Chris Matthews defends attack on Priebus: GOP 'dividing country along racial lines'

[highplainsdem]

Source: Politico

TAMPA -- In an emotional interview with POLITICO tonight, MSNBC host Chris Matthews defended his spirited attack against RNC Chairman Reince Priebus, in which he alleged that the Republican party was guilty of playing the race card against President Barack Obama.

"It is obvious that this is something I care passionately about: race was abused by white politicians in my lifetime, including Reagan. For someone to come on the program and deny that this is part of their process, I couldn't take that," Matthews said. "This is something I really, deeply believe in. We grew up in a country where appeals to race have been awful, terrible. This language -- we are beyond this. It had to be called out."

-snipping section about Republican complaints-

But Matthews told POLITICO that has received an outpouring of support -- from his bosses, who he says "agree with substance of what I said," and from fans in places as disparate as Mozambique and Jamaica.

"I have never heard -- never heard -- such a positive response," Matthews said. "The people I've met, globally, the people who have felt this, personally -- I've never got such a positive response."

-snip-

Read more: http://www.politico.com/blogs/media/2012/08/chris-matthews-defends-attack-on-priebus-says-republican-133422.html

[hlthe2b]

1. sniff sniff... this gets me...

a bit emotional, so starved we've all been for a pundit/newscaster or similar to actually take a principled stand.

Methinks Chris does care passionately about race, but I also think he may wall have been watching "the Newsroom"....

[Cleita]

6. Actually, I think he really likes Obama and takes any

attacks against him, especially transparently obvious racial ones, personally.

[southernyankeebelle]

7. Did you know that Chris was in the Peace Corp in Africa? I think that is where he feels alot for

the working people and minorities. He was also raised catholic and remembers when the church worked and marched for the working poor.

[hlthe2b]

16. Yes... even during his irratic "Bush-loving period," that endeared him to me.

Last edited Tue Aug 28, 2012, 07:27 AM - Edit history (1)

He adored Sargeant Shriver for his work to help create the Peace Corps. I agree.

[Honeycombe8]

25. I beg to differ. He did not "love" Bush. He just didn't hate him like progressives did.

He was more moderate and objective. Which he should be. But he most definitely called out the lies of the so-called weapons of mass destruction, the Iraq War being a duping of the country and Congress, Congress going along with it, the mess it was and shouldn't have been waged, etc., etc. But he didn't "hate" Bush and gave credit where he thought it was due, and gave Republicans a chance to state their side. That IS the purpose of his show.

He's not on TV to blow the horn of the progressives. He has a discussion show where both sides air their views...but he plays "hard ball" and calls out phony answers and non-answers, etc.

[hlthe2b]

28. He went through a period where he expressed almost man-love for Bush* because he was so enamored

with the Bush* aircraft carrier-Mission Accomplished stunt. THAT IS A MATTER OF RECORD. You won't convince folks here otherwise, who remember Tweety's nonsense about the "tingle up his leg".

That said, I think that admiration wore off quickly--as he was not enamored of Bush Doctrine as the little GWB* dweeb first announced at West Point and to Tweety's credit, he was very vocal at pointing out the Bush* admin's lies about WMD.

[Honeycombe8]

35. I'm going to research that. I distinctly remember him being sickened by the "Mission Accomplished"

photo op. I'll get back to you on that. He was AGAINST the Iraq War.

There ARE things to admire about Bush. You may not see them, and they elude me sometimes, but his biggest fault was letting Cheney be the boss for too long. Bush, like Reagan, was not too bright, and was used by his party big wigs. Now that he's no longer in politics, have you noticed that he has not criticized Obama even once?

No one is all bad or all good. Chris saw the good parts and acknowledged them. But he didn't hesitate to call out the bad parts.

He has expressed almost man love for Obama...said that Obama gave him a tingle down his leg.

Tweety loves politics. Period. He lives and breathes it. He's a moderate Democrat.

[hlthe2b]

36. Not when it happened. You can research on DU2. There have been tons of references to it.

Most long term DUers will have no problem remembering, as Tweety became quite the laughingstock as a result.

[tavalon]

52. I remember

I've never felt so embarrassed by a supposed journalist as I was Tweety on that day. I wanted to tell him to put it back in his pants.

