Rachel Maddow speaks to Chris Matthews about the Kevin James appeasement incident

[ProfessorPlum]

Run time: 07:13 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_mpAvSSQ9OU   Posted on YouTube: May 17, 2008 By YouTube Member: Views on YouTube: 0   Posted on DU: May 17, 2008 By DU Member: ProfessorPlum Views on DU: 6652

 

[barbtries]

1. chris matthews

seems smart and, and...on our side. this is the same guy who seemed to be in love with gw. i don't know what to make of it, but i am glad to see it. hope to see more of it. i really appreciated his comments about homeland security and in fact the entire piece and what it speaks to. still surprised it came from chris matthews. at one point he said, part of it's the media's fault. i'm thinking he's growing a conscience from somewhere.

[raystorm7]

4. Mathews will drink McCain and Bushs bath water... All you need to know :)

[barbtries]

19. thanks for the heads up

but in this clip he sounds positively moyers-esque. maybe some positive reinforcement and we could be seeing more and more of it. tides turn, and the republicans are going down. matthews, whom i've always perceived as being so far up the washington establishment's ass that he did not have a grasp on reality, just demonstrated to me that he does. i just hope it's not just a passing blip.

[King Coal]

23. I like the way you think. You, are what we call, "spot on". WTG

[barbtries]

26. thank you king

[understandinglife]

36. Agreed.

Peace,
Bob

[Just-plain-Kathy]

32. Just wait until the GE is just days away...Chris will go all GOP on us. ....n/t

[TheDebbieDee]

18. Chris Matthews allowed repukes to come on his show

night after night and "Swiftboat" John Kerry (usually unchallenged) during the last Presidential Campaign. I only remember Chris Matthews challenging Michelle Malkin when she alleged that John Kerry shot himself in an effort to be rotated to the States sooner.

Lawrence O'Donnell was on Tweety's show along with a "Swiftboater" and O'Donnell called this "swifty" a liar to his face. O'Donnell wasn't seen again on ANYONE'S show again until AFTER the election.

[eagertolearn]

44. Chris Matthews has been refreshing these last few months...

I never paid attention to him before but it seems to me that he is analyzing the information and coming up with his real opinion not something he is supposed to be promoting. I used to watch or listen to CNN but during this election process I have discovered MSNBC with Matthews, Maddow and Obberman mainly here on DU (no time to watch it on TV). Real news not the stuff that has taken over the networks since the Bush administration started their dictatorship!

[Ishoutandscream2]

2. Nicely done. Chris

But again, you WERE a big part of the problem in the drumbeat toward war. I appreciate what you say now, Chris, but to use another of those phrases you speak of, you have become a true "flip flopper."

I don't trust the man. I'm glad that he said this, but tomorrow he could do a 180.

[cosmicsheep]

3. Also, MSNBC can not be blind...

...to how much this lit up the interwebs, and they want to milk it (rightfully in my view) for all it's worth. So nakedly exposing a blowhard bloviator is great for them, and the fact that the thing becomes an internet sensation in a matter of hours is not lost on the bean counters at MSNBC in terms of hopefully drawing in more viewers.

I hope they make it a point to get more 2nd rate right wing blowhards on the air and expose them for their adolescent understanding of a very complex world.

[progdonkey]

22. "2nd rate"

I think that's an important thing to remember regarding this incident. It wasn't like he was taking on Rush Limbaugh, etc.--i.e. someone with an actual audience/international platform. I'd never heard of this idiot (and I have at least heard the name of most of the RW talk show idiots), so he might as well have been some random guy on the street... and that is who Matthews decides to put on the spot? Not an administration official or someone with a large audience, but truly low-hanging fruit.

I figure Matthews had this guy on solely so he could attack someone on the RW without actually having to risk anything, yet reaping all the benefits thanks to people like us.

It's like Ted Bundy helping an old lady cross the street: yeah, that's a single nice thing he did, but he's still Ted Bundy!

[barbtries]

27. i'd never heard of him either -

i played the clip for my son, who is 16 years old today. plainly the guy had no clue whatsoever. but what i felt i needed to add for my son's sake is, this guy has his own radio show. clueless as he is, his brand of ignorant hatred is going out on the airwaves daily. that's the scary part of it. personally i hope he loses his show and goes back to school.

[jwlashta]

40. That's not the point...

Matthews was talking about the fact that people use these catch-phrase/bumper sticker slogans without any consideration of the meaning (nor really caring). The point is that when you feed these slogans to the masses ad nauseum, they get picked up and incorporated into the lexicon--it's a kind of indoctrination by creating ignorance through coded language. The blowhard on the show was just that. I've never heard of the man, but maybe that's the point (or maybe few respectable people will go on Matthews)--any idiot can repeat slogans, but it doesn't mean that they know what they are talking about.

It reminds me of Kevin Costner teaching the dim-witted Tim Robbins cliches in the movie Bull Durham. Or, for those "fuck-pop-culture" snobs, Socrates taking the sophists to task in a Platonic dialogue.

