Monday, March 05, 2007

Matthews: So Fucking Special

Chris Matthews sometimes seems like he makes sense, and then he whips out these tedious little quips, which I suppose he thinks are so good and clever:
But the Republican Party is -- Democrats have got to understand this about Republicans. Republicans like leaders. They don't like chaos. Democrats love a little bit of chaos. Republicans want very strong rule, and compared to the other guys running against him, Rudy is the guy with street cred because he was there on the front lines on 9-11, and he's been -- by the way, the crime rate's growing in the big cities now.
"Republicans like leaders?" Why oh Why do people have to keep saying this kind of thing?

2 comments:

  1. I think there's actually some truth in what Matthews says (barring the hyperbole about crime rates in major cities...what has Giuliani done for Atlanta lately?)

    I'm not sure I condone his wording--that Democrats like bit of chaos and Republicans like leaders--but I think what he's hinting at is that Republicans are more appreciative of decisive, make-it-happen, military-style leadership, whereas Democrats prefer candidates who view issues in their complexity and consider multiple options before taking action. Republicans are more comfortable with "shoot first, ask questions later" leaders, and Democrats like a little debate with their coffee.

    If you take "decisive leadership" to its political end, you're talking about dictatorship. The Right is a little more comfortable with that idea, and always has been.

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  2. What a strange picture of "leadership" this leaves us with. To me, a real leader is decisive when necessary, nuanced when possible. I guess that's why I'm a Democrat.

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