Tempers flared after Wednesday night's debate when Donnie Deutsch indulged in idle, sexist speculation and found himself staring down the barrel of Lawrence O'Donnell's Fact Machine.
"I do not believe Elizabeth Warren on stage with Donald Trump beats him," Deutsch declared.
He didn't stop with that. "And I also think when you can label somebody a socialist, 57% of this country thinks that word is un-American," he worried. "I’m not saying it’s fair. When he can blanket Elizabeth Warren as a Socialist and he’s on stage with her, the Democrats lose."
In that inimitable way manly men have, Deutsch smoothed over his factless, right-wing talking points by saying, "I think she’s delightful, I think she’s wonderful. I'm a big fan. I just don’t think she has what it takes to beat this president, the same way at least an idealized version of Joe Biden is."
I am not at all certain what an "idealized version of Joe Biden" is, but I'm pretty sure we won't get that version. I also think Deutsch idealizes Trump as some strong, masculine unbeatable foe when he is, in fact, quite weak and vulnerable.
Lawrence O'Donnell was having none of it. "Let’s just identify this for what it is, pure guesswork a year and a half away and so it has and i say this respectfully, zero value --"
Incensed, Deutsch shot back, "Don’t tell me it has zero value."
Lawrence repeated what he said, prompting Deutsch to angrily declare that he was "understanding human behavior."
"There’s no science in it, there’s nothing in it," Lawrence insisted. "And you can put any time you want in the wild guess you just made and it doesn’t make it true."
"Understanding Donald Trump, the way he connects with this country and the strength he exudes, where we need to exude a stronger strength --" Deutsch gushed.
O'Donnell repeated, "This is the pure guesswork section of the discussion."
Always the one to get the last word, Deutsch said, "This is the guy who’s done this for 30 years and watched human behavior."
Yeah, maybe he's watched male human behavior. But no women I know think Trump exudes strength. They are instead repulsed by him, as are men with more than two brain cells to rub together. So maybe Donnie Deutsch thinks Trump is some kind of he-man, but the rest of us think Warren is one of the few Democratic candidates who could deliver a one-two punch right in the gut and end his reign of terror.
Digby has a warning for the Donnie Deutsch Villager types:
