With the retirement of Justice Anthony Kennedy from the Supreme Court, MSNBC’s Chris Matthews has been undergoing a Chernobyl level meltdown on live television for hours on end. But things took a dark turn towards the end of the three o’clock hour when he ominously predicted “Spanish Civil War stuff” was going to happen in the fight between Republicans and Democrats over the high court vacancy.
“They haven't picked many Justice Kennedys. They have largely picked non-justice Kennedys. People hard right on all social issues,” Matthews warned viewers after working himself up into a frothing rage. “So, I would say, I think this is going to be the fight of the century. I think the Democrats have to say no way, non-Presario, no one passes this line.”
Matthews’ key commentary for the Kennedy news involved him pleading with Senate Democrats to not let President Trump and the Republicans fill Kennedy’s seat on the bench. “I think the Democrats have to say no way, non-Presario, no one passes this line. I think it’s going to be almost like Spanish Civil War stuff, you watch the next few months,” he angrily warned. “It will be interesting.”
For those not familiar with the Spanish Civil War, it was a conflict between the Republicans and the Nationalists (a fascist group) that lasted for three years and ended with Nationalists installing a dictator.
“Now Trump is going for it, he’s going for roses, he’s going get five hardnosed conservative judges,” Matthews panicked near the top of the hour. “I don’t think the Democratic Party will stand anymore as a leadership. I think the leadership war finished if they allow this to come to a vote.” He had all these pie in the sky expectations for how Democrats would fight Republicans but couldn’t answer the simple question of, how can they pull it off when they’re not in the majority?:
MATTHEWS: I think the leadership war finished if they allow this to come to a vote. I think Chuck Schumer, looking at what happened--
ALI VELSHI: But Chris, what choice do the Democrats have?
MATTHEWS: They have to use dilatory tactics. All the hardball tactics that Mr. McConnell is very good at.
VELSHI: But prior to an election in November, what choice do Democrats have? What option do they have?
MATTHEW: Don't allow a vote on this, don't have a hearing, don’t have a hearing, don't allow anything to go forward. Don't play ball with this decision.
Despite all his ranting and raving, even his fellow MSNBC hacks couldn’t decipher how his demands of Democratic obstruction could happen. “I’m still trying to figure out, as is Jon Meacham, how it happens,” Velshi shrugged.
The relevant parts of the transcript are below, click "expand" to read:
MSNBC Live with Ali Velshi
June 27, 2018
3:04:57 PM Eastern(…)
ALI VELSHI: Chris Matthews let's pull this back to 20,000 feet and explain why this is as monumental as it is. This is now-- The subtext here is it's the retirement of a Supreme Court justice. The main text here is that this could signal a monumental shift in the behavior of the court, as Pete [Williams] said, for years to come.
CHRIS MATTHEWS: Well certainly, if the President, Trump, does what he tend to do, pick a conservative. Remember, when I interviewed him in Green Bay in 2016 and I asked him about a woman's right to choose, he said there needs to be some form of punishment. “Some form of punishment” were his words for a woman who chooses to have an abortion. His views on this are somewhat frightening, his instinctive views. And If we allow him to pick another Supreme Court justice is frightening. I thought for a while-- I used to think that Row v Wade was secure. I don't think it will be secure now. I don't think it will be secure at all with five hardnosed conservatives.
Now Justice Kennedy is a conservative as Pete points out but he is a Northern California conservative. Pete knows that, he went to Stanford. Northern Californians, especially the Reagan family (Nancy Reagan and the President) tend to be conservative on economic and partisan issues but on social issues they are live and let live. They are very tolerant. They have gay friends, they think in terms of a cosmopolitan setting. They’re not out there in some kind of cotton manor, religious conservatives. They’re not like that all.
(…)
Now Trump is going for it, he’s going for roses, he’s going get five hardnosed conservative judges. I don’t think the Democratic Party will stand anymore as a leadership. I think the leadership war finished if they allow this to come to a vote. I think Chuck Schumer, looking at what happened--
ALI VELSHI: But Chris, what choice do the Democrats have?
MATTHEWS: They have to use dilatory tactics. All the hardball tactics that Mr. McConnell is very good at.
VELSHI: But prior to an election in November, what choice do Democrats have? What option do they have?
MATTHEW: Don't allow a vote on this, don't have a hearing, don’t have a hearing, don't allow anything to go forward. Don't play ball with this decision. This is almost July with an election for the Senate which is to tottering right now between Democrat and Republican. And they want to foist a judge who is going to be the deciding judge for the supreme court for the next 30 or 40 years in the last weeks, in fact, the last couple weeks there will end up being a vote which will decide who controls the United States' Senate. That would be insane for the Democrats to allow that. They have to use every single tactic. Because if they let this come to a vote and he squeaks in with 50 votes with the vice president supporting this. They will never be forgiven for this.
[Crosstalk]
MATTHEWS: I tell you the mood of this party is not to accept more of man's explaining from the leadership of the Democratic Party. They are going to know why the base isn't heard on this. I tell you it's going to be a noisy issue.
(…)
3:28:21 PM Eastern
MATTHEWS: I want to get back to Chuck Schumer, who’s the leader on this, because he is going to be fighting the parliamentary procedure fights that we mentioned here in terms of getting this to a vote before a November election. I don't see how he as a politician, he very smart, and he knows history, could say to a voter in the country, “We had to let it go because we are trying to try to play it safe in this election. We didn't want to take this issue of who’s on the supreme court to the voter.”
I don’t see how he can avoid it politically in the months right now, in the next two or three months. He has to say to the voters, “This is consequential, we will do everything we can to protect you, voter, including progressive voters, from a Supreme Court that's locked in with a death grip by conservatives for 30 years. We are not going to let that happen.” Nothing is more important. Ali, you asked that question, nothing is more important between now and the election, nothing, than stopping a hard right conservative from locking up that court for the next 30 years.
VELSHI: I’m still trying to figure out, as is Jon Meacham, how it happens.
(…)
3:56:03 PM Eastern
ALI VELSHI: Chris, to your own argument earlier, though, that if you're not looking for an Anthony Kennedy, you're not going to get an Anthony Kennedy. You'd take an Anthony Kennedy today. You’d take a Trump appointee—
MATTHEWS: I don't think anybody is going to believe -- nobody is going to believe that this president who said women should be punished former president having an abortion.
VELSHI: I agree with you.
MATTHEWS: By the way, we never know. We’ve had Justice Frankfurt or people like that in Souter, have always surprised us. People going from right to left, left to right. (…) Republicans thought they had Souter in the pocket, he goes to the left. I mean, the fact is you can't predict. So you look at the party's track record. They haven't picked many Justice Kennedys. They have largely picked non-justice Kennedys. People hard right on all social issues. So, I would say, I think this is going to be the fight of the century. I think the Democrats have to say no way, non-Presario, no one passes this line. I think it’s going to be almost like Spanish Civil War stuff, you watch the next few months. It will be interesting.
(…)
