printMSNBC’s Chris Matthews regularly mocks patriots who mention secession or nullification, both essential ingredients in American founding philosophy.
As I’ve written, “Restoring the people’s ‘unalienable rights’ may well lie in Jeffersonian interposition and nullification, whereby states beat back the federal occupier by voiding unconstitutional federal laws.”
In August of 2009, Matthews targeted Texas Governor Rick Perry for invoking secession. Now, the newsman (who boasted about getting a thrill, or was it a trickle, up or down his leg on thinking about Obama’s presidential victory) is pillorying Palin for secession talk.
He barked: “Palin got cheers this weekend when she mentioned secession at a rally in Texas. Is it really patriotic to advocate leaving your country? What’s going on in Texas?” Mathews further hissed hysterically that “such talk” brought about the slaughter of 600,000 in the War Between the States. Don’t these ignoramuses know the history of our country and how such talk ends-up, he wailed.
As though talk of secession, to which Lincoln responded with fratricidal Total War, wrought the destruction of that war; as though the central lesson to be had from that unwarranted Northern aggression is the necessity of forever submerging these fundamental freedoms, because bullies and bigots are allergic to them.
“The moral and intellectual nurturers of Lincoln’s legacy have carved careers out of denying that the soul of the American federal system is state sovereignty. And state sovereignty, as author Thomas J. DiLorenzo points out, is gutless in its power to check the federal government without the right of secession.”
The standard response from neoconservatives is to deny the content or context of the “offensive” speech of which their camp is accused, as they too reject secession and nullification.
All in all, Matthews has been extremely rude about Palin, repeatedly referring to her as an empty vessel, and worse.
But in the Battle of the Pygmies, Meghan McCain is an uncontested winner. Meghan McCain is, indisputably, vacuous, narcissistic, and pig-ignorant. Yet the Left (and some on the “Right”) treat her with great respect.
How about some equality in the treatment of disputed and indisputable idiots?
“Palin got cheers this weekend when she mentioned secession at a rally in Texas. Is it really patriotic to advocate leaving your country?” While Matthews is looking at Texas, Vermont has a very determined secessionist movement. http://www.politicsdaily.com/2010/01/13/secession-movement-grows-in-vermont/ People are seriously considering a California-Arizona-New Mexico alliance. A Texas-Oklahoma movement has not formed to my knowledge but I think if people like Matthews keep suggesting it, we’ll get the idea. I don’t have links to much of this; since, most came from blog surfing, but from what I can tell, the more Washington/New York screws up, the more possible this comes.
Unbelievable! Mr. Matthews’ public coital shudders, the result of his Harlequin fantasies of the presidential timber that is his inamorato that is Barrack O(hh ohhh ohhh), will one day be legendary. This is truly the Golden Age of Performance Art (and no short shaft to Mr. Olbermann). But why then risk that reputation with forays into virgin territory – history. Dunce!
[Great!]
Chris Mathews is especially irritating because he thinks he knows something about which he knows very little. His big claim to fame was some staff position with Tip O’Neil during the Gipper’s years in the White House. What his evening show demonstrates is that it doesn’t matter for ratings purposes what one shouts in a two minute sound bite, as long as it is loud and stupid, Americans will listen. His succcess should give every aspiring shouting head some hope for the future.
Chris Matthews is a waste of oxygen. His shrill hysterics get old fast. I hear his viewing audience has almost reached the level of Mister Ed reruns.