Chris Matthews Compares Rick Perry to 1960′s Segregationist Bull Conner

MSNBC's talking heads won't stop hammering Texas Gov. Rick Perry this week. With their fists continuing to fly, both Ed Shultz and Chris Matthews have attempted to convince audiences that the governor is a racist.

First, there was "The Ed Show's" suspect editing of a video clip in order to make it seem as though Perry was making a racist remark about America’s first black president (Shultz has since offered a pseudo-apology).

Then, last night, Chris Matthews made a startling association -- that Rick Perry is like "Bull Connor with a smile."

For those who don't know, Connor was a Democrat and the Commissioner of Public Safety for the city of Birmingham, Alabama during the civil rights era. He infamously directed the use of fire hoses and attack dogs against peaceful, African American protestors -- extreme brutality that was rooted in sheer racism.

This bizarre statement came after Matthews' guest, Wayne Slater of The Dallas Morning News, reacted to Perry's criticisms of Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid. Slater explained that entitlements are only the beginning in the push for "states rights." According to The Daily Caller, he said:

“The question is the attack on Perry is ‘Social Security is a Ponzi scheme,’ ‘Medicare needs to be changed or potentially abolished,’ which is not precisely what he said. Raising questions about the Voting Rights Act saying it is just a tool for gerrymandering in the South and the Civil Rights Act — the terms under which we’ve established — this has the look of someone who when he talks about states’ rights, states’ rights, states’ rights could make some voters, again — very nervous.”

Matthew's reply to this was as follows:

“Yeah, this is going to be Bull Connor with a smile."

Watch the entire dialogue, with the curious Connor comment coming at the very tail end of the clip:

Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

(h/t The Daily Caller)