Chris Matthews has used the passing of Ted Kennedy to paint opponents of Pres. Obama as a pool of potential assassins.
Participating in a panel discussion on Morning Joe today, Matthews asserted that there was a hateful environment in the Dallas of 1963 in which President Kennedy was assassinated that is "like the mood we're in now."
Matthews made his remark in the course of painting a picture of the Kennedys as a family of risk-takers.
CHRIS MATTHEWS: You know there's going to be a lot of talk about the tragic blessings of the Kennedy family, and the curse. And it's all nonsense. These people were courageous risk takers. Kathleen Kennedy, the girl, the oldest daughter, she was killed with her lover traveling on a plane ride she never should have taken through terrible weather in Europe. Joe Kennedy, Jr. took a mission that nobody should have taken in a plane loaded with dynamite to go blow up the V-1 rocket sites. Jack Kennedy was killed in an open car in Dallas in the midst of the most hated--it's like the mood we're in right now.Need Matthews be reminded that JFK was killed not by a hate-filled right-winger, but by a Communist who had spent time in the Soviet Union? But any occasion is apparently good for Matthews to smear conservative opponents of Pres. Obama.
Editor at Large
Comments Policy
Liar Liar Pants on Fire
August 26, 2009 - 06:42 ET by richb313I think that Chris Matthews was all of 17 or 18 years old when President Kenedy was killed. I was only 12 years old. That day was burned into my memory. He knows not what he speaks of. President Kennedy might not have been loved in the South (Miss and Alabama especially) but there was never a feeling of hate that permeates much of what passes for civil discourse today. I am sure that at the age that Mr. Matthews was at the time he never spent any time in Texas. I lived in Louisiana and Texas during those years. Please Mr. Matthews explain why there were cheering crowds everywhere he went in Texas if he was hated so much. Mr Matthews can no longer call him self a journalist or a reporter the best he can hope for is a job in Obama's ministry of truth.
Matthews has forever passed
August 26, 2009 - 06:49 ET by Mr. MikeMatthews has forever passed the bounds of good taste and polite etiquette. This guy would roast your child over an open flame if Dear Leader ordered him. And do it with a drooly smile too.
Don't speak too soon,
August 26, 2009 - 08:37 ET by motherbeltDon't speak too soon, Mike....
Every time we think Chrissie has hit rock bottom or "forever passed the bounds of good taste" he manages to exceed our expectations.
He just keeps finding more sharks to jump.
But, as I said below, he's just doing his "job" you know (to make sure Obama succeeds), so cut him a break!
After Watching Beck Today
August 26, 2009 - 17:16 ET by DoktorFrankenI gotta believe that GE and NBC (who seem to be cozy with Hussein) keep losers like Chrissy on the air regardless of his ratings. What, 800 thousand-some people actually watch him? Who else can they find stupid enough to say these crazy things? Or crazy enough to say these stupid things.
Chris Matthews - The Interchangeable Schmuck
OOOOPS
August 26, 2009 - 17:24 ET by DoktorFrankenHis 'audience' is just over 600 thousand - not 800 thousand.
Chris Matthews - America's Mood
August 26, 2009 - 06:49 ET by Steve SternIs there a bigger bone head in the media than Chris? He's the liberal politicians' puppy. Oh yeah, it could be Keith.
The mood is only in Chris's
August 26, 2009 - 07:28 ET by kgThe mood is only in Chris's mind. For America the mood is that Ted will finally have to answer for taking a young girls life.
"DumbAssity of Dope"
Countdown clock started
August 26, 2009 - 06:50 ET by YahooWatcherTicking away the time before we hear how a government run health care system would have saved Ted. Wait - Ted was part of government run health care system. I sure hope someone read him "Your Life, Your Choices"
Don't Tax Me, Bro.
