Howard Fineman reports that Scarborough is helping to launch a “new national group dedicated to restoring civility in politics”:
Scarborough, a Republican, former Florida congressman and host of “Morning Joe” on MSNBC, will participate in the debut event of “No Labels” on December 13 at Columbia University in New York…
Nancy Jacobson, a leading Democratic fundraiser and wife of Clinton-era pollster Mark Penn, launched “No Labels” last year with major advice coming from Mark McKinnon, who was media advisor to George W. Bush in 2000 and Sen. John McCain in 2008.
The message of the group, encapsulated in a “Declaration” written by McKinnon, is a plea for calm, reason and cooperation. “We are not labels, we are people… We believe hyper-partisanship is destroying our politics and paralyzing our ability to govern… We may disagree on issues, but we do so with civility and mutual respect…”
Hey, neat!
In other big Scarborough news, he had an opinion column at Politico this morning on Sarah Palin. Here are some highlights:
The former half-term governor of Alaska stays so busy these days that one wonders how this mother of five manages to juggle her new reality show, follow her eldest daughter’s dancing career and launch her latest frenetic book tour while still finding the time to insult a slew of revered presidents and first ladies…
What man or mouse with a fully functioning human brain and a résumé as thin as Palin’s would flirt with a presidential run?…
Still, Palin is undeterred, charging ahead maniacally while declaring her intention to run for the top office in the land if “nobody else will.” Adding audacity to this dopey dream is that Palin can’t stop herself from taking swings at Republican giants…
One can only guess what comes next on Palin’s bizarre road show. Maybe the publishing world’s favorite reality star can keep drawing attention and selling billions of books by spitting on John Wayne’s grave or “manning up” by shooting an American bald eagle…
I suppose Palin’s harsh dismissal of [George H.W. Bush] is more understandable after one reads her biography and realizes that, like Bush, she accomplished a great deal in her early 20s. Who wouldn’t agree that finishing third in the Miss Alaska beauty contest is every bit as treacherous as risking your life in military combat? Maybe the beauty contestant who would one day be a reality star and former governor didn’t win the Distinguished Flying Cross, but the half-termer was selected as Miss Congeniality by her fellow contestants.
Say what you want about Scarborough’s laundry list of criticisms, but at least he’s keeping it civil. Yay, civility! Also: respect. Words are fun to say.