Matthews decries poll results he doesn’t like

August 7, 2007

Late last week, an NBC/WSJ poll (pdf) showed Democrats with huge advantages over the GOP on a variety of domestic issues. Yesterday on Hardball, Chris Matthews and CNBC’s Jim Cramer whined bitterly about the results.

MATTHEWS: Let me ask you about politics. I just looked at The Wall Street Journal/NBC poll. And I have been watching these polls for years. And I have never seen numbers like this. And I don’t think it is fair but it is public opinion right now. The people now think the Democrats are better at balancing the budget.

The Democrats are better at reducing government spending. The Democrats are better at lowering taxes. Give me a break. I mean, the best Democrat could be sitting right here now and he would say, what we have got to do is get back some of that revenue from the rich people so we could have some decent social programs in health, for example, and education.

They will admit they want to spend more money, the best of the Democrats. And yet the public is so down on this war and the Republicans, they are willing to give the Democrats advantages politically they wouldn’t even claim themselves.

CRAMER: It is nuts.

It’s not “nuts.” Matthews just doesn’t know what he’s talking about.

First, Matthews is outraged that Dems enjoy a big lead on deficit reduction. Is this a mystery? Clinton eliminated the deficit and produced the largest surpluses in history. Bush has run the largest deficits in history. Which party has more credibility on deficit reduction?

Second, Matthews is equally outraged that Dems enjoy a big lead on “reducing government spending.” Actually, the poll question was which party was better at “controlling government spending.” With a Republican-led White House working with a Republican-led Congress, spending went up dramatically, but the nation doesn’t have much to show for it. Why wouldn’t Americans trust Dems more?

Third, Matthews decried the Dem advantage on “lowering taxes.” Again, the poll question was which party was better at “dealing with taxes.” Americans probably realize that the GOP is delivering huge windfalls for millionaires, but they’re not seeing any real changes in their paychecks. Of course they’re more inclined to back Democrats.

Matthews was incredulous and shocked. The poor guy apparently hasn’t been paying much attention.

The poor guy apparently hasn’t been paying much attention.

Chris Matthews isn’t poor. He’s rich and he works for an arms dealer (GE). That pretty much explains it.

  • “Matthews just doesn’t know what he’s talking about.”

    You’re surprised at this? Matthews has been one of the most reliable Republican talking points meme-spreaders for years, running with whatever trivial or slimy thing they think up, particularly if it’s about Hillary Clinton.

  • More Zombie narratives — when was the last Republican balanced budget? I’m 50, and I can’t remember. How many Republicans voted for Clinton’s 1994 tax plan?

    But they have their story, and they’re sticking to it.

    On the tombstone of this Republic will be the epitaph “Killed By a Story Arc”.

  • CNN is Fox lite. Remember, they actually hired that right wing-nut Kudlow as an economic commentator. The only thing I note that is favorable is that traders consider Cramer useless and comedic. They pay no attention to the male moderators and only comment on what the girls are wearing (or not).

  • Excellent post, CB. I think Reagan ran the second highest budget deficit.

    On August 7th, 2007 at 2:30 pm, Davis X. Machina said:

    But they have their story, and they’re sticking to it.

    On the tombstone of this Republic will be the epitaph “Killed By a Story Arc”.

    Man, it don’t get any truer than that.

    People talk about rich athletes as being one step away from working in a gas station. Same is true of Matthews and his fellow-pundits.

  • Haik wrote: “Chris Matthews isn’t poor. He’s rich and he works for an arms dealer (GE). That pretty much explains it.”

    I used to just think that Matthews and his other insipid media pals were just idiots (though I don’t exclude that possibility). Looking at not only his denial of facts that are completely obvious to a majority of the public but also his utter disdain for said facts, and that public, I’m forced to conclude that, politically, Chris Matthews is the enemy. Speaking myself as a member of the upper middle class, at best, it’s quite clear that CM is determined to maintain his upper class tax breaks so he can buy himself a new ivory backscratcher, regardless of how much the middle and lower class gets dumped on.

