Chris Matthews ‘Smells Birtherism About’ Rick Perry: He’s ‘Michele Bachmann With Better Hair’
Texas governor Rick Perry has been a presidential candidate for about three days, but it’s been more than enough time for Chris Matthews to make clear he isn’t buying what Perry is selling. Tonight on the program, Matthews discussed his chances with radio personality Jim Hightower and reporter Wayne Slater, telling them that he believed he “smells birtherism about this guy” and agreed with a comparison made to Donald Trump.
While Matthews had some sharp words about Perry, Hightower was by far the most strident in his attacks, as he had once lost an election to Perry years ago. With that in mind, Matthews asked Hightower whether “anything will stop this guy,” to which Hightower confidently answered, in a word, yes. “The higher the monkey climbs, the more you see his ugly side,” he explained, finding it difficult for Perry to hide for much longer that he is “Michele Bachmann with better hair” (Hightower came to the program, it should be noted, with a quiver full of hair jokes). The Bachmann comparison ended up being the friendliest one on the program– Matthews closed the segment comparing Perry to Bull Connor.
Matthews then chided Perry for attacking Ben Bernanke, a Bush appointee who, according to Matthews, “is saving this country’s bacon,” but the fighting spirit, pointed out Slater, was part of what made him so formidable. “Part of Donald Trump’s appeal… was that he at least was saying ‘put me in the ring with this guy, Obama,'” Slater explained. After an exchange where Hightower tossed in the line “he puts the ‘goober’ in gubernatorial,” Matthews jumped in on the fighting spirit, bringing up Perry’s “big black cloud” comment and stating, “I smell birtherism about this guy.” “It’s about the nature of the person who is president,” and not the issues, Matthews argued.
Needless to say, if Matthews is hanging on to the “big black cloud” comment for essentially calling Perry a birther in a segment where a panelist compared him to Donald Trump– a comment that MSNBC is getting major backlash for taking out of context– he’s going to have some explaining to do come tomorrow.
The segment via MSNBC below:
