Media Matters has the transcript. This really struck me:
This program, I am proud to say, is tough, fearless, and yes, blunt. I want people to react when I say something. I don't like saying things so carefully, so politically correctly, that no one thinks they even said anything.
Oh! Poor thing! We wouldn't want him to have to censor the sexist bile that he spews forth on a regular basis. That would be an act of fear!
Before we consider the apology excuses, let's have a look back at just a few of Matthews' "greatest hits":
- In an interview with John and Elizabeth Edwards: "Behind every great man is a woman trying to kill him... What's this with equal marriages? Why do people try to marry their equals? What happened to the Stepford Wives, the good ol' days? [Audience boos.] Oh, how PC! How PC!"
- He's called Hillary Clinton "witchy," "she devil" and compared her to a "strip-teaser." He has referred to men who support her as "castratos in the eunuch chorus." He has suggested Clinton is not "a convincing mom" and said "modern women" like Clinton are unacceptable to "Midwest guys." He has called her "Madame Defarge" and "Nurse Ratched."
- He has described one of Clinton's speeches as 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."
- To Sen. Chris Dodd: “Do you find it difficult to debate a woman?�
- To CNBC's Erin Burnett: "You're beautiful," "you're a knockout," and "It's all right getting bad news from you."
- On one show, he repeatedly asked his guests if they find Ann Coulter attractive. And when they, smartly, wouldn't answer, Matthews said, "You guys are all afraid to answer. No, I find her—I wouldn‘t put her—well, she doesn‘t pass the Chris Matthews test."
- And to top it all off, the Hillary Clinton cheek-pinching incident.
Given all that, I find it *really* hard to believe him when he says this:
If my heart has not always controlled my words, on those occasions when I have not taken the time to say things right, or have simply said the inappropriate thing, I'll try to be clearer, smarter, more obviously in support of the right of women -- of all people -- the full equality and respect for their ambitions. So, I get it.
This would maybe work as an excuse if he'd made just one offensive comment. But what we clearly have here is a pattern. Which doesn't just indicate he failed to phrase something carefully, one time. It means when he's talking off the cuff, his sexist beliefs are completely unchecked. Keep in mind this isn't just about Hillary Clinton. He's said all sorts of reprehensible things about women on the air -- not only about Clinton (though she does take more than her share of abuse from Matthews).
In any case, we're gonna do our best to hold him to that vacuous promise. Maybe if he behaves we'll remove him as the poster boy for our Privileged Political Pundit Drinking Game. But I'm not holding my breath.
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That was not an apology. No way. That was almost an *excuse* for the offensive, ridiculous things he's said.
Even if he weren't so "blunt" - if he expressed his sexist views in a "gentler" way - THEY'D STILL BE SEXIST!
You're totally right. I'm amending the title of this post.
Wow, what a total cock.
Chris Matthews's constant bashing of Clinton was a factor in me deciding to support her over Obama. If he doesn't like her, she can't be all that bad huh?
am a man who has had enough of Chris Matthews' hateful speech about Hillary Clinton. I don't understand how a rich white man on TV thinks that he speaks for the "common man" when he left common a long time ago. I don't know any "common man" that has a job on TV. I know plenty of common men who work real jobs that have a real impact on peoples' lives.
The only impact Chris Matthews has had is to pollute the airwaves with his hate-filled diatribes about Clinton. We all know that he wouldn't dare to comment on Obama's race, or insult his background (he would be suspended or possibly fired for this), yet, his superiors and producers allow him to openly spew sexist filth on national TV (calling Clinton "witchy", and decrying her as a "modern woman" and "Nurse Ratched"). Double standard.
Rich, privileged white men with ZERO experience with racial, gender, physical or sexual adversity need to shut up, sit down, and listen.
MSNBC should be ashamed of this bigot.
Looking for a silver lining...
The interesting thing is obviously there have been enough complaints launched his way that he feels he needs to defend himself.
That suggests to me that letter campaigns, calling, and the kind of work feministing.com does pointing out his repeated offensiveness has an impact.
...
Thanks so much for reminding me why I left the Midwest; because I got sick of assholes like him.
Nice point, UCLAbodyimage. Maybe we can start a letter campaign to get MSNBC to replace him with Rachel Madow.
I think smarter people than I can dissect the how and why behind Mr. Matthew's lame-ass excuse for his petty and inane comments, so I'm just gonna toss in my hateful two cents for the day...
