Cross posted to the MRC's NewsBusters blog
On Monday afternoon, as MSNBC host Andrea Mitchell only had Democratic guests on her show to discuss the upcoming Election Day, she hyped concerns about "voter suppression" aimed at minorities and recalled without context the story of North Carolina police officers dispersing a group of liberal protesters and prospective voters.
In one segment, while speaking with former Bill Clinton campaign strategist James Carville and former Barack Obama advisor David Plouffe, Mitchell turned to Carville and asked:
What about suppression and intimidation? We know from warning signs in Michigan about open carry, and in North Carolina, over the weekend, you had children and adults who were, by all reports, at a peaceful rally who ended up being pepper sprayed in a particular county and were unable to vote?
It was not mentioned that pepper spray was reportedly sprayed on the ground near the protesters to disperse them because they were blocking traffic and refused commands to move.
A bit later, while speaking with Joe Biden campaign co-chair and Congressman Cedric Richmond, she asked the Louisiana Democrat about the possibility of "suppression" of Democratic voters in other states:
There have been some warning signs for your campaign in the last couple of days that the black vote is not turning out strongly enough for Joe Biden in the early vote -- at least in South Carolina -- or, rather, in Florida and in some other states, North Carolina maybe as well -- that there could be some suppression going on. There's certainly a delay in postal service letter deliveries we've seen in a lot of the big cities with large minority populations which could be something other than coincidence. What are your concerns about getting the black vote out?
She then followed up:
And, finally, there was an incident over the weekend in North Carolina, a really troubling incident with pepper spray being used against protesters, largely minority voters who were trying to protest peacefully and then go vote, and then many of them couldn't even get to the polls afterwards.
At the same time that there were no Republican guests, Mitchell did not even bother to give any pushback from the right, thus making her show just another episode of DNCTV.
This episode of MSNBC's Andrea Mitchell Reports was sponsored in part by Progressive. Their contact information is linked.
Below is a transcript of the relevant portion of the Monday, November 2, Andrea Mitchell Reports on MSNBC:
12:19 p.m. Eastern
ANDREA MITCHELL: What about suppression and intimidation? We know from warning signs in Michigan about open carry, and in North Carolina, over the weekend, you had children and adults who were, by all reports, at a peaceful rally who ended up being pepper sprayed in a particular county and were unable to vote?
(...)
12:27 p.m.
There have been some warning signs for your campaign in the last couple of days that the black vote is not turning out strongly enough for Joe Biden in the early vote -- at least in South Carolina -- or, rather, in Florida and in some other states, North Carolina maybe as well -- that there could be some suppression going on. There's certainly a delay in postal service letter deliveries we've seen in a lot of the big cities with large minority populations which could be something other than coincidence. What are your concerns about getting the black vote out?
CONGRESSMAN CEDRIC RICHMOND (D-LA): Well, I think the black vote will be very robust. I think they want to make sure their voice is heard. I think a lot of it will be outrage to the fact that Donald Trump is trying so hard to keep them from voting. And then there's two other things I think you have to keep in mind. -- that the Post Office, because of Donald Trump and the cuts and everything -- they're overwhelmed if you give them the benefit of the doubt. I think a lot of African-Americans who requested ballots are deciding they will cast their vote in person on Election Day. And it's almost become a ritual for African-Americans to vote on Election Day. It's sort of a homecoming at the voting polls. I choose to vote on Election Day because you get to see the poll workers and your neighbors and your friends and, you know, catch up. So, look, we're going to have a great turnout tomorrow, and I think it's going to match everything that we've seen. If you look at the record numbers in Georgia, then those states that don't have record numbers -- I think you'll see those record numbers catch up tomorrow on in-person voting.
MITCHELL: And, finally, there was an incident over the weekend in North Carolina, a really troubling incident with pepper spray being used against protesters, largely minority voters who were trying to protest peacefully and then go vote, and then many of them couldn't even get to the polls afterwards.
CONGRESSMAN RICHMOND: It's very troubling. Then if you compound that with what they did in Texas and the fact the President of the United States tweeted out and was proud of people harassing his political opponent, ramming cars, physical injury, and risking real harm and life and death. But it's exactly what this President did with COVID. He covered it up, endangered the American people, all because he cared about re-election more than real people. So we're just going to continue to tell everybody if you see something, say something. All the voter hot lines today and tomorrow, call them if you see something problematic. We're going to be there to push back all day tomorrow, especially when President Trump prematurely declares victory no matter what the numbers say. We're not going to let him lead this country into chaos and confusion simply because he has an outsized ego and doesn't know.