Hardball

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu came down strong on the Obama adminstration Tuesday for its failure to implement a foreign policy that would prevent Iran from getting a nuclear weapon.

On MSNBC's Morning Joe Wednesday, Time magazine's Joe Klein called Netanyahu's actions "absolutely outrageous and disgusting" (video follows with transcript and commentary):

Former Democratic governor of Pennsylvania turned MSNBC contributor Ed Rendell said something on Tuesday's Hardball that is going to make a lot of jaws drop.

"Even people who lost their jobs are better off" under Obama (video follows with transcript and commentary):

Just how in the tank for President Obama is MSNBC contributor Ronald Reagan?

On Friday's Hardball, he actually said Michelle Obama gave the "best speech by a first lady I have ever seen, and, you know, all due respect to my own mother" (video follows with transcribed highlights and commentary):

During the midnight hour of MSNBC's Thursday night Democratic National Convention coverage, MSNBC analyst Howard Fineman -- formerly of Newsweek -- declared that it was "brilliant" for President Obama to suggest that Republicans are being "unpatriotic" in trying to make an issue of the economy's poor performance during his time in office.

Shortly past midnight, Fineman asserted:

Apparently, Monday, Aug. 27, was opening day for Hysterical Liberal Sanctimony About Imagined Republican Racism. During this first round, The New York Times, The Atlantic and the TV networks each put in a splendid showing. I'd need a book to cover it all! HOLD ON! I HAVE ONE -- "Mugged: Racial Demagoguery From the Seventies to Obama," available in fine bookstores near you Sept. 25, 2012.

Today, we will focus on the outstanding individual performance of the man who, since the departure of Contessa Brewer, is widely regarded by his colleagues as the stupidest on-air personality at MSNBC. Ladies and gentlemen, I give you Chris Matthews.

MSNBC's Chris Matthews went on a rant early Wednesday morning about Republicans accusing President Obama of trying to bring European socialism to America.

Unfortunately, the aging Hardball host conveniently forgot that he basically said the same thing to Paul Ryan in 2010 (video follows with transcripts and commentary):

"No one's ever going to nominate Joe Biden to be the chairman of MENSA --  he's not Albert Einstein," MSNBC political analyst John Heilemann told Chris Matthews on the Tuesday edition of Hardball. "But what he's always been a master of is applied intelligence," he added, remarking on the vice president's preparation for the October 11 debate with policy-wonky Rep. Paul Ryan (R-Wis.). Heilemann enthused about Biden's role in 1987 in scuttling President Reagan's nomination of Judge Robert Bork, "supposedly one of the smartest guys in all of the history of conservatism, of conservative legal theory."

"There's not many debates Joe Biden lost in his career," the New York magazine writer added of the Delaware Democrat who "goes to school" by preparing heavily, whether its to take on Sarah Palin or Robert Bork. Completely omitted by Heilemann, of course, was the revelation during the 1988 presidential campaign of Biden's having plagiarized a speech by then-British Labour Party leader Neil Kinnock, which, of course sank his run for the presidency. [video embed follows page break]

On the final day of last week's Republican National Convention in Tampa, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky sat down with NewsBusters to discuss amongst other things our favorite topic - liberal media bias.

In the course of our lengthy discussion, McConnell addressed Chris Matthews's claim that Republicans are being racist when they accuse President Obama of engaging in Chicago-style politics (video follows with transcript, Matthews section at minute 8:30):

Playing to a crowd of Democrats in Charlotte cheering on Democratic operative Chris Matthews as he hosted his MSNBC program, Howard Fineman blurted “I survived Tampa and am now glad to be here in Charlotte,” before he derided the Republican gathering: “That convention was like dropping a bowling ball in a sand box.” (An apparent reference to the lack of a post-convention bounce in the polls for Romney.)

As NewsBusters reported Thursday, MSNBC's Chris Matthews believes that when Republicans link President Obama to Chicago, they're being racist.

With this in mind, George Will got Donna Brazile on ABC's This Week Sunday to say the word "Chicago," and then marvelously called her a racist for doing so (video follows with transcript and commentary):

Just hours after a producer for deranged MSNBC host Chris Matthews was accused of physically assaulting Republicans outside the party’s national convention last night, Matthews himself has admitted to verbally confronting several GOP delegates at a restaurant in Tampa, Florida calling them a “douchebag convention.”

According to The Hill newspaper, the perpetually angry liberal television host confronted the delegates early Friday morning following taunting questions they asked about whether he felt “thrilled” following GOP nominee Mitt Romney’s acceptance speech.

