MSNBC's Chris Matthews Wants a Dishonest Republican to Oppose President Obama

I sometimes channel flip (both television and radio) and surf online. Perhaps I do this being a male with a sometimes short attention span. But, I want to see what various pundits and commentators are saying about the issues of the day. I include listening to and watching folks I know I don't often find enlightening on the chance they say something that's worth my writing about or that may lead me to modify my views of them or the topics they cover.

I feel compelled today to write about an issue that keeps coming up and causes me some sleepless nights. Okay, I was exaggerating a bit about that last part but this really, really bothers me and it should annoy you as well.

In liberal precincts like the New York Times, the Huffington Post, MSNBC, the Daily Kos, etc., leading Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney is repeatedly attacked for being out of touch with the common, ordinary, average folks. Multiple times, for example, I've tuned into Chris Matthew's MSNBC show, Hardball, to hear the liberal Matthews' rants about Romney's being out of touch with everyday folks. Matthews pounced on Romney, for example, for statements the former Massachusetts governor made trying to relate to NASCAR fans and then commenting how he knows some NASCAR owners. Romney was also blasted for saying his wife has two Cadillacs when he was listing all of the American made cars his family has enjoyed owning and driving.

I have written about Romney's "challenges" when talking about issues relating to his family's financial situation. Romney's net worth is several hundred million dollars and he has spent a good part of his business career working with senior executives in various industries. So, the folks he tends to know are "owners" and senior executive types.

Apparently Chris Matthews and his ilk don't want an honest politician because if nothing else, Mitt Romney is being honest when he identifies who he knows and what he owns! He could be disingenuous and dishonest and say that he watches NASCAR with his family and hangs out at the racetrack bar with the folks when he goes to races. 

I wonder when Chris Matthews last had lunch or coffee with the janitors or landscapers at MSNBC. I very much doubt he's a man of the people!

The State of Economic Discourse

Now, more than ever, we need politicians who are going to tell the American public the truth about economic issues. We can't afford to hear half-truths and lies about the deficit, unemployment, taxes, etc.

There's nothing wrong with informed disagreements and for sure, economists and policy makers don't all agree about the impact of various strategies. But, partisan, ideologically driven rhetoric minimizes the chances of finding the best or even workable solutions.

We have some serious economic problems in America which include:

• Large annual federal government deficits
• Large and growing federal government debt outstanding
• Slow economic growth (especially given the severity of the recent recession)
• Continued high unemployment
• Rapid growth in government entitlement program spending
• Near record high gasoline prices and reduced oil production on federal lands

Wide disparities in incomes aren't an economic problem - it's a consequence of a successful capitalistic system. Income disparities aren't as wide in socialist and communist countries for the simple reason that they don't have the wildly successful entrepreneurs that capitalist systems do. Of course and more importantly, incomes are lower under such systems compared with the best capitalistic systems.

Our problem isn't that the highest American income earners aren't "paying their fair share." That whole line of thinking is a mere distraction from the real economic problems. Demand that politicians tell you what they will do to address the actual problems. Otherwise, our problems will continue to grow rather than get addressed.

You should also be aware of the biased news outlets and commentators like Chris Matthews. He was the man who after an Obama speech during the 2008 election cycle said (see video below):


"I have to tell you, you know, it's part of reporting this case, this election, the feeling most people get when they hear Barack Obama's speech. My, I felt this thrill going up my leg. I mean, I don't have that too often. No, seriously. It's a dramatic event. He speaks about America in a way that has nothing to do with politics. It has to do with the feeling we have about our country. And that is an objective assessment."





I have to laugh at Matthew's backpedaling comment that he's really "objective" after telling his viewers that listening to then Senator Obama speak sent a thrill up his leg! He's a lifelong Democrat, served on the staff of numerous Democratic members of Congress including Senator Muskie and House Speaker Tip O'Neill, served as a speechwriter for the Carter administration, and even himself ran as a Democrat for Congress in PA!