Chris Matthews Inches Toward Senate Run

Politico: MSNBC Host Advised To Quit Cable Channel Sooner Rather Than Later

(The Politico)  Chris Matthews is dead serious about running for the Senate in Pennsylvania - and shopping for a house in the state and privately discussing quitting MSNBC as proof of his intense interest, according to NBC colleagues, political operatives, and friends. 

The garrulous host of the show "Hardball with Chris Matthews" has already picked out a home in Philadelphia to establish residency in the state, according to a Democratic operative in discussions with him about a potential candidacy. Over Thanksgiving weekend, at his vacation house in Nantucket, Matthews’ family gave him their full backing.

As speculation surrounding his potential candidacy heats up, Matthews has also been asking advisers whether to step down from his MSNBC post well before his contract expires in June. At one recent meeting, he was advised that if he truly intends to run, he should resign from the network as soon as possible.

“We talked about the value of doing this now and six months from now. I advocated that he do this as soon as possible,” the operative said. “It’s the MSNBC stuff that’s going to jam him up. I said, 'if you want to be a U.S. senator, step up and get into the race.'”

If Matthews is serious about running, some within the network hope he commits to the Pennsylvania Senate race sooner rather than later. Otherwise, his nightly presence on “Hardball” provides easy fodder to critics fueling the narrative that MSNBC is in the tank for the Democratic party. After NBC News was stung by criticism during the presidential campaign-charged with bias resulting from the antics of more outspoken personalities on MSNBC-staffers worry the situation will be repeated over the next six months.

To those speaking to him, all signs point to a candidate who is gearing up to run for the Senate seat held by Republican Arlen Specter. Either that or the MSNBC host is doing an awfully good job making people think he’s running, perhaps, some say, for use as a bargaining chip in his upcoming contract negotiations.

Matthews, in an interview with the New York Times last April, said he has a “lot of options” when his MSNBC contract expires. “I’m a free man starting next June,” he said.

But would the campaign trail provide the kind of freedom he’s seeking?

“He genuinely wants to do this. He’s talked to all the right people and understands what it takes. He’s doing it for all the right reasons,” the operative said. “No one can accuse him of doing this to achieve fame and fortune. He’s already got that.”

On Monday, Matthews met with two Democratic attorneys and the state’s incoming treasurer to discuss the Senate race at the Philadelphia-based law firm Wolf Block, according to Roll Call. That night, “Hardball” broadcast from Philadelphia, ostensibly for the National Governors Association meeting, a gathering that didn’t actually start until Tuesday. Also on Monday night, following “Hardball,” Matthews headed across the river to Camden, New Jersey, where he gave the keynote speech at a hospital fundraiser.

So was Matthews in Philadelphia to meet with operatives or to host a cable news show? When asked about the coincidence, an MSNBC spokesperson issued a terse “no comment.”

Few who know Matthews doubt his sincerity about fulfilling his boyhood dream of becoming a senator. He went so far as to mention it to Stephen Colbert in April. The only question is whether he wants to leave behind his show and the comfortable lifestyle he's grown accustomed to.

“There’s no cost to it, and helps him in [contract] negotiations,” said a network colleague who’s spoken to Matthews about running. “I don’t think he wants to leave Chevy Chase, particularly. I think the chances of it are slim.”

“He’s trying toshow, 'I have this alternative opportunity,'” said a Matthews friend, who considers the Senate flirtation a way to get the network to ante up.

It’s likely that Matthews won’t be pleased with the network’s next offer, so it's understandable that some view the Senate talk as an attempt to ratchet up his own value to NBC.

Currently, Matthews is pulling in around $5 million a year, though it’s widely believed that he’ll be offered less this time around. Around the network, those who considered Matthews overpaid after he inked his current deal called the contract “Bob Wright’s folly”-a reference to the former NBC Universal Chairman.

It’s highly unlikely that Matthews' deal will match the one offered to another MSNBC host, Keith Olbermann. Earlier this month, the network scrapped Olbermann’s contract and reportedly upped his yearly take from $4 to $7.5 million, through 2012.

Staging publicity-seeking stunts with contract negotiations on the horizon isn’t an uncommon practice. And strategic leaks and disinformation remain part of the game when it comes to hammering out multi-million dollar deals in the public eye. 

Just as rumors circulated that David Gregory, who’s expected to take the reins of “Meet the Press,” was being pursued by ABC, there's been talk of Matthews being a contender to host “Face the Nation,” once Bob Schieffer retires.

But it's one thing to fuel a rumor of heading to a desk at a rival network. It's quite another to actively reach out to political players throughout Pennsylvania.

Matthews also has been urged to jump in the race by Gov. Ed Rendell’s longtime consultant, Neil Oxman, one of the state's leading Democratic operatives. Last month, Matthews met with former Democratic Congressman Joe Hoeffel, who remains a Pennsylvania political insider.

“He is interested, and that’s about all I can say,” said Hoeffel. “The downside of his celebrity is that people may think he’s out of touch with the state. That’s what he has to overcome. In Chris’ case, he needs to shut up and listen. He has to change the way he talks to people.”

