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Contact Information for Pundit String-Pullers CBS 524 W. 57 St. New York, NY 10019 Phone: 212-975-4321 Fax: 212-975-1893 You can also fill out a " Feedback Form" on the CBS website. CBS Evening News staff suggested that faxing or mailing your comments increases the likelihood that they will be read. Westwood One The NewsHour |
Sunday, March 18, 2001 -- NEW YORK/WASHINGTON (APJP) -- Tax cut talk took a back seat to campaign finance reform chat this week. It also took a back seat to market woes, with boosters for and employees of pundit show sponsors encouraging viewers not to panic -- and to keep trading, trading, trading. Here's what we saw:
FAUX News Sunday
Tony Snow and company pump up FNS, pimp for tax cutters
We caught the first half of FNS. Tony Snow's first guest was the hopelessly reactionary Senator Don Nickles (R-Knuckledrag). He wants a BIGGER tax cut than the Smirking Usurper has put forward, and wants the rate reductions to be retroactive.
That would sure help the rich -- so obviously Ditsy Don is against anything that would help the little guy.
Nickles rattled off percentages and numbers that have little to do with reality -- and ignore the larger fact that the economy Smirk is in the process of tanking may not generate budget surpluses at all! Yet Nickles insisted on being a "wonkified," number-flinging tax cut cheerleader, claiming that numbers could be tweaked as the plan is implemented.
Worse yet, Tony fed Nickles a string of softball questions that did not challenge anything in Smirk's fake tax giveback for the rich -- but allowed Nickles to say he supports "expanding" the middle class to the higher regions of five-figure earners.
Nickles lied outright when he asserted, "We need an energy policy." Clearly, Nickles must have been comatose during the Clinton Administration -- when we HAD a working energy policy. What Nickles was really saying was, "We need to give away the store to Enron, Halliburton, and everyone else in the pollution industry -- a cadre that is manipulating supply and pricing."
That's not an energy policy -- that's environmental suicide.
Tony did ask if there was any truth in the LA Times story concerning a Bush-McCain feud. Nickles downplayed the story -- but only to bolster the illusion of unity in the GOP. Nickles knows damn well that centrist Republicans are bristling over the big tax giveback and support McCain's move toward campaign reform.
Tony then turned to the second most embarrassing Democrat in the federal legislature, Bob Torricelli (D-Under Investigation). Okay, he's no Jim Traficant (D-Outright Crooked Enough to Be a Republican), but he's not doing a very good job of countering claims surrounding the "double duty" of staffers working both in legislative and campaign capacities. "The Torch" said he wants capital gains taxes cut -- but once again, we got the impression that Tony was feeding softball questions to promote the unjustified "We need tax cuts NOW" message. El Torch-o also got a chance to talk about "expanding" the middle class along the same line as Nickles. Tony snuck in a question that implied the outright lie that Democrats promote "class warfare."
Tony then brought up the issue of a Steve Forbes-backed commercial using a John Kennedy quote to promote tax cuts. Torricelli said that the circumstances today are far different than those in the early 1960s -- and the Kennedy family has been correct in excoriating the commercial.
Is the economy in trouble? Torricelli said "We're in for a rough road" -- and it would be inconceivable if President Greenspan does not cut rates by at least a half point.
Note the "at least" -- there were hints this week that Greenspan may drop the base Fed rate by .75%, perhaps even 1%.
Tony then brought up a potential ban on soft money, an area in which Dems trounced GOPers in the last election cycle. Torricelli said that the issue of campaign reform trumps partisan interests -- but that any reforms must pass Constitutional muster. Tony said the obvious: "So you do not support McCain-Feingold." Torricelli said he has "constitutional concerns" -- in other word, yes.
Tony then brought up the New York Times story concerning Torricelli using staffers as campaign employees -- a legal minefield. Torricelli complained about the "campaign system" and essentially admitted that he pushed the envelope on the legality of using staffers as campaign officers.
Translation: he's ready to fight the allegations at every level. Considering that the press is biased toward exposing so-called crimes by Democrats and ignoring crooked Republicans, and also taking into account that Torricelli is well-known as a smash-mouth political fighter when backed into a corner, this story looks ready to heat up.
This Weak
We caught the second half of This Weak.
