{"id":127970,"date":"2014-07-04T15:23:56","date_gmt":"2014-07-04T15:23:56","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/rinf.com\/alt-news\/?p=127970"},"modified":"2014-07-04T15:23:56","modified_gmt":"2014-07-04T15:23:56","slug":"telling-incident-msnbcs-chris-matthews-exchange-sen-elizabeth-warren","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/rinf.com\/alt-news\/media-news\/telling-incident-msnbcs-chris-matthews-exchange-sen-elizabeth-warren\/","title":{"rendered":"A telling incident: MSNBC\u2019s Chris Matthews\u2019 exchange with Sen. Elizabeth Warren"},"content":{"rendered":"

David Walsh<\/em><\/p>\n

The testy exchange that took place June 19 on MSNBC\u2019s \u201cHardball with Chris Matthews\u201d between the host and Sen. Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts is deserving of at least a brief comment.<\/p>\n

First, the irritable character of the interview stands out in contrast to the normally comatose character of media and official public life in America, and thus created something of a stir. And that irritability itself is a sign of growing nervousness and divisiveness in establishment circles over the social situation in the US, as well as foreign policy disasters in Iraq and elsewhere. Associated with that is the rapidly growing unpopularity of the Obama administration, the most reactionary in American history, as registered in recent polls.<\/p>\n

No political novice, Matthews, who began his career working on the staff of various Democratic Party politicians and served as chief of staff to Speaker of the House Tip O\u2019Neill for six years in the 1980s, clearly has his finger in the wind.<\/p>\n

The MSNBC talk show host, who fancies himself a \u201cpopulist,\u201d opened his program June 19 with a relatively blunt questioning of the Obama administration\u2019s plan to send the US military back into Iraq. Addressing his viewers, he asked, \u201cDo you \u2026 think we should be doing this, getting back into the Iraqi fighting, this time in the midst of its civil war? Do you think the president has the constitutional and\/or the moral authority to be doing this?\u201d<\/p>\n

He continued, \u201cIs this what the American people really want?\u201d Matthews knows perfectly well that there is overwhelming opposition to a new Iraq war or any new American military intervention.<\/p>\n

Later, when MSNBC political analyst David Corn suggested that Obama was considering renewed military action in Iraq \u201cbecause he feels the pressure, mainly from the right,\u201d Matthews interjected, \u201cScrew them!\u201d All in all, the discussion on Iraq reeked of bitterness, tension and pessimism. As another of his interviewees, Anne Gearan of the\u00a0Washington Post<\/em>, suggested, \u201cThe politics are impossible.\u201d<\/p>\n

Enter Sen. Warren\u2013whom Matthews had earlier referred to as \u201ca huge hero to progressives in the Democratic Party and around the country, and perhaps the most powerful elected voice among the progressives right now.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Massachusetts senator\u2019s \u201cprogressive\u201d credentials are a fraud, based on her occasional\u2013and essentially toothless\u2013criticisms of the banking industry as Special Adviser, appointed by Obama, to set up the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB).<\/p>\n

Warren is a special \u201chero\u201d to the left-liberal charlatans in and around theNation<\/em>, whose gushing comments about her (especially those by John Nichols) would fill an especially deceitful and unpleasant volume. A few of the countless headlines will provide some idea of the magazine\u2019s attitude: \u201cElizabeth Warren Wants to Give Students a Fighting Chance,\u201d \u201cPresidential Prospect or Not, Elizabeth Warren Has a Lesson for Democrats,\u201d \u201cElizabeth Warren Steps Up for Populist Politics,\u201d \u201cElizabeth Warren Comes Out for Expanding Social Security,\u201d \u201cCandidate or Not, Elizabeth Warren Has the Right 2016 Message,\u201d \u201cElizabeth Warren, a Great Investment,\u201d \u201cElizabeth Warren Tackles Wall Street,\u201d \u201cElizabeth Warren Heads to Washington, an Uncompromising Senator for the Left,\u201d etc.<\/p>\n

If the\u00a0Nation<\/em>\u2019s campaign on Warren\u2019s behalf didn\u2019t threaten to create further popular confusion, it would be merely laughable. She is a conventional bourgeois politician, who represents no danger to any element of the status quo. In 2011, for example, the\u00a0New York Times<\/em>\u00a0took note of Warren\u2019s \u201ccharm offensive,\u201d while still Special Adviser, in top financial circles: \u201cMs. Warren\u2019s calendar this year has been jam-packed with meetings on Wall Street. She has met with the chief executive of every major Wall Street bank, including Jamie Dimon of JPMorgan Chase, Vikram S. Pandit of Citigroup and James P. Gorman of Morgan Stanley. Her industry outreach included talks with dozens of community bankers, too, and meetings with top credit card executives like Ajay Banga, the president and chief executive of MasterCard.\u201d<\/p>\n

