Chris Matthews continued to beat MSNBC’s voter suppression drum during an exclusive interview with Senator Kay Hagan (D-N.C.) on Monday night’s Hardball.
Matthews, who like much of MSNBC has claimed that Republicans want to block minorities from voting, made the issue a focal point of his discussion with the North Carolina Democrat. The Hardball host hyped the interview by playing a clip of himself asking Senator Hagan “why are they trying to screw the black voter, to put it bluntly? Is it because they don`t like blacks or because they don`t like Democrats?”
Matthews opened his show by strangely connecting Ebola to voter ID laws:
The nurse`s name is Nina Pham. She took care of America`s first Ebola case, and now she`s the second. And the man-made virus called voter suppression. This weekend in North Carolina, I asked Kay Hagan whether Republicans are out to cut the Democratic vote or simply screw the black vote.
The MSNBC host then played a clip from the interview where he asked Hagan “so is this based on racial -- racism or on partisanship? Why are they trying to screw the black voter, to put it bluntly?”
Unsurprisingly the Democratic Senator didn’t push back on Matthews’ assertion and actually said that she “tends to agree” that voter ID laws are targeting minority voters.
When the actual interview aired during the broadcast, Matthews played several clips of Hagan blasting North Carolina’s voter ID laws, which don’t go into effect until 2016, before attacking her Republican opponent for supporting the legislation:
Hagan`s Republican opponent, Thom Tillis, is the speaker of the House in the North Carolina legislature. He was the one who pushed for these new voting restrictions, which he must have known would weigh heaviest on his Democratic rival. Did he lead the fight, as you see it, to suppress the vote?
The Hardball host continued to play up the Democratic line that voter ID laws are aimed at minorities and eagerly promoted the work of the NAACP to block implementation of the law:
The restrictions are expected to hurt African-American voters the most. The NAACP has been leading the fight to inform black voters of their rights. What do you think this voter suppression`s all about? [To unidentified individual] Was it partisan or racist?
--
Among those leaders is the Reverend William Barber, a Civil Rights advocate in the Tar Heel State. When you talk to Republicans, and I think you do, about why they push for these new voter laws, do they admit it`s suppression?
Matthews concluded the pre-taped portion of the segment by hyping the possible repercussions voter ID laws could have on Hagan’s reelection bid in November:
The consequences of these new laws are far-reaching and could determine which party wins control of the U.S. Senate. Every vote in a battleground state like North Carolina counts. Every vote that gets suppressed does too.
The MSNBCer then turned to Washington Post columnist Eugene Robinson to double-down on his voter ID freak out and Matthews eagerly gave the NAACP some free advertising by holding up one of their placards in front of the camera:
And I brought back a little bit of advice for voters. This is a -- this is a placard I got from the NAACP, a nonpartisan placard, saying -- see, a lot of people are spreading the word you need an ID. card now, even though that has been pushed off for two more years.
Eugene Robinson enthusiastically agreed with Matthews and went so far as to claim the NAACP is nonpartisan:
MATTHEWS: What do you think of this, the fact that nonpartisan groups like the NAACP, they may mostly be Democrats, but it`s a nonpartisan issue, I think.
ROBINSON: Exactly and it`s a group that doesn`t get involved in politics in a partisan way, generally speaking. No, I think that`s highly significant. I think what we heard about motivating the Democratic base, frankly, in North Carolina could well be true.
The segment concluded with the two liberals blasting North Carolina’s voter ID law one final time:
MATTHEWS: So, they targeted the black vote.
ROBINSON: It`s a phenomenon of the African-American church. Now, if African-Americans were loyal Republican voters, would the Republican Party be doing this? I`m not sure that they would.
MATTHEWS: It`s like Nixon. Was he anti-Semitic or just anti people who are Jewish who are Democrats?
ROBINSON: Well, see, there you go.
MATTHEWS: I think a measure of both is also considered.
As one might expect, Monday was not the first night Chris Matthews whined about voter ID laws. On July 18, 2013 the Hardball host declared photo ID laws to be an “unforgivable” “assault on black America.” On July 8 of this year, Matthews proclaimed that the GOP violates the 26th Amendment and ‘abridge’ youth voting rights in North Carolina.
See relevant transcript below.
MSNBC’s Hardball
October 13, 2014
CHRIS MATTHEWS, HOST: Think Ebola. Let`s play Hardball. Good evening. I`m Chris Matthews in Washington. The nurse`s name is Nina Pham. She took care of America`s first Ebola case, and now she`s the second. And the man-made virus called voter suppression. This weekend in North Carolina, I asked Kay Hagan whether Republicans are out to cut the Democratic vote or simply screw the black vote. Here`s her answer.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
MATTHEWS: So is this based on racial -- racism or on partisanship? Why are they trying to screw the black voter, to put it bluntly? Is it because they don`t like blacks or because they don`t like Democrats?
