Chris Matthews dusted off a telling admission from last May. On Tuesday's Hardball he reiterated his view that Gov. John Kasich (R-Ohio) would be a good crossing-the-aisle pick to be Hillary's vice presidential running mate.
"Hey, I've talked about him being on the ticket with Hillary. So I do like Kasich," Matthews insisted, telling guest Kasich campaign surrogate Tom Ridge, "I'm not sure how the hell he fits into your party anymore. I wonder if your party has room for a moderate like Kasich anymore. I just wonder."
Earlier in the segment, Matthews asked the former George W. Bush Homeland Security secretary about President Obama's plan to close the Guantanamo Bay detention facility:
Governor, the problem has been, it seems to me, I'm not a lawyer, that you have people in Gitmo, we know to be dangerous, who have sworn their lives to get us. They are terrorists, out-and-out terrorists, who will get us if we let them free. At the same time, we can't make a case against them under our judicial system.
How do we bring them into the country, without allowing all kinds of opportunities for ACLU and other people who will legitimately fight for their rights to prevent us from prosecuting them or even holding them?
You may recall that Matthews in June 2014 was critical of the way President Obama swapped out five Gitmo detainees for the release of Bowe Bergdahl without properly notifying Congress in advance.
Here's the relevant transcript regarding Kasich being too moderate for today's GOP:
MSNBC
Hardball
February 23, 2016; 7:37 p.m. EasternTOM RIDGE, former DHS secretary: The best way for us to win not the traditional Republican states – but you and I have had this discussion before – it's the purple states. You've got to get somebody there that's a unifier, that appeals to a broader section of the party, and John's the guy.
CHRIS MATTHEWS: Hey, I've talked about him being on the ticket with Hillary. So I do like Kasich.
RIDGE laughs.
MATTHEWS: I'm not sure how the hell he fits into your party anymore. I wonder if your party has room for a moderate like Kasich anymore. I just wonder. I look at all the excitement for Cruz and Trump and people far to the right of John Kasich seem to be getting all the noise, making all the noise.
