Chris Matthews' Greatest Sexist Hits

[DeepModem Mom]

Daily Kos: Chris Matthews' Greatest Sexist Hits
by Plutonium Page
Wed Jan 09, 2008

Earlier today, I posted about Chris Matthews' remark today that Hillary Clinton is doing well in the Democratic primaries because "her husband messed around" and that she didn't become a Senator "on her own merit" but because people felt that "(she) stood up under humiliation..." (among other odious statements).

Now, I'm just going to let the following Chris Matthews quotes speak for themselves. Then, at the end of this post, you'll find two ways you can contact MSNBC to let them know what you think.

*June 13, 2005: On MSNBC's Hardball, host Chris Matthews said Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton (D-NY) "looked more witchy" because she criticized the Bush administration's homeland security spending priorities on July 8, a day after the London bombings...

MATTHEWS: I hate to say this. I'm not going to hate to say it. It's a fact. You (referring to Clinton) look more witchy when you're doing it like this.

*November 6, 2006: Discussing the victory speeches of Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton (D-NY) and House Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi (CA) during MSNBC's special election coverage on November 7, co-anchor Chris Matthews told Republican pollster Frank Luntz that Clinton gave a "barn-burner speech, which is harder to give for a woman; it can grate on some men when they listen to it -- fingernails on a blackboard."

*August 10, 2007: On the August 10 edition of MSNBC's Hardball, during a discussion of recent financial news, host Chris Matthews told CNBC's Erin Burnett: "(Y)ou're beautiful" and "(y)ou're a knockout," before closing the interview by saying, "It's all right getting bad news from you."...But at the conclusion of the interview, Matthews asked Burnett, who anchors CNBC's Squawk on the Street and Street Signs, "Could you get a little closer to the camera?" Burnett replied, "My -- what is it?" Matthews then said, "Come on in closer. No, come in -- come in further -- come in closer. Really close." After Burnett began to comply, Matthews stated, "Just kidding! You look great! Anyway, thanks. Erin, it's great to -- look at that look. You're great." He went on: "No, you're beautiful. I'm just kidding. I'm just kidding. You're a knockout. Anyway, thank you, Erin Burnett."

*September 26, 2007: During last night’s post-Democratic presidential debate analysis, MSNBC host Chris Matthews was hung up on the fact there is a woman running for president. After questioning Sen. Chris Dodd (D-CT) about Sen. Hillary Clinton’s (D-NY) position on entitlement reforms, he then asked Dodd, "Do you find it difficult to debate a woman?" Dodd, not surprisingly, said, "(N)ot at all."

*November 18, 2007: On the November 18 edition of the NBC-syndicated Chris Matthews Show, host Chris Matthews teased a discussion by asking, "'She Devil?' Republicans are absolutely demonizing Hillary Clinton." While he spoke, an image of Clinton appeared on screen with the words "She Devil?" below it...

MATTHEWS: "She Devil?" Republicans are absolutely demonizing Hillary Clinton. Rudy openly mocks her, and Mitt says she'll run the country into the ground. Are Republicans trying to win by branding a President Hillary as unthinkable?

*December 4, 2007: During the December 4 edition of MSNBC's Hardball, host Chris Matthews asked about Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton (D-NY): "So does her attack on him (Obama)for having had ambition as a teeny-bopper -- not a teeny-bopper, a kindergartner, does she look like Nurse Ratched here?" This is not the first time Matthews has referenced Nurse Mildred Ratched, a character in Ken Kesey's novel and in the movie based on the novel, One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest, when discussing Clinton. In fact, a Media Matters for America Nexis search found that hosts, including Matthews, and guests of programs on NBC, MSNBC, and CNBC have a long history of associating Clinton with Kesey's fictional character, whom Cliff's Notes describes as a "scheming, manipulative agent" who "asserts arbitrary control simply because she can."