Super-investor Warren Buffett was the guest after the "half-time" break (which featured spots for AXA, IBM and a couple local sponsors) -- but his top subject was campaign finance reform, which he enthusiastically supports. Cokie "Cocky" Roberts prodded Buffett to compare soft money to investment -- and return on investment. "The people with the most money will get in the door most frequently," said Buffett.
Talk about stating the obvious.
But that's the truth whether the contributions are legal or illegal. The danger with campaign finance reform, no matter how well-intentioned, is that new conduits will be found to buy candidates -- including bribery.
Cokie, looking a little older than usual but far more real and (dare we say) cuter than she does on the This Weak set, brought up the possibility that some rich wacko would promise $1 billion to a party if campaign finance reform is scuttled. We loved it -- could she be referring to nutball drunk fascist Dicky Scaife?
Buffett bashed the Marc Rich case -- and said that the pardon backfired on Rich. Some may assume that Buffett was bashing Clinton -- but he was in fact bashing Rich for looking as if he were trying to "buy" a pardon through a combination of good works and connections.
Cokie then turned to George Will, who called Buffett "vapid." Ha, ha, ha -- better vapid than a liar and hypocrite like you, George! Will seemed energized and UPSET that soft money may be killed. The horror! George "Staphylococcus" Stephanopoulos agreed with Buffet, saying soft money gets you in the door -- and that it IS buying policy, as the coal pollution industry did when they essentially got the Usurper to do an about-face on carbon Dioxide emissions. Staph added that the Supreme Court said that contributions can be limited and all McCain-Feingold seeks to do is close loopholes. Will essentially argued that there is not enough money in politics as he tried to counted Staph's points.
Then the "real" (surreal) roundtable began. Staph said that Smirk fears becoming like his dad -- out of touch with America. Ha, ha, ha -- he already IS. We think he's out of touch with EVERYTHING -- including troubles within his family (notably his hard-drinking-and smoking, jailbird-springing daughter, who is coming across as a college party-girl bimbo).
Sam Donaldson lamented that economic indicators, including consumer confidence, are down -- but failed to say why: the nation has no confidence in Dumb-Ya.
Will said the market is "working efficiently." Cokie said OPEC is pulling 4% of oil out of the market -- and Sam parroted in his most faux-assertive style, "four per-CENT!" Staph was right when he said that people are not going to want to put their Social Security in the market, and Will lied when he said it's certain that private investments will out-earn Social Security. Will became Smirk Apologist Numero Uno when he lied about the "dioxide 180," saying "He, simply, changed, his, MIND!" Ha, ha, ha -- repeat it enough and people will believe it -- NOT!
Cokie slammed W. for firing the ABA as a screening team for judicial appointments. Staph said environmental issues will hurt His Illegitimacy. Will spouted some irrelevant gobbledygook about the Kyoto Treaty -- then defended GOPers using Kennedy tax-cut speeches in TV spots. Staph called the use of the sound bite "a stretch." Cokie said that nobody knows how JFK would have felt about the current round of tax cutting.
This Weak has added a new feature -- tidbits. Will used the opportunity to bash Clinton over three quotes (all supposedly embarrassing) in the next edition of the conservative-slanted Bartlett's Familiar Quotations -- it was quite obvious during the segment on campaign finance reform that he was getting a case of the Clinton withdrawal "shakes," so we can understand his having done this. Staph bored us with the old Muhammad Ali-George Frazier feud, and Sam talked about a surgeon with a penchant for operating on the wrong limb.
Ho-hum.
The McLaugh-In Group
Issue one: My Portfolio Is Melting!
Following the usual "GE is proud to use John McLaugh-In as our mouthpiece": market meltdown! It didn't take a genius to deduse that McLaugh-In was going to use the current market hand-wringing -- including mention of the Nikkei at a 16-year low and Shrub's "the economy is beginning to sputter" -- to push supply-side mythology.
Larry Kudlow first provided cover for Smirk, lying by saying his words would not hurt the market; then, at Pope John McLaugh-In's prompting, said the "this is the Clinton-Greenspan recession!"
Ha, ha, ha -- you just KNEW some horse-hockey troglodyte like Kudlow was going to try to pin the "recession," which has NOT materialized, on Clinton.