Tweety, yesterday, OTOH, was spectacular.

[tavalon]

52. I remember

I've never felt so embarrassed by a supposed journalist as I was Tweety on that day. I wanted to tell him to put it back in his pants.

Tweety, yesterday, OTOH, was spectacular.

[hlthe2b]

39. Here's a good summary bit

Matthews Remembers Mission Accomplished (Some of It)
Posted on 05/04/2012 by Peter Hart

On Wednesday (5/2/12), MSNBC host Chris Matthews played a long clip from the Daily Show, where Jon Stewart mocked Republicans who are complaining about Barack Obama's celebration of the killing of Osama bin Laden. Stewart naturally recalls George W. Bush's "Mission Accomplished" photo op stunt from 2003. Stewart points out that if Republicans are angry about Obama "spiking the football," Bush was spiking the ball before the game started.

So the clip played, and then we cut to Matthews, chuckling away. Of course Stewart's point is right on–anyone who listens to this whining from the right is bound to recall Bush's celebration of the Iraq "victory." The hypocrisy is staggering.

But if you're going to have a laugh about this, then you might want to remember how excited Chris Matthews (5/1/03) was about that Bush stunt. It probably won't make you laugh, and Matthews probably doesn't want to remember it either:

We're proud of our president. Americans love having a guy as president, a guy who has a little swagger, who's physical, who's not a complicated guy like Clinton or even like Dukakis or Mondale, all those guys, McGovern. They want a guy who's president. Women like a guy who's president. Check it out. The women like this war. I think we like having a hero as our president. It's simple. We're not like the Brits.

A few more, courtesy of Media Matters (4/27/06):http://www.fair.org/blog/2012/05/04/matthews-remembers-mission-accomplished-some-of-it/

I distinctly remember his comments about how women would just fall in love with the war and Bush* because of his swagger--

[calimary]

67. I was. I found it nauseating. The only thing that made me feel better was

how many reactions there were that, like mine, recoiled from this baldly, SHAMELESS exploitative, phony-ass staging. DISGRACEFUL exploitation of our troops who actually put their lives on the line, seeing combat, volunteering to be placed in harm's way for the love of their country - when this pampered pansy-ass shirked his military duty but DARES to prance around in front of them. Didn't serve his whole tour of duty - ALL of it safely state-side, failed his pilot tests - I think a passing grade was in the 70s or 80s and he scored in the 20s. He was a passenger on that jet that landed on the aircraft carrier, which was located off the California coast near San Diego. They even turned the carrier around so that the photo op would have only open ocean behind it, making it appear as though it was on duty somewhere "war-ish." And the whole "Mission Accomplished" thing was a VERY sad irony. It really needed a "Yeah, SUUUUUUUURE" banner next to it.

[Honeycombe8]

75. You know, I watched Hardball daily then and now. I MUST have seen that.

Just had to have seen it. I wonder if I was so disgusted that I changed the channel so didn't get the whole shabang and have since forgotten it.

Since you all have mentioned it, and I researched it, I have an ever so slight vague recollection of something like that.

Funny how the mind plays tricks.

The Mission Accomplished didn't fool ME one bit. And I was NOT impressed by the cup he was wearing to enlarge his genitals. The whole show was disgusting, non-Presidential, arrogant, and fake.

[Honeycombe8]

41. I did some research. Oh, mea culpa big time.

Ouch. It's painful to admit it when I'm wrong, but I found the man love gushing you were referring to. Not just him, but a bunch of 'em.

Liddy, a famous Republican admittedly, had the worst comments. Gushing about the flight suit making the most of Bush's - ahem - assets. And that women love that, although they SAY size doesn't matter, we know it does. CAN YOU IMAGINE???!!!

I guess I didn't see that at the time. I just caught later comments.

But, in all fairness, I do have to point out that it was mainly a guy thing about the PHOTO OP of it all, how clever it was to make a strong manly point to the rest of the world. This wasn't that long after 9/11, so there was still this "they got us" feeling particularly by men in the country. I think that was a large part of it. Not the justness of it all, but that the photo op and the imagery and symbolism of it was great. To him and some others. To ME it was disgusting, and I thought the flight suit was silly. It did not escape me how silly it was, since he had not actually ever faced a bullet or flown a plane that size. And the silly bulge seemed more like a fake bulge to me.

