At the end of Monday's Andrea Mitchell Reports, fill-in host Kristen Welker teed up a taped congratulatory message of Mitchell marking the fifth anniversary of Rachel Maddow's left-wing MSNBC show: "It is a very special day here at MSNBC. Five years ago, The Rachel Maddow Show made its debut. Rachel, congratulations from all of us. And Andrea, even though she's on the road, wanted to be sure to send along her good wishes to her dear friend." [Listen to the audio or watch the video after the jump]
Mitchell gushed to Maddow: "Rachel, my friend, happy fifth anniversary. This is a big deal, so we put together a small tribute here. Some of our favorite Rachel Maddow moments. Enjoy and congratulations to you and your team for the next five, and five more after that." As the clips began to run, the song "Simply the Best" provided a soundtrack.
Those "favorite moments" included Maddow pushing then-candidate Barack Obama from left for not attacking conservatives enough: "You have the opportunity to say, 'John McCain, George Bush you're wrong.' You also have the opportunity to say, 'Conservatism has been bad for America.' But you haven't gone there either."
Another sound bite ran of her lecturing Kentucky Senator Rand Paul: "The people who were beaten for trying to desegregate Woolworth's lunch counters, weren't asking to be beaten, they were asking for private businesses to be desegregated by the government."
Scolding Republican Illinois Congressman Aaron Schock on NBC's Meet the Press, Maddow declared: "You voted against the bill that created that created that grant....You seem like a very nice person but that's a very hypocritical stance to take."
Back-to-back clips played of Maddow joyously announcing Obama's 2008 election and 2012 re-election: "It's as if we can identify this as a tidal wave, we just don't know how many storeys tall it is at this point....With this call in Ohio, it is a done deal. President Barack Obama wins a second term as 44th President of the United States."
The promotional montage wrapped up with Maddow celebrating Texas State Senator Wendy Davis filibustering pro-life legislation: "16 hours after it began, the Democrats' filibuster worked and the loud support of the people, the hundreds of Texans in that gallery, worked, worked. The Democrats won and Wendy Davis is a household name now."
After the tribute, Welker concluded: "Just a few examples why so many of us here think that Rachel simply is the best. So a huge congratulations from all of us here, Rachel."
Here is a full transcript of the September 9 segment:
1:53PM ET
KRISTEN WELKER: It is a very special day here at MSNBC. Five years ago, The Rachael Maddow Show made its debut. Rachel, congratulations from all of us. And Andrea, even though she's on the road, wanted to be sure to send along her good wishes to her dear friend. So take a look.
ANDREA MITCHELL: Rachel, my friend, happy fifth anniversary. This is a big deal, so we put together a small tribute here. Some of our favorite Rachel Maddow moments. Enjoy and congratulations to you and your team for the next five, and five more after that.
MITCHELL: It's great to see you during the day.
RACHEL MADDOW: Nice to see you, thanks for having me here.
MADDOW: You have the opportunity to say, "John McCain, George Bush you're wrong." You also have the opportunity to say, "Conservatism has been bad for America." But you haven't gone there either.
BARACK OBAMA: Yeah, I tell you what, Rachel, you notice I think we're winning right now, so maybe I'm doing something right.
MADDOW: The people who were beaten for trying to desegregate Woolworth's lunch counters, weren't asking to be beaten, they were asking...
RAND PAUL [SEN. R-KY]: And those people should have gone-
MADDOW: ...for private businesses to be desegregated by the government.
[MADDOW TO CONGRESSMAN AARON SCHOCK (R-IL) ON MEET THE PRESS]: You voted against the bill that created that created that grant....You seem like a very nice person but that's a very hypocritical stance to take.
[MADDOW REPORTING FROM AFGHANISTAN]: Everybody's paying so much attention to this part of Afghanistan right now because everyone wants to know if what the General Hodges is trying to do is going to work....When U.S. soldiers are gone, can you imagine it not going back to bribes and corruption?...You get a sense equally of how hard this is and how committed the forces are to trying to make it work, despite what an uphill climb it is....As the last combat troops have left, 50,000 American troops remain in a training and assistance role. It is no longer going to be Operation Iraqi Freedom. It was going to be Operation New Dawn.
[MADDOW ON OBAMA'S WIN DURING 2008 ELECTION NIGHT COVERAGE]: It's as if we can identify this as a tidal wave, we just don't know how many storeys tall it is at this point.
[MADDOW ON OBAMA'S WIN DURING 2012 ELECTION NIGHT COVERAGE]: With this call in Ohio, it is a done deal. President Barack Obama wins a second term as 44th President of the United States.
[MADDOW REPORTING ON WENDY DAVIS FILIBUSTER IN TEXAS STATE LEGISLATURE]: 16 hours after it began, the Democrats' filibuster worked and the loud support of the people, the hundreds of Texans in that gallery, worked, worked. The Democrats won and Wendy Davis is a household name now.
MADDOW: Thanks for being here.
MITCHELL: Great to be here. Congratulations on the show.
MADDOW: Oh, thank you.
MITCHELL: This is a lot of fun.
MADDOW: It's very exciting.
WELKER: Just a few examples why so many of us here think that Rachel simply is the best. So a huge congratulations from all of us here, Rachel.