New York Times "TV Watch" columnist Alessandra Stanley focused Friday on MSNBC's embarrassingly partisan coverage of the Republican National Convention and tried to contrast it with the struggle of NBC's more objective reporters to remain above the fray: "MSNBC, Arch Counterprogramming to Fox." The online head was more interesting: "How MSNBC Became Fox’s Liberal Evil Twin." Stanley even accused MSNBC host Chris Matthews of "thuggish" behavior in an interview with a female Republican governor.

But do NBC reporters Andrea Mitchell and Chuck Todd (or anchor Brian Williams) really "keep their opinions to themselves" as Stanley claims? Hardly. In fact, they fit in quite well with the liberal partisans at MSNBC.

Chris Matthews was on Hardball tonight covering the Republican National Convention with guests Eugene Robinson of the Washington Post and John Heilemann of New York Magazine.  In what is seemingly the natural progression of things these days with Matthews, the subject of the 'otherization' of the President was being discussed.  Because, if you weren't aware already, Barack Obama is black, and any time a Republican chooses to discuss the failure that is his administration, the media will be there to quickly remind you that they only feel that way because of his skin color.

But tonight's episode of race-baiting with Chris Matthews was a bit odd in that the panelists somehow came to the conclusion that reminding people of the President's roots in Chicago politics is racist.  In fact, simply saying Chicago is racist.  (Video below).

Chris Matthews, on Monday's Hardball, attacked Newt Gingrich with the same old liberal line about the GOP using racial code words, from Mitt Romney talking about welfare reform to Gingrich calling Barack Obama the "food stamp president." However, the former Speaker of the House wasn't having any of  it, as he hit back: "Why do you assume food stamp refers to black? What kind of racist thinking do you have? Wait a second! Why aren’t you being a racist because you assume it refers to black?" (video after the jump)

MSNBC's Chris Matthews sure doesn't have a problem expressing his affection for men on national television.

After showing a new campaign ad former President Bill Clinton just completed for the current White House resident, the Hardball host actually said, "If I were Barack Obama, I'd marry that guy" (video follows with commentary):

Former Newsweek editor Howard Fineman appeared on Wednesday's Hardball and warned that the Republican Party has become a "faith-based," "Bible-based" political organization. Fineman also derided Paul Ryan as untrustworthy when it comes to considering science: "[Ryan] starts every consideration of public policy, not from the standpoint of science, but from the standpoint of faith."

The journalist, who is now the editorial director for the Huffington Post, darkly intoned, "But the Republican Party has become a faith-based party. Starting with Ronald Reagan, there was a marriage between the Bible Belt of the south, fundamentalist Bible Belt of the south." [See video below. MP3 audio here.]

Time magazine's Joe Klein made a truly disgraceful comment on MSNBC's Hardball Tuesday.

"The Republican Party has a major grassroots problem which is that a good part of its grassroots now celebrate ignorance. It’s more, it’s more than abortion and women’s rights" (video follows with transcript and commentary):

Former Newsweek editor Howard Fineman on Monday's Hardball compared the Republican vice presidential candidate to a congressman who is under fire for discussing what makes a "legitimate rape." Fineman attacked, "Because Todd Akin is the Paul Ryan of Missouri." [See video below. MP3 audio here.]

Akin on Sunday was asked about women who get pregnant after being raped. He replied, "If it’s a legitimate rape, the female body has ways to try to shut that whole thing down." Fineman connected, "What matters is that the views that Todd Akin has espoused and the legislation he's supported is exactly in line with what the perspective Republican vice presidential nominee, Paul Ryan, believes and supported." Matthews, typically, derided the Republican Party's "right-wing assault on women, this caveman view of the sexes."

When it comes to family members of Republican presidential candidates, looks like the MSM has decided they're fair game for attacks.  Yesterday we noted how ABC's Bianna Golodryga claimed that Paul Ryan's mother was campaigning in a "very calculated" manner.  

Today we offer Joan Walsh into evidence.  Appearing on the weekend edition of MSNBC's "Hardball," the Salon editor accused Ann Romney of throwing a "tantrum" over her husband's decision to release no more than two years of tax returns.  View the video after the jump.

For well over a week now, the folks on MSNBC have been throwing conniption fits over the selection of Paul Ryan as Mitt Romney's running mate.