    If the Republicans are looking for examples of the class warfare they complain about so much, they might take a look at their own practices. But that sort of self-reflection requires they be able to feel shame in the first place.

  • CNN is Fox lite. — C. Ronson

    That may be true, but Chris “Tweety” Matthews and Jim Cramer work for NBC. Tweety may have once worked for Democrats, but he has been in the pocket of the Republicans for years. Hell, maybe he was a spy for them when he worked as a Democrat.

  • Matthews is an over-the-hill has-been who never was very good in the first place. His confrere, Pat Buchanan, has at least shown some independence (the quagmire, e.g.) and some ability to at least pretend independent judgment. Chris is just a hack admin stroker, and history is (at last) passing him by. It’s a shame he can’t see that. It’s like watching someone drown with no way to help or seeing the audience leaving during a standup comedy routine. Pathetic.

  • They don’t get what the poll is really saying.

    I don’t know that any party is better at balancing the budget, however, what I do know, is that Congress run by Republicans, especially with a Republican president, has done a horrible job at ‘balancing’ the budget. They can no longer pat themselves on the back with the self satified smirk and say they are the party of fiscal responsibility. They did this to themselves, and Americans know it.

  • Not to give Chrissy M any slack, but for literally years I have been advocating that the DNC’s role should be to be proactive on these memes. DSCC, DCCC, state parties, 527s and candidate committees can save their cash for specific campaigns, but the DNC should be active 365 days of every year on the background. It is precisely between elections, when there is less political advertising clutter to compete with, that the DNC should run theme ads.

    Back in Dumbya’s first term, as his numbers were going up, I thought our only chance in 2002 and 2004 was to invest in pushing them back down. The DNC should have been running a very, very simple ad. Attention getting music or a bright flash for attention and then just a slowly moving line graph on a dark background. There could have been a series, but lets say “Budget Deficit/Surplus” and shown a red line for the “Republican Bush I” years, then a blue line for the “Democratic Clinton” years, and then another red line for the “Republican Bush II” years ending with a simple, full screen “Who would you prefer handling the budget [or insert issue here]?”

    On scores of measures – middle class real wages, police on the streets, average personal debt load, government spending, etc etc – this exact same theme would work .

    Simple. Striking. Objectively hard to argue with.
    And it would have kept the Rs on their toes not only at the time, but by now, after years of running, might have beaten back the “Dems are bad on taxing and spending!” meme.

    Dr. Dean, feel free to reach me here at CB’s place anytime you want advice.

  • Zeitgeist – I like how your mind works…I think for too long, the powers-that-be in the party have thought that people could not help but see the obvious, but when you continue to lose elections where people are actually voting against their own interests, you’re doing something wrong, or you’re not doing enough. If you allow the other side to fill the media with misinformation, and you don’t push back against those like Matthews, who are just wrong, you give people the impression that what is being said is true.

    Admittedly, it’s hard, when the invites to these talking-head shows are either going to Republicans, or to Democrats who no longer represent the true base of the party, but there needs to be a concerted effort to push a new face for the party, ones who will call Matthews and Russert and the like on the BS they want to push. This morning, the Today Show had Newt Gingrich on, which is fine, except they were asking him his opinion about Democrats – now why would you ask a Republican about Democrats? Do they have Howard Dean on to talk about Republicans? I don’t think so.

    I just wish I understood how “consultants” could be making 6-figure incomes to give really bad advice, when there is a lot of common-sense, good advice out here for free – helloooo???

  • Excellent post and comments. Kudos to you CB.

    In regard to “Tweety,” does a six-figure income really rot your mind?

  • “The people now think the Democrats are better at balancing the budget.”

    After Clinton balanced the budget, and then Bush busted it! The nerve of those people!!!!

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