Whether it was Lyin’ Brian still having a job, an array of takes on Joe Biden’s latest gaffe, Joy Reid suggesting unifying the country wasn’t important, or Michael Moore being Michael Moore, MSNBC’s post-debate coverage had it all late Wednesday and early Thursday.
And in the closing segment, their final thoughts started off on well with Hardball host Chris Matthews warning Democrats for alienating Americans on cultural issues and often being too demeaning to America as an idea. But things were quickly thrown away by Moore, Reid, and Schmidt.
Matthews went first at 12:51 a.m. Easter, talking about American patriotism upon being reminded by the testimony of Lieutenant Colonel Alexander Vindman and then using it to talka bout how “you may want to make radical change to this country....but there has to be sort of a peace there about America and your affection for the country, you start with it and you work from that to fix it.”
With that as his baseline, Matthews correctly went hard after his fellow lefties for denigrating the views of people who don’t think like them on issues like abortion and insisting the country is rotten as a whole (click “expand”):
And I think when I look at some of the issues about choice or issues like same sex marriage and all, I think the Democrats always miss the — the cultural piece. They are right on the economics, but they miss the cultural piece, the — and how people feel about things. I mean, I can be — I've been pro-choice since Roe v. Wade was — was a court decision, but I have a different view about abortion than other people do. I think Pelosi does, too. I think Pennsylvania is pro-life in a way that's pretty real, and I think it was one of the reasons Trump won up there. Now, Trump is a mountebank. He’s a charlatan, but he plays on these cultural issues. Make America great again. They're honest feelings but he exploits them and distorts them in his purposes. I think affection and patriotic feeling about the country and feeling about life and choice and traditional values, if you will, Democrats are very cold about those things and I think they really miss a chance to win by simply identifying with the feelings of the country better than they do. And that’s the only thought I have tonight. And I caught it again tonight with Bernie Sanders saying the country's corrupt. Our system is corrupt. Be careful about that language, Bernie. You know, be careful, that our system of politics is corrupt — that's too strong. I'm sorry. It has corrupt aspects, but to say our democracy is corrupt is a bad starting point with a lot of people's hearts about this country.
After MSNBC contributor and former Senator Claire McCaskill (D-MO) offered a rosy outlook on the Democratic field, AM Joy host Joy Reid took her usual position of fear-mongering and sowing division.
Reid stated that, concerning Republicans, “we watched a moral crisis unfold in front of us this morning, in which we discovered” at the impeachment hearings “that one of our great political parties has given itself over to a cult of personality and a cult of personality that surrounded around only his interests, around Donald Trump's personal interests, and that the entire of the Republican Party [sic] is willing to subsume itself to that is shocking.”
She continued her charade of claiming to care about the GOP, adding that “[i]t’s sad and so, the responsibility on Democrats is huge.”
Schmidt went third and continued the Never Trumper routine of claiming to express policy disagreements with the 2020 Democrats, but then all but endorsing whomever wins the primary because the party he spectacularly failed to take over isn’t listening to him (click “expand”):
Well, I think that you saw on a debate stage tonight a number of candidates with positions that I disagree with, but every one of those candidates is faithful to the American system of government, to the constitutional republic which has endured since 1787 and what you see today is the collapse of the Republican Party. It stands for two things now. Corruption and Donald Trump. There's not a policy agenda. There's not an issue agenda. It's a cult of personality and the contrast between the two parties highlighted in this debate, even with people that I disagree with on issues, is just incredibly stark to me.
Saving the nuttiest for last, Moore invoked how Tuesday was the 156th anniversary of the Gettysburg Address and that Wednesday marked the official “end of the Republican Party” while the ten Democrats on-stage represented the last, best hope of ensuring that the closing words of Lincoln’s famous speech would remain true of America.
Bleh. Not sure how rhetorically treating the rich like Bane and his goons in the Dark Knight Rises or implementing full-blown socialism would uphold those ideals, but whatever.
To see the relevant transcript from MSNBC’s debate coverage on November 21, click “expand.”
