In a wild Hardball on Wednesday, MSNBC pundit Chris Matthews spent the latter portion of the program defending the Green New Deal, expressing dismay at Republicans for “mak[ing] fun of” the proposal seeking to address the dangers “we're facing as a species” because of climate change, and defending murderous Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro because National Security Adviser John Bolton isn’t a fan.
“Up next, the race is on to define the Green New Deal. We're going to talk about the Green New Deal. Will Republicans succeed in painting it as a boondoggle? And will Democrats find a way to translate its idealistic framework into actual policy,” Matthews stated in one of two teases for a softball interview with Congressman Joseph P. Kennedy III (D-MA).
In that second tease, Matthews spun the Green New Deal as something no one could possibly object to, ignoring things such as every building in the U.S. needed to be modified or replaced if it’s not up to snuff, while cars and meat would be banned:
The resolution sets the goal of achieving zero greenhouse gas emissions, creating jobs for all, securing clean air and water, upgrading infrastructure, providing high quality health care for all. The proposal pushed by the progressives in the Democratic Party is the opening salvo, of course, in what is expected to be a deeper, longer debate on climate change.
Matthews led into the Kennedy interview with clips of Republican Senator John Barrasso (WY), White House Principal Deputy Press Secretary Hogan Gidley, and President Trump blasting the Green New Deal on the heels of news that Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell will put it to a vote.
The MSNBC pundit and Kennedy family biographer started with this softball, allowing Kennedy to ramble (click “expand”):
MATTHEWS: Well, I’m joined right now by U.S. Congressman Joe Kennedy of Massachuetts. Thank you. What do you make of Trump — well, in this case, Mitch McConnell’s game he's playing?
KENNEDY: Look, I — I hope he does put it on the floor. I hope they do have a chance to vote on it. Look, what the Green New Deal says and I'm not sure that many of those folks have read it. It's not that long. I’d urge them to take a look it. What it says is that we’ve two major challenges in the country. One is climate change on this planet and two is an economy that is not working for everybody and so let's take the reforms necessary that we need to make in our economy and let’s make that actually address climate change and it sets out these aspiration that, on the baseline, Chris, say a very simple thing. We've got these major structural challenges. Government has to be at the table and a force to actually address them and so let's aim high to try to address those goals to make sure that American families not only do we have a better environment but have — we could take down the level of economic anxiety that families are feeling across this country and if Republicans are going to be against that, then that’s on them. I — this is a chance for them to get on the record and say do they feel the economic insecurity? Do they acknowledge that science exists? And are they willing to use the power of our economy to address these structural inequities? That’s on them if they don’t.
But the highest dosage of stupidity came in the next exchange when Matthews went ballistic over the fact that the Green New Deal has been mocked by all corners of the right (along with independent Howard Schultz and possible Democratic presidential candidate Michael Bloomberg).
Our friends at places like The Federalist and Investor’s Business Daily took note of why, but none of that seemed to cross Matthews’s mind (click “expand”):
MATTHEWS: Let’s break this into two questions. Why do you think Republicans — they're pro-business of course, but most people are pro-business in some way. Why are make fun — in those clips we just showed, they're making fun of the climate change we're facing as a species —
KENNEDY: Yeah.
MATTHEWS: — people who live on Earth. Why do they make fun of it?
KENNEDY: Look, better question for Republicans. I have met with plenty of businesses and some of the biggest business in the world where they indicate that climate change is the biggest challenges that they face. You talk to most businessmen around the country — business leaders — men or women — and they will acknowledge that —
MATTHEWS: We're looking at it. The arctic is coming apart. It's all, you know, iceberg after iceberg. You’ve got Florida — Miami is about four, five feet above sea level now.
Going to the next segment, Matthews went on a bender about his rabid dislike of Bolton, dubbing him “a Trojan horse...inside the Trump White House” who’s “got his eyes on a pair of invasion targets, tweeting his calls for regime change, the neocon countdown to invasion in Venezuela and Iran.”
