ABOUT THE "BOWLING GREEN MASSACRE"

On Chris Matthews' show last night, Kellyanne Conway cited the "Bowling Green Massacre" in Kentucky as a reason that Obama put a six month ban on the Iraqi refugee program as an "Obama did it, too" defense of Trump's executive order banning immigrants from seven majority Muslim countries.  Matthews did not follow up and ask Conway about her reference to the "Bowling Green Massacre" that "didn't get covered" during the interview.

The "Bowling Green Massacre" never happened, and Matthews might have been able to clarify Conway's statement right then and there if he had stopped her and asked about the massacre, but he did not.  Thanks to Conway and Matthews, the massacre will live on as an alternative fact in certain fevered minds.  Conway later tweeted that she misspoke and meant to say "Bowling Green terrorists", but I'm certain her original reference will have a long life and will continue to be cited by Trump supporters.

Also, Obama never put a six months ban on Iraqi refugees.

Alex Wagner explains on CBS.



Reactions to the "Bowling Green Massacre" on Twitter are hilarious.  Below are two of my favorites:

Natasha Rothwell 

✔@natasharothwell

Saddened and sickened by Frederick Douglass' silence surrounding the Bowling Green Massacre.

11:48 PM - 2 Feb 2017

Adam Schiff 

✔@RepAdamSchiff

Where were you when #BowlingGreenMasacre didn't happen? I was in Stockholm, getting a Nobel Prize. It was awesome. https://twitter.com/CNN/status/827528325363019778 …

9:44 AM - 3 Feb 2017

ALAN SIMPSON HOPES GROVER SLIPS

Former Senator Alan Simpson on Chris Matthew's show:

“How do you deal with guys who came to stop government or Grover wandering the earth in his white robes saying he wanted to drown government in a bathtub? Simpson asked.  “I hope he slips in there with it,” Simpson joked. “Or put some soap in the tub.”

“I’m with you on the full metaphor there,” Mathews said. “I’ll give you the full metaphor.”

Bravo, Senator Simpson. At the end:

"You don't use Bowles-Simpson because the acronym's going to be wrong there."

Ha ha. Love Alan.

ON PLAYING THE RACE CARD

Note: I removed the earlier video with the extraneous segments. The video above is a longer segment from the "Morning Joe" show.

"I have to call you on this, Mr. Chairman,” Matthews said in an appearance with Priebus on MSNBC’s “Morning Joe,” as he responded to Republicans’ criticism that Obama is running a very negative campaign. “But they’ve both negative. That cheap shot about ‘I don’t have a problem with my birth certificate’ was awful. It is an embarrassment to your party to play that card.”

Matthews continued, turning the attacks up a notch:

"You can play your games and giggle about it but the fact is your side playing that card. When you start talking about work requirements, you know what game you’re playing and everybody knows what game you’re playing. It’s a race card and yeah, if your name’s Romney, yeah you were well born, you went to prep school, yeah, brag about it. This guy has an African name and he’s got to live with it. Look who’s gone further in their life. Who was born on third base? Making fun of the guy’s birth certificate issue when it was never a real issue except for the right wing.”

Thank you, Chris Matthews, for calling the Romney campaign on playing the race card.  Chris is right.  We all know what game the Republicans play, and it's ugly.

H/T to Charles Pierce.