A liberal petition asking the MSNBC network to suspend “Hardball” host Chris Matthews has garnered over 10,000 signatures on MoveOn.org. Matthews’ crime? Supporting former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.
The petition reads:
MSNBC should suspend Chris Matthews, host of Hardball, because of his constant shilling for Hillary Clinton. In every episode of Hardball, in every “exclusive” interview with Clinton, he gives her endless time to make her case, repeats her talking points, gives her softball questions, denigrates Bernie Sanders and his people powered movement and reinforces the narrative that she will be the Democratic nominee. Matthews should be removed from the air for the duration of the campaign or he should be required to give Bernie equal time.
Yes, you read that right — a liberal website is petitioning a liberal TV station to suspend a liberal TV host because he supports a liberal presidential candidate. But there’s always a more liberal fish. But there may be a true conflict of interest, after all. The Daily Caller recently discovered that Clinton donors are funding Matthews’ wife in her Maryland congressional race.
Independent Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders has riled up a large section of the Democratic Party electorate. His grassroots campaign — in the name of socialism, no less — has racked up impressive results in the Iowa caucus (an essential tie with Hillary Clinton) and the New Hampshire primary (where he won by over 20 points).
Nevertheless, the Democratic Party establishment has coalesced behind his rival, Hillary Clinton. In order to win the Democratic nomination, Clinton or Sanders needs to rack up 2,382 delegates to the July Democratic National Convention in Philadelphia, Penn. Thanks to endorsements from influential party members — who are considered “superdelegates” in the Democratic primary — Clinton has a head start, despite Sanders’ win in New Hampshire. Clinton has 394 delegates to Sanders’ 44.
Due, in part, to this system, many Democrats may feel cheated by their own establishment, and many are venting that rage on Chris Matthews.
Petition signer Matthew Sheldon from Union, Ky, declared that “Chris should be suspended for acting as a shill for Hillary Clinton and doing totally the opposite for Bernie Sanders.” Dianna Wentz, from Pittsburg, Penn., declared, “I wondered why he was SO anti Sanders, now I know…worse than Fox.”
Not all the signers were liberal, however. Dee Smith, from Martinsburg, WVa., wrote that “Hillary Clinton should be eating prison food not running for president.” This likely reference to Clinton’s likely criminal email scandal, currently being investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, is unlikely to come from a Sanders supporter, since Sanders has publicly declared that he is “sick and tired of hearing about her damn emails.”
While Clinton leads among delegates now, Democratic superdelegates are not bound, so they may switch to Sanders if he continues to build momentum after New Hampshire. Maybe the petitioners will get their way, after all.
Image via Flickr.
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