Matthews continued by — get this — defending the murderous Venezuelan dictator even though he’s no longer recognized as president by at least 50 countries (as they instead have sided with Juan Guaidó) because — well — Orange Man bad (click “expand”):
“It's time for Maduro,” Bolton tweets, “to get out of the way.” That's the elected Venezuelan president the United States National Security Adviser is warning to “get out of the way.” Bolton said a similar threat to the leader of Iran, warning not to celebrate any more anniversaries. How did a war-hawk like Bolton squeeze his way into this position of power from where he can issue threats to countries that we, the United States, are coming to invade them. As bad as Donald Trump can be, what is he doing getting his direction on matters of war and peace from someone so demonstrously dangerous as John Bolton.
To see the relevant transcript from MSNBC’s Hardball on February 13, click “expand.”
MSNBC’s Hardball
February 13, 2019
7:40 p.m. Eastern [TEASE]CHRIS MATTHEWS: Up next, the race is on to define the Green New Deal. We're going to talk about the Green New Deal. Will Republicans succeed in painting it as a boondoggle? And will Democrats find a way to translate its idealistic framework into actual policy? A big story coming up on Hardball. U.S. Congressman Joe Kennedy III of Massachusetts will join us next.
(....)
7:43 p.m. Eastern [TEASE]
MATTHEWS: Last week, Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Senator Ed Markey of Massachusetts unveiled the Green New Deal. The resolution sets the goal of achieving zero greenhouse gas emissions, creating jobs for all, securing clean air and water, upgrading infrastructure, providing high quality health care for all. The proposal pushed by the progressives in the Democratic Party is the opening salvo, of course, in what is expected to be a deeper, longer debate on climate change. According to the United Nations, an Inter-Governmental Panel on Climate Change, countries must make rapid and unprecedented change in the way people live or risk even more dangerous weather conditions and loss of species. Senate Majority Mitch McConnell announced he wants to bring the green deal — Green New Deal to the floor. Not because he's had a change about his beloved Kentucky coal but rather because it will force Democrats in the Senate take a position on the issue. There are currently 67 co-sponsors in the House and 11 in the U.S. Senate. One of the co-sponsors, U.S. Congressman Joe Kennedy III, joins me here in a moment. Stick with us.
(....)
7:48 p.m. Eastern
MATTHEWS: Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell's effort to force the vote on the Green New Deal is better understood when you hear what other Republicans have to say about the Democrats' sweeping proposal.
PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP: They introduced the so-called Green New Deal. [SCREEN WIPE] It sounds like a high school term paper that got a low mark.
REPUBLICAN SENATOR JOHN BARRASSO (WY): There's another victim of the Green New Deal. It's ice cream. Livestock will be banned. Say goodbye to dairy, to beef, to family farms, to ranches, American favorites like cheeseburgers and milk shakes will become a thing of the past.
HOGAN GIDLEY: Congresswoman Ocasio-Cortez said that the world would be over in 12 years anyway, so I don't know why we would spend money on a deal if the world is going to come to an end. [SCREEN WIPE] They’re beholden to this radical base that wants the country to run on unicorns and gum drops.
MATTHEWS: Well, I’m joined right now by U.S. Congressman Joe Kennedy of Massachuetts. Thank you. What do you make of Trump — well, in this case, Mitch McConnell’s game he's playing?
DEMOCRATIC CONGRESSMAN JOSEPH P. KENNEDY III (MA): Look, I — I hope he does put it on the floor. I hope they do have a chance to vote on it. Look, what the Green New Deal says and I'm not sure that many of those folks have read it. It's not that long. I’d urge them to take a look it. What it says is that we’ve two major challenges in the country. One is climate change on this planet and two is an economy that is not working for everybody and so let's take the reforms necessary that we need to make in our economy and let’s make that actually address climate change and it sets out these aspiration that, on the baseline, Chris, say a very simple thing. We've got these major structural challenges. Government has to be at the table and a force to actually address them and so let's aim high to try to address those goals to make sure that American families not only do we have a better environment but have — we could take down the level of economic anxiety that families are feeling across this country and if Republicans are going to be against that, then that’s on them. I — this is a chance for them to get on the record and say do they feel the economic insecurity? Do they acknowledge that science exists? And are they willing to use the power of our economy to address these structural inequities? That’s on them if they don’t.
