MSNBC analyst Howard Dean appeared on Now With Alex Wagner, Wednesday, to question the patriotism of Republicans. Discussing Barack Obama's attack on the congressional GOP, Dean sneered: "I'm certainly disgusted with them...I question their patriotism, really. I mean, we're paying them to do something and they are doing nothing." [video below the jump]
Talking to Wagner and Republican Michael Steele, Dean snarled, "I just think the Republican Congress is incompetent. They are incompetent and they are untrustworthy." Despite the howling from liberals in the media about questioning patriotism during the era of George W. Bush, MSNBC hosts do it all the time. On June 2, 2014, Ed Schultz snapped, "There's nothing American about Ted Cruz." On July 13, 2013, Chris Matthews wondered if Rupert Murdoch is a "true American."
In 2004, the MSNBC-friendly Dean slammed George W. Bush "and a group of people around the President whose main allegiance is to each other and their ideology rather than to the United States."
On another occasion, he shrieked that Republicans are "not Americans."
So, is it okay to question someone's patriotism or not? For MSNBC anchors and analysts, the answer may depend on if you're a Republican or not.
A transcript of the July 2 exchange is below:
4:18
ALEX WAGNER: I just wonder if you think all the vitriol directed towards the President really has to do with executive overreach or whether it's Republican frustration that President Obama seems to have found, in some way, a work around their intransigence?
HOWARD DEAN: I just think the Republican Congress is incompetent. They are incompetent and they are untrustworthy. They're – We're paying them. They are doing nothing. They might as well just go home they did do something, excuse me. Yesterday the ethics committee decided to make it easier to hide the money, taxpayers money you spend when you take a congressional trip. These guys need to go and I think they get their butts kicked in November. People are sick of this. You know, they may like or may not like Barack Obama. There hasn't been a debate about policy, a serious debate about policy for the last six months. And I think that the American people are just disgusted. I'm certainly disgusted with them. These are, really, people -- I question their patriotism, really. I mean, we're paying them to do something and they are doing nothing.
