Hardball

On Thursday's Hardball, Chris Matthews determined that Democratic Congressman Anthony Weiner could be in danger of being forced out of Congress by Blue Dog Dems who face uphill battles in red states because, as he put it, "people in the rural areas of this country who are Christian conservative culturally - you can say backward if you want...don't like this kind of stuff."

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Palin Derangement Syndrome was in full bloom on MSNBC's "Hardball" Tuesday.

At the conclusion of the program, host Chris Matthews went on a hate-filled rant accusing the former Alaska governor of being "out to cause trouble" and wanting "bad news about America" (video follows with transcript and commentary):

As NewsBusters' Lachlan Markay pointed out, the Weinergate scandal showcased a variety of liberal media conspiracy theories. One of the most prevalent theories focused on besmirching conservative blogger Andrew Breitbart, who broke the story wide open Monday with a series of posts on BigGovernment.com featuring lewd photos of Rep. Anthony Weiner.

"Look, Breitbart is a proven liar, okay?" bellowed MSNBC anchor Cenk Uygur on June 1. "He doctored the Shirley Sherrod tapes. He's done this over and over again. Why would anybody take this fool seriously?"

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On Friday's Hardball on MSNBC, host Chris Matthews proposed a GOP conspiracy behind the indictment of former Democratic presidential candidate John Edwards: "Do you think there's politics in this prosecution? Was it just a Republican U.S. attorney going after this guy, sticking around to do the dirty work for the 'R's?" [Audio available here]

Matthews posed that question to Democratic strategist and former Edwards spokesperson Karen Finney, even she wasn't buying it: "You know, I don't know." Undeterred, Matthews continued his bizarre rant: "But this looks like one of those things you read about in third world countries or in India or somewhere or Pakistan, where they get someone who's been out of office a couple of years, get them while they're down, hit them with some incredible charge with campaign funding that nobody's ever heard of before and put them away for a while. It just looks like revenge against the party – against somebody that lost an election."

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MSNBC's Chris Matthews on Thursday got a much-needed economics lesson from CNBC's Joe Kernen.

In the midst of a discussion about the economy and how it's going to impact the 2012 elections, the "Hardball" host bragged about having studied economics in grad school leading Kernen to marvelously ask, "You studied economics?" (video follows with transcript and commentary):

Both CNN's Anderson Cooper on Wednesday's AC360 and CBS's Nancy Cordes on Thursday's Early Show highlighted conservative blogger Andrew Breitbart's early part in spreading news of the lewd photo Tweeted from Rep. Andrew Weiner's Twitter account. Cooper played up Breitbart's supposedly "questionable credibility," while Cordes reported how "supporters of Weiner note that it was [the] right-wing blogger...who broke the story."

The CNN anchor raised Breitbart's involvement 15 minutes into the 10 pm Eastern hour as he introduced the second part of an interview of the New York Democrat conducted by his colleague Wolf Blitzer:

According to Chris Matthews, Sarah Palin is the most divisive figure since Abraham Lincoln "caused" the Civil War. In an odd historical analogy, the Hardball host marveled at Palin's bus tour: "Leading off tonight, civil war on the right. Not since the election of Abraham Lincoln has a Republican caused such a war."

The anchor frothed, "Sarah Palin went right to New Hampshire, serving as a human grenade, blowing up his announcement by saying Romney's health care is a total violation of Tea Party beliefs."

[See video below. MP3 audio here.]

Hardball host Chris Matthews on Thursday continued to lash out and deride the Republican Party as "anti-science" and "troglodytes." Playing off a comment by GOP Congressman Dana Rohrabacher, Matthews attacked the "dunderhead" party.

At a congressional hearing, Wednesday, Rohrabacher said of global warming, "Is there some thought being given to subsidizing the clearing of rainforests in order for some countries to eliminate that production of greenhouse gases." This led Matthews to sneer, "More evidence that the Republican Party in the anti-science mode. Boy, are they back into their troglodyte ways."

[See video below. MP3 audio here.]

MSNBC's Chris Matthews has for weeks been dishonestly telling his viewers Congressman Paul Ryan's (R-Wisc.) budget proposal would kill Medicare.

On Wednesday's "Hardball," former Republican National Committee chair just-turned MSNBC contributor Michael Steele struck back (video follows with transcript and commentary):

A clearly amused Chris Matthews narrated and laughed at a liberal ad showing Republican Paul Ryan murdering an elderly woman by throwing her off a cliff. This is the same MSNBC anchor who railed against "ugly" conservative talk and wondered if it led to the shooting of Representative Gabrielle Giffords.
   
