After spending days trashing the Republican Party as guilty of "treason" and "economic terrorism," left-wing MSNBC anchor Ed Schultz on Wednesday spotlighted the Taliban's criticism of the shutdown. The host lectured that "no matter what the final outcome of the showdown is...damage to our global reputation has already been done." He then proceeded to showcase international attacks on America.
Schultz went so far as to highlight, "Heck, even the Taliban militants took the opportunity to taunt the United States. The group issued this statement, accusing U.S. politicians of 'sucking the blood of their own people.'" [See video below. MP3 audio here.] It was just Tuesday that the cable anchor railed against a form of "terrorism," but he was talking about the GOP.
Schultz included a quote from the left-wing Guardian hectoring, "Americans need to discover how the world sees them." He then recited, " In France, a headline reads, 'Jefferson, wake up. They became fools.'"
An exchange with guest Joan Walsh showed just who the two thought the Taliban and others were attacking:
ED SCHULTZ: This is pretty serious stuff. China is talking about de-Americanizing the world. They're certainly not on our side. Does this teach our politicians in Washington anything?
JOAN WALSH: I don't know. I don't know that they – the Republicans have learned anything, Ed.
A partial transcript of the October 16 segment is below:
SCHULTZ: Welcome back to The Ed Show. No matter what the final outcome of the showdown is, one thing is very clear. The damage to our global reputation has already been done. The self-inflicted crisis has eroded our credibility across the globe. And the British newspaper put it this way, The Guardian. "Americans need to discover how the world sees them." Let's take a look at some of the world's reaction. In France, a headline reads, "Jefferson, wake up. They became fools." In Sri Lanka, "the good governance advocates cannot govern themselves." In Germany, they're saying, "America is already politically bankrupt" and calling Republicans "the kamikaze party." Heck, even the Taliban militants took the opportunity to taunt the United States. The group issued this statement, accusing U.S. politicians of "sucking the blood of their own people."
Without a doubt, our biggest critic in this crisis is China. As the chief holder of U.S. Treasury bonds, China certainly has a lot at stake. Close to $1.3 trillion of U.S. federal debt can be exact -- to be exact, is where it is. China is using this disaster to turn out some scathing anti U.S. propaganda and the Communist Party's mouthpiece The People's Daily wrote, "It is America's arrogance that led to this U.S. decision to bypass the United Nations and launch a war in Iraq and it is the same arrogance that often let's America use domestic policy to kidnap the global economy." Another state-run media outlet in China took it a step further, saying, it is perhaps a "good time for the befuddled world to start considering building a de-Americanized world.
...
SCHULTZ: This is pretty serious stuff. China is talking about De-Americanizing the world. They're certainly not on our side. Does this teach our politicians in Washington anything?
JOAN WALSH: I don't know. I don't know that they – the Republicans have learned anything, Ed.
