Last night, MSNBC‘s Chris Matthews (2/5/13) hosted a discussion on the Obama administration’s recently disclosed “white paper” justifying its policy of using drones to strike at U.S. citizens.
Matthews appeared rather uncomfortable with the topic, ultimately deciding that the policy was defensible–on the grounds that the CIA director Leon Panetta goes to church:
Matthews’ comment, in case for some reason you don’t want to watch it:
I think Leon is a conscientious guy. He goes to church every day. I think sometimes you have to do things that are not nice. We’re fighting a war.
Of course, anyone familiar with Matthews knows this kind of bizarre faith in political leaders isn’t unusual. He once declared that he “felt this thrill going up my leg” after hearing an Obama speech. But back before MSNBC turned to the left, Matthews was thrilled by different things. Here’s his praise for George W. Bush after his “Mission Accomplished” speech on May 1, 2003:
We’re proud of our president. Americans love having a guy as president, a guy who has a little swagger, who’s physical, who’s not a complicated guy like Clinton or even like Dukakis or Mondale, all those guys, McGovern. They want a guy who’s president. Women like a guy who’s president. Check it out. The women like this war. I think we like having a hero as our president. It’s simple. We’re not like the Brits.
And we shouldn’t forget his defense of the Guantanamo prison (1/17/02), recounted in an Extra! piece (9/11) by Andy Worthington:
Chris Matthews on MSNBC‘s Hardball (1/17/02) told a guest from Human Rights Watch who had criticized the open-air cages of Camp X-Ray: “Back when I was a kid, I used to go down there and sleep out in places like the Virgin Islands overnight, and I loved it. I slept in tents. I thought it was great. And you’re making it sound like harsh conditions.”
Hoo-hoo-hoo-rah-rah-rah (hurrah) drones strikes are okay because the bible tells me so,oh,oh! They make exceptions for killing innocents
because they aren’t Americans. The universe sees us as all humans.
As long as we’re safe it doesn’t matter. Santa Clause is coming.
Praise the Lord
And pass the joystick
Chris Mathews is onto something when thinking sometimes you have to do things not nice when fighting a war. Now if only he could think about fighting war rather than fighting a war.
Most religion is reactionary BS in support of State crimes.
The real lovers of mankind aren’t supporters of State murders, they are killed and imprisoned by the State for not being team players in their war games.
This posting is excellent and what FAIR does best. Chris Matthews has a long history of sycophantic drivel, and here it is for all to see. He was wrong on Iraq, wrong on Bush, wrong on torture, and now he’s wrong on killing civilians. And yet there he is drawing down $5 million or so a year for consistently misinforming the American people.
John Brennan’s C.I.A.confirmation hearing (ongoing) repeatedly says
“probably saved lives” in answers to questions.
Let me be crude ” I didn’t defecate on the food at the salad bar and probably saved lives…
Classless acts get classified.
You want to live or you want to die. Sadly the ageny has a quota. What happen was 43 thought 44 would cut the program, below the quota on advice he increased strikes and the 44 increased it again, so you had a mini rolling thunder. That quota is the difference between us and them and that is it. That is how it has to be, al-Qaida decided it not us.
I hate to tell people when the President issues an executive order to liquidate a US citizen, YOUR CITIZENSHIP HAS JUST BEEN REVOKED.
When the President issues an executive order it is not illegal. The police want drones and the Giffin, they wanted CT, to invaded SC with the NG, Gitmo, they got meth in the Patriot Act. You got to relax
Why the fuck are you only “concerned” about the “illegal killing” of Americans? What about the mass murder of non-americans?
The United States is a country of witting and unwitting fucking barbarians!
Fuck you all!
@ Ray Blessin – The mass murder of non-Americans does indeed seem to be of little interest to the media and the public at large, and apart from being an evil for which all Americans bear responsibility, it has created enemies for the United States and eroded the support of its allies.
If you wish to convince people of anything along those lines, however, you would have greater impact among grown-ups who care about such matters by not lacing your opinions with junior high school naughty words.
Chris Matthews is a simpleton. I recall his interview of Tony Blair. It was such a travesty, nothing but softballs that allowed Balir to puff up his record. I quit watching Matthews after that. Then there was the time Matthews commented about torture. He said that there was no question but that torture works because because you could get anyone to say “uncle” by torturing them. That getting someone to say what you want them to say is entirely different from getting a fictitious statement, was oblivious to Chris.
*Leon Paneta is Sec.Of Defense not C.I.A. I believe.
*Drone attacks will create “blow-back”
*Our American zeitgeist ( general intellectual, moral, and cultural state of an era ) will get us judged as the Germans are/were judged under A. Hitler.
*As @ John Q. wrote “all Americans bear responsibility.”
*@ Ray Blessin- your passion is laudible, your language is not.
I agree with you, but we are all left in the dark about many gov. activities, so we are not all barbarians.
* We need a public-funded news media to be better able to expose governmental wrong-doing. I’m not anti-government. I’m opposed the generating more enemies which drones do create.
So true, Robert C. I like how Matthews has been rehabilitated by MSNBC; he’s feted like some kind of wise interlocuter when really he’s the same jabbering, ignorant clown we’ve grown to know and despise. We’re in trouble when the very obviously ignorant, foolish, and stupid and given huge amounts of money and patted on the back. And ow Mathews is on the “left.” Ha!
I know we’ll get an edit function someday here, FAIR. I’m not complaining though.
@Tim N
*****Which edit function are you commenting about? Editing what— foul-language,spelling,grammar? I’m curious.
Chris Mathews.Well Im a conservative tea party member so I don’t cut him a lot of slack.That said, Im surprised(and happy)that this sight would say a word “agin “him.Suffice it to say he is not the brightest bulb in the the commentator shed.He seems to have a very average brain.As for drones……..this time has been coming since I was a kid.Fighting a war while a soldier sits in his easy chair at home.A video game.Patton himself in his time fore saw this coming, and thought it removed the glory of battle.Of course he was a bit cracked in that respect.Still this is the development in forward projecting force disposition that is heavy on machines and light on boots on the ground.Maybe someday our enemies can have them, and we can fight wars- drone against drone.winner take all nobody gets hurt.But till then this is how we will project force without risking soldiers lives.
“I think Leon is a conscientious guy. He goes to church every day. I think sometimes you have to do things that are not nice. We’re fighting a war.” Comments like this from Chris Matthews is exactly why I don’t and won’t watch his show.
@michael e
^^”you can’t make this stuff up” your words.”
^^EARTH is the BEST planet in the universe.
The sooner the human race realizes this fact
the sooner we will in harmony.
^^I digress, full employment will solve most of
problems we Americans face.
^^We need to strive toward being that
“shining city on the hill” Reagan spoke about.
^^Hubris in the mirror is only a reflection, not reality.
I BELIEVE MANY COUTY SHERRIFS STILL HAVE AUTHORITY TO PUT UP WANTED DEAD OR ALIVE POSTERS. WE ARE GETTING MORE GLOBAL AND I AM ALL FOR PROTECTNG OUR MILITARY WITH IMPROVED WEAPONS. I WOULD ACCEPT A FISA REVIEW AND CONGERESSIONAL OVERSIGHT EXCEPT CONGRESS IS SO USELESS. ALL THEY DO IS SUCK UP MONEY AND COMPLAIN. TOO BAD WE CAN’T FIRE THEM LIKE A POOR EMPLOYEE!!