Doesn't he look vaguely like he might be an FAS baby? He may not be "officially" retarded, but even W can string a few sentences together when the occasion calls for it. Seriously, his eyes look strangely vacant (though that might be all the plastic surgery he's had) - and that hair piece! Is it the offspring of Trump's toupee?
What a jerk. Like he can't do his job without says a-hole things. "Respect me, because I cover the tough issues?"
It's not just this one time CM.
Gawd. I'm surprised that anyone uses the terms "PC" or "political correctness" anymore. I remember that phrase being slung around when I started paying attention to politics in my early teens (a smidge over 20 years ago!) and it still seems to be a classic hit amongst the less-original conservative crowd.
Does anyone even believe political correctness exists?
Oh, and obligatory thumbs up in support of exposing sexist douchebaggery wherever it exists.
Kitty, Matthews is from Philly and has a rather obvious East coast accent. No way in hell us Midwesterners are claiming him.
Also: Tim Russert is from Buffalo, NY, William Kristol and Sean Hannity are from NYC, and Maureen Dowd (the print version of Tweety on things relating to Senator Clinton) is from DC.
Matthews must be hung like a lightswitch.
Does anyone even believe political correctness exists? -Glossolalia Black
Fintan O'Toole nailed it almost 20 years ago. See, in the old days, racists would just say "Blacks are less intelligent than whites" and misogynists would say "Women should stay home and let men run their lives". Since those ideas aren't as popular nowadays, the racist or misogynist has to clear his throat with "I know it's not politically correct to say this but...", followed by the old bullshit about blacks being inferior and women belonging in the kitchen. I wish I could find O'Toole's exact quote because it was brilliant.
@UCLABodyImage, I agree. I watch a lot of cable news (I'm a political junkie, people. I NEED IT) and people say much uglier things (sigh, mostly about Sen. Clinton) and because the tone of their show is sort of set up to expect it they would never have to give an apology. That goes for both the leftists and right-wingers, BTW.
I don't find this apology as half-ass'd as most people who have commented here do. I don't make any excuses for the crap Matthews has laid on Clinton but I think he's an old dude in DC who has just never been called out on this kind of stuff before and is kind of discovering the majority of people don't share his views anymore (or at least, the people who don't are really organized and can scare the crap out of his station & advertisers).
Within the entrenched entitlement of DC culture I believe Matthews sees himself as being a very open-minded, common guy because he comes from a blue collar family, did missions in the Peace Corp, worked for Tip O'Neil but also voted for Bush in 2000 (and now supports Obama). All this I think elucidates a generational shift which I find greatly exciting, it means the work of the Civil Rights and Women's movement of the 50s-70s is actually taking ahold in our cultural norms and with that is going to come some ugly transitions but is headed to a better place.
Perhaps I'm just being overly-optimistic (I'm sure Feministers won't have a problem with telling me if I am :) ) but I'm very excited by this apology.
I feel like he had a major lawsuit staring him in the face, or his job was on the line. I can't think of any other reasons why he'd make this little speech--it definitely sounded like it was done under duress. Hence the, "You know, even though I'm an asshole, I'm really a good person, and anyhow, I'm proud to be an asshole. And by the way, my job is really hard. And my job makes it really easy to be an asshole. But since mass quantities of viewers have complained about me being an asshole, I guess I'll have to say...I'm sorry. Not for what I said, but because they were offended."
triskelion, thanks. Let's take a minute to remember that assholes are not contained to any single part of the country (or world).
Also, clearly with cable TV and national news, no one is "getting away" from Matthews or idiots like him anytime soon.
I definitely think that this was prompted by complaints, and it might indicate that Chris Matthews might just possibly lay of Clinton for a little while. However, I in no way forgive him for all of the stupid things that have come out of his mouth. I'm also really tempted to send him some reading material about the feminist movement. See if we can't at least get him to see some little twinkle of light of truth.
Erin,
I too am happy about the apology. Whether or not it is genuine, it does shed light to viewers that misogyny is not okay and requires a public apology. Rather than focus on the "excuse" part, I prefer to be happy that it reflects a shift in what has been considered the "norm." No, it is not the "norm" to attack women on TV and here is an apology to prove it.
I am too happy about his apology although I really wouldn't consider it that--more like an "acknowledgment." Whether he was just acknowledging that his job was on the line or that he actually heard and listened to the responses thrown at him, I appreciate what he had to say. Of course it could have been better, but it could have been worse too.
