Al Sharpton, victim? Yup -- according to Chris Matthews. The MSNBC host suggested that Mitt Romney had landed a "sucker punch" on Sharpton in reacting to the reverend's assertion that "true believers" will defeat the Mormon in the presidential race. Matthews laced his interview with Sharpton on this afternoon's "Hardball" with a number of comments painting Sharpton as the offended, not the offender.
After playing a tape of Sharpton's remark, and Romney's response in which he characterized Sharpton's comment as bigoted, Matthews went off on a riff.
View video here.
MSNBC HOST CHRIS MATTHEWS: Do you think they're jumping on you? Are they trying to make you into Sistah Souljah a la 1992? Do you think he's tagging you for political gain on the right? . . . Do you think you might be getting tagged pretty hard here because Romney, being pretty astute politically, sees you as a great target not just because you're a Democrat but also because you were very tough in bringing down Don Imus and he says, well, this guy's up on a pedestal; I'm going to knock him off, and that way everybody's gonna say he's a hypocrite. You could say it's a sucker punch, or a Sunday punch, but clearly Romney is swinging for the fences against your head. There's no doubt about what's going on here.For his part, Sharpton had the smoke-and-dust machine turned on full blast, obfuscating his "true believer" remark and offering a classic non-apology apology. Excerpts:
I'm just saying you're a big target Reverend. You know, every time you climb up the ladder a little bit, your rear-end gets bigger. That's just a fact of public life. You are a big man this year, you're bigger now than you were four, the last time you ran for president, three years ago, you're a much bigger fella, and the defeat of Don Imus, which was a career defeat, you were seen as the ramrod of bringing him down. So you have to understand that someone like Romney, who is probably looking for a way to distance himself from the left politically and a chance to bring down somebody big, this is a chance for him, isn't it? Isn't that what he's doing, rightly or wrongly?
THE REVEREND AL SHARPTON: How Romney reads all of that [the accusation of bigotry] into the line [Sharpton's original "true believer" remark] you just said is kind of appalling to me, but, it's politics I guess on his side. . . I said let's not worry about the Mormon candidate because true believers, meaning, not atheists, we're not going to rely on an atheist vote, we're going to vote. [I didn't say he would be beaten] because he was a Mormon. . . I'm glad to say that I talked today with two of the leaders of the top apostles group of the Mormon church. I said to them I was certainly not being anti-Mormon. I'm going to go see them in Utah. I would apologize to Mormons.I've said if I've offended Mormons with the misuse of my words I would apologize to Mormons.
View Sharpton's non-apology apology here.
BONUS COVERAGE: In a subsequent segment, Southern Baptist leader Richard Land stated that under no circumstances would he vote for Rudy Giuliani, given the former NYC mayor's stand on abortion. While mentioning that he doesn't endorse candidates, Land literally and figuratively smiled at the prospect of an independent McCain-Lieberman ticket. Later, pollster Charlie Cook predicted that Rudy's pro-choice views would ultimately do him in among GOP primary voters, and predicted that Romney or Fred Thompson will ultimately emerge as the candidate.Contact Mark at mark@gunhill.net—Mark Finkelstein is a NewsBusters contributing editor and host of Right Angle. Contact him at mark@gunhill.net.
Editor at Large
Comments Policy
These nitwits can spin this a
May 10, 2007 - 18:47 ET by VT Con ManThese nitwits can spin this all they want, Sharpton called Romney a non-believer and can't even stand up for what he said. Doesn't know when to keep his bigoted mouth shut. Too bad he can't be fired from anywhere. He will just continue to be legitimized by all of the leftys in the MSM. shame shame shame.
The left
May 10, 2007 - 19:07 ET by iveseenitallWhat a video. One ignoramus talking to another. Mitt Romney has more class than these two clowns and a thousand other liberals put together. But this story and three or four others I've seen today are scaring me. The MSM is truly off the deep end in this country. They are like a classroom out of control. Once it's gone, it never comes back to even a semblance of normalcy. Think about it--Sharpton, Matthews, Olbermann, Sawyer, Mahar, Bahar, Rosie, or any of them. They're all ignorant nut cases in need of therapy. But they believe in their own sanity. Worse still, they believe people are still listening to them. What was that line about the cookoo's nest?
NEVER,NEVER trust a liberal
Keep your chin up iveseenital
May 10, 2007 - 19:20 ET by VT Con ManKeep your chin up iveseenitall ! I heard today that TV viewership is at its lowest since 1987. Voila. Noone is watching them. They are irrelevant, and noone cares what they have to say. They are a figment of their own imaginations.
