For reasons difficult to fathom we on the left have a monopoly on political humour-the funny kind that is. The Fox Network’s short lived attempt to compete with the Daily Show proved that, if ever it really needed proving. But we also have an earnest, too serious, streak that can sometimes blind us to political realities.
Yesterday I posted a video that is sweeping the net, in which Chris Matthews eviscerates a right-wing talk show host (Kevin James) who accused Obama of being a Neville Chamberlain clone (“an appeaser”) without having the slightest idea of what Chamberlain had actually done to earn that sobriquet, or, for that matter, what the word “appeasement” means. Today at the Salon War Room Alex Koppelman admits to enjoying the video immensely, but goes on to wonder why, given James’ obvious ignorance, Matthews had him on the show at all.
Seriously. Even if you disagree with the argument James was making, and think there’s no way anyone could ever prove the case, there still has to be someone who could at least make a knowledgeable defense for it. (I don’t know — a historian, maybe?) James, on the other hand, quite literally tried to scream his way out of admitting his ignorance. And with all due respect to Mark Green, New York City’s former public advocate and the other guest on at the time, what reason was there to have Green on discussing this, either? Green’s at least a step up from James, obviously, and certainly he has plenty of qualifications of his own — he’s currently the president of Air America Radio — but those qualifications are not really related to knowledge of the Munich agreement.
We have this frustrating tendency to try to engage on a rational level, and despite the massive evidence of the past 30 or so years, keep falling into the trap of believing that the absurd propositions advanced by these folks should be the subject of reasoned debate. If Matthews had looked hard enough he might have found a right wing professor somewhere that would have accepted the challenge and tried to prove that Obama was, indeed, another Chamberlain. But it was not right wing professors who started this meme, it was right wing propagandists. The story is about a political tactic. No, that elevates it too much. The story is about a political smear. Matthews covered the story just right, by exposing the smear for what it was. James was exposed as an ignoramus who was merely parroting a White House talking point. He is representative of all the other people who spread these smears. Who knows, some of them might know what Neville Chamberlain did, but not a one of them cares if the situations are remotely similar. The Republicans learned long ago, and continue to believe, that if you repeat a lie often enough it becomes the truth. Time and again we on the left fall into the trap of believing these arguments are about ideas, or about facts. Matthews would have been legitimizing the smear by engaging with it on the level Koppelman suggests.
Chris done good this time.
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