MSNBC Post-Debate Analysis
November 21, 2019
12:51 a.m. Eastern
CHRIS MATTHEWS: Well, I think there's a couple things that strike me in there and they’re anecdotal, but when Lieutenant Colonel Vindman was in the hearing and he talked about America is a country where right matters, and I — and I thought, that kind of immigrant patriotism is something that really does not have much to do with left versus right. It's sort of a feeling about the country. You may want to make radical change to this country, like Woody Guthrie, this land is our land or — or Kate Smith and God Bless America, but there has to be sort of a peace there about America and your affection for the country, you start with it and you work from that to fix it. And I think when I look at some of the issues about choice or issues like same sex marriage and all, I think the Democrats always miss the — the cultural piece. They are right on the economics, but they miss the cultural piece, the — and how people feel about things. I mean, I can be — I've been pro-choice since Roe v. Wade was — was a court decision, but I have a different view about abortion than other people do. I think Pelosi does, too. I think Pennsylvania is pro-life in a way that's pretty real, and I think it was one of the reasons Trump won up there. Now, Trump is a mountebank. He’s a charlatan, but he plays on these cultural issues. Make America great again. They're honest feelings but he exploits them and distorts them in his purposes. I think affection and patriotic feeling about the country and feeling about life and choice and traditional values, if you will, Democrats are very cold about those things and I think they really miss a chance to win by simply identifying with the feelings of the country better than they do. And that’s the only thought I have tonight. And I caught it again tonight with Bernie Sanders saying the country's corrupt. Our system is corrupt. Be careful about that language, Bernie. You know, be careful, that our system of politics is corrupt — that's too strong. I'm sorry. It has corrupt aspects, but to say our democracy is corrupt is a bad starting point with a lot of people's hearts about this country. That's what I think.
BRIAN WILLIAMS: Thank you, Chris. We have four minutes until off-air. That’s roughly a minute a piece. All our family members here in New York, starting with you, Senator. What do you make of that?
CLAIRE MCCASKILL: Well, I agree with him, and of course, I'm from a state where the cultural issues have cost my party dearly and so I relate to the point he's making. On the other hand, I also relate to the fact that our health care system is very messed up and very painful for many American families and we've got to do something better about it. My overall take on today is, we watched hour upon hour of testimony today about a man who has taken this country to places that none of us dreamt would happen without more Republicans standing up for their country and saying, not on our watch. Tonight, I watched a bunch of candidates who have much that they agree on, some things they disagree on, but much that they agree. I feel comfortable that our party will come together and whoever gets the nomination is going to show they are inspiring, they can organize, they can excite people, they can win voters in every part of our party and not just play to one part of our party, and I feel comfortable that we're going to end up with a very strong coalition coming together for November of next year. I feel optimistic tonight.
WILLIAMS: Joy Reid?
JOY REID: You know, I think all day, those of us who have been up day including you, poor Brian —
WILLIAMS: Oh yeah.
REID: — you've been up all day, we watched a moral crisis unfold in front of us this morning, in which we discovered that one of our great political parties has given itself over to a cult of personality and a cult of personality that surrounded around only his interests, around Donald Trump's personal interests, and that the entire of the Republican Party [sic] is willing to subsume itself to that is shocking. It's sad and so, the responsibility on Democrats is huge. They have to govern the rest of the country. The diverse part of the country and I think we saw tonight that there are a lot of Democrats who are capable and hopefully they'll pull it together and take the country in a direction that it’s been before.
WILLIAMS: We have a former Republican right here.
STEVE SCHMIDT: Well, I think that you saw on a debate stage tonight a number of candidates with positions that I disagree with, but every one of those candidates is faithful to the American system of government, to the constitutional republic which has endured since 1787 and what you see today is the collapse of the Republican Party. It stands for two things now. Corruption and Donald Trump. There's not a policy agenda. There's not an issue agenda. It's a cult of personality and the contrast between the two parties highlighted in this debate, even with people that I disagree with on issues, is just incredibly stark to me.
WILLIAMS: Michael Moore?
MICHAEL MOORE: I think that we are very fortunate with this group of people running. This is — I — we will all vote for whoever has the D by their name —
WILLIAMS: Will you be happy with President Steyer?
MOORE: — absolutely, yes. Of — I mean, what has he done with his money? He's given his money away to candidates who — who would end his way of life —
WILLIAMS: True. He only has one tie, apparently.
MOORE: — and so — so — I just want to say this. Yesterday was the anniversary of the Gettysburg Address and I heard somebody read it on the radio yesterday and what we saw today, the end of the Republican Party, what we see on the stage tonight, hope for the future, those last words, a government of the people, for the people and by the people, shall not perish from this Earth. We have to make sure that comes true.
