Progressive radio host Thom Hartmann discussed Chris Matthews' latest hit job on Bernie Sanders that we posted about here earlier this week, where Matthews did his best to distort what it actually means to be a Democratic Socialist with one of his callers this Wednesday, and I agree with quite a few of the conclusions he made in the clip above.

First off, Matthews is not stupid. He understands exactly what he's doing when he goes after Sanders and attempts to paint him as some extremist that's out of the mainstream.

The corporate media's calls for Biden to jump into the race are a sign that they are desperate to have someone on the inside that's agreeable to them as a nominee if the scandal mongering with Hillary Clinton finally takes its toll and her campaign implodes. They do not want Sanders as an alternative.

As Hartmann noted, the Democrats could have had some good outsider candidates whether it was Elizabeth Warren or Sherrod Brown if either of them had chosen to run, but they don't have a lot of good "insider" candidates and the public has soured quite a bit on Democrats who think the best way to get elected is to be Republican-lite.

Last but not least Hartmann made the point that much of our establishment is insiders vs. outsiders rather than ideology and left vs. right, and if you're an outsider and not toeing the corporate line, you're not as likely to get a spot on their airways or an interview that doesn't resemble an interrogation, or reporting that's favorable to you as a candidate.

Hartmann was basically describing what we already call The Village around here. For anyone who is not already familiar with that term, Digby explained it in this post from 2009: Le Hameau de la Potomac.