Great, now he only has to issue like 100 more statements to cover his other sexist rants.
Kitty, Matthews is from Philly and has a rather obvious East coast accent. No way in hell us Midwesterners are claiming him.
Whether he's actually from the Midwest or not, he sounds a lot like my father and the other men from my hometown. This is why I don't watch him.
triskelion: Chris Matthews's constant bashing of Clinton was a factor in me deciding to support her over Obama.
I'm not sure about Matthews specifically, but much of the Clinton hate comes from a combination of her previous strong socialist stance and the political power she has. In effect she is seen as having the most negative impact on the NeoCon's policies. While I'm no fan of the NeoCon politics, I'm not sure selecting a candidate based on how much her opponents hate her is the best way to go.
Kitty, ok but that was one person's experience from the midwest. I grew up in BFE rural Michigan and I can tell you that MY father is not a sexist. It seems like on a site where people who care about feminist issues from ALL over the world, perhaps it's best not to make snarky generalizations about regions because there are feminists everywhere.
And to Desipis, what I meant was that Matthews's constant bashing of Hillary made me look more into her policies and it informed my decision. But hey, it's America and I can vote for someone for any ole reason so...
Kitty, I think on a site where feminist-lovin' people from all over the world post, it's best to avoid snarky generalizations about regions. I grew up in BFE rural ass Michigan and I can assure you that my father isn't a sexist. There are douches everywhere just as surely as there cool people everywhere.
to Desipis: What I meant by that, was that I generally find Matthews's opinions distasteful, so it was a springboard for me to research Hillary's platform instead of jumping on the Obama background. But hey, this is America so really I can pick any ole reason to vote for people...
well, wtf is up with my computer
This trend of entitled jackasses feeling proud of themselves for "resisting" being "PC" really needs to stop. No, Chris Matthews, you are not edgy. Your constant stream of verbal diarrhea is reaching O'Reilly-level volumes. STFU.
Hmmm...anyone else smell the bullshit?
He's probably worried he's killing his career by being a douche, so he was trying to do some damage control. Not buying it.
I have to agree with Erin. I do watch Hardball and The Chris Matthews Show from time to time. I haven't been watching lately because of class, but I did see this apology yesterday, and I think he was sincere. He explained himself and said that he's going to do better from now on. He made a promise to us, so he's made himself even more vulnerable to criticism if he makes even one more sexist statement. I mean, Bill O'Reilly just demanded an apology from John Edwards after Bill O'Reilly lied on his own show. It's not often that pundits apologize, and I think Chris Matthews' was a good apology, not just a good apology for a pundit. My only criticism is that it didn't encompass the vast majority of the things he has said, but at least he still made a promise to give props to influential women.
And pundits in the conservative media and campaign trail say disgusting things all the time. Who is holding Glenn Beck, John Gibson, Bill O'Reilly, Rush Limbaugh, Ann Coulter, Michelle Malkin, Fred Thompson, and Mike Huckabee accountable? These people make their livings off of spreading hate, and the latter two people I listed want to run the country! These people should be shamed out of business, if not be asked that they too give formal apologies on the air.
FEMily, saying, "But other people are just as bad!" does not mean squat in this case. We're talking about what an asshole Chris Mathews is. Let's deal with that, okay?
The single best word in the whole spiel was "Whoa!"
Desipis, Clinton's policies are HARDLY socialist. If it were really about politics, Edwards would be the one garnering a shit-load of right-wing hate.
But Clinton is a woman, so to these people (lefties too!) it's appalling that she'd even consider running for POTUS (it's a white man's job afterall!).
The sexist vitriol aimed at Clinton is not why I support her. But it motivated me to look further into her platform and snap out of my blind Obama love. I now support Clinton.
I watched Hardball last night (th 18th; my TV usually stays on CNN or MSNBC, so it's inevitable), and he was back to his old habits, repeating that Clinton is only where she is because she was cheated on. Looks like the apology wasn't so sincere -- not that I took it to be in the first place.
GinMar, I think Femily's point is that it does say something about CMatthews response that pundits/hosts who have said way nastier things have never backed off or apologized.
Okay, delurking for this one. Poor Matthews, he is so afraid of women. It is just disappointing that so many people still watch this guy and don't see any problem. Sigh.
Erin, those guys are scarcely supposed to be mainstream pundits; they're right wing assholes. Chris Matthews is supposed to be mainstream.