*December 17, 2007: On the December 17 edition of MSNBC's Hardball, host Chris Matthews claimed: "Every day I pick up the paper and there's another quote out there from somebody who's a wannabe, saying whatever the Clinton people told them to say apparently." Moments later, Matthews asked Financial Times U.S. managing editor Chrystia Freeland: "Aren't you appalled at the willingness of these people to become castratos in the eunuch chorus here or whatever they are?" (Part of an ongoing "castrator/ballbuster" narrative in relation to Sen. Clinton.)

*December 17, 2007: MATTHEWS: The biggest news of this week, it's all weekend -- it's all we've been talking about, it went again this morning. The worst week of last week was Hillary Clinton. She may have gotten The Des Moines Register's endorsement the other day, thanks to her husband's lobbying with its female editors and publisher, but voters have spotted the dagger, and they don't like what it looks like. Hillary's loyal lieutenants are ready to scratch the eyes out of the opposition right now.

MSNBC contact information at link: http://www.dailykos.com/storyonly/2008/1/9/15149/90400/455/433806?f=h_top

[origin1286]

1. I skimmed through them...

It's really fucking annoying when using gender specific terms/analogies is considered sexism. Comparing her to a female character in a popular book is not sexist. Only a few of the quotes you posted genuinely were.

[noamnety]

3. I'm guessing this would be more obvious to some people

if these were all racial slurs/demeaning attitudes instead of gender related.

We are raised to believe that gender slurs aren't slurs at all, just the natural order of things.

[origin1286]

4. Bull shit

If Obama was compared to a popular black character in a book, how is that racist? If I compare Obama to Grant in "A Lesson Before Dying" does that make me racist because Grant is also black?

I find it more offensive to totally overlook someone's gender/race when making analogies. If Hillary only got compared to men or Obama only got compared to whites it sends the message that those two groups are the standard of comparison.

[Sparkly]

5. What if he compared him to "Buckwheat?" nt

[origin1286]

6. What if I compared you to Straw Man?

But, to respond to your fallacious argument, buckwheat has come to be a derogatory & racist term, regardless of what it started out as.

I don't think "Nurse Ratchet" is quite the same.

[lukasahero]

28. Sorry but you're playing both sides

So to take your argument about how it's ok for Matthews to use Nurse Ratched as a comparison because he doesn't like Ms. Clinton, it would then be alright for him to use Buckwheat as a comparison for Mr. Obama if he didn't like him. Yes? If not, why not? Why is "Buckwheat" a recognized derogatory and racist term but Nurse Ratched, a well-established literary archetype, not a gender derogatory term?

[origin1286]

34. No

Nurse Ratched is not a gender specific term.

If someone were to say, "He is like Nurse Ratched except male" the metaphor would still make sense.

If someone were to say, "He is like buckwheat except white" the metaphor wouldn't make sense given the common association with the term.

Buckwheat is a racially specific term. Nurse Ratched is not because the metaphor about Nurse Ratched has more to do with what she represents than with her gender.

[Chulanowa]

48. I disagree

Nurse Ratchet is a stereotyped character. She is the "cold cruel power-hungry bitch" that professional women are almost always portrayed as in popular media.

[LanternWaste]

63. Isn't 'Nurse Ratchet' an epithet used against women

Isn't 'Nurse Ratchet' an epithet used mainly against women, which has over the years become synonymous with 'bitch'?

I've never heard a guy called 'Nurse Ratchet'...

[spooky3]

8. you're saying Nurse Ratched is a "popular female character"?

[origin1286]

9. Not popular as in well liked

But popular as in well known.

[spooky3]

16. well, there's the rub--and that's what makes your analogy

wrong and Sparkly's right.

[origin1286]

18. So because Matthews doesn't like her

And compares her to a well known female character that people don't like...he's sexist?

Give me a break.

Hillary is a well known female that some people don't like.
Nurse Ratched is a well known female character that people don't like.

If someone doesn't like Hillary, Nurse Ratched is a perfectly apt metaphor. Think about what she represented in the novel. Thats what she represents to a lot of her detractors.

It's not sexist to compare her to someone who happens to be a woman. If her gender is irrelevant than so should be the gender of those she is compared to.

[goodgd_yall]

57. Give it up

You're obviously insensitive to women's oppression.

