Ignoring Dean, Matthews claims that "netroots" critics of health care reform "never ran for office"
On his MSNBC show, Chris Matthews attacked what New York magazine writer John Heilemann called "the Democratic left" who have "trash[ed] the health care bill and attack[ed] the president; Matthews stated: "I don't consider them Democrats. I consider them netroots," and added, "I think a lot of those people are troublemakers who love to sit in the back seat and complain. They're not interested in governing this country. They never ran for office, they're not interested in working for somebody in public office." In fact, Howard Dean, who, as The New York Times reported, "has urged the Senate to scrap the bill and start from scratch," ran for president in the 2004 Democratic primary after having served for more than 11 years as governor of Vermont.
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Matthews' claim that "netroots" figures "not interested in governing this country" and "never ran for office" undercut by Dean
From the December 17 edition of MSNBC's Hardball with Chris Matthews:
MATTHEWS: I don't consider them Democrats. I consider them netroots, and they're different. If I see that they vote in every election or most elections, I'll be worried. But I'm not sure they're regular, grown-up Democrats. I think a lot of those people are troublemakers who love to sit in the back seat and complain. They're not interested in governing this country. They never ran for office, they're not interested in working for somebody in public office. They get their giggles out of sitting in the back seat and bitching.
NYT: Dean "has urged the Senate to scrap the bill and start from scratch." The New York Times reported on December 16:
The new version of the Senate health care bill is "a political disaster for Democrats -- a ticking time-bomb for years to come."
So warns Democracy for America, the organization founded by Howard Dean, former chairman of the Democratic National Committee, and headed by his brother, Jim.
Since Senate Democrats dropped the public option -- a government-run health insurance plan that would compete with private insurers -- from their bill on Monday, Mr. Dean, a doctor and the former governor of Vermont, has urged the Senate to scrap the bill and start from scratch.
Dean ran for president in 2004 Democratic primary. Dean served as governor of Vermont from 1991 to 2003 and established his candidacy for the Democratic nomination for president on May 30, 2002. He won the Vermont primary on March 2, 2004, but withdrew from the race and endorsed Sen. John Kerry on March 25, 2004.
Randy
His insulting comments about the progressives in the base are going to come back to bite him in the *ss.
Who do you think watches MSNBC genius? And why do you suppose that there will be a significant drop-off between 7 and 8 eastern time?
As much as I enjoy MSNBC programming in the afternoon/evening (and Ratigan & Shuster during the day), I find it increasingly difficult to sit through, Hardball.
Some of his regular guests are great -- when he lets them get a word in edgewise; others, such as the unctuous Pat Buchanan and the myopic Ron Christie make me switch to HGTV in a nanosecond.
And as my husband likes to tell me, the only thing more obnoxious than my passion for politics is my penchant for interior design. In the interest of my marital bliss, Matthews clearly needs to be moved to a timeslot in the pre-dawn hours.
Not just candidates and would-be staffers.
As Ms. McEwan notes: Dean "also, hello, served as chair of the Democratic National Committee for four years. That ain't the "back seat" of public policy, brother."
you're laboring under the false premise that tweety has a brain. i hadn't seen tweety run for public office, does that mean he's no longer allowed to opine on public policy?