A Revealing “Hardball” Segment on The Damon Linker Essay
This transcript of "Hardball with Chris Matthews" for Jan. 2 is an interesting window into MSM reaction to Damon Linker's TNR piece. We are treated to the views of such stalwarts as David Gergen, Andrea Mitchell, and Chris Matthews himself:
MATTHEWS: On another front in the Republican Party, Mitt Romney is about to announce an exploratory committee tomorrow. And what happens, the “New Republic” runs a front page story on the cover of their magazine about the dangers of a Mormon president. That is pretty rough stuff. And I read the long piece. I don‘t think it does the damage they thought it would, but boy, what a long, exhaustive attack on someone‘s religion.
GERGEN: Can you imagine if someone who had been—when John Kennedy was running, if the “National Review” opened up the great big package on the cover the dangers of having a Catholic in the White House? Bill Buckley would never have done that. Of course, he is Catholic, but nonetheless, that is just so below the belt and so inappropriate.
MATTHEWS: Is this the season we‘re entering?
GERGEN: Well, I hope not because the mormonism issue is there. It‘s lurking there, but it seems to me it‘s been entirely unfair to have this kind of whisper campaign that says a Mormon can‘t win. You know, the conservatives believe that Mormons are engaged in witchcraft.
You know, you hear that buzz out there, and, you know, Mitt Romney may or may not be your choice for candidate. But he‘s got one heck of a record of accomplishment over a lot of things over time, that deserve to get a lot more attention before we ever turn to the question of whether the Mormonism is right or not. In a day when we‘re burying Gerry Ford, I mean, I just find this stuff so…
MATTHEWS: … Andrea, I worked for a man who was LDS, Church of Latter Day Saints, a Mormon, Frank Moss in Utah, and I must say, the whole two years for this wonderful senator from Utah back in the ‘70s, his religion, I hate to say it, was irrelevant to his public life.
It just didn‘t come up in the office. It didn‘t come up in his legislation. I never heard any discussion ever affecting the way he voted on issues, economic issues, political issues, whatever. I wonder whether this is a bum rap.
MITCHELL: Well, I think it might be. You know, we‘ve heard much from people analyzing the south, for instance, who say that Mitt Romney‘s religion will be a problem with southern evangelicals. Yet he did very, very well—I think he came out on top in that initial straw poll in Tennessee.
MATTHEWS: Actually Frist came out on top, but he gave the best speech. That was a home court advantage for Bill Frist, I think. But he gave a great—you‘re right though in your overall point. He was very well-received down there. He gave a heck of a good speech. He‘s prepared. He‘s not exactly lovable, but he‘s damn confident, I think.
GERGEN: Well, he‘s run a—you have to give him a lot of credit. You know, if you look at about two years ago, he and Mark Warner are about the same place in their parties way back in the pack. Mark Warner then dropped out.
(CROSSTALK)
MATTHEWS: He‘s fighting it out, he‘s butting heads with McCain right now for running the show, pretty much.
GERGEN: That‘s exactly right. So you‘ve got to give him a lot of credit.
MATTHEWS: That‘s why he‘s getting—that‘s why he‘s hanging fire.
That‘s why people are writing about him.
GERGEN: But you know, I hope we have bigger things to talk about than whether a Mormon is a good idea in the White House.
MATTHEWS: Maybe we don‘t. We‘ll be right back with David Gergen and Andrea Mitchell, they‘re staying with us.
And later, we‘re going to look at some of the memorable moments—and there were a lot—at today‘s funeral for President Ford at the National Cathedral. This is HARDBALL, only on MSNBC.
Several things stand out in this segment. First, the "witchcraft" comment comes not from left field, but from the parking lot outside. What on earth is Gergen talking about?
Also, Damon Linker is a secularist academic who's written a book called The Theocons: Secular America Under Siege. He is not a conservative. He thinks organized religious conservatives ("theocons") are a threat to America. And yet Gergen starts talking about a "whisper" campaign in the same sentence he mentions conservatives –and witchcraft! Memo to Gergen: This was a direct frontal attack on Romney's religion from the left, not the right.
John comments: I also find it fascinating that they talk about how unfair it is to attack religion and talk about suspicions from the Evangelicals in the south, all the while ignoring the fact that the TNR piece is from one of their own. And while Gergen in one sense seems most vociferous in decrying a religious attack, I think he makes his own attack indirectly at Evangelicals with that "witchcraft" crack. That particular charge I have heard from no one – NO ONE - and I don't think there is anybody in the country watching this more closely than Lowell and I. Who is going to worry about witchcraft but Christian conservatives? Give me a break.
But then, of course, liberals are not known for their intellectual consistency.
We have seen damaging off-handed comments from James Dobson, and somewhat dismissive exploration of the issue from Al Mohler, but all the direct attacks have come from the left. By the way, note the dates on the Mohler and Dobson material – they have been very quiet of late.
Looks to me like the leftie MSM bunch is going for a "twofer." Bring up the religion issue so it stays out there and plays on people's minds, while appearing to condemn the "right-wingers" that make religious attacks, thus, they think, trouncing two constituencies in the Republican base.
All they have really done is make themselves look silly and reveal their own biases.
Lowell adds: I think they're well-intentioned, actually, but episodes like this do make them appear to live in a cocoon.
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