Chris Matthews Refers to Meeting of Pro-Israel Group Backed by Adelson as a ‘Whore Bar’
During his MSNBC program on Monday night, Chris Matthews referred to a weekend gathering of the Israeli American Council (IAC) that is backed by Las Vegas casino owner and Republican donor Sheldon Adelson as his own “whore bar” where Republican figures “say anything for that guy, because he’s a hawk, to get his money.”
Matthews made the disparaging comments during a discussion with The Washington Post’s Jonathan Capehart and David Corn of Mother Jones about foreign policy and his belief that some in the Republican Party are eager to start a war with Iran. [MP3 audio here; Video below]
Following a video of former GOP presidential candidate Mitt Romney speaking at the gathering, Matthews scoffed that:
And there he [Romney] was at Sheldon Adelson’s whore bar – there’s no better word for it. They went out there, they'll say anything for that guy, because he's a hawk, to get his money. I'm sorry is there a better phrase for it?
Shortly thereafter, Corn remarked how former Vice President Dick Cheney also had recently “appeared before Sheldon Adelson's group in Vegas,” where “he made jokes about bombing Iran and the crowd laughed.” Corn then suggested that, in turn, “[t]hese people want war with Iran.”
Matthews also took time to mock Republican candidates and figures for even meeting with Adelson (and not how a slew Democrats have sought the support and financial backing of, say, Tom Steyer):
You know, these WASPY guys get out there, I’m sorry I won’t make an indictment of them, they go out there and they’ll say, “I was born again,” whatever you want to hear from the Christian right. Are they supposed to say born again? “I’m born again.” Go out to Sheldon Adelson, whatever he wants to say. It is a whore bar. They will say anything to get the support of these people. It's unbelievable.
The relevant portions of the transcript from MSNBC’s Hardball with Chris Matthews on November 10 can be found below.
MSNBC’s Hardball with Chris Matthews
November 10, 2014
7:11 p.m. Eastern[ON-SCREEN HEADLINE: Peace & War]
CHRIS MATTHEWS: [FOLLOWING CLIP OF MITT ROMENY AT IAC EVENT] And there he was at Sheldon Adelson’s whore bar – there’s no better word for it. They went out there, they'll say anything for that guy, because he's a hawk, to get his money. I'm sorry is there a better phrase for it?
JONATHAN CAPEHART: No, no, not that I can think of.
MATTHEWS They come in the bar, and say, choose me, I'll do anything you want. Who else? They’re all out there.
DAVID KORN: But this is – you're a student of history. Is his argument that FDR should not have made a deal with Stalin to beat Hitler? Now, we don’t like Stalin, we don’t – you know –
MATTHEWS: But Churchill made a deal with Hitler. That's even better.
KORN: But to get out there and say, you can't talk to people, you legitimize them. We're already negotiating with them. So if you're negotiating with them, why not send a letter? What is wrong with –
MATTHEWS: So why did he say that in front of Sheldon? Wants to spend millions of dollars on the candidate of his choice.
KORN: Last time Dick Cheney appeared before Sheldon Adelson's group in Vegas, he made jokes about bombing Iran and the crowd laughed. These people want war with Iran, so while Mitt Romney isn’t going to advocate that, he’s wants to set up the –
MATTHEWS: Who else was out competing for his love this week? Another Republican was out there.
CAPEHART: I'm not sure, but the thing here is, I love hearing Mitt Romney pontificating from, you know the outside, trying to make himself remain relevant to the conversation, simply because he gave an answer during a debate, talking about Russia being our number one enemy and in some ways, being proven right. What I would like to hear from Mitt Romney and Marco Rubio and Ted Cruz is, okay, so you don't like what the President's doing. What would you do? If you had all the information the President had, what would you do differently? And if you would still go to war, explain that and defend it and then tell the American people whether you're sending its sons and daughters –
KORN: How many troops are they going to send?
CAPEHART: – off to yet another war. Which we can't afford! That's the other thing.
MATTHEWS: You know, these WASPY guys get out there and, I’m sorry I won’t make an indictment of them, they go out there and they’ll say “I was born again,” whatever you want to hear from the Christian right. Are they supposed to say born again? “I’m born again.” Go out to Sheldon Adelson, whatever he wants to say. It is a whore bar. They will say anything to get the support of these people. It's unbelievable.
KORN: While these people are spending lots and lots of money.
MATTHEWS: No wonder people look down upon politics. No wonder nobody votes. They say these guys will say anything to any group to corner some money, cage some money.
KORN: Yes.
MATTHEWS: Excuse me, that's the name of the game. If it offends anybody, think harder.
— Curtis Houck is News Analyst at the Media Research Center. Follow Curtis Houck on Twitter.
