Matthews and DeLay — unplugged

April 6, 2006

In the unlikely event you didn’t catch this elsewhere yesterday afternoon, I thought I’d mention [tag]Harry Shearer[/tag]’s amazing scoop on the Huffington Post yesterday, showing behind-the-scenes video on MSNBC’s [tag]Chris Matthews[/tag] and [tag]Tom DeLay[/tag] chatting during a commercial break. They assumed no one would ever hear what the two were talking about. They were wrong.

To fully appreciate the story, you’ll have to watch the clip (Shearer also posted a transcript). It’s a fascinating — and rather disconcerting — glimpse at the unprofessional chumminess “journalists” like Matthews and DeLay enjoy.

To be sure, the on-air interview from Tuesday night was annoying enough. Matthews lobbed softball after softball, setting DeLay up to repeat the most predictable of GOP talking points on Democratic “liberals” and their drive to “impeach” the president. Matthews even went so far as to practically applaud DeLay for impeaching Clinton, saying, “You accomplished what the Senate didn’t accomplish. The Senate Republicans couldn’t get their act together one way or the other [on impeachment].” Again, this was [tag]Matthews[/tag] speaking, not [tag]DeLay[/tag].

But the off-air comments are the real story. Matthews goes on and on, telling DeLay he “owes” him one. He also started chatting about internal focus group polls Frank Luntz did on Democratic presidential contenders. That’s when DeLay let his guard down.

MATTHEWS: Have you seen this new focus group stuff on the candidates?

DELAY: No I haven’t

MATTHEWS: It’s great stuff. I’ll send it to you — it’s great — yeah it’s great stuff. [tag]Hillary[/tag], John Kerry. All these guys, all these democrats, and how they do. And, uh, [tag]Frank Luntz[/tag] did it…

DELAY: who I like

CM: …and Hillary did not do well. [tag]Kerry[/tag] did well.

DELAY: You’re kidding.

MATTHEWS: I am NOT kidding. They didn’t like Edwards — they thought he was a rich lawyer, pretending to care about poor people…

DELAY: Too slick. Too slick.

MATTHEWS: …and Hillary was a know-it-all.

DELAY: Nothing worse than a [tag]woman know-it-all[/tag].

As Farhad Manjoo put it, “At first I couldn’t decide what was worse — DeLay’s sexist remark or Matthews’ desperate effort to impress the sexist with his insider knowledge of Democratic presidential hopefuls’ prospects.”

I agree; it’s a close call, but “[tag]nothing worse[/tag] than a woman know-it-all” tips the scales. Matthews is a fawning hack every day; DeLay’s misogyny is usually kept under wraps.

Democratic president who lies about extra-marital affair:
Impeach

Republican president who undermines the Constitution and tries to destroy the checks and balance system that has kept our nation strong:
Deify

  • “I owe you one. I owe you two”

    Those are the words every objective journalist wants to have broadcast all over the Internet.

  • Well, zmulls, if Chris Matthews WAS objective he would extremely mind those comments over the ‘net. In fact, if he WAS objective the entire escapade wouldn’t have taken place. As it is, he probably doesn’t give a damn one way or another.

    Chris is little better than some of the trolls you see on this site and others.

  • “Owe you one..”

    The K-street currency in the market of favors given later to be called in.
    A peek behind the scenes of what it costs Judith Miller or Chris Matthews to get an exclusive and how it distorts the story.

  • This is a classic example of the transformation of a medium which used to be for news gathering into one devoted solely to celebrity worship. It’s also another example of why I never, ever watch TV news.

    It’s clear here that the indicted DeLay is still the “alpha male” so far as Matthews is concerned. The clip sounds like a bit straight out of a Warner Bros. cartoon: “Ya like it, Spike? Huh? Do ya? I’ll send to ya.” The classic newsman (think Edward R. Murrow, Walter Cronkite) has been transformed: he’s nothing but an obsequious sheep in wolves’ clothing.

  • This tempest misses the point. We should be addressing the substance of DeLay’s comment. What, in fact, is worse than a know-it-all woman?

    Hmmm… how about a corrupt public official hiding behind Jesus?

  • Well, at the risk of raising a crowd waving torches and pitchforks, I kind of like knowing the Kerry came out better than Hillary on the poll (see mypost here yesterday about him not necessarily being “damaged goods” as too many seem to assume).

    As far as Delay’s sexism goes, even his wife has trouble keeping his lid on, as witness this quote from another on-air interview:

    ”I have seen these liberal psychologists and sociologists talk about there
    is no need for the man in the family. The woman can’t take care of it. A woman can’t take care of the family. It takes a man to provide structure. To provide stability.” His wife, Christine DeLay quickly asked to “edit this out,” then turned to Tom and said: “This is not a good thing for you to
    be saying.”

  • Re Tom Cleaver (#7): You notice how Delay’s wife didn’t hesitate to order the editing of his comment and verbally slap Tommy Boy upside the head. It’s obvious that he sorely needs her guidance…and probably dresses up in her underwear and is submissive at home. That’s why he has to strut his misogynistic stuff in public.Yep, there’s nothing worse than a know-it-all woman– because that makes him realize what an inadequate man he is. Damn, I wish he were still running so he could be trounced in the District that he “has served so well.” What a great commercial the “know-it-all” line could make. Nothing like dissing at least half of your constituents.

  • As for Matthews. Swine will be swine. It’s great that his viewers and fellow “journalists” can get a whiff of him unguarded. Murrow continues to roll in his grave. Cronkite should do some kind of interview or documentary on the sorry state of what passes for news reporting today.

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