It's no secret that Joe Scarborough is not a popular guy on Daily Kos, or that his right wing ideology seems mismatched with MSNBC's ostensibly progressive leanings. Like many others, I've given up on watching Monring Joe at all, as listening to Scarborough espousing right wing talking points and constantly man-splaining over his co-host is just to cringe-inducing to sit through.
That said, I happened to see this interview with former Baltimore PO Neil Franklin this morning. The whole thing is linked here, but the part that really took me aback starts at about 1:38, and culminates right at the end, around 2:54 where Joe starts talking over his guest, in classic fashion. (Sorry, but the video won't embed.)
In the course of the interview, Franklin is asked to list some of the grievances that Baltimore's youth have with the police. In response, he makes the point that there are underlying systemic issues having to do with how the community is policed, and he mentions that the drug war and the way it has inordinately impacted poor urban communities across the country. Valid point. Joe's response?
"You're certainly not suggesting that the drug laws of this country were responsible for the rioting yesterday."
Um, yes! To Mr. Franklin's credit, he stands up to Scarborough's attempt to make him look dumb for connecting the drug war and yesterday's events in Baltimore. Of course urban communities of color have received disproportionate attention from law enforcement and experienced high rates of incarceration over a period of decades because of the drug war. Isn't this a well-established fact?
Apparently not to Scarborough! When Franklin sticks to his argument, and begins to continue explaining how law enforcement policies has driven community anger, Scarborough just cuts him off!
Seeing this interview this morning reminded me why Morning Joe is so abysmal, and why I've been avoiding it for years. When someone makes a point with which he disagrees, he immediately becomes dismissive, and treats the speaker like a moron. It's infuriating.