MSNBC's Chris Matthews on Thursday hyperventilated about a joke made by a
Rick Santorum donor, frothing that "big money" Foster Friess and his
candidate must be from the "Cro-Magnon" era. The Hardball host was only one of several anchors on the liberal cable network to go after Mr. Friess.
Matthews incorrectly referred to the donor as "a major spokesman now
for...former Senator Santorum." Regarding a Friess joke about using
Bayer aspirin for contraception, the journalist excoriated Santorum: "I mean, you're talking about a guy from the Cro-Magnon era, in terms of politics." [MP3 audio here [1].]
He continued, "And there he has his guy out there making a joke about
women. I mean, talk about an insulting comment...That was insulting,
clearly."
Piling on, he queried guest Eleanor Holmes Norton, "What do you make in
this that we're still in a world where this is still going on, that
point of view?"
How serious did Matthews take a minor, probably ill-advised joke? He
lectured, "By the way, if any woman votes for Rick Santorum after that
comment today by his number one spokesman, I will be surprised."
Friess appeared on MSNBC's Last Word. Host Lawrence O'Donnell
actually allowed the donor a platform to explain himself, offering
open-ended questions such as "Well, tell us what you think [the
controversy over the joke is] all about."
On Politics Nation, Al Sharpton offered typical outrage:
"Now, This is not just a backer. This is a big money backer....Can you
imagine the arrogance of saying that?"
Ed Schultz ominously tagged him as Santorum's "money man" and then segued into a discussion of the "GOP war on women`s health."
A transcript of Matthews' February 16 comments can be found below:
CHRIS
MATTHEWS: Let me go back to Congresswoman Speier. And, again, I respect
your views so much on this because- the fact that you are who you are. And
I want to ask you this: I didn't put that on lightly what Foster Friess
said. He's is a major spokesman now for- for former Senator Santorum.
He's out there a lot, all the time. And he is now representing a
candidate, Santorum, who said it would be fine with him if states
outlawed the sale of birth control. I mean, you're talking about a guy
from the Cro-Magnon era, in terms of politics. And there he has his guy
out there making a joke about women. I mean, talk about an insulting
comment, Congresswoman Norton. That was insulting. Clearly. What do you
make in this that we're still in a world where this is still going on,
that point of view?