[origin1286]

13. I'd also like to add that...

Matthews didn't make up this metaphor.

From wiki:

"She has also become a popular metaphor for the corrupting influence of power and authority in bureaucracies such as the mental institution in which the novel is set."

[lukasahero]

24. Maybe you should read the damn book

Nurse Ratched is an archetype. The comparison is not benign.

[origin1286]

25. I've read the book

And wrote a paper on it. Granted it was for an undergrad course, but still.

Nurse Ratched has come to represent corrupt power and authority. How do you think Hillary detractors feel about her? That she is corrupt and will do anything to seek power.

I don't necessarily agree with the metaphor, but if that is the point Matthews was trying to make it is perfectly apt. Just because Ratched happens to be a woman does not make the comment any more sexist or any less valid to those who subscribe to that belief.

[lukasahero]

30. Hey, I can read Wiki too

Interesting how you left out the first line of the opening paragraph though "A cold, sadistic tyrant, Nurse Ratched has become the stereotype of the nurse as a "battleaxe.""

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nurse_Ratched

[origin1286]

32. Actually...

I quoted Wiki earlier in the thread and gave wiki credit. If you actually read what I wrote instead of rushing to get your talking points out, you would have seen that.

[lukasahero]

37. Nothing of substance left to offer so you move next to insults?

Ok. Bored now.

[origin1286]

40. If you consider that an insult

I'm going to start calling you Paper Thin Skin.

[lukasahero]

42. One last time - if you have nothing of substance to offer on the discussion at hand

why bother? You can call me whatever you want. I'd rather discuss why you still haven't addressed the first line of the entry in wiki ""A cold, sadistic tyrant, Nurse Ratched has become the stereotype of the nurse as a "battleaxe.""

[origin1286]

43. That part of the wiki is irrelevant

Because Clinton isn't a nurse.

The corrupt power is what Matthews was getting at. Characters in great works of literature can represent more than one thing, you know.

[goodgd_yall]

58. "Because Clinton isn't a nurse"?

Now you're really getting ridiculous.

[goodgd_yall]

56. What if Obama was compared to Sambo

That's a better analogy.

[spooky3]

14. Why not compare her to a character who isn't of the same gender?

People differ in many ways other than gender.
Calling attention to someone's gender in workplace and professional settings is rarely appropriate and serves to reinforce the message to women that "you don't belong here."

[origin1286]

15. Whats wrong with comparing her to a character of her gender?

Ignoring gender/race (only comparing women to men and only comparing blacks to whites) is just as offensive. It presents the idea that men/whites are the standard of comparison for everyone else.

I'm not saying Matthews isn't sexist, but I strongly disagree with some of the examples.

[spooky3]

17. I explained to you what was wrong. Try opening your mind.

The alternative is not comparing women only to men or blacks only to whites.

The alternative is not making an issue out of what is irrelevant or having different standards based on gender, race, age, etc.

[origin1286]

19. If Hillary's gender is irrelevant

If Hillary's gender is irrelevant, which I strongly believe it should be, then by the same standard the gender of those she is compared to should be irrelevant.

You can't say Hillary's gender is irrelevant but the gender of those she is compared to is relevant, because by doing that you automatically make gender a relevant issue.

[Gormy Cuss]

20. Comparing her only to the worst nightmare female characters consistently is sexist.

Period.

[origin1286]

23. So...

Gender is a relevant issue to you, then?

If gender is irrelevant, gender is irrelevant. Can't have your cake and eat it too. The comparison to Nurse Ratched was clearly the best comparison for the point Matthews was trying to make considering what Nurse Ratched represented in the book and what the term "Nurse Ratched" has come to mean. You guys making it more about gender than the underlying metaphor makes gender relevant.

So which is it?

If you don't get the Nurse Ratched reference, don't comment on it.

Also, just because gender is irrelevant doesn't mean we should avoid all references to Hillary being a woman. When making a metaphor or comparison, it is best to use someone or something that is most similar to the thing you're trying to make a point about.

