'Morning Joe' Lets Democratic Governor Skate on Polygamy Swipe At Romney

There could be only one good reason to have Dem Montana Governor Brian Schweitzer on Morning Joe: to grill him on his ugly anti-Mormon swipe at Mitt Romney.   Schweitzer recently said that Romney would have trouble attracting women voters because "his family came from a polygamy commune in Mexico."

So naturally I waited for Mika Brzezinksi, Mark Halperin, Cokie Roberts--anyone!--to raise the question of Schweitzer's slur.  And waited.  It never came.  Instead, Schweitzer was allowed to to chortle his way through several minutes of faux bonhomie and third-rate tourism promotion, as he gave away some trinkets, touted a new flight from Newark to Bozeman, and managed to work in a boast about his budget surpluses.  This was sheer journalistic malpractice on Morning Joe's part.  View the video after the jump.

There were a couple of amusing cultural references during the segment.  Mika Brzezinski, Marshal of the Food Police, fretted that some beef jerky Schweitzer tossed her might be "red meat" and "not healthy."  And Cokie Roberts wondered why Schweitzer needed to promote tourism, since "everybody I know is going to Montana all the time." Could be . . . if you hang out in the Tom Brokaw crowd.