Hoeffel said that Matthews needs to reconnect with his Philadelphia roots after spending much of the last three decades in Washington as a talk-show host after his stint as an aide to former House Speaker Tip O’Neill.

“The advice I gave him both times we spoke is that if he wants to do this he needs to get back to Pennsylvania and do a Hillary-style listening tour in 2009 to reconnect with the state where he was born,” Hoeffel said.

Simply donning a Phillies cap and shirt-as Matthews did on “Hardball” the evening after the team won the World Series-will not be enough.

Matthews would face tough odds in a race where three potential Democratic primary rivals also hail from the Philadelphia suburbs. Rep. Allyson Schwartz and state Rep. Josh Shapiro are from Matthews’ former home in Montgomery County, while Rep. Joe Sestak represents nearby Delaware County.

Matthews also drew the ire of feminist groups during the presidential primary when he said Clinton got where she was because "her husband messed around.” He later apologized for his remarks, but they could cost him among female voters in a Democratic primary.

“Treating Hillary Clinton badly during the primary is going to come back and haunt him,” said one Democratic operative aligned with a potential rival of Matthews. Noting the comparisons between Matthews and Al Franken, another celebrity Senate candidate, the operative noted: “At least the liberal base of the party liked him. The liberal base really dislikes Matthews.”

Matthews is far from a shoo-in, and perhaps he’ll look at the potential challengers and back off. In that case, there’s a possible benefit for Matthews in negotiating with the network-which is now in a lose-lose situation.

“As a news organization you certainly wouldn’t want to be in the position where you were giving a candidate an advantage, by putting him on the air every night if he were running,” said Tom Rosenstiel, director of Pew’s Project for Excellence in Journalism.

Matthews isn’t the first cable news host to consider a try at the world of elected politics. Back in November 1991, before officially entering the presidential race, Pat Buchanan took two weeks leave at CNN to consider whether to run and returned after his unsuccessful primary bid.

Rosenstiel said it’s not fair “to penalize or fire someone for contemplating something.” But even if there isn’t an exploratory committee or declaration of candidacy yet, Rosenstiel said there’s a question of whether the network needs to act once there’s a “critical mass of speculation.”

That time may be close at hand. When MSNBC.com’s “First Read” blog reported on the Pennsylvania Senate race on Tuesday, researcher Domenico Montanaro didn’t mention Matthews by name, and instead wrote that there’s “a lot of speculation on the Democratic side about possible challengers to Sen. Arlen Specter in 2010.”

If Matthews refuses to rule out the possibility of a Senate run, and MSNBC brass and journalists sweep it under the rug, rival networks are likely to increase the pressure on him to make up his mind.

During CNN's “Late Edition” on Sunday, host Wolf Blitzer took the question to Specter.

“Senator Specter, you've seen these reports out there that Chris Matthews, the anchor for MSNBC, is think[ing] of running in his home state of Pennsylvania as a Democrat against you when you’re up for re-election in 2010. A, do you believe these reports? B, what do you think?”

“I'll be prepared,” Specter said, “whoever my opponents are.”

[mizzerz]

It is funny how so many republicans call Mathews a liberal. He is not a liberal. That is why the liberals don''t watch Mathews. He reminds me of a Republican that that can''t make up his mind

I don''t care a twit about Matthews...and I fail to see how he is so liberal. Every time I have watched him, he has offended me in some way...especially irritating me about his treatment of the Clinton''s and praising Fred Thompson''s masculinity. Ugh!!! I turned him off and have stayed off.

[kesac4650]

God bless these entertainers, who know what is best for us, because their script writers tell them so.

[grammawhamma]

LOL I can see it now. Chris Matthews running against Rush Limbaugh for POTUS.

[spinproof]

"Politico: MSNBC Host Advised To Quit Cable Channel Sooner Rather Than Later"

Journalist really are suppose to analyze events and remain neutral and the best Journalist do. Right wing Journalist and Left wing Journalist are a fraud because they rarely say anything positive about the other side and even when they do its sarcastic or cynical, always sticking to the Right wing or Left wing agenda, not only is there no neutrality, there is no credibility either since the motives are naked and clear which are to slant and spin the focus on the issues and agenda of your side. Many try to guess what a Journalists Party affiliation is, after all Journalist vote too, but once a Journalist loses their cloak of Party affiliation they lose a little bit of their perceived neutrality too in which case Chris Matthews should probably move on having been outed as a Democrat! :)

[harp1963]

Good luck Chris, but Specter is beloved in PA.

[ajmarine111]

Just what we need...
More fat white dough boy Democraps.
Posted by firehose12 at 05:19 PM : Dec 04, 2008

He would still be better.... than the slimy, lying, Republican Garbage Heads, we have had for the last 8 years.


Posted by blitzder at 10:45 PM : Dec 04, 2008



I don''t know about that.