KAY HAGAN: You know, I think they are trying to suppress Democratic turnout.
MATTHEWS: So it`s partisan.
HAGAN: It`s quite simple.
MATTHEWS: African-Americans think that they`re being targeted because they`re African-Americans, not because they`re Democrats.
HAGAN: Well, you know, I tend to agree with them.
MATTHEWS: So it’s both.
------
MATTHEWS: Welcome back to Hardball. Just three weeks from now, in fact tomorrow, a handful of crucial states will determine whether Democrats keep a majority in the United States Senate, or whether Republicans get control. Among those battleground states, in North Carolina, where the race to finish line is intensifying even as we speak. We were there this weekend and here`s what we found.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
MATTHEWS (voice-over): With control of the U.S. Senate in the balance, Hardball took to the road this weekend to check out the race in North Carolina. It`s where Democrat Kay Hagan is in a tough fight with Thom Tillis, her testy Republican opponent.
THOMAS MILLS, POLITICSNC.COM: Usually, races like this that are this close kind of bounce back and forth, but she`s kind of maintained a stubborn 2 to 5-point lead non-stop for the last six weeks or so.
MATTHEWS: The latest polling has Hagan up by 2 points, 47 to 45. I asked Senator Hagan what she thinks will decide it in November.
HAGAN: I think voter turnout is the key. It`s certainly the key in my election. In an off-presidential election year, we know that voter turnout goes down. And I have put together one of the biggest voter turnout operations we`ve ever seen in North Carolina.
MATTHEWS: But new voting restrictions passed by the conservative North Carolina legislature might affect turn-out on Election Day.
HAGAN: Their intent was to suppress Democratic turnout. And it`s wrong. People have fought and died for this constitutional right to vote. And if you look at what they did -- they took away a number of early voting days. They took away same-day registration. We actually allowed, in civics classes as a senior in high school that students could register to vote. They took that away. You want to ask yourself why.
MATTHEWS: Hagan`s Republican opponent, Thom Tillis, is the speaker of the House in the North Carolina legislature. He was the one who pushed for these new voting restrictions, which he must have known would weigh heaviest on his Democratic rival.
(on camera)Did he lead the fight, as you see it, to suppress the vote?
HAGAN: Yes. I mean, when you look at the voter intimidation, these barriers to the ballot box. I contacted Eric Holder. Two states in the nation that he brought suit in, North Carolina and Texas, because of the egregious violation of the constitutional right to vote. It is 2014. Why would Speaker Thom Tillis put barriers up to the ballot box today? It`s wrong. And that`s exactly what they`ve done.
MATTHEWS (voice-over): The restrictions are expected to hurt African-American voters the most. The NAACP has been leading the fight to inform black voters of their rights.
(on camera): What do you think this voter suppression`s all about? Was it partisan or racist? What is it? Or both?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I think it`s both. The numbers showed it that the population of people that`s going to be affected most is African-Americans.
REP. KEITH ELLISON (D), MINNESOTA: What happened is that there are some people who don`t want to see progress and -- but you know, the real question is these folks here in the NAACP in North Carolina do want to see it, and so they`re leading the nation. Because this is where the action is. This is where the leadership is, right here.
MATTHEWS: Among those leaders is the Reverend William Barber, a Civil Rights advocate in the Tar Heel State.
(on camera): When you talk to Republicans, and I think you do, about why they push for these new voter laws, do they admit it`s suppression?
REV. WILLIAM BARBER, MORAL MONDAYS LEADER: Well, you know, Thom Tillis admitted on MSNBC. There`s a tape where he said it wasn`t about fraud. He admitted that.
MATTHEWS (voice-over): Not only that, but Speaker Tillis said the true intent of the new laws is to prevent fraud that might occur in the future.
CRAIG MELVIN: Why is this a legislative priority?
REP. THOM TILLIS (R-NC), SENATE CANDIDATE: Well, we call this restoring confidence in elections. There is some voter fraud, but that`s not the primary reason for doing this. There`s a lot of people who are just concerned with the potential risk of fraud. And in our state, it could be significant.
MATTHEWS: Reverend Barber gained wide recognition for leading Moral Mondays in North Carolina, a weekly protest movement with civil rights and voting fairness at the top of its agenda.
BARBER: We talk about what`s constitutionally inconsistent. We`ve had Republicans and Democrats stand on the Moral Monday stage and say any politicians, Chris, that will get elected and then use their power to keep people from voting is wrong.
