British media personality, former judge on America's Got Talent, and now struggling talk show host on CNN, Piers Morgan has been "under the gun" over the last few months.
His aggressively liberal stance on issues never caused any harm, as long as he was telling up-coming or upstart performers whether they could sing or not, rather than telling them whether they should own guns or not. When CNN talk show host Morgan muddied the waters with his muddled thinking on gun control, he found himself mired in a political debate unprecedented for the United Kingdom icon, where gun-control has been all but established, and massively so, in spite of the spiraling crime rate throughout the United Kingdom.
Of course, he has taken opportunities to shame other conservative candidates, like Christine O'Donnell, who walked off his show in disgust, or Missouri US Senate candidate Todd Akin, who cancelled his appearance on Piers Morgan Tonight at the last minute, along with his Democratic opponent Claire McCaskill. However, Morgan focused on Akin's absence, spotlighting only "his" empty chair, despite McCaskill's disappearance. His arrogant posturing about the Bible fell apart in the face of Saddleback Pastor Rick Warren's simple arguments on behalf of communities of faith. Black activist Toure also attacked Morgan's credentials as a journalist (which are not much, considering his past as a tabloid editor).
Under attack from the left and the right, Morgan has had much to learn about the American political culture, not just about the independent and intelligent opinions of "average Joes", but also about gun ownership. Media and political elites are widely despised by the "average American," who more often than not pull no punches when making their case, or the criticisms, to their political leaders. No one can forget Joe the Plummer, who had the courage to stand up to candidate Obama in 2008, and moreso than the GOP Establishment candidate John McCain.
Despite the presumed and empty presumption of media elites, the gross majority of them at least try to keep their elite condescension to themselves, for fear that they will turn off viewers, who will turn off their programs, and force "talking heads" into forced retirement. The corporate networks are already losing a sizable share of the viewship in this country, as cable televisions eats away at the diminishing viewership, so they avoid making it worse. Ready access on the Internet as well as personal technologies, like Ipads and Iphones, transmit information instantaneously, in contrast to the slow and slowing news cycle on the local news, which recycle news factoids much of the time, losing place and prominence to niche markets.
Morgan has not learned these lessons. His staunch stance on gun-control has been putting him on the firing line with American politicians, Second Amendment advocates, and even Breitbart editor-in-chief Ben Shapiro, who demolished the British personality in a terse debate. From the outset, Morgan took offense at Shapiro's criticisms, then attempted to counter Shapiro's arguments, from the Federalist Papers to the United States Constitution, which Morgan derisively dismissedas a "little book". Aside from Morgan's belittling and bullying tactics, Shapiro won the argument and pushed Morgan into a corner from which he could not escape. Morgan's previous guest, former Minnesota Governor Jessie "The Mind" Ventura, had turned Morgan's on-stage guest audience against the British talk show host.
Following Morgan's unrepentent liberalism and insulting demeanor with guests on his program, a growing petition has circulated against the talk show host, requesting the deportation of the liberal journalist. However, a political movement may not be necessary. Recently, Morgan's show Piers Morgan Tonight share of a key demography has dwindled precipitously, enough that he may be going off the air, and not a moment too soon.
Morgan's mission to manipulate public opinion, or at least humiliate conservative spokesmen and Republican candidates, has rubbed viewers the wrong way, not just for his blunt disagreement, but his partisan effrontery, which has pushed him back and away from key viewing audiences, and perhaps permanently.
Piers Morgan has learned with great pain and frustration that "Americans Got Talent" not just artistically, but also politically, whether defending the Constitution,. They articulate their values, they demolish media elites who presume to assume, and they are now leaving them less room to make their biased case on national television.