A tip 'o the hat to poster RhettButler on the Free Republic board for painstakingly typing up this transcript.
Do I see scales falling from his eyes? "We have laughed in the big cities -- I should say, among journalists -- about the black helicopter image of a federal police force, or even a UN force coming to grab their guns or take them away. We've always laughed at that. Well after this picture today -- no one can laugh at that picture because it's real." No $h!t Sherlock.
http://www.freerepublic.com/forum/a390221b408ce.htm#1
TRANSCRIPT OF CHRIS MATTHEWS' COMMENTS ON MSNBC
from MSNBC today, approx 10:52 AM PST
BRIAN WILLIAMS: ... we are joined by Chris Matthews, the anchor of the broadcast Hardball on MSNBC. Chris, a lot of political issues are raised by this, and uh, let's not uh go softly on this next one. There are a lot of Americans walking around this morning seeing this as akin to -- you name it -- uh Ruby Ridge, Waco, lumping it altogether with what they see as a seven-year Clinton administration that has at various times infringed on the rights of Americans and uh uh prompted armed incursions into uh private homes and property -- and this is only going to add fuel to that very conservative, uh, almost the patriot movement wing of of power.
CHRIS MATTHEWS: Well Brian I've been listening to you all morning and I agree completely with that, that observation. I think it's going to be the big fact that survives this whole question of whether Elian should go home or not or what the courts decide.
It's the image that people have of their own government here in Washington -- the sense of a government as being benign and on the side of the people. A government that's compassionate, as George W. Bush likes to say. A government that's centrist and reasonable. Or a government that when it acts, acts brutally and quickly, and acts with almost impunity as to what's going to be in its way in terms of human sentiment, of of a family's concern for one of their children.
The pictures they're going to create. I disagree with those who get too technical about this in terms of the firearms and how the trigger was -- in terms of the man's fingers, the officer's fingers. People are going to see that picture all around the world and they're gonna say 'this is what the US government looks like in action'.
Now they're gonna blame Janet Reno for a few days, but she's not running for anything this Fall. Eventually the people in Montana and Wyoming and Idaho and all the parts of the country that are very concerned about the federal government -- I hate to limit it to those regions, because if you s-- as you have said this morning, I think very effectively, it's not just a few people that are worried about the power of this government, that have seen it at Waco, at Ruby Ridge. They see it at tax time, they sense its presence. And here they have a vivid description of their Pres -- of their government as a brutal military force coming to yank them out of their beds in the middle of the night.
We have laughed in the big cities -- I should say, among journalists -- about the black helicopter image of a federal police force, or even a UN force coming to grab their guns or take them away. We've always laughed at that.
Well after this picture today -- no one can laugh at that picture because it's real. When the federal government moves under this administration, under this Attorney General, perhaps in these times, it moves swiftly, dramatically, and it uses military force -- to the highest degree visible! I mean I've never seen a kid facing an automatic weapon in my life like that!
And I think that's gonna be the iconic memory of this, and it's gonna haunt not just this next election, but -- I think you're right -- years to come.
WILLIAMS: So Chris it's no uh surprise then that we've got a White House spokesman uh addressing comments during the briefing to, quote, "those in charge of disseminating these pictures", urging caution on the part of the news media, denying Mark Knoler's question -- that this represents a heavy use of force -- that there were only eight agents in the house.
MATTHEWS: Well, I think the picture will tell a thousand words. And I think that the White House knows that and they fear -- I'm sure the president of the United States is more skilled than any of us at observing the political consequences as they unfold.
This story I think is packed with unintended consequences, but I think this is the one that you are right to report on right now -- whatever the White House is saying shouldn't be reported on.
I think that image certainly -- when they collect the pictures of this decade which is only begun, they're going to have that picture at the top as the main picture of the decade perhaps.
I think it's something to watch politcally. I think Al Gore is probable counting -- gonna look for the first poll to come out of Florida to decide what the damage is. But the larger damage is not in one state or one set of electoral votes but it's what we think of our government and how we imagine it -- at its worst.
WILLIAMS: Uh Chris uh sixty seconds left -- Al Gore's statement is, 'I thought all along this should be handled through the family court and with the family coming together.
Thank goodness the people of Miami are keeping the peace.' How will that be seen?
MATTHEWS: Well, when Richard Nixon ran in 1960 he was bamboozled by a press question to the President at the time, Dwight Eisenhower -- 'What decisions has the Vice President influenced during the last eight years?' It's clear that Al Gore, whatever his position politcally might be, whatever he's putting out in his press releases or saying to the voters, has no influence whatever on how Bill Clinton acts in a case that Al Gore got so deeply involved in.
So clearly whatever he thinks or positions himself politically -- however he positions himself, it clearly was ineffectual. And I think that will also be observed by the voters.
------------------
The New World Order has a Third Reich odor.
