When one imagines the fabled William Wallace it typically involves a man with long dirty hair and blue face-paint, fighting for his people’s freedom. Ari Melber, on Monday afternoon’s MSNBC Live, said he imagines a man that wants to restrict people’s right to bear arms and dictate the size of people’s sodas. “We like a reluctant warrior, in war. It was important in Braveheart, right. Mel Gibson didn’t initially want to fight.” The man Melber is describing is Michael Bloomberg, the former Mayor of New York City.
Melber lamented that the American people don’t often look for the qualities of Wallace in our politicians. “We like that. We don’t want you to be too eager to do certain things, right. It was – that’s my last resort, but if they come for my family I will hit the battlefield. We don’t usually look for that in our presidents.” To his credit, we don’t often have politicians who brandish claymores and promise to ride into battle against the English, but maybe we should.
Trying to drive his point home, Melber equated Bloomberg to the best qualities of both Donald Trump and Bernie Sanders wrapped into one candidate. “The American people – and you see some of this with Trump’s attitude and Bernie’s, let’s say effervescence. I think there’s a bipartisan, or nonpartisan, interest in people who go for it, who know where they stand, and who want the job.”
Steve Kornacki rained on his parade by reminding Melber that Bloomberg also takes positions both political parties detest. “So if you’re trying to draw from the Republican coalition, his biggest liability is he’s seen as culturally liberal. The New York values thing that Ted Cruz was talking about. If you’re trying to draw from the Democratic coalition though, it’s that he’s very tight with Wall Street. He comes from Wall Street, basically.”
Transcript below:
MSNBC Live with Kate Snow
January 25, 2016
3:37:44 – 3:38:55
KATE SNOW: What is his biggest political liability?
STEVE KORNACKI: Bloomberg? It’s two things actually. So, you're running as an independent and you want to draw from both parties. So if you’re trying to draw from the Republican coalition, his biggest liability is he’s seen as culturally liberal. The New York values thing that Ted Cruz was talking about. If you’re trying to draw from the Democratic coalition though, it’s that he’s very tight with Wall Street. He comes from Wall Street, basically. So the ties to Wall Street that Bernie Sanders, Elizabeth Warren, wing of the party do not like. Bloomberg has that. And he has cultural liberalism that a lot Republicans do not like.
ARI MELBER: And then, I would just join in and say - this is the overlap between the politics and the deadlines - there’s the mood, Kate. Right. We like a reluctant warrior, in war. It was important in Braveheart, right. Mel Gibson didn’t initially want to fight.
SNOW: Are you making a Braveheart analogy?
MELBER: I am. We like that. We don’t want you to be too eager to do certain things, right. It was – that’s my last resort, but if they come for my family I will hit the battlefield. We don’t usually look for that in our presidents. I mean, Steve and I – you run back to Mario Cuomo and other people who have been ‘Hamlet on the Hudson.’ The American people – and you see some of this with Trump’s attitude and Bernie’s, let’s say effervescence. I think there’s a bipartisan, or nonpartisan, interest in people who go for it, who know where they stand, and who want the job. Coming in to late can muddle that message.
