Democrat-turned Republican-turned independent-turned Democrat Matthew Dowd joined Joy Reid on Monday’s edition of The ReidOut on MSNBC to declare that while he wasn’t calling Republicans Nazis ahead of the midterms, he couldn’t help but notice the similarities, especially amid all the concerns about inflation.
Reid herself fretted that democracy itself is on the ballot in a couple of weeks, “You know, and Matthew, we talk about this all the time, democracy on the ballot, it’s not just a slogan. You know, I mean, we're talking about women literally losing agency over themselves.”
Putting aside the fact that pro-life laws are being enacted because the Supreme Court expanded democracy in Dobbs, Reid continued, “Donald Trump has said you know where he's going to challenge the election, already in advance, he says he’s going to do it? Philly. That's a dog whistle, right? I mean, that’s a dog whistle, right? I mean, it's not even being hidden at this point, it's just fascism in the open, and what scares me is that I'm not sure everybody minds.”
Concluding her thoughts with a statement rather than a question, Reid proclaimed, “You know, I think there are some people who will just sit back and let it happen. Thinking it won't be that bad. And that, to me, is almost more dangerous than the radicals.”
Despite claiming he isn’t comparing Republicans to Nazis, Dowd responded by comparing Republicans to Nazis, “Well, I mean, I'm not calling -- I'm not going to say that, you know, the GOP are Nazis at this point or whatever, but it certainly sounds very familiar to what happened in Germany, which is a bunch of citizens, Adolf Hitler gets a third of the vote, nobody thought it would happen there, they went along because he said he would solve the economy and fix inflation.”
After Reid interjected to add her agreement, “yeah, that’s right,” Dowd continued, “You can hear those sorts of things, and then, oh, lo and behold, a few years later they lost their democracy and they're all like, how did that happen here? That's my worry. That is my worry. Obviously, the price of a hamburger, the price of milk, the price of gas is concerning. But what is-- that is a short term problem.”
Dowd concluded by declaring, “The loss of a democracy will decimate everyone's freedom. I think this is -- we shouldn't try to be saying you need to adopt our culture or whatever it happens to be. That is the white nationalist. It should be ‘we stand for democracy. We stand for the constitution and the dignity of all.’ That's what we stand for, and if you're with us, join us.”
Reid brought the segment to a close by again claiming that the very existence of democracy is on the line, “That's exactly right. And we can all argue about tax rates and normal politics later, but we have to have a democracy to have anything to argue about. Otherwise there's no point, nothing to argue about. You have no control over your society.”
Nothing says normal politics like MSNBC accusing Republicans of being Nazis.
This segment was sponsored by AT&T.
Here is a transcript for the October 24:
MSNBC The ReidOut
10/24/2022
7:14 PM ET
JOY REID: You know, and Matthew, we talk about this all the time, democracy on the ballot, it’s not just a slogan. You know, I mean, we're talking about women literally losing agency over themselves. Donald Trump has said you know where he's going to challenge the election, already in advance, he says he’s going to do it? Philly. That's a dog whistle, right? I mean, that’s a dog whistle, right? I mean, it's not even being hidden at this point, it's just fascism in the open, and what scares me is that I'm not sure everybody minds.
You know, I think there are some people who will just sit back and let it happen. Thinking it won't be that bad. And that, to me, is almost more dangerous than the radicals.
MATTHEW DOWD: Well, I mean, I'm not calling -- I'm not going to say that, you know, the GOP are Nazis at this point or whatever, but it certainly sounds very familiar to what happened in Germany, which is a bunch of citizens, Adolf Hitler gets a third of the vote, nobody thought it would happen there, they went along because he said he would solve the economy and fix inflation.
REID: Yeah, that’s right.
DOWD: You can hear those sorts of things, and then, oh, lo and behold, a few years later they lost their democracy and they're all like, how did that happen here? That's my worry. That is my worry. Obviously, the price of a hamburger, the price of milk, the price of gas is concerning. But what is-- that is a short term problem.
The loss of a democracy will decimate everyone's freedom. I think this is -- we shouldn't try to be saying you need to adopt our culture or whatever it happens to be.
REID: Sure.
DOWD: That is the white nationalist. It should be "we stand for democracy. We stand for the constitution and the dignity of all." That's what we stand for, and if you're with us, join us.
REID: That's exactly right. And we can all argue about tax rates and normal politics later, but we have to have a democracy to have anything to argue about. Otherwise there's no point, nothing to argue about. You have no control over your society. Maria Teresa Kumar, Matthew Dowd, thank you both very much.