Maybe once or twice a week, I
May 10, 2007 - 20:44 ET by SumricaMaybe once or twice a week, I go over to Media Bistro to see what the cable ratings are. MSNBC always does terrible. The Scoreboard: Tuesday, May 8
Sumrica...Thanks for the late
May 10, 2007 - 20:51 ET by bigtimerSumrica...
Thanks for the latest delicious information there...and the link.
Btw...No wonder Olbermann feels like such a big-shot, he rules in the ratings.
On msnbc that is...
ROTFLMAO!
You said a mouthful with......
May 10, 2007 - 19:42 ET by Sonny Lykos"The MSM is truly off the deep end in this country. They are like a classroom out of control. Once it's gone, it never comes back to even a semblance of normalcy."
Now apply that to the COUNTRY at large, and you have what we have right now, and it will never, ever come back.
Some think I'm a hysteric when I make comments like that, but as far as I'm concerned, our entire country has slide into a socialist hole and gaining speed as it goes deeper - never to come out.
not alone
May 10, 2007 - 21:12 ET by iveseenitallYou are not alone, Sonny. Some great modern thinkers agree completely with you. Listen to Thomas Sowell, for example. He sees little hope for the future of this country.
NEVER,NEVER trust a liberal
Sonny Lykos,My husband (who d
May 11, 2007 - 08:48 ET by msh1973Sonny Lykos,
My husband (who doesn't say much about the culture) thinks that the tide has turned and there is no going back.
NB
May 10, 2007 - 23:13 ET by BullMooseMy first. "Those who believe in God"? Reverand, please. Is there an open door policy for the church of Al?
Thanks Newsbusters.
No great intellectual thing was ever done by great effort. T. Roosevelt
You know, I just noticed th
May 11, 2007 - 00:10 ET by motherbeltYou know, I just noticed the screen capture of Matthews and Sharpton....it says "Sharpton vs. Romney" as if they are both equally guilty in this thing. Sharpton insulted Romney, and Romney reacted. Should he have just shut up??? This is like the zero-tolerance rule for fighting in school....the kid who defends himself gets in as much trouble as the one who attacked him!
Well mb,You know how the left
May 11, 2007 - 00:18 ET by bigtimerWell mb,
You know how the leftist look at an even playing field.
Only in their minds I tell ya, only in their minds.
matthews
May 10, 2007 - 19:02 ET by the mad poleLily white with the Adolph hair cut is down with the brothers, who knew? What a butt kissing.
hi the mad pole, don't mean t
May 10, 2007 - 19:16 ET by VT Con Manhi the mad pole, don't mean to shoot down your observation, but i believe that adolph dew is more of a bad combover doncha think?
Adolph combover butt kisser. :0
serh gut
May 11, 2007 - 08:37 ET by the mad poleNEIN, the little putian has no other intimidating qualities
Leave it to Sharpton to try
May 10, 2007 - 20:04 ET by motherbeltLeave it to Sharpton to try to portray himself as the victim. And leave it to Chrissy Matthews to help him. They are both shameless.
Hi mb,You are so right...What
May 10, 2007 - 20:26 ET by bigtimerHi mb,
You are so right...
What is too bad for me is they do not even know how to have a sense of shame...as they have never learned it or felt it or just come naturally as it does to most human beings.
hey bigtimer, it is so infuri
May 10, 2007 - 20:35 ET by VT Con Manhey bigtimer, it is so infuriating to see crissy prop this guy up so shamelessly. This video is like a big kiss-up session from crissy.
and another thing-how on God's green earth did anyone let this pile "moderate" the Republican Presidential Debate???and whomever did, should be fired. a lefty "anchorman" is one thing (but not by much these days) but this guy?!? how?! Why?!
VT, ...how?! Why?!Because th
May 11, 2007 - 00:07 ET by bigtimerVT,
...how?! Why?!
Because the republican candidates agreed evidently.
The fools...(btw, really the only one that was made a fool of was Matthews, Politco, John Harris in every-body's face with the mike, like some kind of a genius big shot, which he looked past stupid.)
I hope they do not do it again, let alone msnbc.
They should go Fox or nothing...let's see what the dem's do.
Wanna bet the republicans don't do it?
Hope I am wrong.
sharpton
May 10, 2007 - 20:16 ET by iveseenitallSharpton's retort is so typical of these immature lefties. Say it and then deny, deny, deny. It's what is so despicable about the left. They're like kids caught with their hands in the cookie jar. They try to say, " It wasn't me", with their mouths full. They don't even have the courage of their convictions. Then again, they don't have any convictions. Sneaky s.o.b.'s.
