Saying "the country wants ... a little bit of fascism," on Imus Matthews further saluted Giuliani
On the February 7 edition of MSNBC's Imus in the Morning, MSNBC Hardball host Chris Matthews heaped praise on GOP presidential candidate Rudy Giuliani, calling the former New York mayor "the kind of gutsy, street-corner politician we all grew up with" who "stood on the corner during the fire and told us what was going on." Matthews said that he would like "[a] guy who wasn't on the ranch during Katrina -- who was out on the street corner answering questions," adding: "I'm so sick of southern guys with ranches running this country. I want a guy to run for president who doesn't have a fucking -- I'm sorry -- a ranch. Wouldn't that be good?"
Matthews again touted the progress Giuliani made in improving olfactory conditions in New York City, asserting that "subways didn't smell like pee anymore" and that "[e]ven the phone booths in New York have always smelled like pee." Matthews made similar claims on the February 5 editions of MSNBC Live and Hardball, both noted by Media Matters for America. Matthews also claimed that Giuliani "made you feel like you had a right to walk the street safely" and added, "I think the country wants a boss like that, you know? A little bit of fascism there. Just a little bit. Just a pinch of it."
As Media Matters has noted, Matthews has previously made the similar claim that Giuliani "is a front-runner because the voters like this guy because during 9-11 he was the one guy there on the street corner, not hiding like all the other pols did."
From the February 7 edition of MSNBC's Imus in the Morning:
MATTHEWS: The subways didn't smell like pee anymore. Even the phone booths in New York have always smelled like pee -- when there's not even a booth, it's just a phone and it smells like pee. And this guy cleaned it up, and he made you feel like you had a right to walk the street safely. I think he did a great job. I'm sorry. And I think the country wants a boss like that. You know, a little bit of fascism there. Just a little bit. Just a pinch of it.
IMUS: Well, the lame observation being made by a lot of folks, maybe it's not lame, but -- that he can't get the nomination because, you know the right-wing nuts, you know --
MATTHEWS: Well, you know what -- that is such conventional wisdom, it is the kinda crap people should -- there should be a buzzer that goes off when people say that kind of crap. Look, if you go down to Jackson, Mississippi, you go to Atlanta, Florida, you go anywhere in the South to men's clubs for lunch, who is the number one speaker they want? Giuliani.
You go around the suburbs of New York, Philadelphia, Detroit, Chicago, everywhere -- all those suburban areas where people used to live in cities and loved their cities and had to leave them. And they say, "I still love my city I want to go back. This guy Giuliani's saving my city for me." I mean, I felt that way about Eddie Rendell in Philadelphia. We love good mayors 'cause we love our cities, and Giuliani's the city guy.
And I'm so sick of Southern guys with ranches running this country. I want a guy to run for president who doesn't have a fucking -- I'm sorry -- a ranch. Wouldn't that be good? A guy who wasn't on the ranch during Katrina -- he was out on the street corner answering questions. Giuliani was answering questions.
IMUS: Did you beep that? Hang on a minute. Did you get that, Lou?
LOU RUFINO (engineer): Yes, Bernard [McGuirk, executive producer] got it.
IMUS: Did you get it on MSNBC?
RUFINO: We'll have to ask them.
MATTHEWS: Hah!
RUFINO: See if they effed up.
IMUS: Did you, Tom? Well, we're not -- weren't we on delay when we had Sid [Rosenberg, sports commentator]?
MATTHEWS: I think I got about half the syllable in there. I think.
IMUS: What were you swearing for?
MATTEWS: I don't know. I get excited.
IMUS: I already told you that it was a lame observation people were making. I hope you weren't barking at me about that, I said --
MATTHEWS: No, I was joining you as a Greek chorus.
IMUS: No, but I mean, if you were on Meet the Press or the Today show, would you do that? No, of course not.
MATTHEWS: I think I said something the other night on my show like that.
IMUS: Well, no. Your show -- nobody watches your show.
[...]
