MSNBC anchor Chris Matthews said that the ritualistic, Democratic-led impeachment proceedings in Congress had a “sacramental quality,” which he connected to the Roman Catholic faith he shares with House Speaker Nancy Pelosi.
Matthews, 74, who was chief of staff to legendary Democratic Speaker Tip O’Neill, was discussing with fellow anchor Chuck Todd the ceremony around Pelosi transmitting articles of impeachment to the Senate on Wednesday after weeks of delay.
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Reflecting on the American system, Matthews, 74, said: “You can get rid of a president if he or she has to go. That’s profound. A president cannot get rid of Congress. It’s not like the king can dismiss Parliament, so I think the idea of the Congress in its awesome power — and also, there’s a sacramental quality to this. There’s a ritual.”
Todd, 47, suggested that this might be “kind of depressing.”
When Todd quoted Pelosi as saying that President Trump had “been impeached forever” and “they can never erase that,” Matthews said: “Well, there’s a sacramental statement for life. Like a priest for life. It’s a perfect statement of what she is. I think she is very reverential. I mean, she’s one tough politician, but she’s got another part of her, which is very respectful of hierarchy in terms of who — true moral authority.
“The Democratic elected officials have true moral authority to run the country. They’re not just there ritualistic, they were elected by the people. It’s a republic. And I think — I’ll go back to this. The ability of this Congress to remove a president is an awesome power.”
Matthews also said the grand classical architecture of the Capitol and other monuments in Washington, D.C., had religious overtones: “The Lincoln Memorial is basically a church.”
Reporter Garrett Haake picked up on the point made by Matthews, saying that the mood in Congress was solemn and significant as senators prepared to sit for the trial of Trump on charges of obstruction of Congress and abuse of power.
“Senators I have talked to are prepared for the possibility that this is going to get very heavy probably that day,” he said. “They are going to get sworn in by the chief justice. They are going to go in groups and sign their names in this oath book.
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“I’m so glad Chris [Matthews] used the word ‘ritual,’ because that’s the word that has been stuck in my head about this all day today. It’s beyond formality. There is something almost religious to it.”
Matthews was on the congressional staff of four Democrats, including Sens. Frank Moss and Ed Muskie. He ran for Congress in Pennsylvania in 1974, losing with 24% of the vote in the Democratic primary. He was a speechwriter for President Jimmy Carter before spending six years as chief of staff to Tip O’Neill, a fellow Irish-American Catholic.
