Chris Matthews, the longtime liberal commentator who recently lamented the Democratic Socialists of Americas growing influence over his party, has now turned his ire toward Republicans and their expected strategy in the coming midterm elections.
According to the Gateway Pundit, Matthews is warning that the GOP is poised to wage an aggressive, hard-hitting campaign in the final stretch before voters head to the polls. He insists Republicans will attempt to make all Democrats into something like the Marxist wing of the DSA, a characterization many conservatives would argue Democrats have invited through their own embrace of far-left policies and rhetoric.
In a recent appearance, Matthews predicted Republicans are going to come up with something dirty and theyre going to try to make it really bad. He further claimed, And theyre going to make it nasty like they did with the going after the trans kids in the last election, suggesting that late-breaking GOP messaging will shock casual viewers: Just remember, people on the sidelines of an NFL game, all of a sudden, theyre watching this new ad in the third quarter of the game. Whered that ad come from? Whats all this about?
Matthews invoked GOP strategist Karl Rove to underscore his point, saying, As Karl Rove told me, the Republicans are good at that last six weeks where they come up with something really nasty like Willie Horton. He then veered into racial grievance, adding, By the way, his name was never Willie in his whole life. They came up with the name Willie because they wanted to sound black. Excuse me. They are very good at confecting this stuff.
The veteran pundit argued that Republicans will weaponize the Democratic Socialists of America label, declaring, And I can see they could do something with the DSA, and theyre going to make them into real Marxists. Theyre going to play the game. In a striking defense of the progressive left, he added, Personally, I think AOC is as American as apple pie. It wont work with her. It may work with some others. But I think theyre going to get nasty, and I think its going to be a really great close.
For many conservatives, Matthews alarm sounds less like a warning and more like wishful thinking about Republican ruthlessness that does not match reality. Ask grassroots voters on the right, and they are far more likely to complain that GOP leaders are timid, not nasty, and that they routinely shrink from confronting Democrats radicalism on spending, cultural issues, and the weaponization of government against President Donald Trump and his supporters.
Far from being horrified by the prospect of a tougher Republican message, many on the right would welcome a party willing to call Democrats what their policies increasingly resemble: soft socialism dressed up as progress. If Matthews is right that Republicans are finally prepared to fight hard in the closing weeks, conservatives would likely respond not with outrage, but with a single questionwhat took them so long?
Login