Who does David Jolly think he is? Joe Scarborough? On Wednesday’s Hardball, the frequent MSNBC guest and former Florida Republican Congressman blasted his party as racists for not pushing for gun control post-Las Vegas by a white shooter but calling for immigration changes following Tuesday’s Manhattan terror attack by an Uzbeki immigrant.
Following the lead of Scarborough and Charlie Sykes, Jolly also bewailed that “[t]he silence of Republicans is deafening” when it comes to “domestic, homegrown terror,” but not when a Islamic terrorist commits a crime, thus “fit[ting] their narrative to be xenophobic” and instill fear.
Jolly was teed up by host Chris Matthews, who lamented the differences in responses to Las Vegas and Manhattan by Republicans. Having lost his House seat to infamous flip-flopper Charlie Crist, Jolly has decided to spend his time taking out his own party.
“Look, it’s obvious that the President and Republicans and conservatives chose to stay silent after Las Vegas because it confronted and challenged the conservative narrative of unfettered access to firearms and in this case, in New York, it actually confirms the conservative narrative that somehow all of these national tragedies are a result of immigrants who come here and commit these atrocities,” Jolly began.
With that setup, Jolly then played the race card against Republicans:
Look, we can’t overlook with this President that, in Vegas, it was a man born in the United States with white skin, and, in New York, it was a man born overseas with brown skin. The question is, are these statements by the President and reactions, are they an intentional manipulation of today’s politics, or is there an innate and intrinsic bias within this President that does not allow him to confront of public policy-making in the wake of national tragedy?
Jolly came back for seconds to agree with Matthews that President Trump is looking to relitigate the Civil War and again accuse the Republican Party of racism:
Because this is not just about Donald Trump. The silence of Republicans after Las Vegas is deafening, as they say. Sarah Sanders today said, listen, Trump was just trying to look out for the safety of the American people by speaking out about this immigration policy. But yet he never spoke to the issue of firearms and what is a reasonable compromise between the parties after Las Vegas and so this is more than just Donald Trump. This is a party who is happy to look the other way when it is domestic homegrown terror, whether it’s somebody doing it in the name of ISIS or somebody doing it because they wound over 500 people in Las Vegas, but when it fits their narrative to be xenophobic and to create this fear, to create this binary choice for Donald Trump between the red-blooded Americans that support him and those who represent diversity of the United States, this President will exploit that every time. And Republicans in Congress go along with him. And it’s shameful.
Just for good measure, Democrat and former New York City Council Speaker Christine Quinn complimented Jolly:
The Congressmember is right. This President, and the Republican Party, and we see again only Flake and Corker speaking out. They make it about them vs. us, who did us wrong, how can we get them, when it just should be all of us together in moments like this.
These attacks on large swaths of Americans were paid for by Hardball advertisers Ancestry DNA, Farmers Insurance, Peleton, and Wal-Mart.
Here’s the relevant transcript from MSNBC’s Hardball on November 1:
MSNBC’s Hardball
November 1, 2017
7:24 p.m. EasternCHRIS MATTHEWS: Congressman, let me ask you about this, this impulse to go after immigration law.
DAVID JOLLY: Sure.
MATTHEWS: Right after Las Vegas and that horrible shooting out there last month, early last month, the conservatives said, you know, we shouldn’t be talking politics and gun control after such a horrible tragedy. Let’s give it time and here the President is within hours blaming some law that was passed under bipartisan support back in the ‘90s, early ‘90s, and saying we should blame Chuck Schumer. What do you make of the politics? We’re talking about immigration politics before we even know what happened or even the motive necessarily of this guy.
JOLLY: Sure and, as you said, a law that also got the vote of Mitch McConnell and signed by Bush 41. Look, it’s obvious that the President and Republicans and conservatives chose to stay silent after Las Vegas because it confronted and challenged the conservative narrative of unfettered access to firearms and in this case, in New York, it actually confirms the conservative narrative that somehow all of these national tragedies are a result of immigrants who come here and commit these atrocities. Look, we can’t overlook with this President that, in Vegas, it was a man born in the United States with white skin, and, in New York, it was a man born overseas with brown skin. The question is, are these statements by the President and reactions, are they an intentional manipulation of today’s politics, or is there an innate and intrinsic bias within this President that does not allow him to confront of public policy-making in the wake of national tragedy?
MATTHEWS: Christine, I have known you a bit. I must say that — I know you are a Democrat and a liberal and all those good things, but let me ask you about the simple human thing here. Instead of calling out public officials, like you were in New York City, and saying, let’s get together and see what we can learn about this thing, what can we avoid maybe the next time, have a better chance of avoiding — you can’t avoid every hell that comes your way -- he calls them out.
CHRISTINE QUINN: Yes.
MATTHEWS: He doesn’t call them up. He calls them out. The politics, the mannerisms of this President are always look for the partisan divide, and, if you can, if you are really lucky, look for an ethnic divide. If you can break it along racial, ethnic background lines, it’s a winner for Donald Trump.
(....)
MATTHEWS: It just seems like he always looks for the statues issue. He’s back in there again with his chief of staff looking for North-South, blue/gray fighting again.
JOLLY: Sure.
MATTHEWS: Trying to reignite the — reenact — I don’t mind reenactors, but he’s trying to reignite the Civil War.
JOLLY: Yes.
MATTHEWS: What do you make of your fellow Republican?
JOLLY: Chris, I was a Hill staffer, like you.
MATTHEWS: Yes.
JOLLY: And, after 9/11, my boss was chairman of the Appropriations Committee from Florida, a Republican, who said to Hillary Clinton, we are all New Yorkers now. A lot of people said that.
MATTHEWS: Yes.
JOLLY: And we worked together on that and you raise a good point about, what about other Republicans? Because this is not just about Donald Trump. The silence of Republicans after Las Vegas is deafening, as they say. Sarah Sanders today said, listen, Trump was just trying to look out for the safety of the American people by speaking out about this immigration policy. But yet he never spoke to the issue of firearms and what is a reasonable compromise between the parties after Las Vegas and so this is more than just Donald Trump. This is a party who is happy to look the other way when it is domestic homegrown terror, whether it’s somebody doing it in the name of ISIS or somebody doing it because they wound over 500 people in Las Vegas, but when it fits their narrative to be xenophobic and to create this fear, to create this binary choice for Donald Trump between the red-blooded Americans that support him and those who represent diversity of the United States, this President will exploit that every time. And Republicans in Congress go along with him. And it’s shameful.
MATTHEWS: I think it’s going to kill the brand. Your thoughts, Christine? Last thought to you, Madam Speaker, Madam Speaker.
MATTHEWS: Go ahead.
CHRISTINE QUINN: The Congressmember is right. This President, and the Republican Party, and we see again only Flake and Corker speaking out. They make it about them vs. us, who did us wrong, how can we get them, when it just should be all of us together in moments like this.
MATTHEWS: Yes.
QUINN: And forget our parties. Forget where we came from. We should be Americans and somehow, the — sadly, the President of the United States either never knew that, forgot it, or doesn’t care.
MATTHEWS: You know, a lot of Islamic people died for this country. Go to Arlington Cemetery over there at the vaults where they are buried in. Check it out. They’re not all crosses. They’re not all Stars of David. They’re not all.
