Monday’s Hardball featured host Chris Matthews squaring off against Sanders campaign chairman Jeff Weaver and after a tense exchange on whether Clinton’s lucrative donors signaled she’s “made a deal with the devil,” Matthews gushed that Sanders often strikes his “erogenous zone” on certain issues.
Prior to the latest head-scratching utterance from Matthews, he welcomed on Weaver but immediate lambasted he and his boss for criticizing Hillary Clinton by speaking “in almost like mythical” and “strong” language about Clinton taking money from corporations, Wall Street and other interest groups in hopes gaining access in the White House.
Weaver responded by citing how Clinton “has chosen to take money from virtually every special interest in the country” (and specifically those that liberal claim to despise) in contrast to Sanders “do[ing] it differently” via “small contributions from people all over the country.”
Almost immediately, the tension escalated as Matthews fired back that Weaver has a problem with making “that kind of Faustian charge” about Clinton and lamented that it was wrong from him to assert that Clinton would not be able to “get [her] soul back” if she became president:
MATTHEWS: The deal you made with the devil, you said it. If she made a deal with the devil, she ain’t going to be able to undo that deal.
WEAVER: They'll come knocking the day after the election if she's elected president. No doubt about that.
MATTHEWS: And what’s that mean? They? How many devils are there?
WEAVER: Quite a few of them. Wall Street, the pharmaceutical industry, the fossil fuel industry, and on and on it goes.
Weaver responded that it’s “the way it works” in Washington D.C. and Matthews should know since he’s lived in the area for so long. The Hardball host didn’t refute that and instead chided Weaver for offering “a pretty condemnatory comment” and questions about Clinton being qualified to be president “on paper.”
After Weaver highlighted how Clinton’s past job positions would indicate her ability to be president, but he also voiced concerns about her being truly ready to her not being far enough to the left on issues like trade deals and previous support for DOMA and the Iraq War.
It was at this point that the thrill-up-the-leg Matthews proclaimed that, on many issues, the socialist Senator often strikes “my erogenous zone”:
MATTHEWS: Well, there’s an amazing number of things you mentioned I have to agree with you and your candidate on, as you know. You know my erogenous zone, you're hitting it. The problem is this —
WEAVER: That's inflammatory.
MATTHEWS: No, it isn’t. Don't be sarcastic.
The transcript of the interview from MSNBC’s Hardball on April 11 can be found below.
MSNBC’s Hardball
April 11, 2016
7:06 p.m. EasternCHRIS MATTHEWS: Jeff Weaver joins us right now. Thank you, I missed your name there, I'm sorry. You're a powerful speaker.
JEFF WEAVER: No problem.
MATTHEWS: But, you know, this is pretty strong stuff. You deal in almost like mythical language. You talk about Hillary Clinton selling her soul to the devil basically. Do you mean that?
WEAVER: What I mean, Chris, is —
MATTHEWS: No, selling her soul to the devil? Basically, that’s serious business.
WEAVER: She has chosen to take money from virtually every special interest in the country. Wall Street, the financial industry, the pharmaceutical industry, Greenpeace documented that, between her and her Super PAC, $4.5 million from fossil fuel related industries, the gun lobbyists that provided her money. So, on all of these things, she has chosen to fund her campaign in that way. What we know, Chris, by the fact that Bernie Sanders does it differently is you don't have to fund your campaign that way. He funds his campaign with small contributions from people all over the country.
MATTHEWS: Well, that's good. I think everybody thinks that's admirable, but then, you're the only one out there saying she sold her soul to the devil. The problem with that kind of Faustian charge —
WEAVER: I said she made a deal with the devil. That’s what I said.
MATTHEWS: What's the difference? There's only one deal with the devil, my friend. That’s selling your soul. There is no other deal. It’s Faust. We all know the story. You can't get your soul back. So, can Hillary ever get her soul back?
WEAVER: Well, look, the truth of the matter is —
MATTHEWS: The deal you made with the devil, you said it. If she made a deal with the devil, she ain’t going to be able to undo that deal.
WEAVER: They'll come knocking the day after the election if she's elected president. No doubt about that.
MATTHEWS: And what’s that mean? They? How many devils are there?
WEAVER: Quite a few of them. Wall Street, the pharmaceutical industry, the fossil fuel industry, and on and on it goes.
MATTHEWS: So you stick to your claim is Hillary Clinton sold her soul to the devil?
WEAVER: No, I didn't — look, she's taking a lot of money from people, who are going to come back after the election and knocking on the door, looking for access. That’s just the way it works.
MATTHEWS: The devil. The devil.
WEAVER: That's the way it works, Chris.
MATTHEWS: She’s dealing with evil?
WEAVER: Chris, you worked in Washington, D.C. You know how it works.
MATTHEWS: Okay, I understand what you’re saying. I think it's a pretty condemnatory comment. Let me ask you about on paper. Hillary Clinton's had experience on paper. What do you mean?
WEAVER: Well, look, she's secretary of state, she was a senator, she was First Lady of the united States, and of Arkansas. She has an incredibly impressive resume, no doubt about it, but when you go beyond it, and you look at her support of things like the Iraq War, her support for disastrous trade deals, her support for DOMA, her efforts during the 2008 race to keep the Governor of New York from giving drivers licenses to undocumented workers, when you look at these things over and over again, there's more there than just the resume.
MATTHEWS: Well, there’s an amazing number of things you mentioned I have to agree with you and your candidate on, as you know. You know my erogenous zone, you're hitting it. The problem is this —
WEAVER: That's inflammatory.
MATTHEWS: No, it isn’t. Don't be sarcastic. Anyway, it seems to me you have a lot of good arguments, but you overstate your case. First of all, your candidate, Senator Sanders, who you've been working for for so many years, saying I'm not questioning her qualifications. It sounds like you are.
WEAVER: No, it's about judgment. Look, she has a vast amount of experience. She's clearly —
MATTHEWS: You said she only has experience on paper. That's questioning somebody's resume. You're saying the resume doesn't get backed up by experience, real experience.
WEAVER: No, no, the resume doesn't get backed up by judgment. That's the problem.
MATTHEWS: Okay. Thank you, Jeff Weaver. Thanks for coming on.
WEAVER: Happy to be here.
MATTHEWS: You’re a strong voice — a strong voice for Senator Sanders.