MATTHEWS: Let’s break this into two questions. Why do you think Republicans — they're pro-business of course, but most people are pro-business in some way. Why are make fun — in those clips we just showed, they're making fun of the climate change we're facing as a species —
KENNEDY: Yeah.
MATTHEWS: — people who live on Earth. Why do they make fun of it?
KENNEDY: Look, better question for Republicans. I have met with plenty of businesses and some of the biggest business in the world where they indicate that climate change is the biggest challenges that they face. You talk to most businessmen around the country — business leaders — men or women — and they will acknowledge that —
MATTHEWS: We're looking at it. The arctic is coming apart. It's all, you know, iceberg after iceberg. You’ve got Florida — Miami is about four, five feet above sea level now.
KENNEDY: Chris, you've been around this, obviously, a lot longer than I have. There was, however, a saying when I was in the court system trying cases, when you have the facts, you have the facts. When you have the law, you argued the law and when you have nothing you got loud. They don’t have the facts. They don’t have the law. And so what do they do? They stick their heads in the sand and claim that the science doesn't exist, that there's nothing we can do about it, that climate change isn't real, that it's a hoax that the vast majority of every scientist in the world is wrong instead of actually trying to leverage the power of our economy and our government to address this problem and that's why I hope Mitch McConnell puts this on the floor. Very seldom in this country do we have a chance for political leaders to cast a vote to say are you going to be on the right side of history or the wrong side. I look forward to Mr. McConnell making that choice for his caucus.
MATTHEWS: Let’s talk about the economic issue because you and I had a great breakfast a couple weeks ago and we talked about the corporate world, they have the economic power. How come we have a corporate morality — a morality where people make big — you talked about the fact that big corporations are buying back stock. That's the first thing they need when they get a tax break. They raise the value of their own stock. That’s very good for management and for the owners, but it doesn't do anything for creating jobs.
KENNEDY: Look, this — Chris, I think this fits in quite a bit, actually, with — with the Green New Deal and I applaud my colleagues Ocasio-Cortez and Senator Markey for putting this together. What this is a recognition that our economy, the American economy, has done more to bring more people out of poverty and provide for prosperity in the United States and around the world than any other economic system in history, but we're seeing the gains of that, particularly in the past 20, 30, 40 years, have gone to the top echelon of our society and that those gains have not been widespread. What we need to do is reconfigure that to ensure that workers get a fair shake for what they’ve done.
(....)
7:58 p.m. Eastern
MATTHEWS: A Trojan horse stands today inside the Trump White House. Inside this gift horse are the armed soldier of war. The same soldiers that took our country to the murderous war with Iraq. I don’t know what led Donald Trump a man who campaigned so hard against stupid wars to invite the loudest hawk of that stupidest of all wars, the invasion of Iraq, into this administration, worst yet to make him his national security adviser, but he did and now John Bolton is filling up his Trojan horse with the usual suspects, war planners for the next American invasion of who knows where. Bolton was pushing for an invasion of Iraqi back in 1998 when he joined a neoconservative clack pushing Bill Clinton to attack Iraq. He eventually got his way with the help of Dick Cheney using 9/11 as the cause for war even though Iraq had no discernable connection to the attack. Well today, Bolton has got his eyes on a pair of invasion targets, tweeting his calls for regime change, the neocon countdown to invasion in Venezuela and Iran. “It's time for Maduro,” Bolton tweets, “to get out of the way.” That's the elected Venezuelan president the United States National Security Adviser is warning to “get out of the way.” Bolton said a similar threat to the leader of Iran, warning not to celebrate any more anniversaries. How did a war-hawk like Bolton squeeze his way into this position of power from where he can issue threats to countries that we, the United States, are coming to invade them. As bad as Donald Trump can be, what is he doing getting his direction on matters of war and peace from someone so demonstrously dangerous as John Bolton.
