Despite this week being the Republican National Convention, Chris Matthews couldn’t help but fawn over “moderate Democrat” Hillary Clinton. During live coverage, Matthews blithely dismissed Hillary Clinton sending and receiving classified e-mails as “blah, blah, blah.”
Speaking of Republican delegates, the Hardball host mocked, “They reach for things about Hillary, ‘Oh, she let her e-mails get exposed to hacking, blah, blah, blah.’” Moving on to another scandal, Matthews sarcastically derided, “And then, of course, she was responsible for what happened in Benghazi because of dereliction of duty.”
Earlier, Matthews said of the very liberal Clinton: “She's a moderate Democrat. In fact, pro-trade. In effect, probably more hawkish than a lot of people we know.” The cable host started a sentence with a scary clause. Promising “without being too extreme, ” he continued:
MATTHEWS: You know, without being too extreme, we've all read, I think, about the histories of parliaments before there were military coups in countries like Greece and Latin America, where they simply give up with the squabbling on it. They watch the speeches and they know the politicians are all useless, because they end up in gridlock. They're there for the speeches and that's about it. They finally say, we need some other form of government. In a more measured way, they're going with Trump now.
A partial transcript is below:
Hardball
7/19/16
8:23CHRIS MATTHEWS: He's [Trump] always trying out new material. He looks at the audience. He sees if they react positively. If so, he repeats himself. Pocahontas over again, I think unfairly and wrongly, with regard to Elizabeth Warren. Hee makes comments about the wall and they all cheer, because that seems to work with the crowd in front of him. To some extent, half the people here are that kind of a person, they like what he says. So he’s kind of a great manipulator of the zeitgeist. We’ll see how far that goes. Hillary Clinton is not that good at it. Hillary Clinton is a set piece. She's a moderate Democrat. In fact, pro-trade. In effect, probably more hawkish than a lot of people we know.
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9:18
MATTHEWS: You know, without being too extreme, we've all read, I think, about the histories of parliaments before there were military coups in countries like Greece and Latin America, where they simply give up with the squabbling on it. They watch the speeches and they know the politicians are all useless, because they end up in gridlock. They're there for the speeches and that's about it. They finally say, we need some other form of government. In a more measured way, they're going with Trump now, because Trump says, “I can get something done. I must say about tonight, and the strange thing which Chuck brought out, here's the Senate majority leader, saying, I can work with Hillary Clinton. A person they're spending the entire night here villainizing, demonizing.
...
MATTHEWS: Let me ask you a question, rhetorical and fun. What is an easier thing for these delegates to do in the next three days? To find evil in Hillary Clinton or good in Donald Trump? It's far easier. They go after —
CHUCK TODD: It's easier to unify.
MATTHEWS: They go after everything. Rudy Giuliani went way back to something to do with the listening posts in Eastern Europe, anti-ballistic missile systems to say that she's basically not to be trusted. They reach for things about Hillary to say “Oh, she let her e-mails get exposed to hacking, blah, blah, blah.” And then, of course, she was responsible for what happened in Benghazi because of dereliction of duty. But try to get them to find the fervor, to find the good in Donald Trump, it's much harder. So, they go to what they say is the evil in Hillary Clinton again and again.
