CNN’s Sanders Insists Liberals Harassing GOPers Are ‘One-Off Instances’

CNN commentator and liberal activist Symone Sanders (pictured above center) insisted on “CNN Tonight” that far-Left protesters harassing and shouting at GOP politicians and their wives “are one-off instances.”

“I condemn it, but these are one-off instances, everyone. The one-off instances of yelling at the wives and whatnot, those are one-off instances,” claimed Sanders, a former national press secretary for Sen. Bernie Sanders’ (I-Vt.) presidential campaign.

“What is happening in this country is folks are concerned, and they are raising their voices. That’s something they’re allowed to do.”

The CNN panel addressed the increasing fury of liberal activists protesting against GOP lawmakers and candidates in the wake of Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh’s tumultuous confirmation process and ahead of the November midterm elections.

In particular, the panel reacted to President Donald Trump’s characterization of the protesters during a rally Thursday in Montana and discussed whether it was a fair.

“The choice could not be more clear: Democrats produce mobs, Republicans produce jobs,” Trump said.

Related: Elitist Left Won’t Be Satisfied Until Trump Is Out of the Oval Office

Sanders said she did not “condone” the recent instance of protesters shouting at a GOP congressional candidate’s wife in North Carolina over her support for pro-life issues. But she seemed to dismiss instances such as when anti-Kavanaugh protesters chased Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) and his wife, Heidi, out of a Washington, D.C., restaurant as she defended the threatening groups of protesters going after GOP officials.

“They shouldn’t be doing that to somebody’s wife,” Sanders said of the North Carolina candidate’s wife. “But let me just interject here. What we have seen on the Left over the last couple months has been organized like — has been organized disobedience, has been organized protests, has been … folks’ right to do, frankly, in this country.”

“And I think a lot of lawmakers, particularly folks that serve in Congress, are uneasy about being confronted about their positions, particularly Republicans, because they have not gone home to face their constituents,” Sanders argued. “So folks that feel some type of way about what their elected officials are doing have to come to Washington, D.C.”

Republican commentator Alice Stewart (above right) said the “angry activity” from liberal protesters “going after Republican elected officials” should be concerning.

“The choice could not be more clear: Democrats produce mobs, Republicans produce jobs.”

CNN host Don Lemon (above left) said that protesters “shouldn’t be doing that to someone’s wife” before dismissing the rest of the protesters’ nonviolent harassment.

“It’s kind of in the Constitution, right?” Lemon said of the right to free speech.

CNN political analyst and Esquire correspondent Ryan Lizza suggested that Republicans shouldn’t characterize liberal protesters as mobs.

“When someone describes a group of people protesting as a mob because maybe it gets a little agitated or angry, and I’m talking about a nonviolent group of people, I think everyone agrees that violent protest is beyond bounds. But protesters who get mad, that is a pretty strong American tradition of protesters getting mad,” he insisted.

“People criticize the form of protest when they don’t like the content of the protest. That’s been happening for hundreds of years,” Lizza added.

Related: Nunes: Soros ‘Should Know Better’ Than to Fund Protesting ‘Lunatics’

In a related development, House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence Chairman Devin Nunes (R-Calif.) celebrated Thursday on Fox News’ “The Ingraham Angle” after liberal activist Wilfred Michael Stark III was arrested Tuesday for allegedly grabbing, yanking and refusing to let go of the arm of Kristin Davison, a staffer on Nevada Attorney General Adam Laxalt’s (R) gubernatorial campaign.

Nunes said he has personally encountered Stark on numerous occasions.

“This guy in particular actually went to our office numerous times. He would follow me in, he’d get in my face, he’d show up at committee hearings. He even showed up at a place downtown in Washington where I was giving a speech one time,” he said.

“He actually showed up at the airport one time. So we had to have the Capitol Police come several times because he would harass me, harass our staff,” Nunes added. “And I think the Democrats — until they’re taught a lesson, they’re not going to change.”

“They see this working. They see their protesting, their harassment, all of this — they see it as working,” Nunes added. “I hope it backfires this fall, and I think a lot of people are slowly waking up to the fact that this is not the type of behavior we should have in our political system.”