[Gormy Cuss]

26. When was the last time a man was compared to Nurse Ratched?

Why not compare Clinton to Hannibal Lechter? Oh yeah, because she's female and that would be dumb.
The underlying metaphor is not why Matthews compared her to Nurse Ratched. It's her gender.

[origin1286]

27. The only role gender played

is in seeking the closest metaphor he could find.

Just because sex plays a role in a metaphor does not make the metaphor sexist.

There happened to be a female character who fit the bill of how Matthews felt about Hillary. Why should he reach further into bag just to avoid ridiculous cries of sexism?

So what Nurse Ratched is a woman? If you've read the book, you'd understand what Matthews was saying about Hillary and it had nothing to do with gender. If you haven't then I understand your confusion.

[Gormy Cuss]

29. I have read the book. Matthews was being lazy by using the reference.

No confusion here.
Nurse Ratched is a woman who strikes fear in men.

[origin1286]

31. Then you of all people should understand

That it is a perfect metaphor for how some people feel about Hillary. You should see that while Matthews may have searched for a character of the same gender, that doesn't make it sexist. The best metaphors are the ones that are most similar to what you're comparing.

People know about Nurse Ratched and what they think about her. By comparing Clinton to Ratched, people understood how he feels about her, even if they don't agree.

If he compared her to a black man, there would be a disconnect there because how outwardly different they appear.

[Gormy Cuss]

33. Yeah, because people are that shallow.

Next up, Matthews will compare Clinton to Lorena Bobbitt.

Using such narrowly defined roles exposes Matthews as a very insecure man. A self-confidant person would be able to compare her to men.

[origin1286]

35. So for the sake of not appearing sexist

He should search for a different metaphor than one that is obviously very apt for what he was trying to describe?

[Gormy Cuss]

36. Why yes, because he has so consistently applied only sex-specific metaphors. n/t

[origin1286]

38. Because

A metaphor is much more powerful when the 2 things being compared are outwardly similar.

There is less of a disconnect.

[Gormy Cuss]

39. Only if you assume the audience is one dimensional.

[origin1286]

41. Not necessarily

Like I said, if you compare Hillary to a black male, there is a disconnect because they are so outwardly different.

Outward appearances are the first thing we notice about people. To pretend that people don't notice and identify people by their appearances first is defying psychology and human nature.

That doesn't make it sexist. It's easier to imagine Hillary in the role of Nurse Ratched because they are both women. Once again, that doesn't make it sexist.

[ismnotwasm]

50. Bullshit

"Just because sex plays a role in a metaphor does not make the metaphor sexist." That would depend on what you consider sexist, now wouldn't it? In this case it sure in the fuck is. Moreover he uses sexist terminology repeatedly. He's an ass, as well as an opportunist, pure and simple. Arguing the value/intent of metaphor use is ridiculous in this case-- not the very valid accusations of sexism.

[origin1286]

53. Just because someone's beliefs on a topic are typically ridiculous/sexist

Does not automatically make everything they say on that topic ridiculous/sexist.

[noamnety]

44. Yes, and on top of that literary comparison

there is the castration metaphor he uses - and that is related to why he uses the nurse ratched analogy. It's not just a domineering personality he's threatened by - oh no, it's far worse. It's a domineering woman. Horrors. The gender of Nurse Ratched is an integral part of the character as archetype, and in fact she is accused of wanting to castrate the patients in the ward, and another character, remarking on her, says that older single nurses should be fired (the cause of their castrating-like behavior is their own need to get laid, apparently - without that, they aren't feminine enough).

If you pick the most anti-woman stereotypes of female characters to compare someone to, you shouldn't be surprised if someone calls you on your sexism. The buckwheat question above was spot on, compare a person to an extremely racially charged image, and you should expect people to call you on your racism.

[origin1286]

52. Oh so

Matthews is saying that Hillary is like Nurse Ratched because Hillary wants to castrate males?

Come on.

You seem educated. You know the overriding theme (corrupted authority) that comes with Nurse Ratched. While the gender is an integral part in the story, gender plays no role in what she has come to represent, which is that of a corrupted authority figure who thrives on power.

