MSNBC’s Chris Matthews Accuses RNC Chairman Reince Priebus of Playing “The Race Card”
MSNBC’s Chris Matthews let it all hang out and accused RNC Reince Priebus of playing the race card. Priebus’ defense will not play with the skeptical for one reason: the laugh line in the joke wasn’t Romney being born in Michigan but on the birther aspect. But judge for yourself (and leave your reaction in comments). Matthews also jumped on the “Europe” cliche as well:
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Here’s one reaction to this clip.
And another.
And here’s the context now, as provided by the New York Times’ Thomas Edsall in a post “Making the Election about Race”:
The Republican ticket is flooding the airwaves with commercials that develop two themes designed to turn the presidential contest into a racially freighted resource competition pitting middle class white voters against the minority poor.
Ads that accuse President Obama of gutting the work requirements enacted in the 1996 welfare reform legislation present the first theme. Ads alleging that Obama has taken $716 billion from Medicare — a program serving an overwhelmingly white constituency — in order to provide health coverage to the heavily black and Hispanic poor deliver the second. The ads are meant to work together, to mutually reinforce each other’s claims…
,…The Washington Post’s fact checker, Glenn Kessler, gave the welfare ads his lowest rating, four Pinocchios. The Tampa Bay Times’s Politifact was equally harsh, describing the ads as “a drastic distortion” warranting a “pants on fire” rating. The welfare commercial, according to Politifact, “inflames old resentments about able-bodied adults sitting around collecting public assistance.”
Sharp criticism has done nothing to hold back the Romney campaign from continuing its offensive — in speeches and on the air — because the accuracy of the ads is irrelevant as far as the Republican presidential ticket is concerned. The goal is not to make a legitimate critique, but to portray Obama as willing to give the “undeserving” poor government handouts at the expense of hardworking taxpayers.
Insofar as Romney can revive anti-welfare sentiments – which have been relatively quiescent since the enactment of the 1996 reforms – he may be able to increase voter motivation among whites whose enthusiasm for Romney has been dimmed by the barrage of Obama ads criticizing Bain Capital for firing workers and outsourcing jobs during Romney’s tenure as C.E.O. of the company.
The racial overtones of Romney’s welfare ads are relatively explicit. Romney’s Medicare ads are a bit more subtle.
And, of course, now a prominent GOPer — using the best defense is a good offense strategy – accuses the Democrats of playing…the race card:
Mississippi Governor Haley Barbour, one of his party’s elder statesmen and leading strategists, today accused Democrats of playing the “race card” in accusing Republicans of making race a subtext of the campaign.
Democrats have argued heatedly that Mitt Romney’s unexpected new focus on welfare policy, his reference to President Barack Obama’s birth certificate, and his embrace of Donald Trump — who campaigned on the latter subject — represent thinly-coded appeals to working-class white resentment of a black president.
“Name a campaign in the last 25 years where the Dems didn’t play the race card,” Barbour told BuzzFeed. “Surprise!”
Barbour cast the Democratic move as a sign that the party is afraid black voters won’t show up at the polls.
“They feel this unbelievable need to turn out their base,” he said, citing recent moves on environmental and immigration policy as plays to other elements of the Democratic base.
UPDATE: The reaction of Hot Air’s Ed Morrissey to the Matthews clip:
Like Matthews, I don’t really get the joke from Romney’s Michigan speech, but it’s very clear that it was meant as a joke. That’s as far as I go with Matthews. If debate over federal programs like welfare are suddenly evidence of latent racism, then we should end the program altogether so as to keep it from being a topic of national debate. Absurd? So is Matthews’ blanket assertion that discussing Obama’s executive order that weakened the bipartisan welfare reform signed by Bill Clinton into law amounts to a racist attack on Obama. What’s next? Will discussing the failure of Obama’s stimulus bill be racist? Discussing an unemployment rate of 8.3%, a U-6 number back over 15%, and the lowest civilian participation rate in 30 years?
Matthews obviously doesn’t want any discussion of Obama’s record, and wants to scare Republicans away from it by toxifying those issues as raaaaaaaaaaacist. The aromas of desperation and fear are strong in this clip.
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Good article. Didn’t jump the shark until the words “Haley Barbour … Elder statesman” were used in the same sentence.
Even here in solid-blue Connecticut, people are using race. I am appalled by weekend diner conversations here. Nothing of substance, just racist or neo-racist jargon & fear.
CM is a left wing bully and he succeeded in shouting down Preibus. As many others have pointed out, Romney made a poorly chosen joke. CM, although I watch his Sunday show, is used to narrating is like minded friends and although he heavily pushes his brand, is ok to watch. (I think Wallace is the smoothest, BTW).
Today CM was a bit rabid and Priebus was not up to attack dog rhetoric. A good debate, with a chain link fence in between, would be with O’Reilly, another bully.
