But the American people have sort of a gyroscope, something that always brings them back to center, where it very much -- and nobody wants to hear this on the right, but we're very much like France in that way. We`re not an ideologically proletarian country or right-wing militarist country.
Generally, we listen to those voices and we never go further right than Reagan, and the minute he got into office, he moved very much to the center. As governor of California, for example, on issues like abortion rights. He moved to the center.
I don't think we are an extremist country, but these voices are frightening. And at a time of economic desperation, if you will, they're being listened to. But the one ironic -- I don't want to call it silver lining - the one whisper of possible good coming out of this horror in the Gulf of Mexico, what is really hurting North America, the love we have for this part of the world, our own part of the world, is that maybe it convinces people that government is important.
Matthews smeared the Tea Party together with every fringy right-wing cause in American history:
MATTHEWS: You hear it from the tea party people. You see them with the Gadsden flag, "Don`t tread on me." You hear it from the militia, from the birthers, from the patriot groups, the oath takers -- the oath keepers. They all have one resonant statement. `The United States has been taken over by a foreign power. There's a tyranny in Washington. It`s illegitimate. It's led by a person who`s not an American. He may be a Muslim. He may be a Nazi.' whatever. It's not America. Anything goes. And by the way, when you resort to the Second Amendment to take out your government officials, can you go any further than that? I wonder.
MADDOW: You know, seeing the way that you juxtaposed that historical clip that we just played with, for example, the birthers, and when you draw those connections with them all thinking there`s some foreign and illegitimate power that needs to be - that`s usurping legitimate American authority, it just reminds me that there's a lot to the 'Communists in the State Department' stuff that sounds like the Kenyan in the White House stuff. Isn`t it sort of, can it be the same hot buttons for Americans, can they work?
MATTHEWS: No, of course, it's there. It's the paranoid history of America. I always like to tell this to people who care about America, like your audience.
There`s two armies that march almost side by side through American history. There's the progressive army that led for abolition, that fought the Civil War, the good guys of the Civil War. And of course, those who really pushed for reconstruction afterwards like Thaddeus Stevens and the good guys, the radical Republicans of that day.
And alongside is this other army, the know-nothings and then the Klansmen who came along later. And then, you`ve got in the 20th century - it's the same pattern - it's the progressives moving a step or two ahead of this reactionary army that rides right along them, sort of camp followers playing off the dispossessed, those who resent change.
It's same with sexual orientation today. There`s always going to be another group growing along saying this threatens traditional marriage. This threatens something here.
Matthews talk of the centrist "gyroscope" came right after more of his optimistic preaching about how Democrats will pull out some of these congressional races:
I think Charlie Crist, having been pushed out of the Republican Party in Florida basically for hugging Barack Obama - let's face it - might well win down there. I think he will. I think Marco Rubio is going to fade as a candidate.
I think Sharron Angle, with the statements coming out now about using the Second Amendment right, which is a right in the Constitution. It`s written there, as a way of taking on your government and bringing it down. I think that`s going to scare you. Nevada is not a right wing state. Nevada is kind of a purple state. I think Harry Reid is now back in the saddle.
So I think Joe Sestak is going to win. I don't think Pat Toomey is consistent with Pennsylvania sort of center right and center left history. So we`ll see.
...I think Rand Paul could lose. But we'll have to see. I don't know. I think this is a bad year for progressives. It`s a tough economy, and you're always blamed if you're in power.