[This message has been edited by Oatka (edited April 22, 2000).]
Do I see scales falling from his eyes? "We have laughed in the big cities -- I should say, among journalists -- about the black helicopter image of a federal police force, or even a UN force coming to grab their guns or take them away. We've always laughed at that. Well after this picture today -- no one can laugh at that picture because it's real." No $h!t Sherlock.
http://www.freerepublic.com/forum/a390221b408ce.htm#1
TRANSCRIPT OF CHRIS MATTHEWS' COMMENTS ON MSNBC
from MSNBC today, approx 10:52 AM PST
BRIAN WILLIAMS: ... we are joined by Chris Matthews, the anchor of the broadcast Hardball on MSNBC. Chris, a lot of political issues are raised by this, and uh, let's not uh go softly on this next one. There are a lot of Americans walking around this morning seeing this as akin to -- you name it -- uh Ruby Ridge, Waco, lumping it altogether with what they see as a seven-year Clinton administration that has at various times infringed on the rights of Americans and uh uh prompted armed incursions into uh private homes and property -- and this is only going to add fuel to that very conservative, uh, almost the patriot movement wing of of power.
CHRIS MATTHEWS: Well Brian I've been listening to you all morning and I agree completely with that, that observation. I think it's going to be the big fact that survives this whole question of whether Elian should go home or not or what the courts decide.
It's the image that people have of their own government here in Washington -- the sense of a government as being benign and on the side of the people. A government that's compassionate, as George W. Bush likes to say. A government that's centrist and reasonable. Or a government that when it acts, acts brutally and quickly, and acts with almost impunity as to what's going to be in its way in terms of human sentiment, of of a family's concern for one of their children.
The pictures they're going to create. I disagree with those who get too technical about this in terms of the firearms and how the trigger was -- in terms of the man's fingers, the officer's fingers. People are going to see that picture all around the world and they're gonna say 'this is what the US government looks like in action'.
Now they're gonna blame Janet Reno for a few days, but she's not running for anything this Fall. Eventually the people in Montana and Wyoming and Idaho and all the parts of the country that are very concerned about the federal government -- I hate to limit it to those regions, because if you s-- as you have said this morning, I think very effectively, it's not just a few people that are worried about the power of this government, that have seen it at Waco, at Ruby Ridge. They see it at tax time, they sense its presence. And here they have a vivid description of their Pres -- of their government as a brutal military force coming to yank them out of their beds in the middle of the night.
We have laughed in the big cities -- I should say, among journalists -- about the black helicopter image of a federal police force, or even a UN force coming to grab their guns or take them away. We've always laughed at that.
Well after this picture today -- no one can laugh at that picture because it's real. When the federal government moves under this administration, under this Attorney General, perhaps in these times, it moves swiftly, dramatically, and it uses military force -- to the highest degree visible! I mean I've never seen a kid facing an automatic weapon in my life like that!
And I think that's gonna be the iconic memory of this, and it's gonna haunt not just this next election, but -- I think you're right -- years to come.
WILLIAMS: So Chris it's no uh surprise then that we've got a White House spokesman uh addressing comments during the briefing to, quote, "those in charge of disseminating these pictures", urging caution on the part of the news media, denying Mark Knoler's question -- that this represents a heavy use of force -- that there were only eight agents in the house.
MATTHEWS: Well, I think the picture will tell a thousand words. And I think that the White House knows that and they fear -- I'm sure the president of the United States is more skilled than any of us at observing the political consequences as they unfold.
This story I think is packed with unintended consequences, but I think this is the one that you are right to report on right now -- whatever the White House is saying shouldn't be reported on.
I think that image certainly -- when they collect the pictures of this decade which is only begun, they're going to have that picture at the top as the main picture of the decade perhaps.
I think it's something to watch politcally. I think Al Gore is probable counting -- gonna look for the first poll to come out of Florida to decide what the damage is. But the larger damage is not in one state or one set of electoral votes but it's what we think of our government and how we imagine it -- at its worst.
WILLIAMS: Uh Chris uh sixty seconds left -- Al Gore's statement is, 'I thought all along this should be handled through the family court and with the family coming together.
Thank goodness the people of Miami are keeping the peace.' How will that be seen?
MATTHEWS: Well, when Richard Nixon ran in 1960 he was bamboozled by a press question to the President at the time, Dwight Eisenhower -- 'What decisions has the Vice President influenced during the last eight years?' It's clear that Al Gore, whatever his position politcally might be, whatever he's putting out in his press releases or saying to the voters, has no influence whatever on how Bill Clinton acts in a case that Al Gore got so deeply involved in.
So clearly whatever he thinks or positions himself politically -- however he positions himself, it clearly was ineffectual. And I think that will also be observed by the voters.
------------------
The New World Order has a Third Reich odor.
[This message has been edited by Oatka (edited April 22, 2000).]