ALL CREDIT FOR THIS SERIES OF POSTS BELONGS TO BOB SOMERSBY OF THE DAILY HOWLER!

NEVER EXPLAIN! Digby spotted a ship of fools when Pew asked a basic question
TUESDAY, JULY 19, 2011

Christopher’s latest vast fail: Wow. To observe the latest epic fail, take a look at Chris Matthews’ attempt to debate Grover Norquist on last evening’s Hardball.

To watch the full segment, just click this. Who is Grover Norquist? Click here.

Can we talk? Matthews is stunningly unprepared to discuss any policy topic. Regarding his debate with Norquist, a college sophomore could have done better after three weeks of Government 1.

Frank Bruni could have done better last night! Gail Collins could have put up a better fight, in between obsessive references to Mitt Romney’s poor abused dog. (Eighteen columns and counting, although she’s now “on book leave.”)

Here at THE HOWLER, we happen to know Grover Norquist a small tiny tad. (For several years, we worked with him on the board of a DC charity event. You might say he’s our own Bill Ayers.) We know Grover a small tiny tad—and on a personal basis, we like him, for several reasons, although we think his “no new taxes ever” stance is utterly, transparently foolish. Showing the problems with Norquist’s stance must be the easiest task on the planet. Until the task is handed to Matthews, who responds with his latest vast fail.

In this week’s award-winning special report (see below), we plan to discuss the press corps’ failure to explain an array of topics surrounding the ongoing debt limit fight. But if you want to watch someone who can’t explain a damn thing, we suggest you watch Matthews last night. For example, watch the way he wastes your time getting mad at a minor matter of language. (How dare Norquist say “hissy fit?”) Watch the way he wastes your time arguing another meaningless point: Is the GOP “no new taxes” pledge made to Norquist himself or to the American people?

Norquist has been a powerful player for years. During that era, there has been no bigger fraud than Hardball’s hapless host.

We liberals are getting our schadenfreude on concerning Rupert Murdoch this week. Fair enough, but here again we note a small problem—it sometimes seems we have to wait for the other side to commit a crime before we can hope to defeat them. When we tolerate world-class clowns like Matthews, we ensure our side’s long-term defeat.

We may do a series on Norquist next week. He has been a very determined player. For that reason, you can feel certain of one thing:

Inside DC power circles, there is no “liberal” equivalent.