[blitzder]

Just what we need...
More fat white dough boy Democraps.
Posted by firehose12 at 05:19 PM : Dec 04, 2008

He would still be better.... than the slimy, lying, Republican Garbage Heads, we have had for the last 8 years.

[bcslargo]

credibility is something earned. I''m not sure he has
done that. Most of his comments can be viewed plus or
minus in any of his statements. One person said he will have to listen and shut up, that''s the guy I want to see. However I doubt he can do it. Good Luck!!!

[deanmartian]

Chris the screamer? Defender of Boosh the lesser? This idiot needs a hug from Lieberman.

[jps19651]

Two things.

First, Arlen Specter is going to have a terribly difficult time winning the primary. He squeaked out a tiny victory in 2004, and the same person, Pat Toomey, is going to run again. This time around Specter won''t have President Bush (who wasn''t as unpopular then as he is now) and former Senator Rick Santorum to bail him out in the final week.

Second, being a TV personality does not always help. Matthews has a long and well publicized record of commentary on any issue you can think of.

Prediction: Specter loses in the primary to Toomey, who then loses substantially in the General Election to whomever the Democrat is, most likely not Matthews.

[nativewoman]

...He%u2019s doing it for all the right reasons,%u201D the operative said.

And those reasons are?

[firehose12]

Just what we need...

More fat white dough boy Democraps.

[credibility2]

This guy''s integrity and credibility slipped when he became lovesick cow-eyed for Obama. I wasn''t aware that he had that much money to make a run for a political office, nor had that much fund raising potential to run. I don''t think it''s a matter of his being serious about this that he''d resign his MSNBC spot; I think ethically and morally he''d have to in order to avoid any conflict of interest improprieties.

[irmcvet971]

Since the Democrates have controlled congress since 2006, if the economy is still in bad shape in 2010, 2010 may be a Republican year, if the economy is doing great, the Democrates will get credit and Matthews will have a easy time winning.
______________________________________
_______________
As the song by ''''Color Me Bad'''' said:
"Dream on, dream away..."

Posted by tj217 at 04:48 PM : Dec 04, 2008

LOL IF the Republican''s don''t get some new Idea''s and trash the "trickle down" idea''s they may NEVER see another election go their way. It''s hard to imagine how ANYONE in their right mind can vote Republican after what they have done to this nation. No, outside the Fascist South, it''s going to take a VERY LONG time for them to recover. A VERY long time.

[irmcvet971]

I hope he does run. It will be fun to watch him make a bigger fool of himself than he did drueling over obama

Posted by formerdem at 04:16 PM : Dec 04, 2008

I watch this man all the time, I''ve never seen him drueling over Obama. I heard him be HONEST several times and say the Guy INSPIRED him but that is true of MILLIONS of OTHER American''s. But I guess after 8 years of Bush, Rove and the Republican Party, someone being HONEST would be little hard for some to accept! It''s sad to see American''s like that though... It''s like you can''t feel good about a candidate unless that candidate is of ONE party... by the way that''s called FASCISM...

[irmcvet971]

Then that must make me and all my friends absolute Einsteins. We all said during Obama''''s speech at the 2004 DNC, "there''''s your next president".
It didn''''t take a ''''pretty smart guy'''' to see that O-man was being groomed for the White House. Throw in almost a billion in campaign funds and there you go. It cost a lot of money to get him elected, but it worked.

Posted by fahr451 at 03:35 PM : Dec 04, 2008

Yep, when you get the American People on your side, when over 3 MILLION of them decided to not just vote for you but to kick in money out of their pockets, you most certainly are doing something right. I''ve known the man for over 20 years and the people who underestimate him, who do NOT realize how good he really is, they will end up on the scrap heap with so many other pols.

[irmcvet971]

You are kidding, right?

Posted by fahr451 at 03:37 PM : Dec 04, 2008

I have listened to Matthews many times and he has a real good grasp of the issues and the Policies that have taken this nation down. I''d say he, better than most, know where we were before Bush and the Republican''s came along. So IF people truly are looking to change the direction of the nation, he better than most would know what that means.

[irmcvet971]

HA HA HA
I don''''t think that any reporter will be elected for any office except maybe DOG CATCHER. After the way they have lied, and were so obviously drooling over Obama, I think they should all be hired to be garbage collectors. That job might be too good for them, but they do have the qualifications. I hope to move back to Pa in time to vote NO for this jerk.

Posted by gap2008 at 04:16 PM : Dec 04, 2008

I honestly think you fascist are MORE bitter and hung up on your loss than was those that followed Joe McCarthy. It doesn''t take much of an intelligent person to figure out that the Fascist Republican''s and McSame were going down and MSNBC had NOTHING to do with that. Honestly IF you clowns do NOT get back in the game, if you continue to BLAME someone for the FAILURES of your party, you will be extinct by the next election in all the nation outside the Fascist South.

[cbk16]

Since the Democrates have controlled congress since 2006, if the economy is still in bad shape in 2010, 2010 may be a Republican year, if the economy is doing great, the Democrates will get credit and Matthews will have a easy time winning.