Chris Matthews on Friday said Republicans are like suicide bombers trying to destroy the government for their own political benefit.
In a "Hardball" discussion with Rep. Jim Moran (D-Va.) and Politico's Jim VandeHei, Matthews said, "Republicans have been able to get up in the morning every day saying our goal is to destroy the government. That`s our job. And somehow its cheering section back home says, 'Good work. Keep trying to destroy the government.'"
After VandeHei said the strategy might be working because the GOP looks to do well this November, Matthews asked, "Well, what good does it do the country for the Republicans to pick up 30 seats in the House?"
VandeHei responded, "I don`t know if it does anything good for the country...Right now, we have an entire system, we have a media system, we have a culture, we have technology that really I think rewards the incendiary, rewards conflict."
This led Matthews to amazingly say, "Being a suicide bomber is the new political role model. Just kill everything, destroy everything. Blow it up. Nothing gets done. You`re dead, but who cares?" (video follows with transcript and commentary):
CHRIS MATTHEWS, HOST: You know, what is interesting is the -- I don`t how you start this, Jim. It`s not you or my job to do it, but somewhere along the line, it seems somebody has got to say the United States government is based on the idea you have a minority and a majority.
It`s not based on the idea you have got one party trying to do something, the other party trying to kill them.
REP. JIM MORAN (D), VIRGINIA: Right.
MATTHEWS: It`s based on one party being the senior partner, and the other trying to get its oar in and make some amendments and try to change some things its way. The minority`s job is not to destroy the United States government every time it gets up in the morning.
And yet, the Republicans have been able to get up in the morning every day saying our goal is to destroy the government. That`s our job. And somehow its cheering section back home says, good work. Keep trying to destroy the government.
It`s an amazing definition of the opposition.
(CROSSTALK)
JIM VANDEHEI, POLITICO.COM: I don`t know if it`s necessary destroy the government, but it`s definitely they wake up -- it`s destroy any policy from Obama. There`s no doubt, Chris, that is the strategy.
(CROSSTALK)
MATTHEWS: Isn`t that new in American politics to try to destroy anything that comes out of the White House?
VANDEHEI: It certainly works.
(CROSSTALK)
VANDEHEI: And part of it -- it`s worse now mostly because most of the moderates that used to live inside the Republican Party that lived up in the Northeast were purged out of the party over the last three or four elections.
So, there`s very few moderates per se left. There might be three or four left in the Senate. And those are the ones that Democrats are working over to make sure that they have enough votes to get this financial bill through.
So, the only way you are going to have any Republicans who want to work with Democrats or if Republicans actually pick up a bunch of seats in some of those swing districts and bring in some voices of moderation that want to work with Democrats, but right now there`s no incentive in the mind of Republicans to do anything to help Obama or to help Democrats, because they feel that they have the momentum. They feel that they can easily win 30 seats and quite likely pick up many more if they play their cards right.
So, there`s no way that they`re suddenly going to say, hey, wait a second, let`s work with Obama. That`s just not -- that`s not the mind-set for them.
MATTHEWS: To what effect? Well, what good does it do the country for the Republicans -- just to ask the question, what good does it do the country for the Republicans to pick up 30 seats in the House?
VANDEHEI: I don`t know if it does anything good for the country.
(LAUGHTER)
VANDEHEI: But it might do...
MATTHEWS: I mean, it`s a reasonable question to ask.
(LAUGHTER)
(CROSSTALK)
VANDEHEI: You might have more people that would be willing to work with Obama, and you might have Obama more willing to work with Republicans.
Right now, we have an entire system, we have a media system, we have a culture, we have technology that really I think rewards the incendiary, rewards conflict. And, therefore, Republicans right now don`t see any incentive to work with him.
And that`s not going to change between now and Election Day. It might not change Election Day. Heck, it could get a lot worse, if you look at some of the senators who might get elected, especially from the Republican side.
(CROSSTALK)
MATTHEWS: Being a suicide bomber is the new political role model. Just kill everything, destroy everything. Blow it up. Nothing gets done. You`re dead, but who cares?
Thank you, Congressman Jim Moran.
Thank you, Jim VandeHei of the Politico, the very hot Politico.
Wow!
The partisanship demonstrated by Matthews and VandeHei here was almost astonishing.
Is this really the state of journalism in America today when two members of the media have a discussion with a Democrat wherein they can't see any good coming from Republicans winning in an upcoming election and actually refer to elected officials on the right side of the aisle as suicide bombers?
How did we get to this point in our history when so many members of the press are clearly just shills for the Party on the left?
Maybe more importantly, how do we rectify this condition so that such activism in the media is frowned upon rather than celebrated?