Although I think CM is the smarter of the two, at least it would entertaining in contrast to this soapbox rant of CM.
I’m glad Matthews finally had the guts to say it. It’s been going on since Sarah Palin and her “palling around with terrorists” crap in 2008. What the GOP is doing is a well known, well documented strategy that the rest of the media tip toes around because they are scared to death of being labled liberal. All the while, the majority of the pundicts you see on cable, especially on Sundays are republican. This whole strategy reminds me of the “Hands” ad that was run against Harvey Gantt here in Charlotte. I was just a teen, but even I could see the blatant racism going on. And for Haley Barbour, of all people, to come out say that. He’s the one who if you remember said, “I don’t remember the civil rights era being that bad”. Well I guess not, Boss Hogg. You were white.
Good for you Chris Matthews. Its time someone stand up to republican lies, distoration, attacks against the President as well as against women, minorities, workers, middle class, gays, seniors, poor and on and on. Preisbus said there’re going to prosecute the President for the economy. Lets prosecute the Republicans for crashing the economy, collasping Wall Street, destroying the housing industry, almost putting this country into default, blocking jobs, destroying public education, stripping away Americans rights. Republican destruction is endless and it must stop!!!!
Was CM out of line on “Morning Joe”?
Did CM just tell the truth about the Republican’s strategy to paint Obama as an “other”? Did he call Priebus out on the birther issue? Have Republicans and called Obama a Muslim – or even a terrorist? Is a movie just being released that paints Obama as someone who wants to bring the USA into a third world national status just a coincidence of timing?
Do the Republicans know the definition of “Republic” or “Democracy” or only their new favorite word “Plutocracy”? Should Republican’s look up the words subversion, duplicity or treachery to see if they are synonymous with treason?
Why did the people in the audience clap for CM on “Morning Joe” this morning? Was CM right?
I find clapping for either side to be uncalled for and should not be allowed, this is not the Jay Leno show, it is supposed to be informational not pandering to those who spout the most populist or crowd pleasing one liners. Save it for the WWE matches.
Yeah the clapping during a supposedly serious discussion was dumb. I like CM on his his Sunday AM show but he was sure an ass on Morning Joe.
I never liked CM. He totally lost me with the tingly comment 4 years ago. I cant see how either he or Rush are doing anything to further their party’s causes.
Actually I found the RNC Chairman an ass.
Chris Matthews was just speaking the truth about what is going on. The Governor’s comment about the birth certificate was uncalled for, joke or not. Just as his comments about the President having “foreign” ideas. It’s about time someone called them out about their language and their lies. And so what if the audience clapped? Maybe, just maybe, people are getting tired of all the lies coming from the right and are happy to hear someone call them out.
Which CM are we talking about here. The Lefty CM or the CM with homoerotic fantasies of George Bush?
http://mediamatters.org/research/2006/04/27/mission-accomplished-a-look-back-at-the-medias/135513
Actually I found the RNC Chairman an ass.
I’ve always considered Priebus more of an annoying weasel.
Please don’t insult weasels (couldn’t resist; I don’t know him).
I felt that Matthews could have toned down his outburst some. It still left a void when the RNC Chairman had no reasonable argument with which to counter him. Instead, he claimed that Obama was looking to Europe for solutions???
Europe is currently in recession and depression (depending where you are standing at the time) because of the Republican plan of austerity! Hello! Wake up!! Romney is the one looking to follow the European lead into misery! Obama is not all that much better, but he is not the one planning to gut all the social safety nets.
Why is it that no one on that program pointed that out?
The birther joke was really stupid. But the real racist dog whistle is the constant lying about welfare. Is there really anyone who doesn’t realize that in the mind of the current Republican base welfare isn’t something white people use and that a black man making it easy for welfare queens to get back on the dole is just criminal?
Europe is not in the middle of a depression.
SL: try telling that to Greece and Spain. Italy soon to follow.
In response to DCONFALONE.
All CM Did was not allow Priebus to weasel around the issue. The Repubs have been running a really (and purposely)dishonest campaign and Chris wasn’t allowing one of the most recent lying (under laid by racism) issues to slide. He simple tried to make Priebus own up to the real reason behind Romney’s birth certificate (planned and executed) comment.
You could see on Romney’s face that he knew exactly what he was saying and had been coached to say it clearly but slickly.
Finally another News/commentator didn’t just let it go by with no challenge.
If you’ve ever watched Chris, you must know that he is always rude and discourteous, interrupting and loud. But guess what, that is the only way to show up this concerted (scripted by Rove) campaign to paint Obama as `other’ and to bring along any possible voters who are against Obama on racial grounds, while still being able to camoflage the fact of what they are doing.
If you followed the ` you didn’t build that’ line of attack you must see how crudely this is being perpetrated. There is just no way around seeing that move as purposely and repeatedly really dishonest.
Yes, loud and HYPER-opinionated and a verbal bully, not to mention rude.