[KSinTX]

42. FWIW, this is a former Assistant US Attorney

Served three years prosecuting federal crimes in LA. Fightening.

[greiner3]

5. Notice Tweety's crossed arms?

He is challenged BIG TIME by Rachel!

[MindMatter]

11. I didn't take the gesture that way

I took it to be a continuation of the body language from the original clip. I took it as an expression of contempt for that asshole. I forget his name. I have no reason to remember his name. He is an idiot.

[PerpetuallyDazed]

45. He looked like a pouty kid

Don't know what that means, but it seems to me anyways that he was saying one thing but his body language said something different... as if he didn't want to be there, or something. I still don't trust him!

[Wetzelbill]

6. Matthews is hit and miss

He can be good but he's not always all that trustworthy. I like him for the most part though. He does have the McCain man crush thing going on pretty hard. I think like the rest of us he's grown disgusted with Bush and Co, so he's been more critical of Republicans this last several months.

But one thing you can't ever take away from the guy is that beatdown he put on Kevin James. He kicked Kevin James's ass so bad that as a result nobody will even watch reruns of "King of Queens" anymore, and that's a totally different guy.

[Old and In the Way]

7. As a frequent critic of Matthews, I have to say that was a quite impressive interview.

Perhaps he's finally figuring out that this is not an administration that has this country's best interests at heart...or maybe he's just getting on board with the new political reality...or maybe he got his meds adjusted. Whatever it is, I'm hoping that Chris keeps hammering on these points.

[MindMatter]

14. Or maybe Olberman's ratings have convinced Matthews' bosses

that it isn't necessary to force them all to act like Rush Limbaugh. There is more money to be made by challenging the 29% administration.

[mamalone]

39. Got his meds adjusted.....

Thanks for the laugh:D

And I agree with the rest of your post as well!

[Mrs. Overall]

8. Why is the media suddenly addressing this now? Why not seven years ago when this administration

began throwing those terms around like "homeland security", "terrorist", "WMD", "evil doers", "hate us for our freedoms", "Islamofascist" etc...? And also the use of "Democrat party" instead of "Democratic party".

If the media had done its job, questioning this dictatorial rhetoric years ago, I am sure we wouldn't now be in the international and domestic mess that we currently are in.

One thing that continues to haunt me, was the media's use of the term INSURGENT in describing the Katrina victims who were demanding water and not obeying curfews. Reporters on several major networks used that term and I think that was unconscionable.

I guess it's great that media personalities like Matthews are at least beginning to address the rhetoric and slogan use, but it's years too late.

[MirrorAshes]

35. Matthews is on record saying "the bosses" basically controlled that message

and its not at all surprising. to chris's credit, he was vocally against the war from the start, but there were certainly stands he could have and should have taken when he did not. but when your paycheck is on the line i guess you do what you're told. it sucks, but we should keep in mind that the level of intimidation fostered by the administration in the lead up to the war really did hit every aspect of american culture, especially the media.

[MindMatter]

9. Maybe this begins a new era in political talk show theatre

The political talk shows are all about theatre, not about understanding. The TV and radio owners like to move as a mob. It is like the Survivor fad. One show has some success and soon there are dozens of imitations.

In the political scene, for 15 years, the standard form of the theatre is to dump a group of people having polarized viewpoints into a pit, provoke them with loaded questions, and tell them they each will have 3 seconds to make a point before their opponents out-scream them. That started with the McLaughlin Report and is pretty much the standard fare today.

Cenk Uyger mentioned the other day that we seem to be at a real turning point in that, following Olberman's success, we now have other liberal hosts getting the space to work.

But the problem is that liberal tend to favor a reasoned, fair-minded exploration of the issues and that is --- BOOOOOOOOOORING.

I think Matthews has hit on something better than rational, reasoned discussion of the issues, and this could be the next wave in talk shows.

The new format will be an educated hone, one rational panelist and one crazed blowhard. And the sport will be to make the blowhard's head explode. "I can make his head explode in 3 minutes." "No, I can make his head explode in 2 minutes and 39 seconds."

Appointment TV, that is.

[graywarrior]

10. Wait a effin minute. What was Matthew's stand on patriotism prior to and shortly after March 2003?

Was't he condemning all of us who spoke out against Bush's war? Grrrrrrrr, I despise that liar.

[MindMatter]

12. I think that is the point he was making with Rachael.

The bullying was real, and nearly 100% effective. They were all afraid of losing their jobs. It took Keith Olberman to break through that, and now we're seeing the opening of the floodgates.

We can bemoan what happened during that period, in the same way we look back upon McCarthy. But it is most important that we put our energies towards driving forward through the door that is opening. If Matthews felt bullied, and therefore repressed his more natural urges, there are hundreds more in the media just like him. Even Tim Russert probably wishes he were free to kick some ass -- and if we keep pushing, he will be.

