I had fun labelling Tim Russert yesterday. Some may claim it's a useless exercise. On some days, I'd be inclined to agree. But who cares? I enjoy searching for quotes, and the topic seemed to produce fodder for a mildly spirited debate.

questions for debate:

What about Chris Matthews? Is he Conservative? Liberal? Neither? Moderate? Other?

What evidence is there which supports your opinion?

If someone worked for a Democrat decades ago, does that automatically indicate that they must currently be leftish/pro-Dem?

What about Chris Matthews? Is he Conservative? Liberal? Neither? Moderate? Other?

In my opinion, Chris Matthews is an equal opportunity bully, a person who often beats up on his guests, especially if they are not as “smart” as he is. His guests cross the spectrum. Some want to call him a liberal, but that’s too simple. One of his best guests is David Gergen, a moderate and the worst include Kate O’Beirne, who could easily pass for Ann Coulter's more laid back mother who has smoked for 40 years.

My take is that Matthews is a Tim Russert wannabe. While Russert comes off as informed, Matthews quite often comes off as a motor mouth. Although his questions are often as hard as Russert’s, he appears mean spirited much of the time. Of the MSNBC group I much prefer Keith Olbermann. To Matthews' credit, he usually sticks with important issues, rather than the Natalee Holiday crap Joe Scarborough and Rita Cosby spend so much time blabbering about.


What evidence is there which supports your opinion?

I already mentioned his guests, but Matthews has expressed admiration for the National Review. Certainly, calling him a liberal is an error, but he doesn’t fit the other categories well either.

If someone worked for a Democrat decades ago, does that automatically indicate that they must currently be leftish/pro-Dem?

It’s all in the definition. I don’t think Tip O’Neill was a “leftist,” whatever in hell that means. Certainly people change over a period of decades. David Horowitz is a good example of this.

BTW: I did enjoy his head butting with Zell Miller.

questions for debate:

What about Chris Matthews? Is he Conservative? Liberal? Neither? Moderate? Other?

What evidence is there which supports your opinion?

If someone worked for a Democrat decades ago, does that automatically indicate that they must currently be leftish/pro-Dem?

[/quote]


I would believe Chris Matthews is a Liberal, he is just careful and not as outspoken as someone like Rush.

I found this quote, how many Conservatives would agree with this,
" I've come to like Hillary a lot. Look, she's going out there, she stuck her neck out, she took a risk running for Senate, she had the balls to do it, she took on the job and she won. And she's a good senator - in fact, she's probably going to be the next Senate majority leader.
Chris Matthews

http://rss.brainydictionary.com/quotes/aut...s_matthews.html

People do change their affiliation on politics, in this case I don't think Chris has.

Nifty, I don’t watch Chris Mathews enough, not because I don’t like him, to form an opinion, but I’d like to address your last question.

If someone worked for a Democrat decades ago, does that automatically indicate that they must currently be leftish/pro-Dem?

No.

BoF touches on one important point here, people do change over time, some call it “flip-flopping” but I consider it open mindedness. Consider that Ronald Reagan (in my mind the father of neo-conservatism) was a staunch Democrat, an outspoken proponent of the New Deal, and was the president of a labor union (Screen Actors Guild).

It would be a strech to consider him a leftish/pro-Dem.

wow, bluegrassml, that is a devastating quote. I think I agree with you. Chris definitely leans left. and it's not just this quote. I've looked over transcipts of his show, and I believe that now, more than I did before I had a closer look.

however, I have always been confused by statements that he sometimes makes, such as:

"Everybody sort of likes the President, except for the real whack-jobs."

I can't really reconcile that statement with reality, or any actual poll results, or the President's approval rating. Matthews occasionally sounds as if he is irrationally allegiant with the President, but it isn't the norm.

I think Chris Matthews behavior during his coverage of the Republican convention should be a decent sign of which party his allegiance lies.

Nifty,

This is in no way intended to discredit your statement, but Mathews has to be viewed from multiple angles. His question to Texas Republican Senator Kay Bailey Hutchison on Hardball (Tuesday 2-28-06) has to be seen as the ultimate flattery.



As Jonathan Swift put it:



If Matthews were not feeding a fool, then his question to Hutchison completely redefines the term “pandering.”

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/11620108/



So what. Matthews made Zell Miller so angry he wanted to engage in a duel. It may be a good thing that Matthews, or Zell Miller for that matter, he didn't rile Dick Cheney.