Ted Kennedy and Government-run health care
August 26, 2009 - 07:36 ET by motherbeltThe Anchoress made a great observation:
But Kennedy’s death -outside of the coastal enclaves-
will not have the drama and sentimental heft some might expect. Given a
grim diagnosis in May of 2008, Kennedy managed, with the help of some
of the best care available, to see another Christmas, another spring
and even another summer. It’s entirely possible that what Kennedy’s
death will really do is bring into stark relief the fact that
under Obamacare, this overweight 77 year-old man with liking for the
drink would probably have faced treatment rationing and an offer for “physician aid-in-dying”.
[That's only if he were an average Joe, though....]
Kennedy’s death will emphasize yet again that our elected “public
servants” enjoy one of the best health insurance plans in the world,
while they are trying to force something much less comprehensive (and
life-affirming) onto their constituents.
Re Obamacare
August 26, 2009 - 09:49 ET by slickwillie2001Great find; so true.
If Obamacare is inflicted upon the nation, I expect we will end up in a situation much like our education system, where the average citizen has to put their children into failing government schools (or Obamacare) while the wealthy, including those like Ted Kennedy, can afford private schools (or hospitals).
The ruling class, like the democratics on school vouchers, will want to keep us riff-raff out of what will become their private system of well-funded health care.
Ted was no JFK
August 26, 2009 - 07:02 ET by ArchConservative1: The elder Kennedy was a Hitler supporter and appeaser.
2: The Kennedys (John and Robert) spied and eavesdropped on MLK, JR.
3: Ted Kennedy KILLED a woman in his car and didn't report it for 24 hrs.
4: JFK attacked a "sovereign" nation (Bay Of Pigs) and is still thought of as a hero, while GWB (in their minds) did the same thing and he is villified.
5: The number of women that have been abused by the Kennedys over the years dwarfs anything that Clinton did.
6: Ted Kennedy was an extreme left-winger who was against America's best interests and was an appeaser of those who seek our destruction.
7: I don't see ANYONE mourning Ted the way JFK was. Ted's death was prolonged and expected, not sudden and violent.
8: Mary Jo would not have benefited by his health care plan.
9: JFK, Jr, took extreme risks and killed not only himself but his girlfriend and her sister. That's not heroic.
10: It doesn't matter because the people of his state will elect another liberal elitist.
You support the troops by supporting the mission! If you don't support the mission, have the guts to say you don't support the troops.
Obama: Not my President. Ever.
Hey Arch, right on. It is ...
August 26, 2009 - 12:50 ET by SentryDanHey Arch, right on. Good job, brother.
It is amazing how selective the liberal memory is. Trying to hid things or say that something wasn't said (like Howard Dean tried to do yesterday) just doesn't work in the day of instant communications. These people keep getting caught in their lies and still they deny it ever happened.
Wake up America, before it's too late.
Remember folks, Freedom isn't Free. It was bought with the blood and sacrifice of the men and women who are serving and who have served in the U.S. Armed Forces.
For those who fought for it, Freedom has a flavor that the protected will never know.
Also remember folks, that the way to SUPPORT THE TROOPS is to support their mission. Anyone who says that they support the troops but don't support their mission is lying about supporting the troops. And if you want to know, yes I do have a dog in the fight, he is a United States Marine.
Matthews
August 26, 2009 - 07:04 ET by BondPlainBondThis clinches it. Matthews lives in a very personal and very necessary tingly, fantasy world.
What was Matthews going to say before he changed direction.... "in the midst of the most hated..." what?
Perhaps it is too some to
August 26, 2009 - 07:08 ET by nicksmith112Perhaps it is too some to ask but will Uncle Sam get to tax any Ted money. Kennedy's are not ones to pay taxes.
I'm a refugee from the Democratic Party.
KENNEDY CURSE...
August 26, 2009 - 07:12 ET by danybhoyI find it amusing that the leftists in this country love their "royal family", despite it's wealth being founded upon illegal activities(bootlegging-it was a stupid law outlawing booze, but it was illegal to do what old man Kennedy did) I love hearing Mike Malloy refer to what he calls "The Bush Crime Family", when there is an actual crime family of sorts with the Kennedy's.
