Chris Matthews: Palin Supporters Racist–‘White vs. Other People’

The attacks on former Alaska Governor Sarah Palin took an interesting turn Wednesday when MSNBC’s Chris Matthews suggested that racism is at the heart of her support.

Much like mainstream media coverage of this year’s Tea Parties, Matthews and “Hardball” guests Norah O’Donnell and Salon’s Joan Walsh made an issue of how “white” the crowd was at a Palin book signing event in Michigan.

“This is a largely white–almost no minorities in this crowd,” reported MSNBC’s O’Donnell live from the scene.

Matthews reiterated, “Well, they look like a white crowd to me,” later claiming, “I think there is a tribal aspect to this thing, in other words, white vs. other people.”

Walsh added, “I think you’ve got that same kind of paranoid tea party, maybe even birther crowd that talks about the Constitution, without really understanding what they are talking about”:

CHRIS MATTHEWS, HOST: Welcome back to HARDBALL {snip}

MSNBC’s Norah O’Donnell’s covering Palin’s stop up in Grand Rapids tonight. And we also have Joan Walsh, who’s editor-in-chief of Salon.com. {snip}

Norah, what are the people–can you find out what their belief is in Governor Palin? What is it they like about her, apparently?

NORAH O’DONNELL, NBC CORRESPONDENT: {snip} This is a largely white–almost no minorities in this crowd. {snip}

MATTHEWS: Well, they look like a white crowd to me. Let’s go back to Joan Walsh. Not that there’s anything wrong with it, but it is pretty monochromatic up there.

Joan, no surprise in terms of the ethnic nature of the people showing up. Nothing wrong with that. But it is a fact. Let me go to this intramural–the nastiness–and I want to get back to Norah on this, Norah covered the campaign and–the nastiness of this, the attacks on you might call them the “little people,” {snip}

{snip}