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Matthews repeats 'racial division' charge

TAMPA, Fla. -- MSNBC's Chris Matthews has doubled down on his charge that the GOP is dividing the United States "along racial lines."

On tonight's edition of MSNBC's Hardball, Matthews repeated an accusation he first made in an interview with POLITICO last night, citing "a long history in American politics... of using welfare to divide voters along racial lines." Later in the program, Matthews cautioned viewers of tonight's GOP convention to "be on the alert for the tribal messages, the war drums of racial division."

(Also on POLITICO: Race-baiting hooks 2012 campaign)

In his interview with POLITICO, Matthews cited race as a "something I really, deeply believe in."

"There are a couple issues like peace and war, and race relations -- this is, deeply, not something we should be revisiting in the 21st century," he said. "It isn't even covert any more, its overt. Race is the San Andreas Fault in this country, and this is dividing this country along racial lines."