MSNBC’s The ReidOut closed on an awkward note Tuesday night as Senator Cory Booker (D-NJ) dared to go against the grain and remind host Joy Reid and viewers that conservatives, Republicans, and police officers are human beings too, who were capable of sincerity and shouldn’t be “paint[ed]....with a broad brush.”
Reid had spent most of the show getting a sugar high off of a Washington Post report about a grand jury being impaneled as part of an investigation into the Trump Organization; before closing with a reflection on the one-year anniversary of George Floyd’s death through the lens of negotiations on police reform.
Reid employed her usual strategy of painting the right writ large as enemies of the people and all that’s good and right in the world, lamenting that they’re “beholden to police unions” that supposedly don’t care about solving violent crimes.
Booker did dive into ideas being employed in cities across the country, but he made sure to talk up the integrity of lead Republican negotiator and Senator Tim Scott (R-SC), revealing that Scott was a “sincere” person who has given him “solace and strength”:
I’m working principally with Tim Scott and a handful of others. I — I have had moments in this negotiation that have given me solace and strength as I’ve watch Tim Scott share stories about his own encounters with police even as a United States senator. He is not caving to the politics of this. He is sincere. We may have disagreements on a lot of the parts of the bill, but — but I’m telling you, as a black man, Tim Scott is sincere in wanting to see us address these problems.
Moments later, Booker continued to express optimism about his work with Scott and Congresswoman Karen Bass (D-CA), but the uncomfortable host had to remind viewers that the right consists of unassailable radicals: “[D]oes Tim Scott have the ability to deliver votes? I mean, we don’t doubt his sincerity, but his party has veered off so far off the rails to the right. How much influence does he have over them at this point?”
Once again, Booker burst Reid’s bubble, emphasizing that “you’re a friend of mine” and “I’m a fan of your show” before correcting her on making assumptions about those with differing political views.
“I had to go in with good faith as well. And that means not painting police with a broad brush, not painting all Republicans with a broad brush, but talking heart to heart often, as well as policy on what our shared values are and how we’re going to get this done,” explained Booker.
Booker closed by insisting Scott had made sure to “come to me and answer my questions about the support he has from everyone from Mitch McConnell, to Lindsey Graham” and he’s therefore continuing to continue keeping the faith because “[t]his is a moment we rise to the call of history.”
Reid’s response? Here was all she could muster before signing off: “Well, we hope that you succeed.”
Booker’s bursting of Reid’s venomously partisan bubble was brought to you by advertisers such as BMW and Credit Karma. Follow the links to see their contact information at the MRC’s Conservatives Fight Back page.
To see the relevant MSNBC transcript from May 25, click “expand.”
MSNBC’s The ReidOut
May 25, 2021
7:56 p.m. EasternJOY REID: And, you know, you mentioned the Republicans maybe getting on the bill, April Ryan did a piece in TheGrio where she talked to, you know, folks on the Hill, and one of the sticking points with Republicans is they want police buy-in before many of them are willing to get in support of the bill. But you think about the way that police operate. They are eating up 44 percent, Oakland, California, of the budgets of these cities. They have tremendous power. They are gobbling up in some cases four, you know, 40 cents out of every, you know, dollar and then on top of that, the rates of actually solving crimes — the amount of time that police are spending actually solving murders and manslaughters, what people think police do, it’s actually pretty low, right? You don’t have a high rate of crimes getting solved. It’s just a lot more time spending doing broken windows policing. Are you going to be able to get to a place of agreement with Republicans who are so beholden to police unions?
SENATOR CORY BOOKER (D-NJ): Well, again, I’m working principally with Tim Scott and a handful of others. I — I have had moments in this negotiation that have given me solace and strength as I’ve watch Tim Scott share stories about his own encounters with police even as a United States senator. He is not caving to the politics of this. He is sincere. We may have disagreements on a lot of the parts of the bill, but — but I’m telling you, as a black man, Tim Scott is sincere in wanting to see us address these problems.
(....)
7:59 p.m. Eastern
BOOKER: So this is two people who — this is the first time in American history you’ve had three black men serving at the same time in the United States Senate and we are thinking creatively about this with other leaders like Karen Bass and more about how to get some of the problems that — we all know that we should not live in a society with this many unarmed people being murdered by the police, but even more than that, where we don’t have the levels of transparency and accountability to prevent these violent crimes from happening as well and there are a lot of good —
REID: And very quickly, but does Tim Scott have the ability to deliver votes? I mean, we don’t doubt his sincerity, but his party has veered off so far off the rails to the right. How much influence does he have over them at this point?
BOOKER: So, I just want to say, I’ve had — and, Joy, you’re a friend of mine and — and I’m a fan of your show. I had to go in with good faith as well. And that means not painting police with a broad brush, not painting all Republicans with a broad brush, but talking heart to heart often, as well as policy on what our shared values are and how we’re going to get this done and so, I’ve seen Tim come to me and answer my questions about —
REID: Yeah.
BOOKER: — the support he has from everyone from Mitch McConnell, to Lindsey Graham —
REID: Yeah.
BOOKER: — and again, I’m — I’m putting my faith. This is a moment we rise to the call of history.
REID: Well, we hope that you succeed.
