On Saturday's Melissa Harris-Perry show, MSNBC host Harris-Perry trashed Virginia Lieutenant Governor candidate E.W. Jackson as she took exception with some of his "pretty disgusting" conservative views, and ended up proclaiming that the thought of the African-American Republican winning in November "just makes me feel icky all over. Ewww."
The MSNBC host framed the segment as if she had written a letter to Jackson. She began on a juvenile note as she made fun of the "E.W." portion of his name, pronouncing it, "ewww," reciting:
It's me, Melissa. Can I call you, "Ewww"? Because I've heard what you've had to say about your politics, and, quite frankly, it's pretty disgusting. I wanted to begin my advice to you with a reminder that, as a candidate for public office, you must choose your words carefully. But it's a little late for that, isn't it? The Internet has already caught wind of some of your greatest hits.
After complaining that Jackson has charged that African-Americans have a "slavish devotion" to the Democratic Party, Harris-Perry lectured him about choosing to be a Republican, suggesting he just wants to "stand out." Harris-Perry:
You see, you've got it all wrong. Your choice to join the Republican Party doesn't make you more free or independent than black people who choose to be Democrats. It just makes you really good at figuring out how to stand out in a radical, right-wing base that's devoid of diversity.
And that's not even particularly original. I mean, just ask Herman Cain and Allen West. As for your campaign strategy, you might want to keep one thing in. The very people you've targeted with those hateful words are the same people who comprise the voter base that pushed Virginia from red to solidly purple and elected President Obama not once, but twice. So good luck with that!
The MSNBC host concluded her letter by fretting over the prospect that a Lieutenant Governor Jackson might cast tie-breaking votes in the evenly divided state senate:
The gig you're going for is a step away from the most powerful position in a crucial swing state that can turn the tide of national elections, which is why my feelings about you emerging victorious in November's election are best summed up by your tweet in response to LGBT Pride Month. Well, it just makes me feel icky all over. Ewww.
Below is a transcript of the relevant portion of the Saturday, May 25, Melissa Harris-Perry show on MSNBC:
This week we had our first glimpse of the Virginia Republican Party's nominees in the state's general election in November. After ten hours and four ballots, delegates to Virginia's Republican convention enthusiastically nominated their choice for lieutenant governor, a right-wing reverend you've probably never heard of before now whose only political claim to fame was winning a paltry five percent of the vote when he ran for the U.S. Senate last year, who is now poised to hold the second highest office in the state of Virginia. And since he's a relative novice in this game, I thought I'd better write him a letter with a bit of advice.
Dear Bishop E.W. Jackson,
It's me, Melissa. Can I call you, "Ewww"? Because I've heard what you've had to say about your politics, and, quite frankly, it's pretty disgusting. I wanted to begin my advice to you with a reminder that, as a candidate for public office, you must choose your words carefully. But it's a little late for that, isn't it? The Internet has already caught wind of some of your greatest hits.
You know, like the time you called the repeal of Don't Ask Don't Tell a "disaster of historic proportions," and said that it "must be reinstated." Or when you said, gay and lesbians are "perverted," "very sick people."
Can't forget your conspiracy theory classic about President Obama having, quote, "Muslim sensibilities," and seeing the world "from a Muslim perspective."
Oh, yes, and then there was that time when you claimed that "liberalism and their ideas have done more to kill black folks "than (the) Ku Klux Klan, lynching, slavery, and Jim Crow ever did..."
Your creative interpretation of the Constitution's clause counting black people as three-fifths of a person as an "anti-slavery amendment."
Oh, oh, and then there's my personal favorite. Your complaint about African-Americans' -- what did you call it? -- "slavish devotion" to the Democratic Party? Look, I know you proclaimed proudly last week that you are, quote, "not an African-American, just an American." But even if you want to deny your connection to black people in this country, you do not have the right to insult us by using "slave" as though it is some kind of slur. Slavish? If by slavish you mean hard-working, striving for freedom and laying the economic foundation of the country, well, I'll be that. You see, you've got it all wrong. Your choice to join the Republican Party doesn't make you more free or independent than black people who choose to be Democrats. It just makes you really good at figuring out how to stand out in a radical, right-wing base that's devoid of diversity.
And that's not even particularly original. I mean, just ask Herman Cain and Allen West. As for your campaign strategy, you might want to keep one thing in. The very people you've targeted with those hateful words are the same people who comprise the voter base that pushed Virginia from red to solidly purple and elected President Obama not once, but twice. So good luck with that!
But, as much as I'd like to file you away with the colorful cast of Tea Party characters we've seen come and go, I just can't because, although the lieutenant governor position is largely ceremonial in Virginia, when it's time to break a tie in the evenly split state senate, it matters. And we saw that earlier this year when Virginia's current LG, Bill Bolling, broke a tie and effectively delayed tougher restrictions in the state's voter ID law.
But more than that, the gig you're going for is a step away from the most powerful position in a crucial swing state that can turn the tide of national elections, which is why my feelings about you emerging victorious in November's election are best summed up by your tweet in response to LGBT Pride Month. Well, it just makes me feel icky all over. Ewww.
Sincerely, Melissa
