Chris Matthews: "A concerted effort to silence me...from three different people."

[DeepModem Mom]

TV Guide: Chris Matthews' New Book: A Political How-to
by Stephen Battaglio

Chris Matthews recently celebrated his 10th year as the host of MSNBC's Hardball, and he spent a few decades in politics before that tenure. He's distilled his observations into a new Random House book, "Life's a Campaign: What Politics Has Taught Me About Friendship, Rivalry, Reputation and Success."...

***

TVGuide.com: You caused a stir with some remarks you made at the 10th-anniversary party for Hardball, at which you said (referring to the perjury conviction of Vice President Dick Cheney's aide Scooter Libby) that the Bush administration had "finally been caught in its criminality."

Matthews: I thought on the 10th anniversary it would be good to celebrate the First Amendment, which gives us all our living. We reviewed in brief the remarkable experience of covering the Clinton (scandal) and the defense of the war with Iraq. And the difference in these two cases was that although I was extremely tough on Clinton, there was never any attempt to silence me — whereas there was a concerted effort by (Vice President Cheney's office) to silence me. It came in the form of three different people calling trying to quiet me.

TVGuide.com: Why are you coming out about this now?

Matthews: I think people ought to know this. There's a lot going on among our producers, our young bookers, now that I never noticed before. There is an almost menacing call that you get whenever someone hears something they don't like — their people call up and threaten, or challenge, and get very nasty. That's now become the norm. I told people, just tell me this from now on. Every time someone calls and tries one of those things, whether it's the Mitt Romney campaign or the John McCain campaign or whatever, I will put it on the air. I'm tired of this kind of pressure that's now become normal among the young staffers on these campaigns. When it's coming from the vice president’s office — there was a concerted effort to stop me from reporting on what the vice president's office was doing in terms of making the case that there was a nuclear threat from Iraq. I wanted to remind people that having a talk show that is outspoken is not without its troubles.

http://community.tvguide.com/blog/TVGuide-Editors-Blog/Biz/800054319

[EFerrari]

1. DMM, check out this alert on Matthews I recv'd from Media Matters.

You'll love it.

Matthews again claimed "Republicans are known as the party of national security and of moral values"

http://mediamatters.org/items/200710100011

During the October 9 Republican presidential debate on CNBC, moderator Chris Matthews, host of MSNBC's Hardball, asserted, "Polls show that Republicans are known as the party of national security and of moral values." Recent polling, however, shows Democrats either tied or at a slight advantage against Republicans on the issue of national security, as well as holding an advantage in sharing voters' moral values. Matthews has previously acknowledged that the Republicans no longer have an advantage on "moral values."

Recent polls have shown mixed results on which political party the American public trusts more on terrorism and national security:

* A poll taken September 12-13 and September 17-20 by Rasmussen Reports found a statistical tie between the parties: 44 percent trusted the Democrats more on national security and the fight against terrorism, while 43 percent preferred the Republicans.

* As Media Matters for America has noted, a September 14-16 Gallup poll asked: "Looking ahead for the next few years, which political party do you think will do a better job of protecting the country from international terrorism and military threats?" Forty-seven percent answered Democrats, while 42 percent said Republicans.

* As Media Matters has also noted, a July 27-30 NBC News/Wall Street Journal poll found that the Democrats and Republicans were tied at 29 percent on the question of which party would do a "better job" "ealing with the war on terrorism." Thirty-eight percent of respondents said both or neither would do a "better job." The same poll gave the Republican Party a 12-point advantage on who would do a "better job" "ealing with homeland security," slightly up from a 10-point advantage in March 2006, but significantly less than the 29-point advantage it held in January 2004.

Recent polls also undermine Matthews' assertion that Republicans are "known as the party of... moral values." As Media Matters has noted, a March 7-11 poll by The New York Times and CBS News found that 46 percent of Americans think the Democratic Party "comes closer to sharing your moral values," with 41 percent favoring the Republicans.

Matthews has persisted in asserting a Republican advantage on national security and moral values, even though he has previously acknowledged that this is no longer an advantage for the GOP. A year to the day before Tuesday's debate, on the October 9, 2006, edition of Hardball, referring to a then-current Newsweek poll, Matthews said that it was "stunning" that Democrats, according to the poll, were "perceived to be more priestly, more honorable on moral questions -- I guess that includes social questions and sexual questions -- than the Republicans." The poll found Democrats were "more trusted to fight the war on terror" by 44 percent to 37 percent and "more trusted" on "moral values" by 42 percent to 36 percent.

Furthermore, Matthews has consistently misrepresented or disregarded polling that undermined his claims about Republican advantage -- a pattern that has been documented by Media Matters. In 2006, he repeatedly asserted that Americans trust the Republican Party more than the Democratic Party on taxes, even though contemporaneous polling contradicted him:

* On the March 13, 2006, edition of Hardball, Matthews claimed that "people trust Republicans more than Democrats" to handle taxes, but as Rep. Rahm Emanuel (D-IL) noted: "f you look at even your own data and your own polling, they don't."
* On the March 28, 2006, edition of Hardball, Matthews acknowledged that "the latest polling shows that people trust Democrats more" on taxes, but he still stated that the polls referred to "tax cutting" and suggested that the results were surprising because "nobody has ever accused the Democrats of tax cutting."
* During coverage of an October 11, 2006, press conference by President Bush, Matthews asserted that the "Democrats cannot match" Bush on taxes. Two days later on Hardball, Matthews again asserted that "terror and taxes are the Republican strong points."
* On the October 19, 2006, edition of Hardball, Matthews claimed that "Republicans know from the polls they got two strengths right now" -- "terrorism" and "taxes" because "Republicans are good at cutting taxes" -- and then added: "whether the current polls back that up or not."

