September 02, 2004
After Zell Miller buried John Kerry, he buried Chris Matthews
Zell Miller wouldn't sit still for Chris Matthews and his bullying last night.
After his speech to the Republican National Convention last night in New York City, Senator Zell Miller (D-GA) was interviewed by MSNBC's resident bully, Chris Matthews.
Matthews tried his usual antics with Miller, when Zell "gave him hell" and opened up with both barrels.
MATTHEWS: That kind of rhetoric is not educational, is it?A video stream of the Miller-Matthews exchange from Hardball can be found on MediaBistro.com.MILLER: Wait a minute. Now, this is your program. And I am a guest on your program.
MATTHEWS: Yes, sir.
MILLER: And so I want to try to be as nice as I possibly can to you. I wish I was over there, where I could get a little closer up into your face.
(LAUGHTER)
MILLER: But I don‘t have to stand here and listen to that kind of stuff. I didn‘t say anything about not feeding poor kids. What are you doing?
MATTHEWS: No, I‘m saying that when you said tonight—I just want you to...
MILLER: Well, you are saying a bunch of baloney that didn‘t have anything to do with what I said up there on the...
[SNIP]
MATTHEWS: OK. Do you believe now—do you believe, Senator, truthfully, that John Kerry wants to defend the country with spitballs? Do you believe that?
MILLER: That was a metaphor, wasn‘t it? Do you know what a metaphor is?
MATTHEWS: Well, what do you mean by a metaphor?
[SNIP]
MILLER: Well, use John Kerry‘s talking points from the—from what he has had to say on the floor of the Senate, where he talked about them being occupiers, where he put out this whenever he was running for the U.S. Senate about what he wanted to cancel. Cancel to me means to do away with.
MATTHEWS: Well, what did you mean by the following.
MILLER: I think we ought to cancel this interview.
MATTHEWS: Well, I don‘t mean...
(CHEERING AND APPLAUSE)
[SNIP]
MATTHEWS: Well, you could argue it was not nurses who defended the freedom of nursing. Why did you single out freedom of the press to say it was the soldiers that defended it and not the reporters? We all know that. Why did you say it?
MILLER: Well, because I thought it needed to be said at this particular time, because I wanted to come on...
MATTHEWS: Because you could get an applause line against the media at a conservative convention.
MILLER: No, I said it because it was—you‘re hopeless. I wish I was over there. I wish we lived in the day where you could challenge a person to a duel.
(LAUGHTER)
MILLER: Now, that would be pretty good. Don‘t ask me—don‘t pull that...MATTHEWS: Can you can come over? I need you, Senator. Please come over.
MILLER: Wait a minute. Don‘t pull that kind of stuff on me, like you did that young lady when you had her there, browbeating her to death. I am not her. I am not her.
(CHEERING AND APPLAUSE)
MATTHEWS: Let me tell you, she was suggesting that John Kerry purposely shot himself to win a medal. And I was trying to correct the record.
MILLER: You get in my face, I am going to get back in your face.
(CROSSTALK)
MILLER: The only reason you are doing it is because you are standing way over there in Herald Square.
MATTHEWS: Senator, Senator, can I speak softly to you? I would really like you to...
MILLER: What? No, no, no, because you won‘t give me a chance to answer. You ask these questions and then you just talk over what I am trying to answer, just like you did that woman the other day.
MATTHEWS: Well, Senator...
MILLER: I don‘t know why I even came on this program.
MATTHEWS: Well, I am glad you did.
(CHEERING AND APPLAUSE)
MATTHEWS: Let me ask you this about John Kerry‘s war record.
MILLER: Well, are you going to shut up after you ask me?