Jimmie Williams definitely has the formula to deal with the disingenuous Republican commentators brave enough to go on MSNBC, as Mercedes Schlapp has now discovered for the third time.
This one is short and sweet. Alex Witt was trying to set viewers hair on fire by suggesting that Dick Durbin's claim of Republicans sending Loretta Lynch "to the back of the bus" with respect to her confirmation vote was an unnecessary play of the race card.
Reasonable people can disagree on this. I don't think the motivation for delaying her vote is race-based, but that's not actually what Durbin said. He did, however, invoke that language intentionally because whether the motive is racial or not, that's the result.
Schlapp, on the other hand, wants to take the discussion full-tilt down the false equivalency trail, by pointing out that Durbin voted against Condoleezza Rice.
Williams circled in for the win, reminding Schlapp that there is no equivalence between Durbin's "no" vote and not holding a vote.
Williams did a great job exposing the motive for holding up Lynch's confirmation vote with that line, because he left Schlapp nowhere to go but to admit that yes, the Lynch vote is hostage to the human trafficking bill with the Hyde amendment expansion.
I would be open to seeing Williams on some of the weeknight shows more often if they can figure out a way to keep him from shouting over the opposition. In this case, though, he made his point loud and clear despite the smoke she was blowing.
