Palin Derangement Syndrome was in full bloom on MSNBC's "Hardball" Tuesday.
At the conclusion of the program, host Chris Matthews went on a hate-filled rant accusing the former Alaska governor of being "out to cause trouble" and wanting "bad news about America" (video follows with transcript and commentary):
CHRIS MATTHEWS: Let me finish tonight with Sarah Palin’s midnight ride with American history. I have a theory about this person: I don't think she is at all interested in American history. If she were, she would know more of it. What she wants is bad news about America. What excites her isn't politics, the debate of one side against the other, Republicans versus Democrats, liberals versus conservatives. What she wants as I said is bad news about America. What excites her is not the chance to participate or lead in government. She quit government, dumped it really. She had other interests.
No, Palin is out to cause trouble. She wants people to be mad at politicians, mad at government, mad at the people who report on government. She wants unhappiness with politics and government that dominate the airwaves, dominate the conversation, dominate the country's mood. She wants us to think about government the way the early colonists thought about the British back in England. She wants us to arm ourselves that we can fight the redcoats. She wants us to live in a state of relentless, simmering rebellion, ever angry, ever distrustful, ever detesting the people we’ve elected to run the government, the people who cover the people in government. She wants us to believe toward the government the way angry middle-aged bikers look at government as the enemy.
And what about the media members that attack but do not lead? After all, this is what MSNBC stands for now.
On a daily basis, the extended prime time hosts including Matthews, Cenk Uygur, Lawrence O'Donnell, Rachel Maddow, and Ed Schultz Beck do virtually nothing to inform the American public about what's going on in the world.
Their message isn't positive or uplifting.
It's six straight hours of the most hate-filled invective on television today all aimed at the Republican Party and conservatives.
With this in mind, we could easily take Matthews' Tuesday rant, substitute a few words here and there, and demonstrate quite emphatically just what this network has become:
Let me finish tonight with MSNBC's midnight ride with American history. I have a theory about this so-called cable news network: I don't think MSNBC commentators are at all interested in American history. If they were, they would know more of it. What they want is bad news about Republicans. What excites them isn't politics, the debate of one side against the other, Republicans versus Democrats, liberals versus conservatives. What they want as I said is bad news about Republicans. [...]
MSNBC is out to cause trouble. They want people to be mad at Republicans, mad at the Tea Party, mad at the people who report on the Tea Party. They want unhappiness with conservatism and fiscal discipline that dominate the airwaves, dominate the conversation, dominate the country's mood. They want us to think about Republicans the way the early colonists thought about the British back in England. They want us to disarm ourselves that we can submit to our enemies. They want us to live in a state of relentless, growing dependence, ever angry, ever distrustful, ever detesting the people who pay all the taxes, the people who cover the people who pay all the taxes. They want us to believe toward the government the way a drug addict looks at a dealer as his friend.
This is why the 2012 election is not about who will lead us but whether we are ready to vote against the belief that we are governing ourselves. What a negative, self-defeating proposition MSNBC makes. What a strange reason for remaining in business. They get the history wrong because they get the United States wrong. We are a self-governing country and the people who matter are the ones who help us do it not the ones who attack but do not lead.
Which rant makes more sense to you?
