MSNBC’s Chris Matthews Misogyny: Enough is Enough!
The cable network commentator may have more than 30 honorary degrees, but that doesn’t mean he is smart.
He definitely needs to be put out to pasture, at least for the balance of this election cycle. Maybe trade him to Fox News for two draft choices and player to be named later.
Matthews has already publicly apologized for comparing Senator Bernie Sanders' Nevada caucus victory to the Nazi takeover of France.
I’m guessing the management of MSNBC was okay with his post-New Hampshire primary rant comparing Sanders to Fidel Castro, and that the candidate might support public executions in New York's Central Park, and that Matthews himself could be a victim; because co-host Chris Hayes broke in to say he was wrong.
I don’t have a problem with pundits who have a point of view. Matthews doesn’t like Sanders, I get it. I have a problem with people getting paid to concoct scenarios without regard for truth or a knowledge of history.
https://twitter.com/ezralevin/status/1232510191670824960?s=20
I have a bigger problem with men who won’t believe women when they say they are being victimized, and that’s exactly what happened in a post-debate interview on Tuesday.
Here’s the video:
https://twitter.com/justinbaragona/status/1232519312671416320?s=20
The Washington Post did multiple-sourced reporting on Bloomberg's sexual harassment accusations, including this account:
Several lawsuits have been filed over the years alleging that women were discriminated against at Bloomberg’s business-information company, including a case brought by a federal agency and one filed by a former employee, who blamed Bloomberg for creating a culture of sexual harassment and degradation.
The most high-profile case was from a former saleswoman. She sued Bloomberg personally as well as his company, alleging workplace discrimination. She alleged Bloomberg told her to “kill it” when he learned she was pregnant. Bloomberg has denied her allegation under oath, and he reached a confidential settlement with the saleswoman.
The Washington Post interviewed a former Bloomberg employee, David Zielenziger, who said he witnessed the conversation with the saleswoman. Zielenziger, who said he had not previously spoken publicly about the matter, said Bloomberg’s behavior toward the woman was “outrageous. I understood why she took offense.”
I wonder if Matthews' own history with women has something to do with his attitude.
Yes indeed, there are "inappropriate jokes," as reported in Vanity Fair:
A former producer for MSNBC reportedly received separation-related compensation after she accused Hardball with Chris Matthews host Chris Matthews of sexual harassment in 1999, according to a report from The Daily Caller. Two sources told the Caller that the woman, who was then an assistant producer for Hardball, received a payment after she accused Matthews of making sexual comments to her in the company of other network employees.
According to an MSNBC spokesperson, Matthews made inappropriate jokes about her in front of others, but the comments were never meant as propositions. Matthews was formally reprimanded after a review of the complaint.
How about his coverage of Senator Hillary Clinton in 2008?
From Media Matters:
Actually, the evidence that Matthews was looking for remains hidden in plain sight. As Media Matters' Jamison Foser noted, examples of the host's sexist and demeaning comments are plentiful. It's just that the Times politely chose to ignore them. So readers still probably have no idea that Matthews:
featured a Photoshopped image of Clinton sporting "She Devil" horns while discussing Republican efforts to demonize her;
repeatedly likened Clinton to "Nurse Ratched," the scheming, heartless character from the mental hospital drama One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest;
described her laugh as a "cackle," suggested she was "anti-male," "witchy," and was on a "short ... leash";
referred to Clinton as "Madame Defarge" and described male politicians who endorsed Clinton as "castratos in the eunuch chorus";
compared Clinton to a “strip-teaser,” wondered whether she was “a convincing mom,” referred to Clinton's “cold eyes” and the “cold look” she supposedly gives people;
claimed that “some men” say Clinton's voice sounds like “fingernails on a blackboard.”
Or the "unfortunate" Bill Cosby pill joke in 2016, as reported in USA Today:
MSNBC host Chris Matthews apologized Friday after video was released of the Hardball anchor asking where his "Bill Cosby pill" was before an interview with then presidential candidate Hillary Clinton during her 2016 primary campaign.
The January 2016 video, obtained and first reported by The Cut, shows Matthews on a make-shift set surrounded by staff. "Can I have some of the queen’s waters? Precious waters?" he asked. "Where’s that Bill Cosby pill I brought with me?"
The long-time TV host glanced with a smile toward a male staffer after the remark. Those who heard the comment stared in disbelief or shook their heads trying to laugh off the crass comment. The only female staffer in the video looked at Matthews in shock before walking out of frame.
Chris Matthews needs to go.
***
By the way, the Charleston, South Carolina debate was simply awful, unless you consider men yelling over each other as substantive.
Charles P Pierce at Esquire:
Make no mistake. This was the worst political debate I ever saw, and the reason for that was the moderators. None of them had the faintest idea what their jobs were or how to do them.
It was also a more-than-marginally corrupt enterprise; CBS allowed one of Michael Bloomberg’s ads to run during one of the commercial breaks, which was inexcusable. Seats were sold for a $1,700 minimum “sponsorship” to the South Carolina Democratic Party.
And the paradigmatic moment came when Bloomberg, under fire from Warren for all the money he’d raised for Republican senatorial candidates, including Scott Brown when he was running against her in 2012, came right up to the edge of saying that he’d bought the 2018 Democratic takeover of the House of Representatives. In 40 short years, we’ve come from, “I've paid for this microphone, Mr. Green!” to, a de facto, “I’ve paid for this majority, Ms. Pelosi.” A long way, baby.
I think the moderators were in a tough spot. Every candidate was desperate to get some attention before SuperTuesday. Senator Warren gets extra credit for not getting into any shouting matches.
I have a small suggestion for the next debate: an air horn. One blast should do the trick.
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