During a panel discussion on her 9:00 a.m. ET hour show on Wednesday, MSNBC anchor Stephanie Ruhle agreed with left-wing SiriusXM Progress radio host Mark Thompson that it was “evil” for Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell to block Barack Obama’s nomination of Merrick Garland to the Supreme Court in 2016. Thompson further warned that “women’s lives are on the line” with President Trump’s nomination of Brett Kavanaugh to the high court.
“No surprise, Democrats are vowing to fight against Kavanaugh’s nomination. Why does it make sense? When you think about it, elections matter. President Trump won,” Ruhle wondered. She suggested that liberals put their focus “towards the midterms and something they can impact more.”
Thompson acknowledged the importance of the midterms, though ranted: “But in terms of Democrats and the Senate, elections obviously don’t matter. Because they didn’t matter when Barack Obama was president and Mitch McConnell would not have a hearing on Merrick Garland. So they absolutely do not matter.”
Ruhle sympathized and hurled some nasty insults at McConnell: “But Mark, here’s the thing. What Mitch McConnell did may have been sleazy, may have been unethical.” Thompson added: “Evil.” Ruhle accepted that vitriol: “May have been evil.” She continued: “But he played the game and he won the game and now Trump’s got two Supreme Court justices in place.”
Thompson futilely argued for Democrats to somehow block Kavanaugh’s nomination despite not being in the Senate majority: “So why can’t we play the game?...figure out a way to block it. Figure out a way procedurally to hold it until after the midterms.”
Minutes later, he raised the stakes of the confirmation fight by fearmongering: “Women’s lives are on the line. This is very, very serious....Besides Roe, there’s voter I.D....You know, there are so many other....he says the Constitution supports semi-automatic weapons, Second Amendment.”
Thompson doubled down on the alarmism moments later: “And at the end of the day, if women feel going to the midterms that their lives and their freedom of choice and that their agency as self-determining human beings is in jeopardy, we can still win. We can stop this.”
So the GOP is “evil” and will jeopardize the lives of women. What about “self-determining human beings” who are unborn? Neither Thompson nor Ruhle addressed that concern.
Here are excerpts of the July 11 discussion:
9:22 AM ET
(...)
STEPHANIE RUHLE: No surprise, Democrats are vowing to fight against Kavanaugh’s nomination. Why does it make sense? When you think about it, elections matter. President Trump won. If they’re really going to put their fight into something, put it towards the midterms and something they can impact more. Trump doesn’t need their votes.
MARK THOMPSON [SIRIUSXM PROGRESS RADIO HOST]: Well, it’s both/and rather than either/or. The midterms – and I’ve been saying to people on radio – the best way for an individual to fight this is to vote in the midterms. But in terms of Democrats and the Senate, elections obviously don’t matter. Because they didn’t matter when Barack Obama was president and Mitch McConnell would not have a hearing on Merrick Garland. So they absolutely do not matter.
RUHLE: But Mark, here’s the thing. What Mitch McConnell did may have been sleazy, may have been unethical. He played the –
THOMPSON: Evil.
RUHLE: May have been evil. But he played the game and he won the game and now Trump’s got two Supreme Court justices in place.
THOMPSON: So why can’t we play the game? I mean, that’s where –
RUHLE: They played the game.
THOMPSON: So that is – so figure out a way to block it. Figure out a way procedurally to hold it until after the midterms.
(...)
9:27 AM ET
THOMPSON: Women’s lives are on the line. This is very, very serious. And if he reverses Roe v. Wade –
RUHLE: Which he said he won’t do.
THOMPSON: I don’t believe that.
RUHLE: In the past he said he would not.
THOMPSON: Well, I don’t think we have any reason to believe that.
ROBERT COSTA [WASHINGTON POST]: He’ll be pressed on that issue.
THOMPSON: Besides – I agree with Robert.
RUHLE: Yeah, he said it would go back to the state. He would follow –
THOMPSON: Besides Roe, there’s voter I.D.
RUHLE: Yes.
THOMPSON: You know, there are so many other –
INSANA: Presidential investigations and indictments.
THOMPSON: You know, he supports voter I.D., so there are a number – he says the Constitution supports semi-automatic weapons, Second Amendment.
(...)
THOMPSON: So the point is, we are in very serious trouble and we cannot play, especially when it comes to women. Now we talk about the base. More than half of the electorate is women. That’s the base. That’s the base of Democratic voters. And at the end of the day, if women feel going to the midterms that their lives and their freedom of choice and that their agency as self determining human beings is in jeopardy, we can still win. We can stop this.
(...)
