Chris Matthews, the increasingly loud, shrill, bizarre left winghost of “Hardball” on (where else?) MSNBC, had quite the”let me finish” segment at the end of last night\’s show – an excellent example of how he got the nickname I use for him. Here it is, in rust, with my comments in blue:
Letme finish tonight with this insidious plan to scare up right-wingvoters and scare off the votes the of those who tend to voteDemocratic. This is just the kind of campaign mentality that leads totrouble on the part of those who pursue it. Everyone knows theRepublicans are heading for a good election night this November. Theyare poised to win the Senate. Poised, at least, and to pick up fiveto ten seats in the House of Representatives. You know it. They knowit. Believe me, smart Democrats know it. Greatstart. Voter ID – which is supported by a large majority of thecountry, including a majority of Black respondents – isinsidious, designed to gin up the right wing, and will scare offpeople who vote Democrat. You can stop right there and understand whyI call him “Chrazy Chris”, but wait: it gets evenbetter.
Sowhy this plan to roll up the score, to bring out the crazies on theright and to drown out the progressives, including many minoritieswho will be intimidated by the new Republican-pushed voter laws. I\’vewatched how exactly this kind of stuff blows up in your face. It didwith Richard Nixon several times in 1950 when he called hissenatorial opponent pink right down to her underwear and in 1972 whenhe took a sure win for re-election and turned it into Watergate.Ahhh,now the idea that people should show they are who they say they arebefore voting – which, again, is supported by a large majorityof the country – will bring out the right wing crazies, drownout progressives, intimidate minorities (hey, isn\’t that what he saidin the last paragraph?)… and evokes Richard Nixon in 1950 and 1972.I didn\’t watch the video, but would not be surprised if Matthewswas spontaneously dribbling onto his shirt and tie while he saidthis.
Thetrouble with nasty politics like the kind we\’re getting from theHouse leadership is it makes you look nasty. It makes it look likeyou\’re moneygrubbing on the deaths of those four American diplomats,like you\’re ready to kill a little more faith in government to get afew more votes. It\’s a rotten deal, and the people who play it willpay for it. Maybe not this year, but in the years to come. You can\’tbuild a brand by painting a bathtub ring around your rivals. Why?Because people, voters, are watching when you do it. So is the media.Nobody wants somebody in the White House who got there through scaretactics and keeping people from voting. Wellthere you go. Nasty politics and moneygrubbing on Benghazi(how\’d that get into this rant?), is a “rotten deal” thatwill hurt Republicans. That\’s the advice for Republicans on how toget more votes, from Chris Matthews – lifelong Democratoperative/Republican hater. Would you take advice on how to win fromsomeone who hates your guts and wants you to lose? Me neither. But myfavorite part is “Nobody wants somebody in the White House whogot there through scare tactics and keeping people from voting”.Y\’mean like saying your opponents want dirty air, dirty water, arewaging a war on women, on seniors, on Black people, etc. etc. etc?Y\’mean like trying to make it as hard as possible for overseasmilitary personnel to vote? Just asking….
Not for nothing do I call him Chrazy Chris. As you have just seen, he gives me plenty of reasons. And count on their being more to come.
You can\’t say he isn\’t entertaining…