NEVER,NEVER trust a liberal
iveseenitall, I had to laug
May 10, 2007 - 20:39 ET by motherbeltiveseenitall, I had to laugh reading your comment that they deny, deny, deny. Reminded me of the time my son, when he was 3, cut a chunk of his hair off, right in front. When I asked if he had cut his hair, he denied it, and when I asked him what happened to his hair said "i don't know". He also "didn't know" what the hair in the wastebasket was... LOL
The amazing thing about Sharpton is that he can say what are obvious lies with a straight face. He still refuses to apologize for the Tawana Brawley thing...he says he won't apologize for believing a young girl, as if his "crime" was that he believed her...not that he lied and slandered several people and ruined their lives. I repeat....shameless.
Matthews: "You know, eve
May 10, 2007 - 21:40 ET by GalvanicMatthews: "You know, every time you climb up the ladder a little bit, your rear-end gets bigger."
"The higher the monkey climbs in the tree, the more you see of his behind," -- General "Vinegar Joe" Stilwell, as quoted in Barbara Tuchman's 'Stilwell and the American Experience in China.'
Credibility, character, power
May 10, 2007 - 21:48 ET by dahliatraversCredibility, character, power brokering, enlightenment, maturity. Or rather, lack thereof. The problem, Chris, is that Sharpton has been falling, not rising.
Galvanic,Great tag.Vinegar Jo
May 10, 2007 - 22:46 ET by BlondeGalvanic,
Great tag.
Vinegar Joe Stillwell. The unknown General of WWII.
Oh, what a great movie that would make, if the idjits in H'wood would only get a clue.
LMAO! I'll bet that's not
May 10, 2007 - 23:56 ET by motherbeltLMAO! I'll bet that's not what Matthews had in mind when he said that! But he was inadvertently correct..... Al shows his a$$ more every time he opens his mouth.
Matthews and Sharpton: a matc
May 10, 2007 - 21:40 ET by Gat New YorkMatthews and Sharpton: a matched pair.
GatActually that would be the
May 11, 2007 - 10:09 ET by Airforce_5_OGat
Actually that would be the two a$$es on the Horse. ;>)
Sharpton has apologized to tw
May 10, 2007 - 22:14 ET by dahliatraversSharpton has apologized to two Elders of the LDS church. (But not to Romney.)
http://deseretnews.com/dn/view/0,1249,660219496,00.html
Did you catch this gem in t
May 10, 2007 - 22:23 ET by motherbeltDid you catch this gem in the article?
A statement issued by Sharpton said he also telephoned Romney, the only
Mormon candidate seeking the White House in 2008, "to call upon him to
engage in a dialogue of reconciliation between African-Americans,
conservatives and members of the Mormon church ... ."
So Sharpton insults Romney and the Mormons; then he calls upon Romney to engage in "reconciliation." Kind of "I insulted you, now let's talk about your faults that made me insult you; and if you do what I want we can reconcile...."
That is known as, in the words of one of my favorite radio personalities, "B, as in B; S, as in S."
We wouldn't need reconciliati
May 10, 2007 - 22:32 ET by dahliatraversWe wouldn't need reconciliation, Al, if you hadn't been flapping your gums without engaging your brain.
mb and dahlia,Thanks for this
May 10, 2007 - 22:38 ET by bigtimermb and dahlia,
Thanks for this information, I heard bits and pieces somewhere in between some disruptions here in my home that Sharpton had apologized.
Sure does not sound like an apology to me....not if I were Romney, as that is who he directed the comment to.
As an aside, I heard Sharpton vs. Bernard McGuirk from Imus are going to be on the H&C show tomorrow to hash out the hypocrisy.
I am looking forward to this one.
Hi BTi am truly sorry if you
May 10, 2007 - 22:46 ET by botgHi BT
i am truly sorry if you were bothered by what you think you heard
Supreme Court, National Security, Borders, Fiscal Restraint, my litmus test for President.
bot...LOL!
May 10, 2007 - 22:51 ET by bigtimerbot...
LOL!
NB
May 10, 2007 - 23:19 ET by BullMooseMy First. Thanks Newsbusters.
"No great intellectual thing was ever done by great effort". T. Roosevelt
I wonder if Al feels Imused?O
May 11, 2007 - 08:01 ET by Airforce_5_OI wonder if Al feels Imused?
Oh wait, he is untouchable according to the left-wing media.
Sorry.
"Life's tough, it's even tougher if you're stupid."
-John Wayne