Still, it was a man-love fest by several men, including Zakaria, and a couple of women.

Well, I guess I accept him for what he is. He's emotional, he gets carried away, he likes manly men to be men...which I guess is why he can call out the crazies on his show.

I suspect he knew Bush personally. That always has an effect on people. Bush is by all accounts a really nice guy who is fun to be around. He was just a terrible and weak President. And either dishonest, or he was so stupid that he was duped by Cheney and the real leaders of his party. It could be the latter. He isn't very intelligent.

Anyway, I stand corrected! He DID have a man-love thing for Bush for a while. But don't forget that he also fell in love with Obama.

[hlthe2b]

42. Yes... he was in "good company" during that time....

when Tweety is good--he can be very very very good. On that, I think most here would agree.

[Mz Pip]

33. He voted for Bush in 2000

but the last column he wrote for the SF newpaper he was a columnist for was a prophetic piece against going into Iraq.

[southernyankeebelle]

55. Some times he annoyes me to death. I liked Sargeant Shriver. He was an honest man. He didn't

mess around like the Kennedy brothers did.

[Honeycombe8]

21. Tweety's been in the political and news business for decades. He doesn't need to take lessons from

anyone.

[hlthe2b]

31. I'd bet my bottom dollar Tweety is being influenced by the Newsroom--a show his own son has appeared

Huff and puff about it, if you want, but Tweety has been very irratic over the years. I give him great credit now-- in addition to my comments upstream.

I have no problem giving him his due, but you won't convince too many here to join you in ignoring that Tweety has NOT always been this way.

[Honeycombe8]

43. I've watched Hardball fairly regularly for many years. He's always been this way.

He goes overboard. He's emotional. He calls out people. He'll shout them down, but not as bad as O'Donnell.

He loves this person, he dislikes that person, he calls a guest's ideas wacko or crazy. He keep repeating and interrupting by saying, "That's not an answer. Answer the question." "That's not an answer. Answer the question."

He's a Democrat. Moderate. Sometimes I can tell he's on the side of the Dems, and sometimes he's on the side of the Repubs.

He was the first to call a birther guest more or less batshit crazy. That effectively ended the major media's coverage of those batshit crazy birther guests.

He's for the working man/woman. He's concerned with women's issues. Obviously concerned with racism.

Fathers don't usually change their working methods after decades to be like their son's, who are new and inexperienced in a business. It's the other way around. Tweety has never, that I've noticed, been a follower. Even Joe Scabby doesn't interrupt him. Tweety is what we dog owners would call an alpha male. He doesn't follow. He is followed.

Exhibit #1: Secondary male Joe Scabby, an alpha on his own show, doesn't interrupt Tweety while he browbeats Joe's VIP guest. Tweety is the alpha male. The other men at the table sit there while Tweety takes the lead.

[Rhiannon12866]

44. I'm almost certain he's watching "The Newsroom"

Since his son is on it. Thomas Matthews plays "Martin," not a big role, but he's a regular. Tweety mentioned this awhile back on his show. And I can't imagine he's not inspired by it, I am.


Thomas Matthews:

[davidpdx]

54. Wow, good catch

I didn't know that.

[Pat Riot]

61. Chicken and egg

Sorkin researched Newsroom on the set of Hardball.

[BeyondGeography]

2. Good for you, Tweets

[Mnpaul]

3. So did they kick him out of the RNC yet?

They seem to want to silence all dissent.

[Dustlawyer]

4. I think that Chris Mathews is taking a cue from the show on HBO that his son is on, The Network.

He could do far worse!

[Cha]

14. His son is on it?!

I don't even have a tv but can't wait for The Newsroom to come out on netflix.

[Firebrand Gary]

17. +10000 for the Newsroom!

Last edited Mon Aug 27, 2012, 11:50 PM - Edit history (1)

[Lil Missy]

20. What part does Mathews son have in Network?

I heard that too, but is his part behind the scenes?

[Mz Pip]

30. He has a small part

He works in Newsroom and gets to have a line every now and again.