[LanternWaste]

64. Maybe this will help you a little...

Maybe this will help you a little...

Gender is (and should be) irrelevant to the victim (and to all of us) *until* the aggressor (the sexist) makes it relevant. At that point, the victim may validly point out the sexism of the remark without be sexist him/herself.

[annie1]

2. Thank you. Letter sent. I find him really disturbing.

[monmouth]

7. I'm going to go out on a limb here and make a prediction: If

Hillary becomes the next POTUS, I think Chris should re-tool his resume. Bill Clinton has a long memory and a long arm. He will not be forgiven. Personally, I think I'd vote for Hill just to watch that happen. He's scum and needs to be removed from the airwaves. Let Keith have the big office...

[Muttocracy]

10. to Elizabeth Edwards..

after she ripped him up for not covering 2nd place winner from Iowa - something like "I love your smile... you've got a great face" or vice versa. Ugh.

[JerseygirlCT]

11. Yeah, they certainly leave a bad taste in the mouth, don't they?

Or a strong urge to slap him, hard.

He's also got this weird obsession with Hillary Clinton in particular. I've made a joke about counting how many times in a show he mentions her (and this is for years now). He's one strange guy.

[ismnotwasm]

12. Can he get any more disgusting?

Of course he can. I think this is only the tip of the ice berg, these horribly sexist things that make the news. For him to be so sloppy, so unprofessional and so ignorant, I shudder to think what he must be like in person.

Walking example of sexual entitlement right there, in his little slice of misogynist TV heaven.

K&R

[annie1]

21. Write him if you didn't get a chance.

fuck that motherfucker.

[ismnotwasm]

49. I did an email

I'm going to send a snail mail as well.

I ignore him mostly, but when it's summed up and in your face like this-- the guy's a complete asshole, and I don't know why anyone defends him.

[bellasgrams]

22. Maybe he just wants to suck up to his GOP bosses

I don't care to watch him. He yells alot, interrupts his guests, look like he gets so excited he spits on them.

[spooky3]

45. Go to mediamatters.org for more evidence

[cally]

46. thanks for posting this

It's stunning to read them all together.

[BleedingHeartPatriot]

47. eunuch court? She devil? This passes for discourse these days.

MKJ

[Beacool]

51. Tweety is a misogynist pig who happens to be obsessed with Hillary!!

Ditto for Dick Morris.

These sexist bastards can't go a day without bashing Hillary, but if she looked their way they would fall at her feet. These type of jerks only view women in sexual terms, Morris admitted fantasizing about her and Tweety supposedly "melted" when she patted his cheek and hugged him this week.

[bluedawg12]

54. He sounds more confused and off the wall daily

Like he is having this mid life crisis and learning how to deal with blacks, gays and women, now in his 50 semester in the school of life.

Can tweety.

[goodgd_yall]

55. god, what a scumbag n/t

[VotesForWomen]

59. Matthews has clearly got some issues; if he's married, his wife must have some too. nt

[Snarkturian Clone]

60. I remember when this happened

August 10, 2007: On the August 10 edition of MSNBC's Hardball, during a discussion of recent financial news, host Chris Matthews told CNBC's Erin Burnett: "(Y)ou're beautiful" and "(y)ou're a knockout," before closing the interview by saying, "It's all right getting bad news from you."...But at the conclusion of the interview, Matthews asked Burnett, who anchors CNBC's Squawk on the Street and Street Signs, "Could you get a little closer to the camera?" Burnett replied, "My -- what is it?" Matthews then said, "Come on in closer. No, come in -- come in further -- come in closer. Really close." After Burnett began to comply, Matthews stated, "Just kidding! You look great! Anyway, thanks. Erin, it's great to -- look at that look. You're great." He went on: "No, you're beautiful. I'm just kidding. I'm just kidding. You're a knockout. Anyway, thank you, Erin Burnett."


Does anyone have a video link of this? I wanted to show it to some people.

[DeepModem Mom]

61. Here it is, Cloney --

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xKBDOLdU-Ug

[Snarkturian Clone]

62. thx NT