Author and MSNBC political analyst Anand Giridharadas joined The 11th Hour host Stephanie Ruhle on Friday to declare that the upcoming midterm election is one between those who believe in liberal democracy and those who believe in fascism. In Giridharadas’s world, the latter group is normalizing the assault on Paul Pelosi. He provided no evidence for either claim.
Ruhle set things up by wondering, “Let’s talk about this week we just had. We are ending with poll watchers carrying guns and with Nancy Pelosi's husband being attacked in his home by a potentially politically-motivated attacker? How much trouble are we in?”
Giridharadas tried to claim that this election is different than previous ones, “I mean, I think we -- I have been trying to suggest to people that this is not, I think as many of us now recognize, a contest between different tax rates or different health care policy proposals.”
One reason it is impossible to take Giridharadas seriously is that he also ties his own beliefs about tax rates to democracy. A second reason is how he caricatures his opponents, “This is a contest between part of the country that believes in continued and expanded liberal democracy, effort to pursue a more perfect union, and a part of the country that is now attracted to the idea of fascism in the United States.”
Trying to justify this absurdity, he continued, “And when you see violence being normalized like this, second in line to the presidency -- is Nancy Pelosi and her home, the guy’s attacker's, looking for her, allegedly. We are seeing a normalization of violence.”
We are not. Several Republicans came out and condemned the attack and wished Paul Pelosi well in his recovery. The attacker also, as NBC’s own write-up reports, doesn’t fit neatly into an ideological box, “The [attacker’s] posts take aspects of liberal anti-establishment ideas to more recent posts that espouse positions typically associated with far-right extremism, the sources said.”
Facts aside, Giridharadas added, “And I think if people want to live in a country defined by the core idea of democracy, which is that we choose the future together through talking about things, not with hammers, it’s going to be incredibly important to vote accordingly.”
Only MSNBC could think that voting Democrat is the best way to stop nudist hemp jewelry makers from attacking people with hammers.
This segment was sponsored by Mercedes-Benz.
Here is a transcript for the October 28 show:
MSNBC The 11th Hour with Stephanie Ruhle
10/29/2022
11:31 PM ET
STEPHANIE RUHLE: Let’s talk about this week we just had. We are ending with poll watchers carrying guns and with Nancy Pelosi's husband being attacked in his home by a potentially politically-motivated attacker? How much trouble are we in?
ANAND GIRIDHARADAS: I mean, I think we -- I have been trying to suggest to people that this is not, I think as many of us now recognize, a contest between different tax rates or different health care policy proposals.
This is a contest between part of the country that believes in continued and expanded liberal democracy, effort to pursue a more perfect union, and a part of the country that is now attracted to the idea of fascism in the United States.
And when you see violence being normalized like this, second in line to the presidency -- is Nancy Pelosi and her home, the guy’s attacker's, looking for her, allegedly. We are seeing a normalization of violence.
And I think if people want to live in a country defined by the core idea of democracy, which is that we choose the future together through talking about things, not with hammers, it’s going to be incredibly important to vote accordingly.