In any event, Warren was on\u00a0Hardball<\/em>\u00a0in June to peddle her new book,\u00a0A Fighting Chance\u2013<\/em>and herself, as a possible candidate for national office. As Matthews had previously noted, \u201cIn polls of Democrats, she often comes in second only to Hillary [Clinton]. Her voice will be heard, even if she doesn\u2019t run for president.\u201d<\/p>\n

By the time he got to Warren, however, Matthews had built up a certain contrarian head of steam. He first asked the senator, \u201cWhat can and could, or will, the Democratic Party do, since it is the party that wants to do it, to create real jobs for people?,\u201d and illustrated the situation with several examples of economic desperation and hopelessness.<\/p>\n

Warren replied with obviously canned and empty comments about the need for \u201cinvestment\u201d in education, infrastructure and so on (this, from the representative of an administration that has destroyed hundreds of thousands of education jobs since 2009!). \u201cEvery time we talk about roads and bridges, when we talk about power grids, it\u2019s really about setting the table, so that small businesses can start, so that business can grow, so they can flourish, so they can create jobs here at home.\u201d Blah, blah, blah \u2026<\/p>\n

For whatever reason, Matthews wasn\u2019t in the mood that evening for the usual hot air. \u201cSo, what are the Democrats going to do then?,\u201d he reiterated, and carried on: \u201cWe have got so much in this country falling apart under our cities. It\u2019s going to be underwater some day, thanks to climate change. We have got nobody working. I don\u2019t understand the union movement in this country. Why aren\u2019t they bitching and moaning and complaining every day, \u2018We want big construction projects\u2019?\u201d<\/p>\n

The host pressed the point, \u201cAnd the president of the United States isn\u2019t doing it. I don\u2019t hear him talking about it. He talks about one thing one day, something else the next day. But I\u2019m telling you, I don\u2019t hear you getting it done. The Democrats control the US Senate. The Democrats control the White House. When are you going to do what you just said you would like to do? Just when? Give me a date. Is it 2017?\u201d<\/p>\n

The conversation continued along these lines:<\/p>\n

WARREN: No. It\u2019s now.<\/p>\n

MATTHEWS: 2023? When is it?<\/p>\n

WARREN: It\u2019s now.<\/p>\n

MATTHEWS: It isn\u2019t now.<\/p>\n

WARREN: Stop \u2026<\/p>\n

The senator, her plans for a smooth and presumably celebratory appearance somewhat in disarray by this point, angrily interrupted Matthews and proceeded to blame all the problems on the Republicans in Congress, who are \u201cfilibustering in the Senate.\u201d In fact, as her interviewer pointed out, the Obama administration is proposing nothing in terms of job creation.<\/p>\n

The host pursued the issue: \u201cAnd I\u2019m afraid, five years from now, we\u2019ll be having the same conversation with you. And you are a fine senator, but it isn\u2019t happening. It just isn\u2019t. \u2026 Why don\u2019t you call the president right now and say, \u2018Why don\u2019t you do something really big on infrastructure\u2019? It will grab the public imagination. He\u2019s not doing it.\u201d<\/p>\n

Warren, losing her temper, replied with further excuses and meaningless catch phrases: \u201cWe\u2019ve got to get out there and fight \u2026 Look, we are fighting back. We are fighting for what we believe in. We are fighting to build a future for America \u2026 We need people across the country to help push on the Republicans.\u201d<\/p>\n

The former Harvard Law School professor offered absolutely no relief to the tens of millions suffering from poverty, joblessness and miserable wages and conditions in America. She resolutely rejected any criticism of the record and policies of the increasingly discredited Obama administration.<\/p>\n

The conversation ended in some degree of awkwardness.<\/p>\n

So much for the \u201cprogressive\u201d wing of the Democratic Party. Inadvertently no doubt, Matthews lifted the lid for an instant June 19 on its insincere, worthless and right-wing character.<\/p>\n

Of course, even the more combative arguments in the American media invariably take place within a political and ideological straitjacket. The question of questions, capitalism, can never be raised.<\/p>\n

It would never occur to Matthews or any of his colleagues to examine the economic interests that make alleviation of any of the social ills impossible, much less to consider an alternative to the bankrupt profit system. The MSNBC host well knows what can and can\u2019t be said, and conducts himself accordingly. Inevitably, in the end, his arguments veer off in a reactionary, nationalist, anti-communist direction.<\/p>\n

This piece<\/a> was reprinted by RINF Alternative News<\/a> with permission or license.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

David Walsh The testy exchange that took place June 19 on MSNBC\u2019s \u201cHardball with Chris Matthews\u201d between the host and Sen. Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts is deserving of at least a brief comment. First, the irritable character of the interview stands out in contrast to the normally comatose character of media and official public life […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[487,7],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-127970","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","6":"category-breaking-news","7":"category-media-news"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/rinf.com\/alt-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/127970","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/rinf.com\/alt-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/rinf.com\/alt-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/rinf.com\/alt-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/rinf.com\/alt-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=127970"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"http:\/\/rinf.com\/alt-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/127970\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/rinf.com\/alt-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=127970"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/rinf.com\/alt-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=127970"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/rinf.com\/alt-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=127970"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}