Chris vs. the Strategists
I haven't watched Chris Matthews in years, but Andrew Sullivan linked to this clip, where he's in strong form, tearing apart at least two of his three panelists -- for good reason:
posted by JMW at 10:26 AM
2 Comments:
I think he tore apart one guy for good reason. But conservatives revere Newt Gingrich. They think he'd make a great President. But, as the panelist said, they also realize he's much too radioactive to make it in a general election. Liberals hate that guy with a passion that borders on the anti-Clinton passion from the right.
But the suggestion that Gingrich isn't smart is just silly. Anyone that's ever heard that guy speak knows he's very, very smart. And in fact, the adjective I'd use is "thoughtful." Every Speaker in history has lost power at some point. It happened to Tip O'Neill (Matthews' former boss), it will happen to Nancy Pelosi. The mere fact that a politician in a position of power is no longer in power doesn't make him or her stupid.
But what I find shocking is the idea that conservatives are moral pearl clutchers. "Rudy lived with two gay men? Oh, heavens! I could never have him be my President."
What's going to kill Rudy is not his friendship with gay people. It's not even his stance on gay rights. It's his stance on gun control. But for some reason, "conservatives love guns" apparently doesn't make as good of a narrative as "conservatives hate gays."
-- Comish
C'mon, Comish. "Conservatives hate gays" might be a strong (and purposefully broad) phrasing, but that's not a story?? You don't think there are conservatives -- not nearly all of them, mind you -- who would hold the gay roommates against Rudy? (Pardon the suggestiveness.) I think Rudy's stance on gays, abortion, AND guns could all kill Rudy with a certain faction of the party. Don't claim that faction doesn't exist. (Personally, I think everything that made Rudy an effective leader of a city the size of NYC will make him creepy to most national voters, and that will come out over time.)
Anyway, when I said he tore two people apart, I didn't mean the Republican strategist and Gingrich -- I meant both strategists who were on the show. I love when the Democratic flak tries to defend his bringing up Giuliani's divorce by saying it was "front page news," and Matthews says, "Yeah, this isn't the front page."
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