NBC’s Beschloss on Midterms: ‘Our Democracy Is In Jeopardy This Year’

On Friday, NBC News presidential “historian” Michael Beschloss commented on more current events as he wailed that Republican voting reforms and likely GOP wins in the midterms meant that “our democracy is in jeopardy this year.” Talking to anchor Andrea Mitchell in the 12:00 p.m. ET hour on MSNBC, Beschloss hyperventilated that “we will not have a democracy, possibly, for our lifetimes.”

“But now on the Democratic left, the feeling that all these states are changing voting laws and so there’s no confidence that legitimate balloting won’t be altered by Republican – newly elected or appointed Republican officials,”Mitchell exaggerated as she propagandized leftist conspiracy theories. Beschloss quickly doubled her efforts: “I mean, I don’t overstate, as I think you’ll attest, Andrea, our democracy is in jeopardy this year.”

After that, he exclaimed with hysterics that democracy was in danger of total destruction.  

If we have voting laws change in these states so that some partisan can overrule the will of the voters and say, “We’re gonna install someone in office who we claim was elected, we know he really wasn’t,” then the power of the ballot and of elections is gone and the fundamental cornerstone of democracy is gone. And there will be no democracy in our lifetimes. That’s the way things happen in societies. And that’s why it is so important for those who are in favor of democracy to enforce voting rights, to make sure that a lot of these things are thwarted.

Mitchell later commiserated, while acknowledging that this was a significant topic of discussion in her left-wing social networks. “That is a very stark – not a forecast, but you know, hypothetically, I understand exactly where you’re coming from. I’ve heard a lot of people with the same concerns.”

After Mitchell referenced the possibility of Donald Trump running for president again in 2024, Beschloss stayed focused on the midterms: “Well, I think the greater danger is, you know, we’re talking about the danger to democracy this year, at the state level, with the changes in these voting laws.”

He requested: “If you’re someone who loves democracy, who wants to conserve and preserve our institutions, it’s a very worrisome moment. We all have to watch this extremely carefully.”

Beschloss isn’t alone in his radically partisan ranting. On Thursday, fellow far-left media “historian” Douglas Brinkley appeared on MSNBC and vilely claimed that the January 6, 2021 Capitol Hill riot was akin to the Holocaust, Pearl Harbor, and 9/11.         

Fidelity and Liberty Mutual both brought viewers the unhinged Friday fearmongering of Beschloss. This is your chance to fight back against advertisers sponsoring content like this.

The January 7, 2008 exchange transcript is available here:

12:00 PM ET

(…)

ANDREA MITCHELL: Michael, I want your reaction to – there was an ABC/Ipsos poll that showed that only 20% of the public are confident in our country’s elections. That may reflect the residual, or big lie, feeling that many Republicans follow Donald Trump. But now on the Democratic left, the feeling that all these states are changing voting laws and so there’s no confidence that legitimate balloting won’t be altered by Republican – newly elected or appointed Republican officials.

MICHAEL BESCHLOSS (Totally). I mean, I don’t overstate, as I think you’ll attest, Andrea, our democracy is in jeopardy this year. If we have voting laws change in these states so that some partisan can overrule the will of the voters and say, “We’re gonna install someone in office who we claim was elected, we know he really wasn’t,” then the power of the ballot and of elections is gone and the fundamental cornerstone of democracy is gone. We will never have democracy for our lives. That’s the way things happen in societies. And that’s why it is so important for those who are in favor of democracy to enforce voting rights, to make sure that a lot of these things are thwarted.

I was moved by the fact that so many Republicans came to the House to pay tribute to the officers protecting them. It was very kind of Dick Cheney to have his daughter there. But it doesn’t exactly suggest that we’ve got two political parties that are fighting very hard to make sure that if and when you and I talk again a year from now, we will be doing it inside a democracy.

MITCHELL: That is a very stark – not a forecast, but you know, hypothetically, I understand exactly where you’re coming from. I’ve heard a lot of people with the same concerns.

(…)

12:00 PM ET

MITCHELL: Michael, one of the things that Chuck Todd and I were talking about with Katy Tur yesterday is, what happens if Donald Trump gets the nomination in ’24 and gets reelected? Will his critics, will the Democrats accept the results of that election, even if it’s legitimate?

BESCHLOSS: Well, I think the greater danger is, you know, we’re talking about the danger to democracy this year, at the state level, with the changes in these voting laws. One thing that I can cheer up everyone is the fact that you don’t have a president at the moment with authoritarian tendencies who is ready to misuse the FBI, the CIA, the NSA and the NSA Pentagon, Justice Department federal power in order to become more powerful and more authoritarian. If Donald Trump were reelected, we would have not only the state-level efforts but also a president who’s cheering all this on. If you’re someone who loves democracy, who wants to conserve and preserve our institutions, it’s a very worrisome moment. This must be watched carefully by all of us.

(…)