Politics

Chris Matthews: Rick Perry ‘Bull Connor with a smile’

Jeff Poor Media Reporter
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After “The Ed Show” Monday curiously edited one of Governor Rick Perry’s speeches in a way that suggested the Republican presidential candidate was a racist, the network was criticized. Tonight, however, it seemed to be business as usual, at least on one MSNBC program.

“Hardball” host Chris Matthews tonight continued with his network’s theme to criticize Perry on charges of racism, Matthews fired a salvo at Perry. The attack came after Matthews asked his guest Wayne Slater of The Dallas Morning News to react to Perry’s criticisms of Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid entitlements.

Slater explained that entitlements were just beginning and other pushes for “states’ rights” would be next, which he said makes some Republicans nervous.

“The question is the attack on Perry is ‘Social Security is a Ponzi scheme,’ ‘Medicare needs to be changed or potentially abolished,’ which is not precisely what he said,” Slater said. “Raising questions about the Voting Rights Act saying it is just a tool for gerrymandering in the South and the Civil Rights Act — the terms under which we’ve established — this has the look of someone who when he talks about states’ rights, states’ rights, states’ rights could make some voters, again — very nervous.”

“Yeah, this is going to be Bull Connor with a smile,” Matthews replied.