MSNBC's Chris Matthews on Tuesday reiterated his cartoon view of the Republican Party as a political organization that wants to cause "cruel pain on people" and intends to "get rid" of cops and firefighters.
Highlighting a couple of isolated outbursts at GOP debates, Matthews frothed, "They want more people to fry. They love executions. They want people that don't have insurance to die on the gurney in the hospital bed." [MP3 audio here.] [1]
The Hardball anchor continued, "If you're a teacher, fireman or a cop, get rid of the guy! I mean, this attitude of causing cruel pain on people and getting cheers for it, what's that about?..."
Former Newsweek editor Howard Fineman seemed stumped, but agreed with Matthews' thesis: "Well, I'm not sure of the answer, except so say that attitude of mean resentment is very much out there in the country."
It's bizarre to paint an entire political party based on a few outbursts, but the cable anchor wasn't finished. He insisted, "But not liking firefighters, teachers, not liking people who are sick without insurance. Really hating people who are condemned on death row. Fine. They're going to be executed. Do you have to boo them on the way out?"
A transcript of the October 25 exchange can be found below:
CHRIS MATTHEWS: All the producers and I were trying to figure out, why do you want to be known as a guy that's just towel snapping at the president of the United States? Just taunting with him, just playing with him, as he put it, as a joke. "I'm just taunting with him. I'm just playing." Here's a party that- I'm just keeping the list. They want more people to fry. They love executions. They want people that don't have insurance to die on the gurney in the hospital bed. They want that to happen. They want- forget about illegal aliens. Gay soldiers, forget about them. They're not- they're to be booed. If you're homeless, foreclose- if you have a home, foreclose on the people. If you're a teacher, fireman or a cop, get rid of the guy! I mean, this attitude of causing cruel pain on people and getting cheers for it, what's that about, Howard? You're giving me that look. They're in my head with this. I want to know where these candidates are heading with this.
HOWARD FINEMAN: No, no. Well, I'm not sure of the answer, except so say that attitude of mean resentment is very much out there in the country.
MATTHEWS: Yeah.
FINEMAN: And it's all over the place. I wouldn't say it's just confined to the nether reaches of the Republican Party.
MATTHEWS: But not big government, which they said was a proper enemy for all Americans. Love to love to bitch about the government. That's normal. But not liking firefighters, teachers, not liking people who are sick without insurance. Really hating people who are condemned on death row. Fine. They're going to be executed. Do you have to boo them on the way out?
FINEMAN: Chris, people are at the point, we're in a revolution of declining expectations about their own future and their family's future and they're looking for people to lash out at.
MATTHEWS: Schadenfreude.
FINEMAN: And by the way, Barack Obama is so despised by the base of the Republican Party that anything Rick Perry or Herman Cain says is acceptable to them.