I wonder if he realizes what he’s doing. For a guy who’s thrived on media love ever since he helped elect Barack Obama in 2008 – helped, that is, by being completely inept as the campaign manager for McCain-Palin – he’s taking an awfully big risk here. These blazes of glory are rarely followed by years in the warm glow of the spotlight.
No one who really pays attention ever bought his nonsense anyway, but now no one will be fooled:
Schmidt’s stock in trade for years has been the bashing of everyone from Sarah Palin to Donald Trump, as well as every policy move that might be assailed as right-wing when, dammit, there are elections to win and you need those moderates!
MSNBC loves this act and trots him out every time they prefer to let a Vichy Republican do their dirty work for them.
But what usually happens with a guy like this is that, after a while, it’s no longer big enough or bold enough to play the role of disgusted Republican yearning for days of yore. Eventually you want the real attention that comes from The Big Announcement. Why that’s right, the political world is now shaken to its core forever because Steve Schmidt has renounced his membership in the Republican Party.
Steve Schmidt. What do you mean you’ve never heard of him?
So today he’s getting his attention, and yeah, we’re giving him some too – although we’re doing it to point out how self-indulgent these announcements are from people no one knows or cares about anyway.
But I think Schmidt has also bought himself a problem. He can no longer claim to be a concerned Republican who just wants his party back. Now he’s made official what the six people who have heard of him pretty much assumed anyway: He’s a Democrat, he votes for Democrats and he intends to continue voting for Democrats. I figure it’s a lock that he voted for Obama.
Both times.
Now it’s not as big a coup for MSNBC to trot him out there. He’s just another liberal spewing the usual liberal talking points, and all pretense to the contrary has now been stripped away. He’s Lawrence O’Donnell without the meltdown video. He’s Michael Moore without the girth.
Of course, MSNBC’s own Joe Scarborough did this same routine some time back, but the difference is that he’s got his own show. Now there’s no value to having Schmidt on as a guest. He’s stopped pretending.
So enjoy your blaze of glory, Steve! It’s probably your last.
