On his Oct. 23 Hardball program, MSNBC's Chris Matthews excoriated New Jersey Republican Gov. Chris Christie for highlighting in a recent speech the importance of swing-state Republicans getting reelected as governor to pave a smoother road for the eventual Republican nominee in the 2016 presidential campaign. Matthews, of course, took the worst-possible interpretation of Christie's remarks -- that he endorses partisan voter suppression -- rather than the more logical and charitable interpretation that Christie was referring to the partisan political apparatus that governors can lend to campaign structure and getting out the vote.
Certainly Matthews himself most certainly understands the strategic importance of having friendly governors on your side in crucial swing states, as evidenced by Matthews's musing on the October 21 program about Democratic gubernatorial Tom Wolf (D) and how he can pave the way for the Keystone State to be "Clinton country" in 2016:
Up next, Democrats are primed for an historic win in Pennsylvania, two weeks from now, as challenger Tom Wolf, one of the best the Democrats have ever had, is poised to knock off the unpopular Republican Governor Tom Corbett. It would be a huge win if the Democrats pull this off and good news for Hillary Clinton: Pennsylvania is Clinton Country heading into 2016. Tom Wolf, the candidate of the Democrats, is going to join us next.
By contrast, Matthews derided New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie for this comment at a Chamber of Commerce speech:
MATTHEWS: Well, in that same speech [where he criticized the Democratic focus on raising the minimum wage] Christie also said Republicans, catch this, need to win governors races this year, guess why, guess why?! So they can control the, as he put it, the "voting mechanisms" in 2016. In other words, how people get to vote or not get to vote.
CHRISTIE: What would you rather have if you were the Republican candidate and the nominee for president? Would you rather have Rick Scott in Florida overseeing the voting mechanism, or Charlie Crist? Would you rather have Scott Walker in Wisconsin overseeing the voting mechanism or would you rather have Mary Burke? Who'd you rather have in Ohio? John Kasich, or Ed Fitzgerald?
MATTHEWS: Do you like the way he sort of softened the tone for Mary Burke? Like she's a little weaker. That had a right-wing smell to it, that. Screw the little people, those who have humble goals of making more than seven bucks and hour, and by the way, don't let them vote, Perry [Bacon of NBC News]. How do you miss the message there?
Moments later, veteran race-card player and MSNBC contributor Michelle Bernard weighed in that it sounded to her that Christie was blatantly expressing his design for Republican governor-led voter suppression of Democrats in 2016:
MATTHEWS: Everybody knows from watching this show -- who don't watch it know this too -- the Republican strategy has been the party's largely a minority-white party that's getting smaller. It's just a fact.
BERNARD: Yeah!
MATTHEWS: People of color tend to be Democrats. So, it's not racist, it's just partisan meanness, nastiness.
BERNARD: It's just the way it is, yeah.
MATTHEWS: But when he says control the mechanisms, what do you hear?
BERNARD: No, when he says control the mechanism, the very first thing I think is this cannot be the only Republican in the country that gets black people to vote for him because what he just said sounded like code for, "Do not let black people vote." That's a huge problem.
MATTHEWS: Yeah. So I don't get your message tonight. Is he going to gain with black voters or not?
BERNARD: No, no, my, look, if he was polling at 30 percent with African-American voters again and he is the only Republican in the country to do so, if he is going to be smart and he's going to run for president in 2016, he's got to get away from what he said yesterday.
Granted, Gov. Christie could have used more precise language, but it's pretty obvious that what he meant was not as nefarious as Bernard and Matthews are making it out to be. But when has the Lean Forward network ever let accuracy and fair-mindedness get in the way of ginning up partisan memes that heavily play the race card?