MATTHEWS: Well here's my thought between all that, is that I think Giuliani's the kind of gutsy, street-corner politician we all grew up with. When there was a fire, the police commissioner showed up with the fire commissioner and stood on the corner during the fire and told us what was going on. We miss that.
IMUS: Oh, I love the guy -- no, you're not -- you're preaching to the choir here.
MATTHEWS: I mean, even [Sen.] Hillary [Rodham Clinton (D-NY)], you know, every time she says something you figure, well, two days later she'll come out and explain it after she's talked to her staff. And the president's on his ranch somewhere getting DVDs of what's happening. I want a guy or a woman as president who is actually there.
Just a touch of fascism, In like it.
I can just see us all singing "Springtime For Rudy".
That should have read, "I like it".
A pinch of Fascism? Is that better than "a few bad apples?" A hundred little Eichmanns? Maybe we should burn down the Reichstag, uhh excuse me, the Capitol building. Matthews is clearly off his rocker.
Ah Chris...soooooo excitable. But I like the guy.
Matthews: You know, a little bit of fascism there. Just a little bit. Just a pinch of it.
Actually, a pinch of fascism would be an improvement over what the Bush led government is giving us.
I'm guessing Matthews meant *Law & Order* rather than fascism...but I'll allow him to explain just where he was going with that thought.
As much as I enjoy Matthews enthusiasm for politics, the guy could use a muzzle on occasion ;-)
he needs to learn to ask republicans tough questions like he does the democrats ... like how he gushes over both, just bring his equal gushing over to equal questioning. his show is called hardball, not Oprah
JETER:
When we visited Singapore, we were warned NOT to take any chewing gum, because the penalty for "improper disposal" was very stiff ... jail time and usually caning.
A boy from Ohio learned the penalty for "vandalizing" cars in Singapore as well, and it made the news in the USA, sparking "debate" which had many on the right saying the caning he was to receive was just great, and we needed more of that over HERE.
Those who run Singapore have a clean and beautiful city, but they do so by having very stiff penalties for improper behavior ... one might even say penalties far out of severity to the infractions.
But this is the type of "Police State" that conservatives admire and wish to emulate. Forget freedom, liberty, and justice. We want people to BEHAVE, and so we need for the government to mete out swift and severe punishment to those who do not follow orders well.
As a previous poster said, having "a little bit of fascism" would be a great improvement from where Bush has taken us ... but he has limited his tyrannical rule mostly to foreign affairs and to rigging the rules to advantage the already very wealthy.
Tex: Forget freedom, liberty, and justice.
Reply: That caning incident WAS justice. Thanks for reminding me about that. There is no freedom to vandalize, sorry. I hear Singapore HANGS drug dealers too. No drug problem there. Imagine that.
Cruel and unusual punishment is prohibited under the Eighth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution. If it's a choice between graffiti and drug problems on the one hand and the Constitution on the other, I'll take the Constitution every day of the week.
Fortunately, it's not up to me, or you, to decide what essential liberties we'll give up for some temporary safety.
I guess we could debate what constitutes "cruel and unusual" punishment but I don't think the caning qualified. Hanging drug dealers would be a little extreme for my tastes even though it apparently is a very good deterrent. We should try something besides "just say no". How about manditory sentences? Like 30 years or so.
I'm sorry, but are you commenting from the United States? We have had mandatory minimum sentencing for about twenty years now.
...and it does nothing to curtail the drug problem in this country
My apologies, of course I should have known that we have manditory sentencing for drug offenses. Thanks.
30 Years!
30 Yrs for dealing a dime bag? We have too many 2-bit drug dealers in jail already taking up space needed for violent criminals. The so called War on Drugs is a total failure and costing us millions. How about a plan that reduces the price/demand part of the equation. Legalize, control, and tax drugs for goodness sakes.
Not to mention those like Bush understand they are not SUBJECT to those harsh punishments anymore than RUSH was prosecuted for HIS drug indescretions
What makes them above the law? That is my argument with Illegal Immigration. I no more back these fools (rush, bush) that comit crimes, then the little guys. Can we have some Justice in America?
As a previous poster said, having "a little bit of fascism" would be a great improvement from where Bush has taken us ... by Tex
=====
Yo Tex I am the poster that wrote that.
