Ali Velshi Says Biden Bringing Back ‘Era of Big Government’ And It’s ‘Not Socialism’ But Is Still Great Anyway

On Saturday, MSNBC host Ali Velshi did what MSNBC hosts do: he came to the defense of Joe Biden and his policies. While doing so he also heartily endorsed and defended the concept of Big Government, which he emphasized is distinct from socialism. He also had no ill words for socialism.

Velshi was commenting on remarks made by Sen. Mitch McConnell, who stated the obvious and perpetual goal of one party with regard to the other party, saying that “100% of [the Senate Republicans’] focus is on stopping this new administration.”

“We’re confronted with severe challenges from a new administration and a narrow majority of Democrats in the house and a 50/50 senate to turn America into a socialist country,” said McConnell. “That’s 100% of my focus.”

Velshi dramatically framed that as a sort of guilt admission.

“Well, that’s 100% a lie,” Velshi began. “In fairness, McConnell has since softened his view about obstruction being 100% of his focus, but he still let the cat out of the bag. The GOP is a party with no actual agenda other than to sabotage the current administration.”

Coming off the era of “Stop Trump” that consumed all of cable news and the Democratic party, being the opposition should probably not be quite so strange and confusing a concept as Velshi finds out. But he’s an “economics guy,” he quickly reminded the audience as he segued into defending socialism and big government.

“As an economics guy I’m troubled by the continued false narrative about socialism,” said Velshi. One might think an economics guy would be troubled by the concept itself, but that didn’t really come up.

“Socialism is a system in which the government owns the means of production, ownership of factories, hospitals, machinery used to produce goods and services that people consume,” said Velshi. The “not that there’s anything wrong with that” was left sort of unspoken.

“Biden has not promised or carried out anything that remotely resembles socialism,” he said. “Even if you believe, as I do, that America should have a single-payer health care system, something that Biden disagrees with, that’s still not socialism.”

“If you believe student debt should be canceled or that the minimum wage should be $15 an hour or that carbon emissions should be cut, none of that is socialism,” he continued. “What Biden does believe is that the Era of Big Government is back.”

The “baby” on the end of that sentence was also left implied.

Velshi then offered a full-throated endorsement and defense of the idea of big government. He suggested Ronald Reagan was the original source of the mistaken dislike of a massive central government but allowed that former presidents Bill Clinton and Barack Obama have also “shied away touting the benefits” of behemoth bureaucracy.

He credited Biden’s short three or so months at the helm with fixing the pandemic through Big Government and said Americans are “warming” to the idea. “A recent NBC News poll found 55% of Americans say the government should do more to solve the country’s problems,” he said.

“Look, I think we can all agree. We don’t want or need government in our lives all the time,” Velshi said, having just offered no reason to agree with that and every reason to cheer the wonders of government. “But there are some things we just can’t do on our own.”

“A small government can’t fix a warming climate, rising economic inequality, rampant disinformation,” he said, going through a laundry list of ways he wants government in our lives all the time. He also pointed to Russia and China, saying they don’t “sit around wondering if their government should be smaller.”

Well, argument “if Russia and China are jumping off the cliff why shouldn’t we?” wasn’t one we were expecting.

“We’ve been hearing how bad government is for decades,” he said. “It will take a lot to overcome the flawed and outdated idea that government is irresponsible and controlling.”

Not sure how the idea of systemic racism dovetails with the belief that government isn’t irresponsible or controlling but one assumes Velshi has an airtight explanation.

Velshi said Biden may or may not succeed in bringing about the era of responsible, non-controlling big government that solves everyone’s problems, but circled back to his point by saying lying about what Biden is trying to do and calling it socialism, that’s just weak tea.”

Watch the clip above, via MSNBC.

New: The Mediaite One-Sheet "Newsletter of Newsletters"
Your daily summary and analysis of what the many, many media newsletters are saying and reporting. Subscribe now!