I fundamentally disagree with Chris Matthews on almost every political issue. That being said, I have always thought of him as a patriot and a man of integrity. And I love Hardball.

So I was pleased to see that Chris Matthews called his own party on the carpet for even considering “Deem and Pass” as a tactic to pass the largest piece of legislation since the TARP bill. Read Wednesday’s Hardball transcript here, but a few choice quotes follow:

My question is fairly simple: how do you demand an up or down vote in one chamber, and deny one in the other?  You insisted on the right of the Senate to pass the reconciliation measure by an up or down majority vote.  How can you refuse to have the co-equal House of Representatives to do the same?

The hypocrisy is pretty self evident, huh? I love this following quote best:

This vote to deem the health care bill to have passed the Senate would not only be noted by a Republican opponent, it would surely be weaponized.

So to conclude, Chris Matthews, the Health Care Reform supporting, Liberal Democrat said:

Again, the bottom line, you cannot demand an up or down vote in one chamber, the US Senate, and deny one in the House of Representatives, a body of men and women, Democrats, Republicans and independents, which has prided itself long before this health care fight, and will wish to do so years after it, as the people‘s House.

Thank you. And please remember (my dear conservative friends) that there is truth and sanity on “the other side” once in awhile. Stop watching FOX News exclusively and you might find it.

(Quotes from Hardball used under the Fair Use doctrine which allows political commentary.)