Joe Scarborough’s vitriolic language against conservatives appears to have entered a fever pitch on April 8, as the MSNBC host disgustingly asserted that the GOP cares more about a rapist’s rights than parent’s rights. The faux conservative host of Morning Joe made such a charge in his attack on Republicans planning to filibuster a federal gun control bill.
Scarborough, who along with the rest of MSNBC -- save S.E. Cupp -- has been on a gun-control tirade over the past several months, on their show Monday ranted that:
We’ve got an issue that is a 92-7 issue and I can't believe that Republicans, first of all, aren't going to support it but, secondly won't let background checks against rapists, people who have committed manslaughter in the past, people with mental illness, dangerous mental illness. [See video after jump. MP3 audio here.]
As if that weren’t enough, Scarborough’s disgusting language continued, commenting that:
I can't believe those Republicans are going to allow the entire Republican Party to be the party that basically put rapists rights over parents rights to keep their kids safe when they go to school.
According to Joe’s perverse logic, opposing increased restrictions to gun rights, including increased background checks, rather than just enforcing current background checks, is akin to wanting rapists to get guns. Unsurprisingly, no one on the Morning Joe panel spoke up to challenge Scarborough’s commentary, with Richard Haass of the Council on Foreign Relations agreeing:
I hope you're right. You had to like what John McCain said. And all you can say is whatever happens this time, and it's going to be less than, I think, that the people around this table hope happens this time to say at least. Even if you got background checks my hunch is a lot of us would want to see a lot more than that.
Sadly, Scarborough’s commentary on guns is nothing new for the MSNBC conservative. In the past, Scarborough sneered that the NRA made millions off of Newtown. Unfortunately, Scarborough refuses to have anyone on his program who would ever challenge Scarborough’s hate-filled language, so it appears he will continue to get away with such incendiary and baseless charges without any pushback.
See relevant transcript below.
MSNBC
Morning Joe
April 8, 2013
6:06 a.m. EDT
MIKA BRZEZINSKI: Back in Washington, Congress is set to take up gun reform this week. It's an issue met with a threat of a filibuster from a number of Senate Republicans. Senator John McCain is not among them.
BOB SCHEIFFER: What is your thought on a filibuster on this? Would you be against that?
JOHN MCCAIN: I don't understand it. The purpose of the United States Senate is to debate and to vote and to let the people know where we stand.
SCHIEFFER: So you'd encourage republicans not filibuster?
MCCAIN: I would not only encourage it, I don't understand it. What are we afraid it?
BRZEZINSKI: This Thursday Morning Joe will host a round table on gun violence with Vice President Joe Biden. We’re going to be joined by people who have differing views on this debate on gun safety. That will be fascinating.
JOE SCARBOROUGH: Joe Nocera had a great interview yesterday in the front of the weekend review or whatever they call it now. We still call it the Brooklyn Dodgers too. So it's going to be week in review. I tell you what, Richard Haass, I saw john McCain there. And I'm hopeful. Because, you know, there are a lot of guys out there in the Senate and they are going out because it's a free shot. This is free. I'm going to filibuster gun control and you automatically win unconditional support from a segment of your voting population. It doesn't cost you anything. It's not like making a tough choice on Medicare or Medicaid or Social Security. It costs you nothing. But it does cost the Republican Party, overall. And I think John McCain understands that. We’ve got an issue that is a 92-7 issue and I can't believe that Republicans, first of all, aren't going to support it but, secondly won't let background checks against rapists, people who have committed manslaughter in the past, people with mental illness, dangerous mental illness. I can't believe those Republicans are going to allow the entire Republican Party to be the party that basically put rapists rights over parents rights to keep their kids safe when they go to school.
RICHARD HAASS: I hope you're right. You had to like what John McCain said. And all you can say is whatever happens this time, and it's going to be less than, I think, that the people around this table hope happens this time to say at least. Even if you got background checks my hunch is a lot of us would want to see a lot more than that. These issues have a sort of rhythm to them. The only thing I'm hoping is that the debate is not the end of it but the beginning of it. And over time, these issues evolve, they ripen and maybe this year you get this amount. And what I'm hoping is rather than this being the peak because it's the reaction what happened to Newtown and the rest this is actually the beginning of the change and public attitudes. We have seen with other issues over the last couple of years whether it's gay marriage or immigration.
SCARBOROUGH: It certainly has moved on the assault weapons. That’s a 60/40 now.
HAASS: Right so what I'm hoping is this is again seeing it less, if you will, as an event and more as a process. What I'm hoping is that this is the beginning of a changed political event-- so maybe this time around, lots of Republicans filibuster but the next time around, they don't because they realize the political price they pay is what I'm hoping for.
SCARBOROUGH: Well I'm concerned, Willie Geist, for my Republican Party, if they do filibuster it’s not like we’ve reached the end of history. Newtown is not the end of history. Think of all the shootings and killings and all the shootings since Newtown. There hasn't been a mass killing yet but there will be. Why do we know that? Because all you have to do is look in the recent past, and see kids shot up in an Oregon mall. Teenagers shot and killed while they are watching a movie in Aurora, Colorado. A grandmother shot while worshipping God up in Minnesota. And then, of course, these first graders dismembered by all of the bullets that were shot at them in rapid succession. Republicans, maybe they believe this is the end of history, but it's going to happen again and when it happens again and 92% of Americans have asked them to do something and they don't do it, it's just going to have devastating political impact on everybody. So those four or five grandstanding right now saying that they’re going to filibuster a bill they don't even know that they haven't even read, it might be great for them with a small segment of their base in their state. It's pretty rough for the Republican Party.