[Honeycombe8]

22. Tweety has ALWAYS been this way. He began to get upset about the race thing several years

ago. You haven't been a regular viewer of Hardball?

He's the first, and only, one to call a guest birther on his show wacko & crazy. He called the guy out, as he held up Obama's birth certificate. "That's just crazy talk!" he said to the guy, as he held up the birth certificate. THAT'S what effectively ended the media's coverage of that crazy issue.

Tweety has always been this way. I have been pointing this out for a long time, when posters would post their incorrect messages about Tweety being a right winger or whatever. He simply doesn't have an overly partisan show. That's why he gets guests birthers and Republicans. Those people won't go on Big Ed or Maddow, but they'll go on Hardball. Or they used to. Not so sure about now.

[Cleita]

5. I hope that he gets back up on that from Ed, Rachel and Lawrence.

I hope they reinforce that the GOP is dividing the country along racial lines because it's the truth.

[Auntie Bush]

26. Why do all those white men HATE Obama so much? Because he's Black!

[Honeycombe8]

45. It's taken me a few years to get to this point, but I have to admit that must be it.

I see no other explanation. I hate for that to be the case. For a long time, I refused to believe that. But now, finally, it's gotten so obvious that I have to admit that that must be it. There is no other explanation.

Add to that the increased feelings of anger and hatred among my racist family members.

Yep. Well, a big BOO HOO to them. A half-black man IS the President, and WILL remain so for another four years! Not because he's half black. But because he's been a damn good President under extreme circumstances. Oh...and the fact that he can sing and tell a joke pretty well is just the cherry on top.

[calimary]

68. Yeah, unfortunately, that IS it.

It's hard to admit but that's the basis of it. They're outraged that there's a black man in the Oval Office and he isn't the janitor.

And I think some of them may have thought they could deal with it. I think some of them thought - "well, it can't be that bad, can it?" Those would be the last vestiges of the "I'm really not THAT racist. No really!" crowd. And some of them figured they could probably deal with it if they just closed their eyes and ears and pretend Obama - PRESIDENT Obama, no less - didn't exist. But then they woke up the next morning. And the morning after that. And the morning after that. And I suspect that soon it dawned on them that this WASN'T some bad dream or something they could ignore and pretend didn't exist. And it started to bother them. It started to bother them far more than they expected, because of course EVERYBODY knows it's not supposed to be that way - the president is always supposed to be a white guy, isn't he? Because whites rule, don't they? And I think it began to bother some of them so badly that they started acting out - throwing the Sore Loserman tantrums in public that soon enough became the teabagger movement. I think it just GOT to them after awhile and a few too many of them simply snapped. And the results are what we've all had to live with, live through, AND live DOWN for far too long.

[Honeycombe8]

74. Yes, that's it. You said it so well. nt

[wordpix]

64. that is what I've come to, also

The hatred for the ACA and other O actions just doesn't add up until you consider the white men hate the fact a black man is pres

[JohnnyRingo]

8. The newspeak standard is "both sides are equally guilty".

Maybe we can finally let that rest on this matter. Personally I'm sick of that journalistic standard, as the GOP has no modern equal for moral cruelty and underhanded self service.

[Honeycombe8]

23. There have been a few others who have pointed that out...that no, the Dems are NOT the same.

They didn't do it as forcefully as Tweety, but there have been a few who have just said it out loud.

[Gabi Hayes]

65. here:

http://www.dailykos.com/story/2012/05/01/1087829/-Mann-Ornstein-It-s-Even-Worse-Than-it-Looks

[JohnnyRingo]

66. +1,000

Thanx for that link.
It's always nice to have reinforcement for what one already suspects.

[monmouth]

9. I also sent him a thank you and advised him he now qualified to

be my next ex-husband..HA! Hope he got a chuckle from it. Glad to see he received a note from Jamaica. Hopefully that was malaise...LOL..

[BadGimp]

10. Chris Ripped His Face Off!

It was a grand take down that exposed the lies, blatant racisim and hubris of Reince Priebus. The man the Tea Baggers brought in to make sure there was never going to be another Michael Steele doing point for the party of Hate.