Let's be honest, Ted was a drunk, he killed a woman in his car (I believe while drunk,) & all of his "political passions" that he worked so hard for are the reason they are effed up. Health care, education, & immigration are all things he screwed up to almost unrepairable levels. His reputation will be whitewashed today & in the coming days, but here something to keep an eye out for. I heard a report about a deal that the Kennedy's had with the Kopechne family. They were supposedly paid to be quiet about what they knew until Teddy died...well, he's now assumed room temp. The hope finally the truth about this story will come out, I bet it's as ugly as I believe.
Matthews & everybody in the MSM will hate it, I can't wait.
"...How blind can you be, don't you see...
...that the gambler lost all he does not have..."
Nightwish
Of course they paid off the
August 26, 2009 - 09:52 ET by mattmOf course they paid off the Kopechnes. They probably sent Luca Brazzi out there to get the signatures.
Re Payoff
August 26, 2009 - 11:47 ET by slickwillie2001I'm not so sure; I can see the possibility that the Kopechnes were such committed left-wingers that they considered their daughter a loss "for the cause" and just let it go. There are people that are that committed to the goals of the far left.
Is Matthews wanting to be
August 26, 2009 - 07:13 ET by rimskyIs Matthews wanting to be credited with predicting a possible attack on the POTUS? Maybe somebody should investigate him. What a POS!
Drudge Headline: "Passing Of Era"
August 26, 2009 - 07:21 ET by SickofLibsThis is not the appropriate time for nicknames, Mr. Drudge.
Matthews Needs...
August 26, 2009 - 07:25 ET by GeneralAlMatthews needs to do some "Fact Checking" of his own! JFK was not exactly popular with his own party at the time! He had thrown in with the Republicans on tax cuts and integration! 1963 was the year of the disapperance of three civil rights workers in the Democrat state of Mississippi. Every state in the south was run by Democrats, most of whom were in the clan! Every assassin in America since Lincoln has had some connection to the left fringe of the Democrat party. After Kennedy, we had the King killing. Another member of the Democrat KKK. RFK was killed by a Serbian with Communist ties, another leftie. Lynette From was from the Manson family. Sarah Moore was a Weatherman Radical [Can anyone spell Bill Ayres?]. John Hinckley was a Hollywood loon. How about all the calls over the internet for the death of George Bush? Eventually these lies come back to bite you in the fanny! Howard Dean lied on MSNBC the other night only to deny it last night on FOX!
GeneralAl
August 26, 2009 - 07:58 ET by PA ConservativeChrissie went on and on last night, during Hardball, about how worried he was that the racists right wingers who "hate" Obama were going to make an attempt on his life. Literally wringing his hands and fretting. The spittle was flying. He had some jackass (who looked like a homeless person they cleaned up for the interview) on there opining that the "real" reason people are against O is that the right is made up of racists who "want their country back". He actually said that. These people have absolutely ZERO intellectual honesty. They play the race card at the drop of a hat...shows who the real racist pigs are, doesn't it?
To our friends on the left: we don't hate the man, we hate that he is hell bent on destroying the American way of life. Wouldn't matter if he was white, black or purple...try to get that through your immature, overly emotional brains! God, help us all. Chrissie, you are truly pathetic. I'm almost to the point where I feel sorry for these clowns.
PAC
That whenever any form of government becomes destructive to these ends,
it is the right of the people to alter or to abolish it, and to
institute new government...
Amen!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
August 26, 2009 - 08:01 ET by USA4freedomAmen!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Ronald Reagan, 1962: I did not leave the Democratic party, the party left me.
Insert: your name, 2008, and the Republican party.
Not exaggerating
August 26, 2009 - 08:03 ET by Texndoc"Literally wringing his hands and fretting. The spittle was flying."
I saw the last 3-5 minutes of his show and "on and on" was right because that's exactly what he was doing, probably from beginning to end.
homeless guy?