I don't want a bit, a pinch, or a smidgeon of fascism. I don't give a f*ck what the phones smell like. My grandfather didn't escape Italy so his descendants could live under a "pinch" of fascism.
F*ck Matthews, f*ck Imus, and f*ck fascism.
Good Job MMFA
Matthews used the F word in reference to Bush and they reported it.
Yeah but only after you commented on it...
I'd like to know when the last time Matthews took a subway train anywhere outside of Midtown. Chris, I hate to break it to you but parts of the subway system will always smell like pee. Phone booths? With the rise of cell phones we won't have any phone booths in the future.
Atlanta, Florida? Maybe Chris ought to campain for Giuliani to become mayor of Atlanta, Florida. It really smells like effin' pee down there.
Okay, enough fun. Give him back his meds.
There's no such thing as a "little" facism. Once it's on it's way there is no stopping it. Matthews seems to think he's pure and right all the time and it's sad. He's in a position to change so many things for the better of humanity but he clings to an evil system as if it can somehow magically make things right. My advice to him? "Get over yourself and get a life".
Why is this here at all? Hat tip > Rusty.
Ahhh, got you on this one.
Atlanta, Florida = misinformation. Probably for disinfranchisement purposes, come the 2008 election. Paper trails showing millions of Georgians heading south in their search for their voting precincts, and further confounding the florida polls.
Good catch, MMFA.
Fascism is where the Bush regime has been trying to lead us, but with a few differences. Mussolini made the trains run on time; with Bush, it's a no-bid contract and they run when they want -- at taxpayer expense, of course.
Similarities are somewhat more ironic I think ... for example, Mussolini had trouble invading a third world country.
That's a really good quip, I like it! I wish I wasn't so tuchy about the whole "Mussolini made the trains run on time" myth, but:
Mincheria!
Under Saddam Hussein, Iraq had little or no sectarian violence.
Yeah, and there was no ethnic conflict in Yugoslavia under Tito, and nobody killed cops during soccer games when Mussolini ran things...
It's funny how all these cities cleaned up: NYC under Giuliani, Philly under Rendell. Except, Rendell was a Democrat who actually did things to help the homeless rather than locking them up.
Could it be that it wasn't a little dollop of fascism that cleaned the cities up, but the gentrification that took place in both cities' dilapidated cores, and the influx of Gen-X and Gen-Y professionals that were bored with the suburbs?
Tweety is looking for a strong man's leg to hump, but that says more about Tweety than it does about the value of strongman mayors.
Dunno about Philly, but in NYC, Giuliani started in the subways. He stopped the turnstile jumpers, and found that a lot of them were wanted for other stuff. Get these yahoos off the streets and out of the subways and an awful lot of the trouble stopped. He started with the "little stuff" and it worked. Giuliani is a great law-and-order candidate -- preferably as a mayor, maybe even a governor.
I think that this is sad yet true. From what I have heard lots of people say, they would gladly turn in some of their Constitutionally protected freedoms in order to be "safer". Whatever that means. I believe that the Bush administration has so many people fooled that we're under constant threat of another bad terrorist attack that people will just turn in their freedoms without thinking about it. I have heard many times the old refrain, "Well, if you haven't done anything wrong, you've got nothing to worry about" from others when I have asked why they would subvert themselves to losing some of their freedoms. I think a lot of people have forgotten that indeed, you are granted certain unalienable rights in this country, and whether you did anything wrong or not, you should stand up and accept said rights, and not let anyone take them away from you, or from anyone else.
Not to quibble... but we are not "granted" $#!T. Our rights are inherent. Not only shouldn't we give them away, we can't, they are ours by right.
I know what you meant, Mag, and I'm not jumping down your throat... I'm just talking to all those that think trading liberty for safety is even conceivable, let alone wise. As the Master said, we get both, or neither.
I don't "get" Chris at all.
First he is complimenting GWB like he wants to have a "bro-mance" with him and now he's sick of all the southern guys with ranches. He better not point out any flip-flopping in the general election.
