has come out of the gate as a pro-life, pro-America-first, pro-Second Amendment and pro-liberty conservative. In essence, she has framed herself as the antithesis to Murkowski, who has been rejected by Alaska’s Republican Party for betraying conservative principles, religious liberties, traditional marriage and pro-life values.
With the current Senate split 50-50 between Republicans and Democrats, Murkowski has emerged as a powerful ally of Democratic leaders. She now regularly breaks with her party to confirm Biden Administration cabinet posts, votes reliably for pro-abortion legislation, and has become a solid supporter of the most radical elements of the LGBTQ agenda, while supporting legislation that rolls back basic religious liberties.
CNN’s targeting of Tshibaka’s faith and values comes at a time when the network is weathering serious allegations of blatant and intentional bias in its reporting.
If Murkowski were replaced with someone of Tshibaka’s inclinations, Democrats would lose a key tool in advancing their agenda in a sharply divided U.S. Senate.
CNN, however, appears intent on using its influence, resources and multiple reporters to dig up Twitter posts, decades old blog entries and college newspaper articles in order to discredit Tshibaka as a legitimate candidate.
The hit piece, which is currently featured on CNN’s political page, begins by claiming that Tshibaka believes in “baseless conspiracies” about “widespread voter fraud in key states.” The article cites social media posts in which Tshibaka expresses support for the Texas lawsuit that challenged the legality of four swing states that made last-minute changes to their election laws. She noted that Alaska, also experienced a last-minute upheaval of its laws when the Alaska Supreme Court suspended a state law requiring that absentee ballots include a witness signature to verify voter identity.
The CNN article notes that Tshibaka had called for “credible allegations of fraud, voter suppression and voting irregularities” to be investigated before a winner was declared in the presidential race.
CNN then goes after Tshibaka’s faith and conservative values by highlighting several opinion pieces she wrote for an independent student newspaper at her alma mater, Harvard Law School. Tshibaka’s op-eds from the early 2000s argue for robust religious liberties and open and honest debate over hot-button cultural issues. She upholds the idea that there are “absolute truths” which the university should help students discover. Her stated aim in writing the columns was to “challenge our predominantly liberal, relativist campus on a host of political and theological issues.”
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In one 2002 column, highlighted by CNN, Tshibaka questions the narrative that LGBTQ people must accept and act on their desires in order to be healthy. She references a now defunct ministry called Exodus International – the first national ministry in the United States which aimed to help people leave the homosexual lifestyle and embrace Christian teachings about human sexuality.
The CNN article concludes with an attack on Tshibaka’s Evangelical Christian faith, noting that her and her husband Niki are pastors who established a church in Virginia. The article states that Tshibaka had a blog from 2007 to 2017 in which she “frequently wrote about her family, her church and her faith.” It goes on to highlight that “several posts” addressed the dangers of witchcraft and the occult, especially as it is glorified in youth books and Hollywood movies such as “Twilight.”
CNN’s targeting of Tshibaka’s faith and values comes at a time when the network is weathering serious allegations of blatant and intentional bias in its reporting, and attempting to manipulate public perception on politics, climate change and COVID. A series of investigative reports by Project Veritas has captured, on camera and audio, top employees at the network detailing their plans to drive certain narratives that benefit Democratic policies and candidates, while driving up ratings with fear-based reporting.
To help generate maximum play of its recent article on Tshibaka, CNN publicist Lauren Bobek sent an email highlighting the piece to various reporters and news outlets.
