Chris Matthews went off the deep end on Wednesday's Hardball as he accused conservative talk show hosts Rush Limbaugh and Glenn Beck of demonstrating "ethnic disdain" for the First Family and even charged former Arkansas Governor and current Fox News host Mike Huckabee of wanting to ethnically cleanse Arabs from the West Bank.
Right after a discussion about Republican contenders like John Thune and Chris Christie not entering the presidential race, Matthews told his GOP strategist guest Todd Harris "You are being left with the crazies now" like Huckabee who Matthews charged wants to "clear out all the Arabs in the West Bank, just get rid of them all!...Talk about ethnic cleansing? He says he's gonna do it."
Then Matthews immediately turned to a clip of Rush Limbaugh critiquing Michelle Obama's health push and claimed the talk show host wasn't merely making fun of nanny state politics, but that there was something more sinister involved as he went on to accuse Limbaugh, Glenn Beck and their listeners of being racist, as seen in the following rant:
(video, audio and transcript after the jump)
MATTHEWS: No, I think it's race too, again. I don't rarely raise this flag, but I think there's a disdain from people like Limbaugh for this First Family as a family. There's a disdain towards them. He wouldn't talk about another First Family that were white like this. He has a disdain, which has come on again and again. [Glenn] Beck has it too. It's ethnic disdain and they feel, they feel happy doing this because they know their followers out there like it. They're in the business of keeping a radio listenership. They know it doesn't offend their type ditto-heads or they wouldn't be saying it.
The following is a more complete transcript of the relevant exchanges as they were aired on the February 23 Hardball:
CHRIS MATTHEWS: But you are being left with the crazies now, who are still in contention and the, and the real people are getting out of this race. Jeb [Bush], [Chris] Christie, this guy [John Thune] are real people. Now the wacks are still - you got [Mike] Huckabee still running. If Huckabee runs, he's a, he's a lunatic. You've got Huckabee saying he's gonna clear out all the Arabs in the West Bank, just get rid of them all! This is - I've never heard a politician in America say interfere in another country? He wants to get rid - talk about ethnic cleansing? He says he's gonna do it!
GOP STRATEGIST TODD HARRIS: Well I'm not sure he's gonna run.
MATTHEWS: Okay good, well it'd be good for you if he's not. Let's talk about this thing now I really think is really below the belt. It's a question of whether anybody on the Right or Left should be attacking the other person's spouse. Now here's Rush Limbaugh on Monday. Let's catch the Rushbo here. He is targeting Michelle Obama. Here he is on Monday, as I said.
(Begin clip)
RUSH LIMBAUGH: The problem is and dare I say this, it doesn't look like Michelle Obama follows her on nutritionary, dietary advice. And then we hear that she's out eating ribs with at 1500 calories of serving with 141 of grams of fat. I'm trying to say that our First Lady does not project the image of women that you might see on the cover of the Sports Illustrated swimsuit issue.
(End clip)
MATTHEWS: Well he doesn't look like he lives in a cage of lettuce either, that guy. But here's the question. Is this okay? First of all, who wants to compare themselves to swimsuit people on the cover of Sports Illustrated? They're models. What a ridiculous comparison to make anybody to have to live up to? Your thoughts? What's he doing this for?
...
MATTHEWS: No, I think it's race too, again. I don't rarely raise this flag, but I think there's a disdain from people like Limbaugh for this First Family as a family. There's a disdain towards them. He wouldn't talk about another First Family that were white like this. He has a disdain, which has come on again and again. [Glenn] Beck has it too. It's ethnic disdain and they feel, they feel happy doing this because they know their followers out there like it. They're in the business of keeping a radio listenership. They know it doesn't offend their type ditto-heads or they wouldn't be saying it.
HARRIS: Well I don't think, I don't think it has anything to do with ethnicity. There was a disdain on the left for, for George Bush and, and the Bush family.
MATTHEWS: Who went after Laura Bush?! Who went after Barbara Bush?!
STEVE MCMAHON, DEMOCRATIC STRATEGIST: Nobody, nobody.
MATTHEWS: Who went after Barbara Bush?!
HARRIS: The disdain of the Bush family fueled the rise of, of an entire radio network.
MATTHEWS: Stop a minute. When you want to give me a list of any attack by anybody on the left, center-left or anywhere on Laura Bush, ever. Any, any attack on Barbara Bush ever.
HARRIS: Look the level of vitriol aimed at, at Bush and the Bush family was every bit-
MCMAHON: It wasn't the Bush family, it was the President and it was for taking us into the war in Iraq. It was for ruining the economy, it was for spending America broke...
HARRIS: It was every bit as vicious, no it was every bit as vicious as what we're seeing now.
MATTHEWS: Todd usually, usually you exercise discretion on this program. You, you can defend anything. These full mooners now. You're defending them. Attacking the guy's wife is disdainful.
HARRIS: I'm not defending attacking their wife. I'm saying that it's out of bounds on both sides.
MATTHEWS: Steve McMahon. It did not happen before like this. Thank you. This is about race! Thank you Steve McMahon and Todd Harris.
—Geoffrey Dickens is the Senior News Analyst at the Media Research Center. You can follow him on Twitter here
