Joe Scarborough's Almost-Endorsement of Matt Salmon

By Christopher Peleo-Lazar  //  August 27, 2012 | 5:46 p.m.

Outside support and influence has flowed into Arizona's 5th Congressional District in the days before the state's primary. But former Republican Rep. Matt Salmon might have had the most peculiar testimonial, which he blasted to supporters on Saturday, three days before the GOP primary against former state House Speaker Kirk Adams. The email, written by MSNBC's Joe Scarborough, fondly recalled the 1990s, when Salmon and a few fellow House Republicans tried to overthrow Speaker Newt Gingrich over spending issues. Scarborough was one of the gang that moved on Gingrich, and he praised Salmon's principles and desire to shrink government spending.

"This small government conservative prays that they follow the lead of people like Matt Salmon, instead of old bulls who are only worried about their next election," Scarborough wrote. "America deserves better. Maybe this year we will get it."

Adams has seized some late celebrity endorsements in the Republican Party. Both Sarah Palin and Gingrich have appeared in events and ads for the House candidate before the primary.

While Adams's endorsers have lent their names and their time to his campaign, Scarborough's comments came with caveats, apparently. The Salmon campaign sent a follow-up email Monday stressing that the letter was not an endorsement or a fundraising appeal. In the follow up email, Salmon writes that the piece "was never intended to be postured as an endorsement" and was just "written as an Op-Ed that wasn't received in time for a newspaper to publish before the primary." An MSNBC spokesperson characterized the letter the same way.

Two years ago, MSNBC suspended Scarborough two days for violating network guidelines by donating to political candidates running for local office in Florida. Scarborough had doled out eight donations of $500 toward people he considered close personal friends and even family. MSNBC had also suspended Keith Olbermann for donating to candidates he supported. NBC's and MSNBC's policy at the time of Scarborough's suspension dictated that "anyone working for NBC News who takes part in civic or other outside activities may find that these activities jeopardize his or her standing as an impartial journalist because they may create the appearance of a conflict of interest." Scarborough's "op-ed" praising Salmon might not have been an official endorsement, but it skirts that line much like 501(C)4 advocacy groups avoid expressly condoning election or defeat for a candidate. Where Crossroads GPS might ask viewers to tell a candidate you oppose something instead of exhorting opposition to the candidate, Scarborough hopes those running Washington "follow the lead of people like Matt Salmon." It might not be an endorsement, but the letter isn't merely a fond rumination on Scarborough's service, either.

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