On the April 19 edition of Hardball, discussing then-Attorney General Alberto Gonzales' April 19 appearance at a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing into the firing of eight U.S. attorneys, Matthews baselessly asserted that "wo-thirds of the American people say -- I mean, they don't like it, but they don't think he's telling the truth -- but they say leave him alone." In fact, polling at the time indicated that a plurality of respondents believed Gonzales should resign, while other polls showed the public divided on the subject, as Media Matters noted.

On the April 3 edition of Hardball, Matthews claimed Midwestern voters "may not like people like" Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton (D-NY), a claim that was at odds with polling available at the time.

From the October 9 Republican presidential debate:

MATTHEWS: Polls show that Republicans are known as the party of national security and of moral values. But polls also show that voters look now, at least, to the Democrats to handle the economy. How are you going to win back their confidence -- in order -- Congressman Paul ?

[Richard Steele]

4. "Moral values", bwahaha!

[EFerrari]

6. LOL!

:rofl:

[liberaldemocrat7]

19. The myth that Republicans appear strong on morality got flushed down the toilet in Sen Craig's stall

The myth, that Republicans appear strong on national security, exploded on the planes that hit the world trade center on 9-11-2001.

The myth that Republicans appear strong on morality got flushed down the toilet in Larry Craig's stall in Minnesota.

[DeepModem Mom]

8. If we could get inside Tweety's head, WHAT would we find there?

As they used to say down South, "He is a piece of work." He's all over the place. Somehow I've never forgotten hearing Olbermann say once -- can't remember when or where, but it was after Matthews had been caught on air with a profanity -- that Tweety just talks all day, just like on air, and for one hour, the camera's red light is on. It sounds like you never know what he's going to say; just, I guess, that he's going to say something -- right or wrong, bizarro, profound, whatever.

[EFerrari]

9. Imho, his producers tell him which way to lean that day.

His accent, demeanor and dress make him look like professional analyst. In reality, he's just an entertainer like Carrot Top.

:shrug:

[DeepModem Mom]

11. I don't know, I thought the producers were young guys and gals...

And I think Abrams and management have given Matthews pretty wide latitude, as they do Olbermann. I think Tweety decides himself to blow with the wind. And I think that reflects his moral compass. Despite the principles he espouses in the TV Guide interview, I think he's so in love with the game of politics that being successful in that game is what he values above all else. So when Shrub lands on the carrier, for example Tweety thinks its an extraordinary pr stunt that promotes both Bush and manliness (there's some kind of sexual hangup somewhere in Tweety's head), and therefore, for a while, Bush can do no wrong.

The GOP, which Tweety thinks is the national security, "Daddy" party, as your piece notes, always gets more of a break than the Dems. So I think there's that combination of what is successful at the moment, and what plays into the notions Tweety carries inside his head, that ends up carrying the day on "Hardball." But, who the heck knows???

And an entertainer? Definitely!

[Berry Cool]

14. Tweety is entirely obsessed with the superficial: images, horse races and the game.

His greatest admiration is reserved not for the most principled, but for those who are most masterful at playing the public, gaming the system and projecting a powerful, popular image of themselves. Of course, who is most successful at that at any given time is subject to change. Also, people capable of projecting a good superficial image can come from any side of the political aisle. That's why it's impossible to pin down Tweety's politics. He has no deep-seated principles or beliefs...just a sense of awe and hero-worship toward what a person looks like at any given time.

[DeepModem Mom]

17. You're right. That's the answer to the mystery of Tweety's politics. nt

[Berry Cool]

13. I think it was on Dan Patrick's radio show, wasn't it?

Dan Patrick was mentioning that he had heard about Tweety's on-air flub, and Keith said something to the effect of, that's him, you never know what he's going to say.

[DeepModem Mom]

16. I think it WAS with Dan. I'd never listened to the show until I heard about it...

from the KOEB. And then I'd just started listening when I could -- and it was gone!

[ChairmanAgnostic]

2. he names McCain, Romeny and the VP offices?

dude, stay out of small planes, and check where you get your diabetic meds.

[flordehinojos]

5. naming mccain, romney, and chain-hei ! still gives him latitude to kiss bush's *ss & as long as he

does no harm to the bushie boy ... poppy bush will be sure not to threaten his life, on that you can rely.

[ChairmanAgnostic]

7. very true. Watching tweety shift his positions is like

watching a tennis game REALLY CLOSE UP at the center line.

[DeepModem Mom]

12. You got it! nt

[LittleClarkie]

18. He's Sybil

You never know which personality is coming out next.

[TomInTib]

3. If only Hardball had adopted that tactic years ago...

the World would have been so much better off.

[monktonman]

10. So full of shit his breath stinks.

Think he may be trying to boost book sales???
Nah, couldnt be.

[hatrack]

15. Ooh! What courage! Why, he's practically standing in front of a tank!!!

:puke: