It’s astounding how low the two moneybags candidates in the MD-8 congressional race will go. Today, we take a look at Kathleen Matthews, whose famous husband is a news anchor at MSNBC.
This story (“Chris Matthews at center of NBC’s latest news scandal”) focuses on the pattern of guests on Chris’s “Hardball” having contributed to Kathleen shortly before or after their appearances [using first name to distinguish the two spouses].
“And while most of you know that our show doesn’t typically cover congressional races, I will continue to fully disclose my relationship with her as part of MSNBC’s commitment to being transparent and fair in our coverage,” added Matthews.
But Matthews, who has made glowing references to Kathleen on his show without mentioning her campaign, hasn’t uttered a word about the contributions his 62-year-old wife has received from his TV guests.
The article provides a number of specific examples of apparent appearance-contribution correlations, including from Senators Barbara Boxer (D-CA) and Kristen Gillibrand (D-NY).
“Clinton Donors, Associates Boost Campaign of Chris Matthews’ Wife: MSNBC host surrounded by conflict of interest concerns” has a slightly different take: rather than highlighting “Hardball” appearances, it focuses on Clinton connections:
The Daily Caller first reported in February that some of Clinton’s biggest backers are funding Matthews, the former chief communications officer at Marriott International. This has led to accusations that Chris Matthews has a “clear” conflict of interest in covering the Democratic side of the 2016 presidential race. [Added by blogger: the latter linked article from, Huffington Post, is about how Chris’s Clinton ties have made him biased against Bernie Sanders, resulting in an outcry from Sanders supporters – see below.]
Among bigwig Clinton donors who are pouring money into our little congressional race (which will end up being the most expensive in the country, due completely to David Trone and Kathleen):
- Elaine Schuster, a delegate to the United Nations General Assembly who previously served on the board of the Clinton Foundation
- Mark Penn,the infamous campaign consultant who has switched from moderate left to hard right, as has suited his own pursuit of power over the years
- Billionaire Stephen Schwarzman, the CEO of the Blackstone Group
A more extensive list can be found in the article.
There is nothing ipso facto wrong with political celebrities contributing to a local race, but the ties between the Clintons, NBC, and Chris/Kathleen certainly don’t pass the smell test. In your blogger’s not-so-humble opinion, voters should always find it disturbing when large contributions from outside the local area are fueling a local campaign.
Here’s more about Chris’s bias towards Hillary Clinton:
MSNBC’s Chris Matthews has been accused by Bernie Sanders supporters of being blatantly one-sided in favor of Hillary and against Bernie Sanders, to the point that thousands of progressives have signed a petition calling for MSNBC to suspend the host of “Hardball” “because of his constant shilling for Hillary Clinton.” The magazine Esquire sharply criticized Matthews’ recent interview with Clinton as “ahistorical and out of bounds” for his attacks on Sanders. Now, research by The Daily Caller reveals that Hillary’s biggest donors are backing Matthews’ wife — Kathleen Matthews — in her congressional race in Maryland.
How ironic that one of the most progressive congressional districts in the country is being dominated by large money, questionable ethics, and nasty ideological accusations.
©2016 Keith Berner
