CNN's O'Brien failed to identify Luntz as Republican

Written by Ryan Chiachiere

Published

On the February 15 edition of CNN's American Morning, co-host Soledad O'Brien introduced Republican pollster Frank Luntz as a “well-known political pollster” without noting Luntz's Republican Party affiliation at any point during the segment. The on-screen text alternated between identifying Luntz as a “political pollster” and “author, 'Words That Work.' ”

By contrast, when Luntz appeared on other programs to plug his newest book over the course of the last month, numerous hosts explicitly identified him as a Republican:

  • National Public Radio's Michele Norris on All Things Considered: “Frank Luntz is a Republican pollster who specializes in the power of language.” [1/24/07]
  • Fox News' Sean Hannity on Hannity & Colmes: “Joining us now with more of these results and the latest in You Decide 2008, Democratic strategist Michael Brown and Republican pollster, author of Words That Work Frank Luntz.” [2/7/07]
  • Fox News' John Gibson on The Big Story: “With me now Frank Luntz, Republican pollster and author of the new book Words that Work: It's Not What You Say, It's What People Hear.” [1/23/07]
  • MSNBC's Tucker Carlson on Tucker: “Here to analyze the war and the battle between the White House and Congress, among other things, master wordsmith, Republican pollster, adviser and author of Words That Work: It's Not What You Say, It's What People Hear, Frank Luntz.” [1/19/07]
  • MSNBC's Chris Matthews on Hardball: “Republican pollster Dr. Frank Luntz will be here to tell us the political lines, the key words you are going to hear in this campaign, by the people who are actually winning it, because these are the winning words of 2008.” [2/14/07]

A January 29 article posted on The New Republic's website described Luntz as follows:

In 1994, [Luntz] not only helped write Republican House member Newt Gingrich's Contract with America; he was also responsible for its presentation to the public. Four years later, he advised Republicans trying to impeach Bill Clinton. And, over the last decade, his memos and ideas have been more influential and widely circulated than those of any other message guru.

Perhaps the most widely read of those memos was Luntz's 2002 environmental memo titled "The Environment: A Cleaner, Safer, Healthier America," which coached Republicans on new ways to talk about global warming. That memo warned the party that the environment “is probably the single issue on which Republicans in general -- and President Bush in particular -- are most vulnerable.”

In another memo, leaked in July 2003, Luntz outlined various ways to “trash the governor” of California, then Democrat Gray Davis, as part of an effort to recall him, which ultimately proved successful. That memo was reportedly commissioned by Rep. Darrell Issa (R-CA). An October 23, 2003, Weekly Standard article referred to Luntz's “client Arnold Schwarzenegger.”

A June 2004 memo by Luntz titled “Communicating The Principles Of Prevention & Protection In The War On Terror” coached Republicans on how to connect the Iraq war with the war on terror, including concepts such as “It is better to fight the War on Terror on the streets of Baghdad than on the streets of New York or Washington” and “9/11 changed everything,” which have been staples of Republican rhetoric since.

As Media Matters for America has previously noted, Luntz was featured on MSNBC during the 2004 Democratic and Republican National conventions without the network disclosing his party affiliation. At the end of September 2004, MSNBC dropped Luntz from planned coverage of that year's presidential debate, following a letter from Media Matters that outlined Luntz's GOP ties and questionable polling methodology. When Luntz returned to MSNBC as a guest three weeks after the first presidential debate, the network identified him as a Republican pollster, as Media Matters noted on October 22, 2004.