On Friday, NBC News presidential “historian” Michael Beschloss commented on more current events as he wailed that Republican voting reforms and likely GOP wins in the midterms meant that “our democracy is in jeopardy this year.” Talking to anchor Andrea Mitchell in the 12:00 p.m. ET hour on MSNBC, Beschloss hyperventilated that “we will not have a democracy, possibly, for our lifetimes.”
“But now on the Democratic left, the feeling that all these states are changing voting laws and so there’s no confidence that legitimate balloting won’t be altered by Republican – newly elected or appointed Republican officials,” Mitchell wildly declared as she promoted leftist conspiracy theories. Beschloss immediately doubled down: “I mean, I don’t overstate, as I think you’ll attest, Andrea, our democracy is in jeopardy this year.”
He then hysterically proclaimed that democracy was on the verge of total collapse:
If we have voting laws change in these states so that some partisan can overrule the will of the voters and say, “We’re gonna install someone in office who we claim was elected, we know he really wasn’t,” then the power of the ballot and of elections is gone and the fundamental cornerstone of democracy is gone. And we will not have a democracy, possibly, for our lifetimes. That’s the way things happen in societies. And that’s why it is so important for those who are in favor of democracy to enforce voting rights, to make sure that a lot of these things are thwarted.
Moments later, Mitchell commiserated while admitting it was a major topic of conversation in her left-wing social circles: “That is a very stark – not a forecast, but you know, hypothetically, I understand exactly where you’re coming from. I’ve heard a lot of people with the same concerns.”
After Mitchell referenced the possibility of Donald Trump running for president again in 2024, Beschloss stayed focused on the midterms: “Well, I think the greater danger is, you know, we’re talking about the danger to democracy this year, at the state level, with the changes in these voting laws.”
He implored: “If you’re someone who loves democracy, who wants to conserve and preserve our institutions, it’s a very worrisome moment. We all have to watch this extremely carefully.”
Beschloss isn’t alone in his radically partisan ranting. On Thursday, fellow far-left media “historian” Douglas Brinkley appeared on MSNBC and vilely claimed that the January 6, 2021 Capitol Hill riot was akin to the Holocaust, Pearl Harbor, and 9/11.
The unhinged Friday fearmongering from Beschloss was brought to viewers by Liberty Mutual and Fidelity. You can fight back by letting these advertisers know what you think of them sponsoring such content.
Here is a transcript of the January 7 exchange:
12:31 PM ET
(...)
ANDREA MITCHELL: Michael, I want your reaction to – there was an ABC/Ipsos poll that showed that only 20% of the public are confident in our country’s elections. Now that probably reflects the residual, you know, big lie feeling among many Republicans who follow Donald Trump. But now on the Democratic left, the feeling that all these states are changing voting laws and so there’s no confidence that legitimate balloting won’t be altered by Republican – newly elected or appointed Republican officials.
MICHAEL BESCHLOSS: Totally. I mean, I don’t overstate, as I think you’ll attest, Andrea, our democracy is in jeopardy this year. If we have voting laws change in these states so that some partisan can overrule the will of the voters and say, “We’re gonna install someone in office who we claim was elected, we know he really wasn’t,” then the power of the ballot and of elections is gone and the fundamental cornerstone of democracy is gone. And we will not have a democracy, possibly, for our lifetimes. That’s the way things happen in societies. And that’s why it is so important for those who are in favor of democracy to enforce voting rights, to make sure that a lot of these things are thwarted.
You know, you mentioned, it moved me so much, you know, on the floor of the House chamber yesterday, how many Republicans showed up to honor those police who were protecting them and to honor the triumph of democracy over the attack against it a year ago? You know, Dick Cheney and his daughter, very nice. But it doesn’t exactly suggest that we’ve got two political parties that are fighting very hard to make sure that if and when you and I talk again a year from now, we will be doing it inside a democracy.
MITCHELL: That is a very stark – not a forecast, but you know, hypothetically, I understand exactly where you’re coming from. I’ve heard a lot of people with the same concerns.
(...)
12:35 PM ET
MITCHELL: Michael, one of the things that Chuck Todd and I were talking about with Katy Tur yesterday is, what happens if Donald Trump gets the nomination in ’24 and gets reelected? Will his critics, will the Democrats accept the results of that election, even if it’s legitimate?
BESCHLOSS: Well, I think the greater danger is, you know, we’re talking about the danger to democracy this year, at the state level, with the changes in these voting laws. The one thing I would say to cheer everyone up is that at least you have not got a president in the office at the moment who has authoritarian tendencies and is willing to abuse the FBI and the CIA and the NSA, Pentagon, Justice Department, federal power to make himself more powerful and make this a more authoritarian country. If Donald Trump were reelected, we would have not only the state-level efforts but also a president who’s cheering all this on. If you’re someone who loves democracy, who wants to conserve and preserve our institutions, it’s a very worrisome moment. We all have to watch this extremely carefully.
(...)