August 26, 2009 - 09:32 ET by JeffC...He had some jackass (who looked like a homeless person they cleaned up for the interview) on there opining that the "real" reason people are against O is that the right is made up of racists who "want their country back". He actually said that.
Was that homeless guy Fidel Castro? Was he wearing a track suit?
I agree with every one plus
August 26, 2009 - 07:58 ET by USA4freedomI agree with every one plus I think it’s just a desperate attempt to get some traction with his viewers.
Here are this weeks ratings.
MONDAY, AUG. 24, 2009
FOXNEWS O'REILLY 3,440,000
FOXNEWS HANNITY 2,937,000
FOXNEWS BECK 2,810,000
FOXNEWS GRETA 2,450,000
FOXNEWS BAIER 2,066,000
FOXNEWS SHEP 1,860,000
MSNBC OLBERMANN 1,114,000
CNN KING 1,063,000
MSNBC MADDOW 885,000
CNN COOPER 827,000
MSNBC HARDBALL 640,000
Ronald Reagan, 1962: I did not leave the Democratic party, the party left me.
Insert: your name, 2008, and the Republican party.
Whatever the gang gets paid...
August 26, 2009 - 08:00 ET by TexndocWhatever the gang here at Newsbusters gets paid, it won't be enough for the next 2-3 weeks having to cover this stuff on MSNBC. As with the weeks proceeding January 20, 2009 (Inauguration Day) and immediately after, I'm on a personal newschannel self-imposed blackout.
Anybody notice they're all wearing their black funeral outfits?
August 26, 2009 - 08:04 ET by SickofLibsAnybody notice they're all wearing their black funeral outfits?
I agree! Going to be a long
August 26, 2009 - 08:04 ET by USA4freedomI agree!
Going to be a long road..
Ronald Reagan, 1962: I did not leave the Democratic party, the party left me.
Insert: your name, 2008, and the Republican party.
Isn’t it time to ignore Matthews?
August 26, 2009 - 08:08 ET by Red JeepIt is obvious that he has no control over himself. Thinks what ever pops into his mind is true. Matthews has the lowest viewership of any MSNBC evening show. (The Ed show, as bad as that is, is beginning to regularly beat Matthews.)
The viewers are ignoring him, 99+% of the country doesn’t watch him, and maybe Newsbusters should ignore him too. Maybe then, to get noticed, Matthews will say something so outrageous that he will be fired or asked to go away.
Matthews is an idiot who is
August 26, 2009 - 08:36 ET by Indiana JoeMatthews is an idiot who is depleting our natural resources to no purpose.
"[N]either the wisest constitution nor the wisest laws will secure the liberty and happiness of a people whose manners are universally corrupt." - Samuel Adams
Matthews is wrong
August 26, 2009 - 08:54 ET by mattmMatthews is wrong (shocking, I know) about the mood in 1963. There was Cold War fear and the Civil Rights movement was just getting ready to boil over, but there was not a huge movement of people protesting their government's drift toward socialism.
The anti-government sentiment of the late sixties were the result of KGB infiltration of the anti-war and civil rights movements and of the Draft, Johnson's escalation of the war and severely biased anti-American media reporting.
The mood now is more like 1775 than 1963.
Yes Chrissy, let's take a look at some of these...
August 26, 2009 - 09:37 ET by PrairieSky"courageous risk takers" as you called them.
Big daddy Joe Kennedy was a crook and a bootlegger who through his mob, union, and other nefarious connections helped buy the 1960 presidential election for his son, John. Joe Kennedy Jr. was so consumed with being a bigger war hero than his little brother John, that he accepted what amounted to a suicide mission in WWII and ended up dead because of it. We all know about President Kennedy's heroic actions during WWII, but we also know about his many peccadilloes, political and otherwise. Bobby Kennedy is widely believed to have been involved in an affair at one time with his brother John's castoff, Marilyn Monroe. And finally we have little brother Ted, who was a serial adulterer and whose drunken, reckless actions led to the death of MaryJo Kopechne. Sorry Chrissy, but I'm just not as enamored of the Kennedy clan as you and the rest of the Left are.
