Of all the ignorant, boot-licking interviews in Chris Matthews' long career, this one may be the most hypocritical.
Rep. Alan Grayson (D-Fla.), he of "die quickly" YouTube fame, appeared on the October 2 edition of MSNBC's "Hardball," and Matthews wasted no time in teeing up the GOP for Grayson:
CHRIS MATTHEWS: I'm looking for some insight here. I'm a reporter. I'm trying to find out what you know and what you don't know. When you walk around the floor. When you walk past the Republican cloak room. When you get on the elevator. When you get on the subway over there in the Capitol building. Do these Republicans come up to you and say your number is up, buddy? What do they say to you?
REP. ALAN GRAYSON (D-Fla.): Yeah, I hear that all the time. I get dirty looks from the Republicans all the time. But I can't decide on my vote. I can't decide on health care, on energy independence, on jobs, on the economy, based upon dirty looks from people who throw hissy fits all the time and expect that we're supposed to decide American policy on that basis and that's what they've been doing time after time. This feigned indignation time after time. We can't let America be run that way.
It is fairly well-documented that Grayson will have a tough time in his re-election bid. Political analyst Charlie Cook downgraded Grayson's chances after his outburst to "toss-up," and the GOP is actually suffering from an over-abundance of willing candidates in the district. Chris Matthews isn't fishing for information that is unavailable to the public, he's allowing Grayson to uncork a partisan attack. That makes his claim "I'm a reporter" all the more incredibly ridiculous.
Next, one must note that Matthews and Grayson combine for the greatest achievement in hypocritical amnesia since Woody Allen signed on to the Free Roman Polanski petition. The GOP, apparently, is guilty of feigned indignation and hissy fits. Let's throw out two famous phrases, and see if you can spot the hypocrisy:
"We've lost the war."
"You lie."
Many liberals voted for the war, and changed their minds when it became politically expedient. Grayson's outburst was premeditated, and Matthews is cheering him on for it - mere weeks after wondering whether Joe Wilson was a racist for his (uncalled-for, yet spontaneous) outburst at the president. The hypocrisy shown here is nearly deep enough to drown in.
Later, Matthews encouraged Grayson to not shrink from being a liberal:
MATTHEWS: You sound like a liberal.
GRAYSON: [laughing] Progressive. Populist!
MATTHEWS: Hey look, don't hide from that word, liberal. It sounds - progressive sounds a little, well, I can't say it. Pusillanimous. Liberal is a good word. You gotta make it sound good. You just gotta make it sound - yeah I'm a liberal. I believe in opportunity for everybody. I believe in freedom for everybody. I believe in liberty for everybody. I'm an American. Of course I'm a liberal. People should say that. It would be more fun. This progressive sounds like you're hiding from being from who you are. The conservatives don't come up with euphemisms, they call themselves right wingers and love it. Anyway, thank you, you're on the right track. And by the way, thanks for finally getting around to doing our show. You've done every other show in the world, by the way. [crosstalk] Yeah, yeah. Right. [sarcastically] You're really scared of me. If you're not scared of the Republican, you're not scared of me. Thank you, buddy. If I can call you buddy. I don't know you. But Adam [sic] Grayson, I like your style. Thanks for coming on "Hardball" Have a nice weekend.
By extension, is Matthews saying that conservatives don't believe in opportunity for all Americans? Is Matthews saying that, during a war which freed the population of Iraq from a murderous dictator that conservatives started, conservatives somehow do not want liberty for everybody? By these definitions, liberal is conservative. That's why more people define themselves as more conservative than liberal.
Neither one, however, should apply to Matthews. Unfortunately, Matthews' leg appears to be tingling again.