Chris is fickle...he falls in & out of love easily ;-)
Hey Tweety ... and anyone else who thinks the last six years have made us any safer ...
Here's a quote to ponder ...
"They who can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary safety deserve neither liberty nor safety. "
Benjamin Franklin, 1755
"Fascism. A system of government marked by centralization of authority under a dictator, stringent socioeconomic controls, suppression of the opposition through terror and censorship, and typically a policy of belligerent nationalism and racism." The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition. Houghton Mifflin Company, 2004.
Please don't tell us that the Bush administration is not fascist; but Giuliani would be much worse. Putting aside his Jew hunt in the early 80s as U.S. Attorney (Ivan Boesky, Michael Millken, Marc Rich), which was one of the most egregious cases of selective enforcement at the federal level, Giuliani "cleaned" up the streets of New York City by rounding up and arresting the homeless, saying: "Streets do not exist in civilized societies for the purpose of people sleeping there. Bedrooms are for sleeping.'' He added that the right to sleep on the streets ''doesn't exist anywhere. The founding fathers never put that in the Constitution."
http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9805E2D9153CF933A15752C1A96F958260&sec=health&spon=&partner=permalink&exprod=permalink
He also formed the "art police" to determine funding for exhibits at the Brooklyn Museum based on their speech content. They prevented display of some controvertial artwork depicting the Virgin Mary and elephant dung solely on the grounds that they were offensive to the catholic community, not because of their lack of artistic quality.
I don't think Giuliani is capable of a "pinch" of fascism, even if that were desireable. He would give us a pound.
well if you're feelin' low, and the foreigners are frightnin'
(doo doo do doo---doo doo do doo)
A little bit o' fascism makes everything all right
(doo doo do doo---doo doo do doo)
if you're feelin scared, and a little right wing
(doo doo do doo---doo doo do doo)
A little bit o' fascism makes everything all right
no credit, who did that song?
I think you are parodying the song "Little bit of soul" by The Music Explosion, but which most of us remember from The Ramones cover version. And, under the heading MISHEARD LYRICS, I thought that Joey was singing "Livin' in the slums"!!!!
I find it interesting also that Matthews doesn't know that a Greek Chorus was not in agreement with the action, but acted to comment on the action in a play, as a critique. I think he means preaching to the choir. Too anal-retentive? Probably!!
Music Explosion, thanx Covert. I have the Ramones version on vinyl, that must be how it got in my noggin.
OH NO! THE 'F' WORD!!!!!!!!! I hope someone fines them a nice hefty one for that.
Just the fact that Matthews is so real and raw when he isn't on his own show makes me love him. He isn't left or right, he's just tired and fed up. He also got a clear F-bomb through on the air and that was awesome.
But now he'll never get hired by John Edwards.
Oh yeah, talk him up, please!
Giuliani should run. But he will take away as much air time, money and credibility from McCain as he can - and then sink faster than Howard Dean. He'll n-e-v-e-r get the nomination, much less be elected. To paraphrase Matthews: f***ing never.
Matthews should get a new HBO show where he just curses and rants alot.
"A pinch of Fascism? Is that better than "a few bad apples?" A hundred little Eichmanns? Maybe we should burn down the Reichstag, uhh excuse me, the Capitol building. Matthews is clearly off his rocker."
No, excuse me, while I remind you that we've all ready had our Reichstag fire, and within two weeks we passed our Ermächtigungsgesetz (Patriot Act).
His Honor the Mayor should, as a federal prosecutor, to have known that destroying the evidence of a crime scene, the greatest crime ever committed on American soil, no less, was itself evidence of criminal involvement.
Fortunately, some shards were preserved, given away to build memorials here and there (showing that the lockstep was less than perfect). The shards of structural steel show, not sagging and twisting, but sharp clean 45° cuts, and bear traces of sulfur, manganese, fluorine — all fingerprints of thermate.
But that doesn't excuse the destruction of evidence, much of which is not replaced by these lucky finds.
I hope someone will ask Ghouliani that question on the hustings in New Hampshire — and get it on video for all to see.