"The problem is not that people are taxed too little...the problem is that government spends too much." ~President Ronald Reagan
One thing I've noticed
August 26, 2009 - 09:38 ET by equusartsOne thing I've noticed about these lib network hosts is that they play very loosely with the facts. This begs the question, are they doing it on purpose, or are they truly that stupid. Well, I think Matthews in particular is TRULY that stupid! And MSNBC wonders why their viewership is so low!
"Hypocrisy, the lie, is the true sister of evil, intolerance, and cruelty."
This begs the question, are
August 26, 2009 - 17:26 ET by DoktorFrankenThis begs the question, are they doing it on purpose, or are they truly that stupid.
Yes.
It's sad when anyone
August 26, 2009 - 09:43 ET by equusartsIt's sad when anyone passes, but the "statesman", the "greatest senator in American History" and "Wonderful human being" are all things I've heard on the news this morning and much, much more.
I doubt the family of the girl who lost her life directly because of him feels this way. And what, truly, has he ACTUALLY accomplished? Other than paying personal pennance for his crime.
Me thinks the rose colored glasses need to be taken off.
"Hypocrisy, the lie, is the true sister of evil, intolerance, and cruelty."
Ditto.. I am already so sick...
August 26, 2009 - 09:45 ET by PrairieSkyof that unending drivel that is consuming the news channels, I'm watching the TV guide channel...LOL!
"The problem is not that people are taxed too little...the problem is that government spends too much." ~President Ronald Reagan
Funnier And Funnier
August 26, 2009 - 10:54 ET by rammingspeedMatthews is an hysterical idiot. People are laughing harder and harder as he gets more and more shrill.
Matthews Fairy Tales
August 26, 2009 - 11:05 ET by Gat New YorkEither Matthews never really knew the Kennedys or he is still tripping on acid from his Peace Corps days.
Both assassinations were mob hits. Had Bobby not turned on the very people who put his brother in office JFK would have lived out his term(s). It had nothing to do with lone gunmen and hatred in Dallas.
And calling them “courageous risk takers” is stupid. “Risk takers” – yes. But how "courageous" was it to turn on the mob or was it plain stupid and arrogant? How "courageous" was it to take a drug overdose? How "courageous" was it to play football on a ski slope? How "courageous" was it to fly a private plane in bad weather when you are not yet qualified to do so? How "courageous" was it to get hooked on heroin, or screw your kids’ baby sitter, or rape a girl, or cheat on your husband the NYS Attorney General?
There is no curse. But it certainly makes for good fairy tale yarns.
Massachusetts
August 26, 2009 - 11:37 ET by SpikerI'm glad I moved far away from Boston, as I'm sure the networks are having wall to wall Kennedy coverage. The last time I was up visiting was when Ted was first diagnosed and leaving the hospital. The local stations were chasing the car down to that family "compound" with helicopters and everything. Then of course we had the all day Kennedy family retrospect. I can only imagine what's going on up there today, and I am also going to have to impose a several day cable news blackout as well. Thanks NB for suffering these idiots like Matthews so the rest of us don't have to!
RIP MJK
August 26, 2009 - 21:23 ET by retrocon1969
misplaced worry
August 26, 2009 - 23:35 ET by konoThe only people I've hoped will be assassinated are Robert Mugabe and Hugo 'Turnip Head' Chavez. I hope nobody on this shore gets whacked.
But if it happens to someone, the one I'd probably prefer to go would be the one who made this nonsensical claim (or perhaps his apoplectic partner in propaganda). Both Chris and Keith make asswipes seem clean.
If Chief Jughead goes, then Pettychief Plughead would take his place. And who knows whether that would be even worse for the country!? Defeat the duplicitous bastard in the White House -- the last thing we need in this country is another Liberal martyr.