Cross posted to the MRC's NewsBusters blog
On Monday, several MSNBC regulars tried to pass off lame Nazi references as verifiable facts as they compared Republicans to Nazis and fascists. Analyst Jason Johnson asserted that such descriptions of the GOP "are the correct ways to describe what is happening with Republicans," and contributor Matthew Dowd compared the elections in America to those that helped bring Adolf Hitler to power in the 1930s Germany.
On Deadline: White House, during a discussion of a study that found that Republicans and Democrats in the media are using record numbers of hyperbolic "devil words" to describe one another, Johnson claimed that the name-calling engaged in by liberals is accurate and justified:
It's actually even worse than what's reported because you have to understand that, when it comes to terms that are considered polarizing -- terms like "fascism" and "Nazi" -- are considered to be polarizing terms, but, unfortunately, those are the correct ways to describe what it happening with Republicans.
He soon added:
And, unfortunately, often times, for I think too long, their rhetoric was put on an equal ground with Democrats and people who are in favor of democracy. The Republicans would say, "Hey, you guys are part of a terrible, evil cult that's in favor of eating children and you're pedophiles and you're groomers," and Democrats and democracy defenders would say, "Yeah, that's the kind of language you would use in fascism," and then the report would be, "Democrats call Republicans 'fascists,' and Republicans say that the Democrats are 'groomers.'" These are not on equal terms. One is the truth, and the other is a lie,
Host Nicolle Wallace then declared that the media should not treat the Republican point of view as if it were equally credible to Democrats:
I think the thing Jason is also indicting is this, I think, in our politics in the past, having two sides of a debate was what our muscle memory brought to us. It's wholly inappropriate for this moment. And, David, that was never -- I mean, that's been clear to me for, you know, exactly five years. It's how Trump won all -- defeated all the Republicans.
A few hours later on The ReidOut, host Joy Reid and contributor Matt Dowd made their own justifications of such hyperbole. After Reid complained that Donald Trump has talked up challenging future election results in Philadelphia, Dowd responded by claiming he was not making a Nazi comparison right before doing just that:
I'm not going to say that, you know, that the GOP are Nazis at this point or whatever, but it certainly sounds familiar to what happened in Germany. Which is, a bunch of citizens -- Adolf Hitler gets a third of the vote -- nobody thought it could happen there -- they kind of went along because they said he was going to solve the economy and fix inflation those sorts of things, and then, lo and behold, a few years later, they lost their democracy, and they were all, like, "How did that happen here?"
This trash talk masquerading as serious political commentary was sponsored in part by AT&T and Simplisafe. Their contact information is linked.
Transcripts follow:
MSNBC's Deadline: White House
October 24, 2022
4:42 p.m. Eastern
JASON JOHNSON: It's actually even worse than what's reported because you have to understand that, when it comes to terms that are considered polarizing -- terms like "fascism" and "Nazi" -- are considered to be polarizing terms, but, unfortunately, those are the correct ways to describe what it happening with Republicans. So, in many respects, if you took some of that data out, it would be worse. You would see five times as many Republicans using these devil terms -- using these that are absolutely dangerous and polarizing to society. And, unfortunately, often times, for I think too long, their rhetoric was put on an equal ground with Democrats and people who are in favor of democracy.
The Republicans would say, "Hey, you guys are part of a terrible, evil cult that's in favor of eating children and you're pedophiles and you're groomers," and Democrats and democracy defenders would say, "Yeah, that's the kind of language you would use in fascism," and then the report would be, "Democrats call Republicans 'fascists,' and Republicans say that the Democrats are 'groomers.'" These are not on equal terms. One is the truth, and the other is a lie, and that's why we have to make sure that we talk about every single day because otherwise it makes it look like that kind of behavior and that kind of language is normalized.
NICOLLE WALLACE: Yeah, I mean, the -- I think the thing Jason is also indicting is this, I think, in our politics in the past, having two sides of a debate was what our muscle memory brought to us. It's wholly inappropriate for this moment. And, David, that was never -- I mean, that's been clear to me for, you know, exactly five years. It's how Trump won all -- defeated all the Republicans.
(...)
MSNBC's The ReidOut
October 24, 2022
7:24 p.m.
JOY REID: You know, and, Matthew, we talk about this all the time. Democracy on the ballot -- it's not just a slogan. You know, I mean, we're talking about women literally losing agency over themselves. Donald Trump has said -- you know where he's going to challenge the election? Already in advance, he's says he's going to do it -- Philly. That's a dog whistle, right? I mean, it's not even being hidden at this point. It's just fascism in the open. And what scares me is that I'm not sure everybody minds, you know. I think there are some people who will just sit back and let it happen, thinking it won't be that bad. And that, to me, is almost more dangerous than the radicals.
MATTHEW DOWD, MSNBC POLITICAL ANALYST: Well, I mean, I'm not calling -- I'm not going to say that, you know, that the GOP are Nazis at this point or whatever, but it certainly sounds familiar to what happened in Germany. Which is, a bunch of citizens -- Adolf Hitler gets a third of the vote -- nobody thought it could happen there -- they kind of went along because they said he was going to solve the economy and fix inflation --
REID: Yeah, that's right.
DOWD: -- those sorts of things, and then, lo and behold, a few years later, they lost their democracy, and they were all, like, "How did that happen here?" That's my worry. That is my worry. Obviously, the price of a hamburger -- the price of milk -- the price of gas is concerning, but that is a short-term problem. The loss of a democracy will devastate everyone's freedom. I think this is -- we shouldn't be trying to be saying, "You need to adopt our culture" or whatever it happens to be -- that is the white nationalist. It should be, "We stand for democracy -- we stand for the Constitution and the dignity of all -- that's what we stand for -- and if you're with us, join us."
