The government reopened on Monday after Democrats reversed course, apparently failing to get their demands met on “ironclad commitments” about DACA. This prompted an admission from an unlikely source on the state of liberalism: Chris Matthews denounced some on the “hard left” who “don’t care” about the impact of the shutdown.
As the Democratic hard line stance crumbled, the Hardball host conceded, “So there is still this split on the left of the Democratic Party.... A lot of Democrats on the left don't want to look like they're in bed with Republicans on any occasion!”
Matthews added, “There's a hard left out there that doesn't want to be seen as, together, too cozy with Republicans, especially in the era of Trump.” The liberal journalist admitted that some on the left care more about slamming the President than they do the country:
Still, Democrats, some, would like to be seen on the progressive side of any issue and are willing to say, ‘I don't care if the government is opening or not, I'm going to vote against it opening.’
Will other liberals in the press note this transparently obvious point?
A partial transcript is below:
Hardball
1/22/18
12:35CHRIS MATTHEWS: I want to go to Nicolle. I haven't heard from you today. It's interesting to me. I thought it was like seems old times when Dick Durbin was talking about the old Senate where they actually had bipartisan agreement. I worked there for Ed Muskie and those guys. They actually got together on the budget. They had the same budget, national budget. But I thought it was interesting you're going to see Chuck Schumer voting with the Republicans come this roll call as it begins now.
He's going to stick with it. Whereas Pelosi — We're getting word that Pelosi and Hoyer are not going to vote with majority if this thing passes today. So there is still this split on the left of the Democratic Party — not that Hoyer is on the left, but he's concerned with it — A lot of Democrats on the left don't want to look like they're in bed with Republicans on any occasion! So it isn't just a hard right. There's a hard-left out there that doesn't want to be seen as, together, too cozy with Republicans, especially in the era of Trump.
12:37
MATTHEWS: Still, Democrats, some, would like to be seen on the progressive side of any issue and are willing to say, “I don't care if the government is opening or not, I'm going to vote against it opening.”
