Yet another MSNBC figure had to offer an apology this week, NBC's Today reported Friday.
This time, it was former Democratic Montana Gov. Brian Schweitzer issuing a mea culpa for saying Rep. Eric Cantor (R., Va.) set off his "gaydar" and that he found southern men "effeminate" in a National Journal article.
Correspondent Peter Alexander called the attack by Schweitzer "ugly and unfounded," adding the liberal Democrat had found a way to offend Republicans, Democrats, southerners and gays "all at once."
In the piece, Schweitzer also compared Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D., Calif.) to a prostitute while criticizing her for alleged hypocrisy over NSA spying:
"She was the woman who was standing under the streetlight with her dress pulled all the way up over her knees, and now she says, 'I'm a nun,' when it comes to this spying!" he says. Then, he adds, quickly, "I mean, maybe that's the wrong metaphor—but she was all in!"
Schweitzer, a paid MSNBC contributor, apologized on his Facebook page for what he called "a number of stupid and insensitive remarks."
Schweitzer has mulled over a run for president, but Alexander pointed out that the remarks and subsequent uproar were "not the kind of rollout you're looking for."
This has become practically a regular ritual for commentators and guests on MSNBC, often for making crude, false and insulting statements about Republicans.