On Monday's Morning Joe show on MSNBC, contributor Kurt Bardella delivered his latest gratuitous trash talk against Republicans, accusing them of labeling minorities as "dirt" and "the enemy." The frequent guest offered no examples of these provocative claims.
As MSNBC political analyst Jonathan Lemire, appearing as a guest on the show, alluded to recent political struggles within the Republican party, he turned to Bardella and posed: "Where is the Republican party? With COVID exploding in a lot of Republican-led states down South, where is this party right now? Where is it going?"
The disgruntled former Republican began by claiming without any examples that Republican leaders are instructing people to not get vaccinated:
It's getting smaller and smaller and smaller. We have a party that, number one, is giving instructions to the most ardent supporters that will kill them. That if you believe this iteration of the Republican party, it very well could cost you your life. Your leaders -- governors like the one in Mississippi -- what we've seen in Alabama with more deaths -- more deaths in Alabama than actual births in the last year. If you believe in this party, it could cost you your life.
Alabama reported about 7,000 more deaths than births. The current COVID death toll is 13,210. The current COVID death toll in the state of New York is over 54,500.
He then complained about Republican efforts to restrict abortion, and made incendiary charges about Republican treatment of minorities:
Number two, if you are a woman in this country, this is a party that doesn't believe that your body is yours to command -- that you have the right to make decisions about your health. For all the things we hear from this party -- so-called liberty and freedom and their ridiculous defense of why we shouldn't take the vaccine, that seemingly doesn't apply if you're a woman wanting to make a health care decision for yourself. If you're a minority in this country -- you're labeled as the enemy -- you're labeled as dirt -- you're labeled as a drug dealer or a rapist or a criminal or a virus. The Republican party is getting smaller and smaller.
This episode of MSNBC's Morning Joe was sponsored in part by TD Ameritrade. Their contact information is linked.
Transcript follows:
Morning Joe
September 20, 2021
7:57 a.m. Eastern
JONATHAN LEMIRE: I want to talk about where the Republican party, your former party, is right now. A handful of things in the last couple days. We have Congressman Anthony Gonzalez announcing he will not seek reelection. He stood up to Trump. We have the California recall which came close the last time around in 2003. You were involved with that. This time appointing a rather Trumpian figure nowhere near enough to dispose of the Democratic sitting governor.
We had Mike Pence -- revelations in the new Woodward and Costa book that he was perhaps not as noble as we first thought in standing up for the Constitution, and tried to do Trump's bidding. It took a phone call from former Vice President Quayle to talk him out of it. And then of course this weekend, thankfully a small turnout at the rally at the Capitol in support of the insurrectionists of January 6th.
Where -- right now -- where is the Republican party? With COVID exploding in a lot of Republican-led states down South, where is this party right now? Where is it going?
KURT BARDELLA, MSNBC CONTRIBUTOR: It's getting smaller and smaller and smaller. We have a party that, number one, is giving instructions to the most ardent supporters that will kill them. That if you believe this iteration of the Republican party, it very well could cost you your life. Your leaders -- governors like the one in Mississippi -- what we've seen in Alabama with more deaths -- more deaths in Alabama than actual births in the last year. If you believe in this party, it could cost you your life.
Number two, if you are a woman in this country, this is a party that doesn't believe that your body is yours to command -- that you have the right to make decisions about your health. For all the things we hear from this party -- so-called liberty and freedom and their ridiculous defense of why we shouldn't take the vaccine, that seemingly doesn't apply if you're a woman wanting to make a health care decision for yourself.
If you're a minority in this country -- you're labeled as the enemy -- you're labeled as dirt -- you're labeled as a drug dealer or a rapist or a criminal or a virus. The Republican party is getting smaller and smaller. The Republican party in California, 2003 during the recall that led to Arnold Schwarzenegger's election -- the last Republican to be elected governor of California -- that was a party that was fighting for the center. That was a party who chose an immigrant to be their standard bearer.
Arnold Schwarzenegger couldn't get elected dog catcher in today's Republican party. He couldn't get past a primary in this iteration of the party. And so, as goes California, so goes the country. And just as the California Republican party became a shell of itself -- became a third party in the state of California because of registration -- got wiped out of office statewide, lost control of the legislature -- a veto-proof Democratic legislature in California. That is what's going to happen to the national Republican party if they keep going down this path.
