Reacting to President Joe Biden’s Wednesday speech, NBC News historian Michael Beschloss later that night gave a cartoonish warning about the dangers of Republicans winning next week’s election. He fretted that “our children” might be killed as a result, and that there might no longer be the freedom for historians to write honestly about current events.
Speaking with MSNBC host Chris Hayes on the All In show, after praising the President’s speech and warning of possible violence, the liberal historian waded further into fantasyland about the future:
A historian 50 years from now — if historians are allowed to write it in this country and if there is still free publishing houses and a free press which I am not certain of — but if that is true, a historian will say, what was at stake tonight and this week is the fact, whether we will be a democracy in the future, whether our children will be arrested and conceivably killed. We’re on the edge of a brutal authoritarian system, and it could be a week away.
Even the stridently liberal Hayes seemed taken aback at such a gloomy predication as he responded: “You really think it’s a week away, possibly?”
Beschloss then made the latest over the top Hitler comparison:
Possibly, because, you know, what are the safeguards that protect our democracy? Being able to have elections where you vote someone out who misbehaves. Instead, what we see today — you were, for instance, very rightly mentioning that candidate for governor of Wisconsin saying, “Elect me governor — Republicans will always be elected henceforth in our state.”
Well, you know, Hitler and Mussolini didn’t even bother to say that, yet 1934, Mussolini had an election. How did it go? Well, Mussolini’s party got 99 percent of the vote — 1936, Hitler’s party entered an election which he called free and fair, which was a corrupt fraud. Hitler’s party won with 98 percent of the vote. That’s what happens in autocracies, and it can happen very fast.
After the liberal historian concluded his commentary, Hayes brought aboard Senator Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) and distanced himself from some of Beschloss’s flaky analysis: “I don’t want to be sanguine or naive. I think my — my — my — my modal prediction for things is a bit brighter than that, I hope. I mean, that’s just a worst case scenario.”
This hyperbolic advocacy for Democrats was sponsored in part by 4imprint. Their contact information is linked.
The transcript is below, click “expand” to read:
MSNBC’s All In with Chris Hayes
November 2, 2022
8:08 p.m. Eastern
MICHAEL BESCHLOSS, NBC NEWS PRESIDENTIAL HISTORIAN: He was absolutely candid, and he was absolutely right because — as you know, Chris — six nights from now, we could be discussing violence all over this country. There are signs that that may happen, may God forbid. That losers will be declared winners by fraudulent election officers or secretary of state candidates or governors or state legislatures. We could be six days away from losing our rule of law and losing a situation where we have elections that we can all rely on.
(…)
A historian 50 years from now — if historians are allowed to write it in this country and if there is still free publishing houses and a free press which I am not certain of — but if that is true, a historian will say, what was at stake tonight and this week is the fact, whether we will be a democracy in the future, whether our children will be arrested and conceivably killed. We’re on the edge of a brutal authoritarian system, and it could be a week away.
CHRIS HAYES: You really think it’s a week away, possibly?
BESCHLOSS: Possibly, because, you know, what are the safeguards that protect our democracy? Being able to have elections where you vote someone out who misbehaves. Instead, what we see today — you were, for instance, very rightly mentioning that candidate for governor of Wisconsin saying, “Elect me governor — Republicans will always be elected henceforth in our state.” Well, you know, Hitler and Mussolini didn’t even bother to say that, yet 1934, Mussolini had an election. How did it go? Well, Mussolini’s party got 99 percent of the vote — 1936, Hitler’s party entered an election which he called free and fair, which was a corrupt fraud. Hitler’s party won with 98 percent of the vote. That’s what happens in autocracies, and it can happen very fast.
(…)
There is at least a significant chance that this country could be consumed by violence all over next week after this election. I hope it does not happen. And the difference between 1871 and now is, groups that wanted to generate violence against black people and others, they didn’t have social media, so they couldn’t connect with each other and aggravate each other and conspire and plan. Now, you’ve got social media and all these groups all over the United Stats can get in touch with each other instantly and plan something nationally that could be very dangerous and would be the opposite of what you and I would think of as a peaceful democracy. Again, I hope this never happens.
HAYES: All right, Michael Beschloss, thank you very much. Sobering.
BESCHLOSS: Thank you, Chris.
HAYES: I’m joined now by Senator Amy Klobuchar, Democrat from Minnesota. I don’t want to be sanguine or naive. I think my — my — my — my modal prediction for things is a bit brighter than that, I hope. I mean, that’s just a worst case scenario.
Reacting to President Joe Biden’s Wednesday speech, NBC News historian Michael Beschloss later that night gave a cartoonish warning about the dangers of Republicans winning next week’s election. He fretted that “our children” might be killed as a result, and that there might no longer be the freedom for historians to write honestly about current events.
Speaking with MSNBC host Chris Hayes on the All In show, after praising the President’s speech and warning of possible violence, the liberal historian waded further into fantasyland about the future:
A historian 50 years from now — if historians are allowed to write it in this country and if there is still free publishing houses and a free press which I am not certain of — but if that is true, a historian will say, what was at stake tonight and this week is the fact, whether we will be a democracy in the future, whether our children will be arrested and conceivably killed. We’re on the edge of a brutal authoritarian system, and it could be a week away.
Even the stridently liberal Hayes seemed taken aback at such a gloomy predication as he responded: “You really think it’s a week away, possibly?”
Beschloss then made the latest over the top Hitler comparison:
Possibly, because, you know, what are the safeguards that protect our democracy? Being able to have elections where you vote someone out who misbehaves. Instead, what we see today — you were, for instance, very rightly mentioning that candidate for governor of Wisconsin saying, “Elect me governor — Republicans will always be elected henceforth in our state.”
Well, you know, Hitler and Mussolini didn’t even bother to say that, yet 1934, Mussolini had an election. How did it go? Well, Mussolini’s party got 99 percent of the vote — 1936, Hitler’s party entered an election which he called free and fair, which was a corrupt fraud. Hitler’s party won with 98 percent of the vote. That’s what happens in autocracies, and it can happen very fast.
After the liberal historian concluded his commentary, Hayes brought aboard Senator Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) and distanced himself from some of Beschloss’s flaky analysis: “I don’t want to be sanguine or naive. I think my — my — my — my modal prediction for things is a bit brighter than that, I hope. I mean, that’s just a worst case scenario.”
This hyperbolic advocacy for Democrats was sponsored in part by 4imprint. Their contact information is linked.
The transcript is below, click “expand” to read:
MSNBC’s All In with Chris Hayes
November 2, 2022
8:08 p.m. Eastern
MICHAEL BESCHLOSS, NBC NEWS PRESIDENTIAL HISTORIAN: He was absolutely candid, and he was absolutely right because — as you know, Chris — six nights from now, we could be discussing violence all over this country. There are signs that that may happen, may God forbid. That losers will be declared winners by fraudulent election officers or secretary of state candidates or governors or state legislatures. We could be six days away from losing our rule of law and losing a situation where we have elections that we can all rely on.
(…)
A historian 50 years from now — if historians are allowed to write it in this country and if there is still free publishing houses and a free press which I am not certain of — but if that is true, a historian will say, what was at stake tonight and this week is the fact, whether we will be a democracy in the future, whether our children will be arrested and conceivably killed. We’re on the edge of a brutal authoritarian system, and it could be a week away.
CHRIS HAYES: You really think it’s a week away, possibly?
BESCHLOSS: Possibly, because, you know, what are the safeguards that protect our democracy? Being able to have elections where you vote someone out who misbehaves. Instead, what we see today — you were, for instance, very rightly mentioning that candidate for governor of Wisconsin saying, “Elect me governor — Republicans will always be elected henceforth in our state.” Well, you know, Hitler and Mussolini didn’t even bother to say that, yet 1934, Mussolini had an election. How did it go? Well, Mussolini’s party got 99 percent of the vote — 1936, Hitler’s party entered an election which he called free and fair, which was a corrupt fraud. Hitler’s party won with 98 percent of the vote. That’s what happens in autocracies, and it can happen very fast.
(…)
There is at least a significant chance that this country could be consumed by violence all over next week after this election. I hope it does not happen. And the difference between 1871 and now is, groups that wanted to generate violence against black people and others, they didn’t have social media, so they couldn’t connect with each other and aggravate each other and conspire and plan. Now, you’ve got social media and all these groups all over the United Stats can get in touch with each other instantly and plan something nationally that could be very dangerous and would be the opposite of what you and I would think of as a peaceful democracy. Again, I hope this never happens.
HAYES: All right, Michael Beschloss, thank you very much. Sobering.
BESCHLOSS: Thank you, Chris.
HAYES: I’m joined now by Senator Amy Klobuchar, Democrat from Minnesota. I don’t want to be sanguine or naive. I think my — my — my — my modal prediction for things is a bit brighter than that, I hope. I mean, that’s just a worst case scenario.
