There are times it seems the folks at MSNBC are so driven by their liberal agenda that they're missing their own hypocrisy even when it happens on the same show separated by mere minutes.
Take for example Chris Matthews who moments after a lengthy segment Monday complaining about Glenn Beck and the so-called "violent rhetoric of the Right" ironically tied Tea Party members to "Nazi stuff" (video follows with transcript and commentary):
CHRIS MATTHEWS, HOST: Fire on the right. Let’s play HARDBALL.
Good evening. I’m Chris Matthews in Washington. Leading off tonight: Glenn Beck shoots off his mouth. Today Jared Loughner pled not guilty. So has the right wing to the charge it promotes trouble with its endless rants about guns and hatred of government. Take Glenn Beck -- please. He targets what he calls radicals in Washington who, quote, "believe in communism," and "you’re going to have to shoot them in the head." Gotcha!
We’ve got a Republican member of Congress out there going full bore on this stuff, saying he wants him and his fellow members of Congress to carry guns at the Capitol. Welcome to the State of the Union 2011. The violent rhetoric of the right won’t stop. It’s our top story tonight.
For roughly the next twelve minutes, Matthews went after conservatives - in particular Beck - for so-called violent rhetoric.
After a commercial break:
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: My number one focus is going to be making sure that we are competitive, that we are growing and we are creating jobs not just now but well into the future. And that’s what is going to be the main topic of the State of the Union.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MATTHEWS: Well, welcome back to sanity and to HARDBALL. That was President Obama in a message to supporters just the other day, Saturday. Here’s how Republican leaders Mitch McConnell and Eric Cantor reacted yesterday. Let’s listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. MITCH MCCONNELL (R-KY), MINORITY LEADER: He’s quit bashing business and is now celebrating business. Well, it’s about time because the only way we’re really going to get unemployment down and get out of this economic trough is through private sector growth and development. And I think excessive government spending, running up debt, making us look like a Western European country is the wrong direction. That’s the direction they took the first two years.
REP. ERIC CANTOR (R-VA), MINORITY LEADER: ... on increasing government spending and trying to spawn (ph) action from a Washington-based perspective. And what the people have said is, Enough. We’ve got to shrink government. We’ve got to cut spending.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MATTHEWS: Don’t you just love the new Republican Party? We have the Tea Party people with the placards and the Nazi stuff, and then you have these two Junior Chamber types representing them in Washington.
So, after a lengthy segment complaining about so-called violent rhetoric on the Right, Matthews returned by linking the Tea Party to "Nazi stuff."
This followed the "Hardball" host presenting an image of a red target on the Capitol building with crosshears in the foreground last Thursday.
Does anyone involved in the production of this show see the hypocrisy, or are they all so driven by advancing their agenda that they're oblivious to such things?
Yes, that was a rhetorical question.