After playing a lengthy excerpt, Matthews enthused, "Boy, I love the point of view on that one as she tries to slow down with her feet. Anyway, the irony here, Paul Ryan may be driving the Republican Party off the cliff..." Earlier he played a clip and snickered at the image of Congressman Ryan dropping a screaming grandmother to her death.

In contrast, on the January 11, 2011 Hardball, Matthews highlighted the shooting of Giffords and foamed, "People like Mark Levin, Michael Savage, for example who every time you listen to them are furious, furious at the Left with anger that just builds and builds in their voice, and by the time they go to commercial, they’re just in some rage, every night, with ugly talk. Ugly sounding talk."

[Video below. MP3 audio here.]

Remember all that talk four months ago in the wake of the Tucson shootings that political commentators needed to tone down their rhetoric?

MSNBC's Chris Matthews certainly doesn't, for on Monday's "Hardball," he called Rep. Paul Ryan's (R-Wisc.) Medicare plan a 'killer politically" and a "death certificate" for Republicans (video follows with transcript and commentary):

MSNBC's Chris Matthews opened his "Hardball" program Monday by once again bashing the possible Republican presidential candidates.

With Indiana governor Mitch Daniels dropping out Saturday, Matthews focused his attention on Mitt Romney, Tim Pawlenty, and Jon Huntsman telling guests John Heilemann and Mark Halperin, "I don’t want an interview with any of these guys" (video follows with transcript and commentary):

As NewsBusters previously reported, MSNBC's Chris Matthews said Thursday, "It’s so pathetic that Roger Ailes has put Sarah Palin on television."

According to TVNewser, Ailes struck back Friday:

During his umpteenth day in a row bashing Republican presidential candidate Newt Gingrich, MSNBC's Chris Matthews began a lengthy segment Thursday by referencing the famous Marx Brother line "Who you gonna believe - me or your own eyes?"

Problem is the high and mighty "Hardball" host, despite playing a clip from "Duck Soup" clearly identifying the distinctive voice and accent of the speaker, gave credit to the wrong brother (video follows with transcript and commentary):

Just when you thought MSNBC's Chris Matthews couldn't stoop any lower he magically finds new ways to trash his political opponents while praising the man that gives him a thrill up his leg.

On Wednesday's "Hardball," the host in his concluding segment attacked Republican presidential candidate Newt Gingrich as the Joker looking "for ways to manipulate public opinion, interrupt the TV news, and bring his evil intentions and motives and instincts into reality" while praising President Obama as "our hero" Batman full of "goodwill, generosity and glamour" (video follows with transcript and commentary):

When MSNBC's Chris Matthews isn't calling a potential Republican presidential candidate racist, he's calling them idiots.

On Tuesday's "Hardball," after one of his guests said, "We shouldn’t forget Sarah Palin" as a possible candidate, the host arrogantly shot back, "I think she’s proven herself to be profoundly stupid" (video follows with transcript and commentary):

Leftist comedian Bill Maher found a receptive audience with MSNBC's Chris Matthews on Tuesday. The HBO comic trashed the United States as "not sophisticated" when it came to sex scandals and derided, "We are a childish country and if somebody has their peepee in the news, then it's going to be a top story for a lot of people."

The Hardball host prompted the attack by wondering if the revelation that Arnold Schwarzenegger fathered a child with another woman while married was really a big deal. He mused, "Is this a political story? Does it say anything about American politics?...Can you compartmentalize?"

The snide comedian mocked, "Well you can you do that but not in America. You can do that in sophisticated countries. We are not one of those."

[See video below. MP3 audio here.]

As NewsBusters has been reporting, so-called "news" organizations have been routinely calling leading Republican figures racists for having the nerve to criticize the policies of President Obama.

On Monday, conservative talk radio host Mark Levin specifically called out NBC News not only for its on-air talent being "blindingly white," but also for "promoting racial division in this country" (embedded audio follows with transcript and commentary):

MSNBC's Chris Matthews on Monday excoriated the Tea Party as full of "hate," using the term ten times in less than two minutes. Comparing the alliance between Republicans and the Tea Party to a union, he mocked, "Why would anyone marry for hate rather than love?"

The Hardball host derided, "...The marriage between the Republicans and the Tea Party is based on hatred, hatred of government, hatred of the Democrats, hatred of Barack Obama." In one minute and 57 seconds, Matthews used the word "hate or "hatred" ten times.

[See video below. MP3 audio here.]

Last year, MSNBC and other so-called "news" outlets mercilessly attacked Kentucky Senatorial candidate Rand Paul for giving an honest libertarian answer to Rachel Maddow concerning the Civil Rights Act of 1964.