MATTHEWS: Senator Hagan has, for her part, made voting rights a key component of her reelection fight.
HAGAN: We need to have a huge turnout on November the 4th. With your help and support, we are going to get out the voters. We are going to inform them, tell them what the rules of the road are. This election is that critical.
MATTHEWS: So is this based on a racial -- racism or on partisanship? Why are they trying to screw the black voter, to put it bluntly? Is it because they don`t like blacks or because they don`t like Democrats?
HAGAN: You know, I think they are trying to suppress Democratic turnout.
MATTHEWS: So it`s partisan?
(CROSSTALK)
HAGAN: Flat and simple. I mean, Sundays to the polls done away. The whole early voting concept -- people have early and -- I mean, busy, busy lives. They want to go and vote early. And to think you took another week of that away, that`s wrong. That is really wrong.
MATTHEWS: Yes. But African-Americans think that they`re being targeted because they`re African-Americans, not because they`re Democrats.
HAGAN: Well, you know, I tend to agree with them.
MATTHEWS: Some say Tillis might trigger a voter backlash for his push to enact these new voter restrictions. It could cause African-Americans to show up in even greater numbers out of protest.
THOMAS MILLS, Politicsnc.com: From what I can tell, the state`s voter ID. laws are motivating the base like nothing I have ever seen. I think that the Republican Party overreached to such an extent that they are going to have a hard time for the next couple of cycles, because they`re going to have to own what they have done.
MATTHEWS: The consequences of these new laws are far-reaching and could determine which party wins control of the U.S. Senate. Every vote in a battleground state like North Carolina counts. Every vote that gets suppressed does too.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
MATTHEWS: Joining me now is MSNBC political analyst Eugene Robinson of "The Washington Post," Pulitzer Prize winner as well. Gene, you grew up with this stuff, and they`re back at it.
EUGENE ROBINSON, MSNBC POLITICAL ANALYST: Well, yes. Right.
MATTHEWS: Much worse, what you grew up with.
ROBINSON: I thought we had established the right to vote back in 1964 and 1965.
MATTHEWS: And that was in South Carolina state. And now we`re seeing it. I thought this was interesting. And I brought back a little bit of advice for voters. This is a -- this is a placard I got from the NAACP, a nonpartisan placard, saying -- see, a lot of people are spreading the word you need an ID. card now, even though that has been pushed off for two more years. So that intimidation factor also worked in Pennsylvania in the presidential election. People get scared. Older people say, oh, I can`t really make it. Well, it`s not -- don`t even bother, because you don`t have an ID.
ROBINSON: Yes. Yes.
MATTHEWS: What do you think of this, the fact that nonpartisan groups like the NAACP, they may mostly be Democrats, but it`s a nonpartisan issue, I think.
ROBINSON: Exactly and it`s a group that doesn`t get involved in politics in a partisan way, generally speaking. No, I think that`s highly significant. I think what we heard about motivating the Democratic base, frankly, in North Carolina could well be true.
MATTHEWS: You mean it might trigger a counterattack, a -- the back -- backlash?
ROBINSON: Yeah, there are some indications that, in 2012, in some states, you know, attempts to suppress the African-American vote resulted in a higher-than-normal African-American vote, especially in Ohio.
MATTHEWS: Yes. Well, let me ask you the crucial question, which I don`t think there`s an answer, but I`m going to throw it at you.
(CROSSTALK)
(LAUGHTER)
MATTHEWS: I asked her the question, Kay Hagan, who is white. I said, African-Americans down here think it`s at them. It`s not just at them because they`re Democrats. It`s at them as a group.
ROBINSON: Well, how could you not feel that way if you see something that clearly has a disproportionate impact on African-American voters?
(CROSSTALK)
MATTHEWS: And the Sunday -- the souls to the polls, these traditions of...
ROBINSON: Yes, right, exactly. So, that in particular, that is something they went way out of their way to get rid of, and that`s something that...
(CROSSTALK)
MATTHEWS: So, they targeted the black vote.
ROBINSON: It`s a phenomenon of the African-American church. Now, if African-Americans were loyal Republican voters, would the Republican Party be doing this? I`m not sure that they would.
MATTHEWS: It`s like Nixon. Was he anti-Semitic or just anti people who are Jewish who are Democrats?
ROBINSON: Well, see, there you go.
(CROSSTALK)
MATTHEWS: I think a measure of both is also considered.
(CROSSTALK)
ROBINSON: It`s kind of a piece.
MATTHEWS: Of a piece. Anyway, Eugene, stay with us.