[steve2470]

11. good for you Mr. Matthews nt

[Kolesar]

12. "There are a couple issues like peace and war, and race relations --"

No kidding

"this is, deeply, not something we should be revisiting in the 21st century," he said.

"It isn't even covert any more, its overt. Race is the San Andreas Fault in this country, and this is dividing this country along racial lines."

[Cha]

13. WOOHOO! BLESS TWEETY'S

HEART!

[Moral Compass]

15. Chris I love you sometimes....

I really love this guys sometimes, but I'll never be able to forget the unseemly man crush he had on Dubya or all the help he provided in propelling us into the Iraq war.

But, I did enjoy watching him hand Rancid Penis his ass.

It's nice to see some of the guys on our side just go for it. I think we've all learned that sitting back playing rope-a-dope just gives you sore ribs and leaves everyone else thinking you're some kind of liberal pussy.

Well played, Mr.Matthews.

[catbyte]

18. Tweety does piss me off at times, but he has moments of greatness

He had one of those this morning and I was proud of him.

Diane
Anishinaabe in MI

[NBachers]

19. Contact Info for Chris Matthews

[e-mail]

My message:

Dear Chris,

America and the world have been starving for a mainstream media person to tell the truth about the Republican Party's lies, hypocrisy, and race-baiting.

These days, we feel as if we've been transported to a bizarro world where the things we see, the things we hear, the things we are told, are bitterly divorced from the truth.

For some reason, the media finds it easier to facilitate this abortion of truth.

Thank you for calling our Reince Priebus on Morning Joe today.

We are literally dying from the lies and cruelty of the Republican Party.

The venom of deception is poisoning us.

Thank you for your impassioned statements of truth. I hope there will be more to come.

Here in America,

NBachers

San Francisco

[Honeycombe8]

34. I sent my e-mail to [e-mail]" <[e-mail]>

My email:

Thank you, on behalf of at least half the country, for not letting Mr. Priebus get away with that "it was just a joke that meant nothing" line about Gov. Romney's birth certificate joke. FINALLY, someone called attention to the elephant in the room: that these "jokes" and comments and ads that lie about work provisions in welfare...these are all codespeak. I'm white. I get it. And I'm sick and tired of it. These are hurtful things being said about millions of American citizens because of their race. So THANK YOU for having the guts to say something!

[SmittynMo]

69. My email was rejected

[e-mail] apparently is not legit

[e-mail] appears to b e OK.

[NBachers]

76. Yeah, I see that mine came back, too. Thanks for the good email address

[Odin2005]

24. GO KICK ASS, Tweety!!!

[donco]

27. I missed

that one.I guess i'll have to catch it on youtube...if its there.

[MichiganVote]

29. Dividing US along racial AND economic lines

[TDale313]

32. Just sent a thank you message.

Matthews can be pretty great sometimes, and I genuinely think he's pretty horrified by the dog whistle politics we've been seeing from the right and the voter suppression efforts.

[Jamaal510]

37. It's a shame--the GOP was once an honorable party.

I think it's sad that the party of Lincoln and Eisenhower has evolved into an extremist party of billionaires who are desperate for tax breaks they don't need, and brainwashed fools who are blinded by racial prejudice and homophobia. I think back in the day, Eisenhower actually had a 90% tax rate on the top earners. And although Lincoln still saw blacks as inferior, he arranged it to where slavery ended. These were a couple of Republicans who did what was best for citizens of this country. They weren't like today's Republicans, who are so desperate to sell failed policies and put one man out of a job that they have to lie to the public in order to win.

[Spider Jerusalem]

38. Good for Chris Matthews

it's honestly disgusting to see the way the Republican Party is prepared to exploit racism to their advantage--although at the same time I am not sure why anyone is surprised; it's been the GOP playbook since Nixon's "Southern Strategy", after all. Reagan's 1980 campaign opened with a speech invoking "states' rights" (and we all know what that means) in Philadephia, Mississippi, FFS. (Philadelphia, MS being the place where three civil rights workers were murdered in 1964; see the film "Mississippi Burning&quot .

[Zoeisright]

40. I don't see why he has to "defend" anything.

He was just telling the truth. And where's Reince's apology for being a racist shithole??

