Acting as though he’s a bystander in a superhero movie or watching one on TV, MSNBC’s Hardball host Chris Matthews swooned on Wednesday that, with Senators Richard Burr (R-N.C.) and Mark Warner (D-Va.), he may have found some “heroes” that would investigate and/or prove collusion between the Russians and the Trump campaign.
Ignoring the partisan chicanery of House Intelligence Committee ranking member Adam Schiff (D-Calif.), Matthews started the show by screeching about “a rare beam of hope” with “a pair of grown-ups” in Congress “looking into the role of the Trump troops played in cahoots with Vladimir Putin's troops in manipulating the 2016 presidential election.”
“Today at a joint press conference for the Senate Intelligence Committee leaders, Republican Richard Burr and Democrat Mark Warner, we heard plans from them for a major, credible set of televised hearings on the matter,” Matthews explained.
He then opined that “[t]he Senate offers reason for hope because the House intelligence Committee, under the bizarre leadership of Chairman Devin Nunes, offers, in effect, zero hope.”
Matthews reemphasized this gooey sentiment moments later to Democratic Senator Chris Murphy (Conn.), telling him that he’s “romantic about politics” and always “looking for heroes and I thought I saw a gleam today of people doing a serious job of finding out what role Trump's people played with the Russians in manipulating our elections last year.”
Not surprisingly, the crazy MSNBC pundit dedicated his closing “Trump Watch” commentary to these syrupy feelings about Burr and Warner.
“I've been waiting for some heroes to arrive in this travesty we've been watching, this Russian intrusion into our democracy and the bizarre traffic of Trump people heading back and forth to Moscow and these random meetings with the Russian ambassador not to mention the remarkable penchant of this President and his campaign staff to do business with the Kremlin and its loathsome oligarchs,” Matthews began.
Reiterating that he “saw a good sign today” in the Burr and Warner plans going forward (which is a far more normal comment), Matthews went on his merry way:
The chairman and ranking Democratic member of the Senate Intelligence Committee, Senators Richard Burr and Mark Warner presented themselves today as grown-ups, two men capable of pushing hard for the truth in this embarrassing episode. Most important, I've learned this over the years, is their commitment to full-scale televised hearings on the matter with all the various characters brought into public light and placed, I believe, and I'm sure, under oath.
Before tossing to Chris Hayes for All In, Matthews gushed that he has “faith that the two men we saw today will do this for us” and their committee members “could forge just the alliance we need to get the truth” which “Trump must hate.”
Here’s the relevant portions of the transcript from MSNBC’s Hardball on March 29:
MSNBC’s Hardball
March 29, 2017
7:00 p.m. Eastern
CHRIS MATTHEWS: Trump has got a bur in his saddle. Let's play Hardball. [HARDBALL OPENING CREDITS] Good evening. I'm Chris Matthews in Washington. Today, a rare beam of hope. For the first time in months, we saw a pair of grown-ups. They're looking into the role of the Trump troops played in cahoots with Vladimir Putin's troops in manipulating the 2016 presidential election. As I said, an usual picture. Today at a joint press conference for the Senate Intelligence Committee leaders, Republican Richard Burr and Democrat Mark Warner, we heard plans from them for a major, credible set of televised hearings on the matter. The Senate offers reason for hope because the House intelligence Committee, under the bizarre leadership of Chairman Devin Nunes, offers, in effect, zero hope.
(....)
MATTHEWS: Let's talk about Mark Warner. Let’s talk about this chair. You're in the Senate, sir. Senator Murphy and I’m wondering — I'm romantic about politics. I keep looking for heroes and I thought I saw a gleam today of people doing a serious job of finding out what role Trump's people played with the Russians in manipulating our elections last year. Are you confident they can do it?
DEMOCRATIC SENATOR CHRIS MURPHY (Conn.): Well, I'm confident they can stick together and make this bipartisan. They have a strong relationship. I think there was some question initially as to whether they were going to let the facts lead wherever they may.
(....)
MATTHEWS: Trump watch. Wednesday, March 29th, 2017. I've been waiting for some heroes to arrive in this travesty we've been watching, this Russian intrusion into our democracy and the bizarre traffic of Trump people heading back and forth to Moscow and these random meetings with the Russian ambassador not to mention the remarkable penchant of this President and his campaign staff to do business with the Kremlin and its loathsome oligarchs. Well, call me an optimist but I believe we saw a good sign today. The chairman and ranking Democratic member of the Senate Intelligence Committee, Senators Richard Burr and Mark Warner presented themselves today as grown-ups, two men capable of pushing hard for the truth in this embarrassing episode. Most important, I've learned this over the years, is their commitment to full-scale televised hearings on the matter with all the various characters brought into public light and placed, I believe, and I'm sure, under oath. We learned from Watergate the Senate hearings well planned, well prepared, and televised elevate the public's understanding. The mere fact of getting these people to talk with the cameras and bright lights on them seems to bring the truth to the surface. It shakes the cobwebs from their minds, gives us answers to what otherwise remain mysterious. We learn quickly who looks credible and who looks like they're hiding something. It will be intriguing to hear from Christopher Steele, the former MI6 figure who prepared that dossier on Trump and the Russians to learn what conversation did occur between all these Trump people and the Russian envoy and what business Trump himself has been doing with the Russians during these months of moral murkiness. I have faith that the two men we saw today will do this for us. I believe the Senate Intelligence Committee with its complement of committed Democrats and anti-Russian neocons could forge just the alliance we need to get the truth. Trump must hate what he saw get started today.
