Last night, nearly two dozen Democratic senators staged an all-night talkathon on the issue of climate change, but failed to take up any legislation to deal with the issue. Following the conclusion of the political stunt, Morning Joe co-host Joe Scarborough mocked the proceedings and the media’s coverage of climate change.
Appearing on MSNBC on March 11, Scarborough laughed at the idea that “If only the media would focus a little bit on climate change but there’s just, those oil barons control all of the major media companies.” [See video below.]
Scarborough continued his takedown of the media by joking how:
There's a guy, I hear there is this guy, Al Gore, I hear he has been trying to get funding for a movie about this that says that Florida is going to be under water in like 30 years and New York City is going to be a huge tidal wave and we’re all going to freeze and be burning books in the public library but Hollywood won't talk about climate change, the media won't talk about climate change.
Nobody will talk about climate change. Thank God, thank God these brave Democratic senators are risking the wrath of the mainstream media and the Hollywood elites to talk about climate change on the floor. I feel better. This is what America is all about. This is what America is all about.
The MSNBC host continued his dissection by pointing out that co-host Mika Brzezinski:
Just said it's very emotional. I mean you just said, thank God somebody is talking about it to get climate change back in the headlines. Damn, "The New York Times"! They will not talk to about climate change. It's up to these men and women!
Brzezinski seemed visibly upset that Scarborough was openly laughing and making jokes at the expense of her fellow liberals and even resorted to hitting her co-host with her notes. Scarborough maintained that he was:
Making fun of the fact that you're saying nobody is talking about it. That's all they have been talking about. Al Gore won a Pulitzer Prize, a Nobel Prize. A Grammy. I think he won the Westminster Dog Show one year. He has won every award that they could throw at him.”
Scarborough’s comments were extremely telling, especially given how in January a group of Democratic senators wrote a letter to the presidents of ABC, CBS, NBC and Fox News urging them to discuss climate change on their broadcasts. Ironically, just one month after the email was circulated, ABC, CBS and NBC all provided extensive coverage of climate change on the Sunday shows, reiterating Scarborough’s point.
For the rest of the Morning Joe crew, any criticism of the media’s coverage of climate change is tantamount to heresy yet Scarborough correctly called them out for pretending that the media doesn’t cover climate change.
See relevant transcript below.
MSNBC
Morning Joe
March 11, 2014
6:23 a.m. Eastern
JOE SCARBOROUGH: From our parade of papers. "The Washington Post.” Keep that up! No, keep the music up, T.J.! Turn it up. More than two dozen Democratic senators are pulling an all-nighter to get climate change back in the headlines. Hey, great job. You had a freshman from Hawaii Brian Schatz organize the marathon sessions. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid kicked it off by calling everybody who disagreed with them un-American -- or something.
HARRY REID: Climate change is real. It's here. It's time to stop acting those who ignore this crisis. For example the oil barren Koch brothers and their allies in Congress have a valid point of view. They don't.
SCARBOROUGH: Oh yeah they don’t because they disagree with him.
MIKA BRZEZINSKI: That’s actually better than saying addicted to Koch.
SCARBOROUGH: Yeah, or un-American. Here’s a live look at the Senate floor. Republicans say the all-nighter is just a political stunt since Democrats have no plans to actually introduce climate change legislation. There’s Connecticut senator, Richard Blumenthal—
BRZEZINSKI: He is great and I'm glad that they are trying to have a conversation.
SCARBOROUGH: Yeah, I know. God knows, the media, there’s been a total blackout on climate change the past decade. If only the media would focus a little bit on climate change but there’s just, those oil barons control all of the major media companies. There's a guy, I hear there is this guy, Al Gore, I hear he has been trying to get funding for a movie about this that says that Florida is going to be under water in like 30 years and New York City is going to be a huge tidal wave and we’re all going to freeze and be burning books in the public library but Hollywood won't talk about climate change, the media won't talk about climate change. Nobody will talk about climate change. Thank God, thank God these brave Democratic senators are risking the wrath of the mainstream media and the Hollywood elites to talk about climate change on the floor. I feel better. This is what America is all about. This is what America is all about.
BRZEZINSKI: I don't understand what could be wrong with that, like, how you could find a way to mock it and criticize it.
SCARBOROUGH: Well, you just said it's very emotional. I mean you just said, thank God somebody is talking about it to get climate change back in the headlines. Damn, "The New York Times"! They will not talk to about climate change. It's up to these men and women! This is 2014's version of Mr. Smith goes to Washington, Willie!
MIKE BARNICLE: And freezes!SCARBOROUGH: And freezes! Its 3 degrees outside! And so now I'm allowing people and other liberal websites to go, well, when it's cold, that means there's climate change but when it's warm, that means there's climate change but like when it's in the middle, that means there’s climate change. Pass me a Cheetos. I mean, come on. They get it coming and going. They get it coming and going.
BRZEZINSKI: I'm just going to let that speak for itself.
SCARBOROUGH: I’m just glad we get these brave, brave hearts. What is Mel Gibson's last line in that movie, Willie?
WILLIE GEIST: Freedom.
BARNICLE: Freedom.
SCARBOROUGH: Freedom.
GEIST: As he is having his innards removed.
SCARBOROUGH: Tore them right out.
GEIST: Like that hook in there.
MARK HALPERIN: Just another word for nothing left to lose.
SCARBOROUGH: Oh, that’s a great line.
BARNICLE: Janis Joplin!
SCARBOROUGH: Or freedom. That is just some people talking.
BRZEZINSKI: So now it might be a good time for to say that you were just kidding and you do care about climate change.
SCARBOROUGH: Can I say I love Don Henley even though Don Henley hates everything I stand for, for sure but I love Don Henley. He has written some great songs.
BARNICE: And he’s a climate change guy.
SCARBOROUGH: I know he is that’s why I'm saying, it's sort of ironic.
HALPERIN: You know what they say about "Morning Joe"?
BRZEZINSKI: What do they say?
HALPERIN: You can check out, but you can never leave.
SCARBOROUGH: Now look, hey. I believe in climate change. Please though, don't say –
BRZEZINSKI: I never say anything.
SCARBOROUGH: I’m glad somebody is putting this back in the headlines. We have been having that shoved down our throat nonstop since 2004.
BRZEZINSKI: Really? Oh good. I'm glad to see that we’ve done really meaningful things to address it, because it actually matters, it really does.
SCARBOROUGH: It does.
BRZEZINSKI: And I don't think you should make fun of it.
SCARBOROUGH: I'm not. Nobody is making fun of it. I'm making fun of the fact that you're saying nobody is talking about it. That's all they have been talking about. Al Gore won a Pulitzer Prize, a Nobel Prize. A Grammy. I think he won the Westminster Dog Show one year. He has won every award that they could throw at him.
HALPERIN: He won a BAFTA.
SCARBOROUGH: He won a BAFTA too. I don’t even know what a BAFTA is but he won one. By the way, the good news is this is just our first news story, Willie. We have like seven more. Go ahead.
HALPERIN: You know what the Koch brothers say about Gore?
SCARBOROUGH: What’s that?
HALPERIN: Gore-a-doesn't ring a bell.
SCARBOROUGH: Okay.
HALPERIN: Not heard of him.