On Thursday, Hardball host Chris Matthews actually said, "They’ve created a real Frankenstein’s monster in putting this guy on the ticket" (video follows with transcript and commentary):

Chris Matthews on Wednesday went to embarrassing lengths as he struggled to explain away a gaffe by the Vice President, offering tortured, confusing logic to defend Joe Biden's "chains" comments. According to the Hardball host, Biden's remarks to a largely black audience that Republicans will "put y'all back in chains" were "historical" and not "negative" or racist like when the GOP does it.

Matthews, who on Tuesday foamed that Paul Ryan could be "worse" than Dan Quayle and "more trouble" than Democratic debacle Thomas Eagleton, defended, "...Biden, maybe he is trying too hard to get the support of black people, but he's not using negative slurs in doing it." Matthews lectured, the Vice President's comment is different than the "code" from the GOP "about food stamps and welfare and welfare queens and all." He added, "It seems to me that [GOP comments on race are] a negative reference to slavery and to black folk." [See video below. MP3 audio here.]

Liberal MSNBC anchor Chris Matthews, who previously linked Sarah Palin and Michele Bachman to the attempted killing of Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords, completely ignored the shooting of a security guard at the conservative Family Research Council (FRC).

By Matthews' own past statements, wouldn't an examination of the possible root causes of the FRC shooting be warranted? On January 10, 2011, Matthews said of the Giffords attack: "Sarah Palin using gun play language. What is she talking about crosshairs and reloading...and Bachmann out there with her kind of talk." He hinted, "Why are guns talked about so much, especially on the right? Why?"

A cartoonish Chris Matthews on Tuesday managed to mangle a historical analogy and spew liberal propaganda at the same time as he offered this ridiculous assessment of Paul Ryan: "This guy could be worse than Quayle, more trouble than Tom Eagleton." [See video below. MP3 audio here.] Worse than Dan Quayle, who was successfully elected vice president in 1988? "More trouble" than Eagleton, the 1972 Democratic vice presidential candidate who was thrown off the ticket after 18 days? (Eagleton, in earlier years, had been treated for depression with electroshock therapy.)

Matthews' argument, history aside, ignores individuals such as John Edwards, who recently avoided going to jail and who cheated on his cancer-stricken, now-dead wife during a 2004 run for vice president. The current vice president is incredibly gaffe prone, a man who credited "President" Franklin Roosevelt for going on "television" after the stock market crashed. (FDR wasn't president and television hadn't been introduced to the public.)

Presumptive Republican vice presidential nominee Paul Ryan was heckled Monday by protesters at a campaign event in Iowa.

Time senior political analyst Mark Halperin told MSNBC's Chris Matthews these were Democrats "on duty" (video follows with transcript and commentary, photo courtesy Des Moines Register):

Liberal MSNBC anchor Chris Matthews on Monday revealed his favorite campaign ad of 2012: The outrageous commercial that features Congressman Paul Ryan murdering an elderly woman by throwing her off a cliff. Before playing a portion, Matthews enthused, "Let me show you the ad that I have to like the most in this campaign." [See video below. MP3 audio here.]

Spinning the philosophy of the presumptive Republican vice presidential nominee as "screw the poor," Matthews opined on the broader message: "But here is a party that believes this stuff...It is true. It's not just party rhetoric. It is true."

Former New Hampshire Governor John Sununu on Monday had a heated debate with MSNBC's Chris Matthews.

Toward the end of the incursion predictably about Paul Ryan's budget, Sununu accused the Hardball host of being "dumb enough" to think Ryan is "going to call the shots" in this matter instead of Mitt Romney who's "at the top of the ticket" (video follows with transcript and commentary):

On a special Saturday edition of Hardball, MSNBC host Chris Matthews twice claimed that Republican Rep. Paul Ryan's budget "screws" needy people. During a segment with Democratic Rep. Chris Van Hollen, as he asked what it was like to work with Rep. Ryan as his colleague, the MSNBC host asserted that the plan "really screws the people who desperately need Medicare and programs like that."

Everyone knows that politics can be an ugly business, but MSNBC’s Chris Matthews sunk to a new long on his Hardball program Tuesday night.  Matthews’ outrage came from an ad put out by the Romney campaign suggesting that President Obama, "announced a plan to gut welfare reform by dropping work requirements," which, his administration most certainly did.

Since there's nothing factually assailable about the ad, Matthews decided that the best approach for criticizing the spot was claiming it was "Willie Horton stuff." Of course, the 1988 Willie Horton ad was also 100 percent factually unassailable, which is why that ad resonated against then-Gov. Michael Dukakis (D-Mass.).  The issue at hand isn’t the accuracy of the ad but rather Matthews' insistence that racism is at play.  [Video follows page break;  MP3 audio here.]