Joe Scarborough has expressed serious doubts as to his Republican affiliation, and made clear that House GOP whip Eric Cantor "is not my friend." But caution to those who assume Joe has gone left: he has clarified to this NewsBuster that his critique of the GOP comes from the Ron Paul-esque right . . .
Scarborough's stunning comments came on today's Morning Joe in response to Dem Bob Shrum's taunting of Joe over his ostensible GOP membership, in the context of Pres. Obama's attempt to rescue Martha Coakley from the rubble of her campaign.
BOB SHRUM: The reason your friend Eric Cantor pulled back from --
JOE SCARBOROUGH: Well hold on a second, hold on a second. Hold on a second, Bob! No, just stop. Just stop.
SHRUM: Your fellow Republican.
SCARBOROUGH: Eric Cantor is not my friend.
SHRUM: You're still a Republican, Joe?
SCARBOROUGH: You know what? That is a hard question to answer. I am trying to figure out why the hell I would be a Republican. I'm dead serious.
Some might be tempted to take Scarborough's statement as a sign he's moved left. But when I reached out to Joe, he provided this explanation of his remarks:
I became a Republican because I believe in less government, tax cuts, balanced budgets and a rejection of Wilsonian foreign policy.
For the past five years, the GOP in Washington has increased deficits, doubled the national debt, championed a $7 trillion explosion in entitlement programs, and promoted a foreign policy that would make Woodrow Wilson blush.
The Republican Party in Washington needs to reform itself or die. I admire people like Paul Ryan, Ron Paul and John Shadegg but I am waiting to see if the Republican leaders in DC will follow their approach to championing less government and mean it.