Cross posted to the MRC's NewsBusters blog
On Friday's The 11th Hour show, MSNBC host Brian Williams was again targeting Republicans like a good liberal as he highlighted a comment by Senator Ron Johnson critical of violent leftists to suggest racism by the Wisconsin Republican.
Washington Post associate editor Eugene Robinson accused Johnson of "racism and white supremacy, in the most explicit terms," because the Republican Senator recalled that Black Lives Matter or Antifa members would have frightened him more if they had marched on the Capitol instead of Donald Trump supporters.
Neither addressed the substantial amount of violence such left-wing groups have unleashed on the country over the past year.
After lamenting that "not a single Republican" voted for the Democrats' COVID relief spending bill, Williams brought up an interview Senator Johnson did on Thursday on The Joe Pags Show. The MSNBC host took a shot at Johnson as he recalled: "I know we have already heard it once this hour -- I'm going to play it again. The Senator nicknamed 'Ronanon' Johnson from Wisconsin talking about the insurrection on (from) January 6th."
Then came a clip of Senator Johnson recounting why he would have been more afraid of left-wingers marching on the Capitol than right-wingers, specifying the anti-police Black Lives Matter movement and Antifa as such groups:
I'm also criticized because I made the comment that, on January 6th, I never felt threatened, because I didn't. And mainly because I knew, even though the thousands of people that were marching to the Capitol were trying to pressure people like me to vote the way they wanted me to vote -- I knew those were people that love this country that truly respect law enforcement -- would never do anything to break a law.
So I wasn't concerned. Now, had the tables been turned -- Joe, his is going to get me in trouble -- had the tables been turned and President trump won the election and those were tens of thousands of Black Lives Matter and Antifa protesters, I might have been a little bit concerned.
Williams derided Senator Johnson as the MSNBC host turned to Robinson and reacted: "Gene, Wisconsin has a great political tradition -- that man, however, will not be a part of it. He said that out loud and knowingly -- voter suppression is going on out loud and knowingly -- what does any or all of it say about the Republican party going forward?"
Even though Antifa members are mostly white, so the Wisconsin Senator was alluding to the violent behavior of generally left-wing movements, Robinson made blatant accusations of racism against the Republican Senator:
Well, what it says about Ron Johnson is that -- that's just out and out racism and white supremacy, in the most explicit terms, saying every bit of the quiet part out loud. And there are Republican elected officials here in Washington -- in the House and in the Senate -- who would agree with him. There are many who would not but who would insist on this policy of massive resistance -- total resistance to anything the Democrats or President Biden attempt to do as a political strategy.
This episode of MSNBC's The 11th Hour with Brian Williams was sponsored in part by Fingerhut. Their contact information is linked. Let them know what you think of such one-sided political analysis.
Transcript follows:
MSNBC
The 11th Hour
March 12, 2021
11:34 p.m. Eastern
BRIAN WILLIAMS: Not a single elected Republican voted in favor of the rescue package that passed this week. Still with us are our guests, Michael Beschloss and Eugene Robinson. Eugene, I know we have already heard it once this hour -- I'm going to play it again. The Senator nicknamed "Ronanon" Johnson from Wisconsin talking about the insurrection on (from) January 6th.
RON JOHNSON (from the March 11, 2021, Joe Pags Show): I'm also criticized because I made the comment that, on January 6th, I never felt threatened, because I didn't. And mainly because I knew, even though the thousands of people that were marching to the Capitol were trying to pressure people like me to vote the way they wanted me to vote -- I knew those were people that love this country that truly respect law enforcement -- would never do anything to break a law.
So I wasn't concerned. Now, had the tables been turned -- Joe, his is going to get me in trouble -- had the tables been turned and President trump won the election and those were tens of thousands of Black Lives Matter and Antifa protesters, I might have been a little bit concerned.
WILLIAMS: Gene, Wisconsin has a great political tradition -- that man, however, will not be a part of it. He said that out loud and knowingly -- voter suppression is going on out loud and knowingly -- what does any or all of it say about the Republican party going forward?
EUGENE ROBINSON, WASHINGTON POST ASSOCIATE EDITOR: Well, what it says about Ron Johnson is that -- that's just out and out racism and white supremacy, in the most explicit terms, saying every bit of the quiet part out loud. And there are Republican elected officials here in Washington -- in the House and in the Senate -- who would agree with him. There are many who would not but who would insist on this policy of massive resistance -- total resistance to anything the Democrats or President Biden attempt to do as a political strategy.