[zentrum]

46. He did great n/t

[progress2k12nbynd]

47. I missed what Priebus had said...

What language was Matthews referring to?

[DallasNE]

48. Chris Matthews Couldn't Be More Right -- Way To Go Chris

"Race is the San Andreas Fault in this country, and this is dividing this country along racial lines."

What Matthews said here really nails it. Not only that but it is something that had to be said. It is time to rip the scab off of this festering sore in America and the voters need to repudiate this once and for all in November, otherwise we will be revisiting this ugly underbelly of America every 4 years. It makes me totally ill.

[mountain grammy]

49. 1957-58, I'm 10 years old and my dad is stationed in North Carolina

Apartheid hits us like a ton of bricks. We pass a motel with the sign "colored only" and I ask "what does that mean?" Mom and Dad both NY born and raised, don't know how to explain this to us and their discomfort teaches me to quit asking. A black family lives next door to us on the base, Truman had integrated the military years before, but their son cannot attend our segregated public school. People in my generation who were exposed to this culture witnessed a great injustice.
I tend to get very emotional about racism and it is worse in America than I have seen in years. That said, believe it or not, we have come a long way. We must move forward! I can only hope more journalists follow Matthew's lead.

[Auntie Bush]

71. Around 1957 a group of us went on a trip from NY to Texas.

I came from an all white community and black people and their problems were never discussed. I had no idea of all the discrimination going on in our country. We were so shocked to see all those whites only signs on the way down...couldn't believe it! Were also shocked to see the houses/shacks black people lived in...especially in GA. We couldn't find a luncheonette to buy some lunch...so we stopped at a black only lunch stand. Didn't think much about it. One night (wee hours in the morning) we tried to camp (sleep in the car) at a national park and couldn't find any vacancies. Drove miles then found one. It was for blacks only and in desperation we stayed there. We left first thing in the morning so had no problems. Now I realize that was a very naive thing to do because they may not have liked us any more than whites liked blacks.

The whole trip left a lasting impression on me as to how awful we treated blacks.

By the way... I was never so hot and bored in my life as we drove through Texas...they can have it...nothing but dry brown grass and the view was oil wells. I came from views of ocean, water, green grass and boats...what a difference!

[SunSeeker]

50. What is shameful is that Matthews' factually correct observation is controversial at all!

[bupkus]

57. +1

[bupkus]

56. I don't like this headline. Why is Matthews defending anything?

Preibus, Romney, the entire GOP should be having to defend their race-bating and their race and gender based voter purges.

Matthews did a good job but IMO he could have gone even further. Republicans use these coded messages to their racist white male base every election cycle and it's time to call them out completely without defending or apologizing for doing so.

[LittleGirl]

58. Chris asked, what was the joke?

crickets.

WHAT WAS THE JOKE?

[proud patriot]

59. right on Chris

[railsback]

60. I, too, sent Matthews a very supportive email

This will only empower those who sit before a camera to be more confrontational, instead of cowering little children. Can't wait to hear Matthew's response to the GOP's blatant admission that their Welfare attack is a lie, they KNOW its a lie, but don't care because they need the White vote. And get that sissy Brokaw back on and let's hear what he has to say after today.

And anyone who hasn't yet, send Chris a letter of support. It clearly emboldens him to make more of a stink, and we are sorely missing that.

[wake.up.america]

62. I hate racism, sexism , homophobia, elitism. Why? Because it makes life less enjoyable and

less rewarding. I am selfish.

[Beacool]

73. Oh, he may be not OK with racism, but he's definitely OK with sexism.

[Gabi Hayes]

63. heard a big chunk on Stephan miller today

he was PISSED

where we're you 12 years ago?

had you done your job with similar outrage, perhaps.......

[zorro1]

70. Mathews is one tuff hombre...

Why is it that passion from Chris Mathews seems genuine, from pubs it seems rehearsed? Even Rush seems to not really believe or have conviction for what he says; he says it because it's the pubs talking point of the day. I too got a tingeing feeling run up my leg when you handed that punk kid his lunch without the pudding pop in it.

[Beacool]

72. He's a sexist creep.

I guess that's still OK in his book. "Nurse Rachet", "She devil", etc., etc., etc.

Shove it, Tweety!!!