Liberal MSNBC anchor Chris Matthews and his guest lobbied for aggressive gun control on Monday. Matthews wasn't very subtle when he interrupted Joy Reid of the Grio.com to wonder, "You mean kill these gun shows? I'd love to see that."
Lamenting the existence of part of the Bill of Rights, Matthews ranted, "We've got a Second Amendment. I don't know what other country has anything like the Second Amendment but we darn well have it."
The host continued, "How do we live with it and also live through it?"
The Hardball host played a clip of Republican Senator Ted Cruz. Matthews trashed him for defending the Second Amendment: "There you have got Ted Cruz...another one of these well-educated right-wingers like Pat Robertson. It's like they flush out their high educations when they get out of school for political purposes."
Reid mocked, "And we also have this novel interpretation of the Second Amendment since probably like the '70s and' 80s that it's about an individual right, rather than a militia." Of course, this "novel interpretation" was endorsed by the United States Supreme Court, something liberals tout when it rules in their favor.
In December, Matthews, betraying an ignorance of gun knowledge, called for "outlawing [1]" semi-automatic guns. That would include most most rifles and handguns.
A transcript of the January 7 exchange follows:
5:40
CHRIS MATTHEWS: Joy, your thoughts about our cultural realities in this country, not just cultural but constitutional. We've got a Second Amendment. I don't know what other country has anything like the Second Amendment but we darn well have it. How do we live with it and also live through it?
JOY REID: Yeah, Chris. And we also have this novel interpretation of the Second Amendment since probably like the '70s and' 80s that it's about an individual right, rather than a militia. But moving that aside because it's been litigated in the Supreme Court, if you look at the package of reforms that are being offered by the Obama administration, they are looking at the commerce around guns, things the government can go ahead and regulate. In some cases that the Obama administration could just do because it's regulating the dealers. It's regulating the sellers, and that's one thing that I think is doable even if Congress were to resist.
MATTHEWS You mean kill these gun shows? I'd love to see that.
...
MATTHEWS: There you have got Ted Cruz, a well-educated guy, another one of these well-educated right wingers like Pat Robertson. It's like they flush out their high educations when they get out of school for political purposes.
-- Scott Whitlock is the senior news analyst for the Media Research Center. Click here [2] to follow him on Twitter.