I welcome Matthews to the team.

[graywarrior]

15. Thank you for your rational post.

Excellent response.

[Mrs. Overall]

13. Exactly. I wish someone would find and post some of the exchanges Matthews

had with guests in which he screamed about supporting Bush, the need for war in Iraq, saving our freedoms, etc...

I think Matthews is changing his tune because to continue to blindly support the Bush/McCain machine means he won't be granted interviews with Dems.

[libodem]

16. This was the first time in a long time that I felt

Chris Matthews was a sympathetic character. I'll admit I've been hatin' on him just like pundit troglodytes, such as Limpbaugh or Glenn Beck. I don't want "someone on my side" as much as someone who can see both sides. There are always at least two sides to the story and then there is the truth of the matter. I don't care about sides as much as the truth.

[baldguy]

17. Tweety plays a good Capt Renault

He'd be more convincing if he hadn't spent 15 yrs as a cheerleader for the same propaganda he's now criticizing.

[boobooday]

20. He ENERGIZED and LEGITIMIZED!

It's so funny how this punk grasps for some kind of corporate-seminar generic terms to cover his ignorance.

:rofl:

[ghostsofgiants]

21. Could Kevin James be any more shrill and annoying?

Not to mention dumb.

[awoke_in_2003]

24. I hate your sig pic

it keeps reminding me that I am not awesome :)

[ghostsofgiants]

25. Yelling Bird does nothing but expose the true nater of one's being.

:P

[jfan2]

28. It's about time.

Damn, it's about time someone in the MSM is making this point, questioning the bully tactics. I watch Chris Matthews a fair amount because I know he knows how to cut through the BS, at least better than anyone on CNN. But, he sure doesn't do it often enough. Why wasn't he questioning people like this 5 years ago, when it really mattered? Matthews just flows with the wind, whatever is popular to pretend you think at the moment, given the political tide. I don't trust people like that.

[mythyc]

29. thank you all of you for the great dialogue and insight in this post

I learned a lot from it and appreciate the depth and critical integrity of all of your reflections and interpretations. this is one of the main reasons i love DU so much, because within its maelstrom I learn an enormous amount here.

:thumbsup: :patriot:

[lenegal]

30. How could anyone be so stupid?

I laughed so hard when watching this. Kevin James is the epitome of RW big mouth blowhard idiocy.

Not many knew of Kevin James before Chris Matthews smacked him down. Now this clip is all over the Internet.

[MindMatter]

31. At least he came on Matthews' show

The rest of those cowards hide behind their microphone and call screener in their hermetically sealed bubbles.

We ought to be inviting all of them to come out of their bubbles and present their case is the real world -- and be prepared to come with facts.

And if they don't come out in the open, show them for the cowards that they are.

[DU GrovelBot]

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[MirrorAshes]

34. With all of the anti-Matthews press lately he seems like a man fighting for his career

his contract is up next year and it seems as if he's decided to un-muzzle himself and really lay into some serious issues. i know he is fully capable of flapping with the wind but there has been a definite change in his approach lately. seems a little bit of Keith has rubbed off on him. Matthews has been spot-on with his commentary on the appeasement/conflation stuff but also in attacking the ditto-heads for abusing their right to vote. he's been fiery and i like it. he still makes me cringe with regularity but im at the point where i'd be really dissapointed if hardball got cancelled.

[NightOwwl]

37. I will never forget the day he had Bill Maher on as a guest.

Maher was making some jokes about Bush, which ended up with him calling Bush a drunk. Matthews literally turned white and told Maher never to call Bush a drunk on his show again. Maher tried to brush it off by saying it was just a joke, but when Mathews kept repeating no one was allowed to call Bush names like that on his show, Maher realized he was serious.

I'm telling you, the man was scared shitless. Maher could see it too...he immediately stopped with the name calling when he saw the expression on Mathews face. I think he may be talking more freely now because the people (aka Bush-Cheney Administration) who were intimidating him are no longer a threat.

[pedo]

38. homeland security vs national defense

national defense means protecting corporate interests around the world.

[Jim Lane]

41. This interview was an exceptional case because of James's ignorance

Suppose, when Matthews asked, "What did Chamberlain do?", James had said something like, "In 1938, he signed the Munich Agreement that gave Hitler a big chunk of Czechoslovakia, in the hope of averting war." Would Matthews still have pressed him? Would Matthews be telling Maddow that words like "appeasement" are used to stifle dissent? I'd like to think so, but I'm dubious.

James rubbed Matthews the wrong way and Matthews wanted to burst his bubble a little. If James had put a tiny bit of effort into preparing for his appearance, he would've gotten away with his BS.

[theFrankFactor]

43. Why now?

Rachael? Excellent! Give her a show.

Matthews? Well, welcome to the real world. Where ya been for the last eight years?

[DainBramaged]

46. Tweety

The answer my friends is blowing in the wind the answer is blowing in the wind.