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Chris Matthews To Panel On GOP Candidates: ‘It’s Panic Time Among Republican Leaders’

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“It’s panic time among Republican leaders.” That’s how Chris Matthews opened a segment of his show today, looking at the topsy-turvy Alice-in-Wonderland world that has arisen from the Republican party’s contest to choose a presidential nominee. Whether it’s Mitt Romney‘s staggering inability to connect with voters or Rick Santorum‘s staggering ability to make the establishment uncomfortable, there’s pretty much no rhyme or reason to this thing anymore.

RELATED: Chris Matthews: Romney Cannot Connect With Voters Because He Has ‘No Evidence Of Having Suffered’

NBC correspondent Kelly O’Donnell said that while Santorum’s views on social issues are helping him out well in the primaries, “it’s not good politics” to dwell on those issues in a time where people are concerned about the economy. Major Garrett agreed that Santorum’s views are “out of step with most Americans, and predicted this might end up driving away some female voters from the Republican party.

Time‘s Michael Duffy countered by saying in order to fix their house, Republicans are “burning down their own garage.” Liz Marlantes predicted nothing short of a “panic” if Romney loses Michigan, especially factoring in how confident Romney has been in saying he will win the state.

Matthews reminded us that the Romney family name is almost synonymous with Michigan, and it woud be devastating if Romney lost it. But Matthews also pointed to some awkward moments Romney has had on the campaign trail.

“He says things that are very strange, like ‘severely’ conservative. And the trees are the right height.”

RELATED: Bill Maher: Romney Can’t Run To Santorum’s Right, Only People There Are ‘Kirk Cameron And The Neo-Nazi Party’

The panel agreed that while Romney has been mostly a strong candidate, it’s been hard for him to adapt and show and kind of personal connection with voters.

Watch the video below, courtesy of NBC:

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  • Anonymous

    another great article by josh feldman. Matthews analysis as always is spot on

  • X X

    First!

  • Gloves Cledus Donahue

    Chris Matthews And Panel: Romney Is Too Awkward For Voters, Santorum Is Too Socially Conservative

    But Obama is just right…like the baby bear’s porridge.

    The Barry has proven to be corrupt, arrogant, extremely divisive and lazy. So, the Dems are stuck with that, unless they convince Mark Warner or Cuomo or someone who is not so crazy left. Who wants four more years of Obama’s nonsense ? Not too many do, except for the crazies,his cronies and henchmen who make money off his giveaways.

  • Anonymous

    “Who wants four more years of Obama’s nonsense ?”

    If it comes down to a choice between reelecting the president and returning to warmed over Bushonomics and a return to reckless warmongering — which is all that the GOP candidates offer — Americans will hand Obama a solid victory.

  • Anonymous

    Who would have ever thought that the Republican primary would end up being the most persuasive argument for President Obama’s re-electio­n campaign? 

  • Anonymous

    Funny – pretending Matthews has any valid commentary on any republican is humorous, at best.

  • Anonymous

    By the looks of the primary turnout,Repugnant leaders? are the ONLY ones slamming the panic button, everyone else went home a while ago.Good Luck with this crop of misfits!!!!!

  • Anonymous

    Do you live in a bubble?

  • Anonymous

    Pundits always use that “he doesn’t connect” about a candidate.  What exactly does that mean?

    You and I know that we are never going to sit down to dinner, have a beer, or even a phone conversation with whoever is elected.  We probably won’t even meet the candidate in person, since we don’t live in any of the early voting states where the candidates are more familiar with the voters.

    So what does “connect” really mean?  For me, all I want is for a candidate to be able to understand the problems at hand, and then be able to successfully find solutions for those problems.

    I’ll leave the “connecting” for the dating sites.

  • Katechon Phosphene

     Nice try. You a GOP candidate?

  • Anonymous

    Is this show live?

  • Anonymous

    The GOP are totally screwed for 2012.

  • Charles Ulysses Feney

    We’re witnessing the Controlled Demolition of the Republican Party

  • http://www.facebook.com/people/Bart-Morgay/100001554351938 Bart Morgay

    Republicans are so extreme-right now that the only voters they will have left will be old white bubbas still getting aroused over their Sarah Palin posters.

  • Anonymous

    I completely agree with you, although this reminds me of a discussion I had with my father prior to the 2000 election (I was all of 15):

    Me:  ”I hope George Bush wins.  He’s like a cute Grandpa.”

    My dad:  ”Sweetheart, if I were voting on who to have over for dinner, I would probably pick Bush, too.  But a candidate for President needs to have more bona fides than just being a decent dinner guest.”

    Alas, we all know who won that election.

  • http://twitter.com/12barbluz Lightnin’ James

    Santorum would be the first President to establish a hotline to the Vatican for consultation on women’s healthcare issues.

  • Anonymous

    Matthews is a dingbat. Dems are needing to panic. They cannot plan a strategy. They depend on destroying their opponent’s character. I hope for a brokered convention and a completely new candidate. Let Obama’s team spend the summer trying to get their oppo research together. tolstoy77, you really believe Matthews analysis is “spot on”? That is hilarious.

  • http://profile.yahoo.com/3EV7LMBN3SWQMEVDJCAKUCTCKM Top

    Let’s look at the gNOp clown cart wreck through the ignorant Limpo listener.

    - Mittens is not a real clownservative. He is a moderate who doesn’t understand what real clownservatives believe.

    - Santorum. Limpo likes. But the more Santorum speaks buyble thumpin’ the more he sounds like a frothy mixture of catholic taliban.

    - Newt. Limpo has not said too much favoring him. Maybe something to do with real conservative values like “open marriage,” ethics violations, or government financed moon colonies.

    - Ron Paul who?