On Friday's "Hardball," Chris Matthews tried the same tactic on Paul's father Ron, but the elder Texas Congressman was ready for the question and ended up making the host look rather silly for asking it (video follows with transcript and commentary):

Former Arkansas Governor and possible 2012 presidential candidate Mike Huckabee has produced a cartoon series that offers a decidedly conservative alternative to the typical liberal bilge that kids are inundated with on TV and in schools across the nation and Chris Matthews is not happy about it.

On Thursday's Hardball Matthews played a clip from the kids show that featured an animated Ronald Reagan imparting some inspiring words to the children, after which the MSNBC host railed: "that's right from a Cambodian re-education camp or it's chairman Mao's little red book. What propaganda!"

(video, audio and transcript after the jump)

MSNBC's Chris Matthews is clearly not going to tolerate anyone on his program saying Republican presidential candidate Newt Gingrich isn't racist.

Politico's Jeanne Cummings had the nerve to do exactly that on Thursday's "Hardball," and for her sins Matthews relentlessly browbeat her until she finally gave up (video follows with transcript and commentary):

A frothing Chris Matthews on Thursday excoriated the "nasty," "shameless" Newt Gingrich for robbing "the political arena of joy and humanity."

The Hardball host even compared the 2012 Republican presidential candidate to a famous horror movie villain: "I cannot believe there are young Republicans idealists out there, young people with hope who want our country to be good and have good politics to want to resurrect this element of Freddy Krueger, Nightmare on Elm Street politics."

[See video below. MP3 audio here.]

Chris Matthews Wednesday actually asked Ron Reagan, "Did [your father] really believe if you lowered the tax rates the government made more money?"

Frankly, I'm not sure which was more absurd - the question or the answer (video follows with transcript and commentary):

Since the successful raid on Osama bin Laden's compound in Pakistan nine days ago, MSNBC has been playing highly-edited snippets from George W. Bush's March 13, 2002, press conference to make it appear the 43rd president had dropped the ball concerning the former al Qaeda leader.

Chris Matthews did this Tuesday during a Bush-bashing segment on "Hardball" (multi-part video follows with complete transcript and commentary):

What would you say was the best week in American history?

If you're a man named Chris Matthews who gets a thrill up his leg for Barack Obama, you would say the week in which Osama bin Laden was killed by a Navy SEAL team in Pakistan (video follows with transcript and commentary):

MSNBC's Chris Matthews on Monday continued to obsess over Dick Cheney, deriding the former Vice President as a "torture advocate" who should waterboard Dick Cheney and Scooter Libby.

The Hardball anchor attacked Cheney for complaining that Barack Obama has ended Bush-era war on terror polices. Matthews offered this aside: "...But Cheney being Cheney- doesn't that sound like a good torture advocate name, by the way- he couldn't help but stick it to the President on this very issue."
   
He then played a clip of Cheney and, rather than address the ex-VP's statements, mocked, "Why don't we have Cheney try that waterboarding thingamajig of his on Karl Rove and Scooter to really find out who said what in that CIA leak case? I think they're fair game, to use a phrase. "

[See video below. MP3 audio here.]

Chris Matthews apparently misses moderating Republican debates and hectoring the candidates with bizarre questions. On Thursday's Hardball, hours before the first GOP face-off, the cable anchor dreamed up hypothetical queries he would like to see: "Question to Mr. Candidate, do you believe in evolution? Are you a fundamentalist who believes in the Bible as written? Has man been around millions of years or, say, just about 6000?"

Apparently this question is crucial as it determines "whether you believe in science or not." On the week Osama bin Laden was killed, Matthews added this relevant inquiry: "A question for the fundamentalists who give that answer, why do we conduct health experiments for people on animals if there's no relation?" 

The liberal anchor also wondered, "Do you wish to outlaw abortion and if so what should be the punishment? If having an abortion doesn't deserve punishment, why are you pushing to outlaw it?"

[See video below. MP3 audio here.]

MSNBC's Chris Matthews on Wednesday mocked Rush Limbaugh's response to the killing of Osama bin Laden, deriding the conservative as a "walrus underwater." Matthews also made an odd grunting noise to back up this description.

After playing a clip of Limbaugh asserting that the media have played up Barack Obama's role in the action, the Hardball anchor berated, "You know, I don't even know what that is except just bitterness. I mean- [makes noise] Walrus underwater talking and what is he actually saying?"

Matthews introduced the segment by hitting Limbaugh as a "caricature" and a "cartoon."

[Video can be found below. MP3 audio here.]