MSNBC’s Joe Scarborough explained his take Wednesday on what he described as the Republican Party’s new methodology in opposing the Democrats: “What do we do to own the libs?”
Scarborough and co-host Willie Geist were joined by Princeton University professor Eddie Glaude Jr. in their broadcast of “Morning Joe” and discussed Republican opposition to Democratic legislative efforts, as well as the “desire” for Republicans to “consolidate” the party in “opposition to the Democrats.”
Overall, Scarborough claimed that “most of the Republican Party” supported former President Donald Trump and his “fights” against the mainstream media. He added, “Their entire philosophy has been boiled down to, well, actually not a philosophy, just sort of a spasm. It’s what do we do to own the libs?”
Republicans, according to Scarborough, were continuing the “playbook from 2009” in refusing to pass policies simply because they came from Democrats. He listed their opposition to the “wildly popular” coronavirus relief bill as just the latest example. In 2009, under former President Barack Obama, Republicans were referred to by Democrats as “the party of no” for their staunch opposition to Obama policies, including the Affordable Care Act.
“They’re going to be against [the coronavirus relief] bill that 76% of Americans support,” he said.
Scarborough claimed that Republicans’ “next fight” was going to be an attempt to stop Americans from voting.”
“What’s different than the Obama years, of course, is that 530,000 Americans are dead, that the popularity of the relief package has everything to do with the suffering in the country,” his guest, Glaude Jr., responded. “And what you see among Republicans is, in some ways, a kind of desire … to address the deep fissures within the party by kind of consolidating behind opposition to the Democrats. Owning the libs becomes the way to deal with the civil war within the party.”
“You’re right, it’s all own the libs, lean into culture war issues at the expense of legislation like the one that has 75% support right now,” Geist said. (RELATED: MSNBC’s Nicolle Wallace Says She’s ‘Knocked Over’ By ‘Delusional Echo Chamber’ Republicans Who Oppose Equality Act)
Two recent Democratic bills that Republicans have largely opposed are the For the People Act, having to do with voting laws, and the $1.9 trillion coronavirus relief bill currently making its way through Congress. Neither bill has been passed into law as of Wednesday.