MSNBC released two new "Lean Forward" ads last week, the latest examples of the network's echo chamber thinking. In the spots, Chris Matthews and Rachel Maddow, respectively, cheered the Supreme Court's liberal decisions from the last term. The commercials brand the network as the official cheerleader of liberal causes.
In one, Matthews lauded, "This is, let's joyously agree, a time of triumph. The Supreme Court has validated the President's Affordable Care Act... and it's a time for equality of marriage for gay and lesbian people."
The Hardball anchor enthused, "The U.S. Supreme Court knows this country. It's not just following the election returns, it's following the American character."
It's interesting how wise the Court is when it does what Matthews wants. In June of 2012, just prior to to the first Supreme Court decision on health care, the journalist threatened John Roberts, saying the Chief Justice could end up looking like a famous pro-slavery justice of the 19th century.
In another ad, Maddow praised, "This effort to kill the health law at the Supreme Court ended up making it stronger. The Supreme Court definitively saved and upheld and reified that law."
The history of "Lean Forward" ads:
In June of 2014, Matthews toured Independence Hall in Philadelphia and insisted that the Liberty Bell rang "for equal pay and marriage equality." He lectured, "Those founding principles resonate as loudly today as when the liberty bell rang forth in 1776."
In May of 2013, Matthews insisted that the American Revolution is an example of how "liberalism always wins."
In September of 2013, MSNBC ran a commercial appropriating Martin Luther King to promote liberal causes.
In April of 2013, a Melissa Harris-Perry spot allowed that successful Americans are only entitled to "a little more."
Transcripts of the two ads:
Lean Forward ad
7/10/15
12:35CHRIS MATTHEWS: This is, let's joyously agree, a time of triumph. The Supreme Court has validated the President's Affordable Care Act, the national health care program Democrats and some progressive Republicans have sought for practically a century. And it's a time for equality of marriage for gay and lesbian people. Americans want it their way. They want to be as much as possible the person they want. The U.S. Supreme Court knows this country. It's not just following the election returns, it's following the American character.
Lean Forward ad
7/9/15
3:14RACHEL MADDOW: This effort to kill the health law at the Supreme Court ended up making it stronger. The Supreme Court definitively saved and upheld and reified that law. Yes, the health law is the law of the land and no, it cannot easily be torn down. It will not be torn down now and it will not be torn down by some future president who replaces this one.