    Yet, the resident staunch mini gNOp are still in denial when we Progressives and Liberals point out what a weak field of clowns are trying to win the gNOp contest; many have already said they will vote for anything (R) but cannot offer any reasoning why they would other that their mindless hatred for President Obama.

     Panic, desperation, sheer stupidity in the gNOp’s? Maybe all three?

  • http://profile.yahoo.com/3EV7LMBN3SWQMEVDJCAKUCTCKM Top

     More like a padded room after too many blows to the noggin.

  • http://www.facebook.com/people/Neil-Murphy/100000566621491 Neil Murphy

    The best man in the country is allen west, and the left will eviscerate anyone anyway, so why not him?

  • http://www.facebook.com/people/Neil-Murphy/100000566621491 Neil Murphy
  • http://www.facebook.com/people/Neil-Murphy/100000566621491 Neil Murphy

    Wait. A president needs bona fides?

  • http://mcstumpy.myopenid.com/ Stumpy McGrumpy

    It must be nice to live in a world constructed for you by right-wing media personalities; Democrats will happily reelect the President because his policies warded of a depression and are better for the country right now than anything being recommended by the GOP.

  • Anonymous

    In the court of Barry the Crooked, Matthews plays the role of Media Jester whose only role is to make light of the opposition and pretend to be fair.  I’m sure he looks good in his tights as the tingle continues down his leg.  Very sad confused man.

  • Anonymous

    It’s not.  He and Hillary went through the same games in 2008, or did you forget the name calling and anger between them.

  • Anonymous

    Excellent Tina.  Mr. Matthews is a flame throwing leftist liberal and Soldier in the Soros Section of Marxist Madmen.

  • Anonymous

    How is Barry the Unprepared not a misfit.  Seems odd that we can now say that the United States of America has it’s first half black President but also it’s frist SOCIALIST PRESIDENT.

    The phoniness of Barry Soetoro is an amazing story of the tricking of America.  Not since Pearl Harbor have we been so unprepared for this kind of attack.

    Remember Pearl Harbor in 2012 and vote the Marxists back to their caves. 

  • Anonymous

    So you’re hoping for a brokered convention and a completely new candidate, but it’s the dems and not the repubs that need to panic? You may be standing too close to the paint can.

  • Anonymous

    But he ain’t wrong…

  • Anonymous

    Well,frist,first get your random thoughts together,then try posting an semi-intelligent comment without relying back to those Fixed Noise Talking Points that’s been jackhammered into that concrete knob above your shoulders.THERE,NOW,didn’t that help?

  • Anonymous

    You are one of those who still cant get over it right? An African American who is not white

  • Anonymous

    You are one of those who just can’t get over it. An African American President .
    What are you going to do when he gets 4 more Years?  Get Real and grow up.

  • Ben

    WE’LL DO IT LIVE!!!
    DO IT LIVE!!
    F&CK!!!

    Sorry…I just like to say that.

  • Anonymous

     They had their debates but It was never a mess like this primary.  Mr Nine Nine Nine , Donald Trump looking for birth certificates. Newt Ex wife coming out against him. Sarah Palin’s pretend campaign. Talk about a Brokered Convention.

    too many to list.

  • Anonymous

    lol, thanks for the humor. Dems need to panic ? That is hilarious, dems have this in the bag.

  • Anonymous

    Low IQ alert

  • Anonymous

    Matthews is absolutely correct — and he’s not sad, just the opposite. He’s happy as hell the GOP is a circus of losers.

  • Anonymous

    How’s the paranoia working for you?

  • Hout Bosques

    “Very sad confused man”. Yeah, so confused he’s too confused to notice. And so sad he just can’t help acting happy. That plus the 6 million dollar per year msnbc contract & whatever additional millions he gets for this gig on ABC. Yup, real sad, real confused. Not at all like INTERNALLY happy 25 thousand dollar per year you. 

  • http://pulse.yahoo.com/_ITDUQCZVYGF4SMSWGO3RE24VHE bob

    Wow…they talk 99,99% about elephant in the room Ron Paul but just can’t say his name.

  • Anonymous

     Do the have bubbles under rocks?

  • Anonymous

    A Brokered Convention? more like a ‘broken’ party having a party they call a convention, otherwise why has RICK SCOTT *scumbagger* already decided to put the FL National Guard on alert and pre-deploy them during the convention? Is it because if they do not do what he likes he is going to attack the convention or is he going to attack the legions of protestors? Either way it shows something about the republican party that they provoke a military pre-responce just by planning to be somewhere.

  • Anonymous

    President Obama is no more black than he is white.

    The only thing that would make him more black than white is that he has nothing but contempt for the white grandparents who raised him after his oh, so loving black father abandoned him.

    The only people who can’t understand this are the people who see only color of skin, but never the content of character.

  • Anonymous

     Wasn’t that the philandering tomcat, the first Catholic President, John Fitzgerald Kennedy?

  • Anonymous

    Gas prices are going to dictate that 2012 outcome just as the recession of 2008 did. No president controls it, but all get the blame for it.   

  • Anonymous

    Panic time in the GOP is very silly.  The headwinds against all incumbents is very tough.   High unemployment and once the ‘given up workers’ jump back into the pool, those numbers will at least temporarily jump up.  Next, gas prices are escalating very quickly, with a bad outlook.  

    Matthews might be blissfully unaware of reality.  If so, stay there, the truth is not good for any incumbent.  

  • http://gamewhen.com/ Michael T

    But few (if any) were clamoring for someone else to enter the race.

  • Anonymous

    If they’d elect G.W.B. just wait as they’d elect any wall street bankers association C.E.O.’s just look B.O.A. run by Lewis bought countrywide mortgage and Merrill Lynch with 6,000 brokers bleeding Merrill to the bone.is so bad they’re afraid they’ll have to split it up to avoid one of the biggest flops in History.

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