Breitbart TV and Mediaite snag this clip of MSNBC host Ed Schultz acting somewhat less hyperbolic than usual, which as you’ll see in this clip, isn’t saying much. Congress has extended jobless benefits out to two full years in this session, but they did it spending money we don’t have, and Democrats refuse to use Porkulus money to fund more extensions, preferring to expand the deficit instead. Colby Hall says that this is a “semi-unhinged rant,” which just proves that Colby has blessedly avoided Schultz in the past. This is tame by his standards:

I can tell you what the problem is, it’s with the Democratic party. It’s not just Ben Nelson who voted against extending unemployment benefits. it’s Harry Reid. I have never in my life seen a Senate Majority Leader all of sudden become so obscure and isolated.

Harry, you are blowing it, buddy. You’ve got to get out there a fight for these folks. He could reinvent himself with his authority on this issue. and come out passionately f the American people in need. Grab the moral high ground because it is a moral issue and let the American people see just who the Republicans are…and they are on the wrong side of this issue again and again.

No, I’m not running. But if I were, if I was a Senator now, I would stand up and I would be absolutely screaming in front of every camera I could find. It is unconscionable what we are putting these Americans through. And I will tell you this. This is how third world countries get started when you started ignoring people. I can’t understand why the Democrats aren’t pounding on this. And i think it will cost them in the midterms if they don’t do something drastic about it.

Joining me now is Chuck Rocha, a union political consultant and the head of solidarity strategies. Chuck, if the congress and the white house, if they’re getting the same e-mails I’m getting and if they’re having the same conversations with Americans across the country that I had on a a seven city tour. I have ask, what in the hell are they doing? How can they ignore these Americans? Where this is going down the road of a third world country. This is the issue what we’re going to do with the unemployed. tell me if I’m wrong.

Okay — you’re wrong. First, we weren’t a third-world country in the recessions of 1981-2, 1990, or during the stagflation decade of the 1970s, when jobless benefits lasted a much shorter time than they do now. Second, as the collapse of Greece shows, the surest path to third-world economics is rapid growth in deficits and debt, especially in service to an overgrown central government. Republicans don’t even want to block the extensions; they just don’t want to use deficit spending to fund them.

Of course, Harry Reid could take Schultz’ advice and openly demand for deficit spending … and then next January, he’ll be available as an analyst for Schultz’ show. Assuming, of course, Schultz still has one.