Eleanor said it's a hard-sell to pin the slowdown on the man who gave us eight years of expansion and wealth, and that this is "irrational exuberance" coming to an end -- and even Paul "Alcoa" O'Neill admits that tax cuts won't stimulate the economy. Tony Blankley said that the Cheney-Card cadre may "oversell" the tax cut and -- catch this -- "Bush should be careful about being too honest."
We don't think the smirking, lying sleaze will EVER have trouble with that, Tony!
Jim Warren pointed out that some people have never been through an economic correction.
John asked if "Japan is dragging us down!" Good grief -- John wants outright economic war with Asia, which will only serve to further destabilize global economic stability.
Are we headed for a recession?
Larry: yes, short and mild -- and the Fed should expand the money supply.
Eleanor: no, this is corporate deflation, earnings don't match prices.
Tony: yes, there is potential for a deep one, so let's cut taxes.
Jim: no -- "despite what Larry 'Mr. 15000 Dow' Kudlow says".
John: yes, 6 months, shallow.
Issue two: Bush is breaking campaign promises all over the place! John claimed that Dumb-Ya was "responding to reality" in breaking his emissions promise.
That's right, John -- the reality is that Bush Baby is the energy industry's Maytag!
And then, added John, there was his reversal on North Korea (all deals off), Iraq (sanctions may now be eased).
Which pledge did Smirk break first? Tony said it was the increase in Pentagon spending -- and he admires presidents who cut at the periphery. Eleanor slammed a sheepish-looking Tony for not lauding Clinton for his broken promises. You should have seen Blankley's face -- he looked like a reprobate schoolboy. Mad McLaugh-In quoted Emerson (!) in an effort to say that it's okay for Smirk to break his promises.
Did Bush do the right thing by breaking the emissions promise?
Larry: yes.
Eleanor: no.
Tony: yes.
Jim: no.
John: yes.
Issue three: Rangers rage! US Army Rangers are protesting making their black berets the official headgear of the entire Army! Worse yet -- they're being made in China! John blustered about Chinese-made berets and Larry lied about Clinton's "social engineering."
What a riot -- the segment was McLaugh-In at its most inane.
By the way -- did anyone of the ultra-free-marketers on the McLaugh-In panel stop to think that the Chinese got the contract because they're actually better capitalists than most American garment manufacturers?
John lamented the loss of the warrior culture -- honor, valor, blah, blah, blah -- which prompted a dour-looking Tony to bash something that was "Clintonian." Eleanor said she does not mind berets made in China -- after all, the whole planet has weapons made in America!
Predictions!
Larry said the Fed will cut its interest rates 75 basis points -- 3/4 of 1% -- on March 20 (that's 1/4% more than some are predicting, but in line with hints on other pundit shows).
Eleanor said Pataki will get Smirk to remove U.S. Attorney (in NYC) Mary Jo White.
Tony said Zimbabwe, which he emphatically called "former Rhodesia" in a nod to all the racists who get off on watching McLaugh-In, is on the brink of "internal violence" -- civil war -- "because of a breakdown in the respect for property rights" -- under the now-defunct Rhodesian legal code, we're sure!
Jim predicted that a big-spender GOP Congress will make Snippy "fail to keep spending at his desired 4 percent growth rate."
John McLaughlin turned his attention to Oscar winners: he picks Russell Crowe and Julia Roberts -- "Take it to the bank!"
Face the Nation
The Clinton pardons
Bob Schieffer welcomed Russ Feingold, who predicted McCain-Feingold will pass the Senate. Schieffer said that Dems "were foursquare for this" so long as it looked as if it would not pass -- but now some are wavering. Feingold said that most Dems hate the system -- but at the end, Daschle will get most Dems to vote for reform.
Gloria Borger asked Sen. Chuck Hagel about his reform bill -- a substantially different and weaker bill than McCain's. Hagel said he was a McCain for President co-chair of some kind, and supports reform (so...?). He lauded McCain and Feingold for bringing the issue to the forefront -- but Schieffer pointed out that Hagel's bill is full of loopholes. Hagel got defensive, then changed tack -- saying he comes from the view that this is a speech issue and he is worried about weakening efforts at the state level. Feingold said that the Hagel bill puts the stamp of approval on soft money forever. Feingold called soft money "addictive... parties were fine five years ago without it" and they'll be fine without it once McCain-Feingold is approved.
Freudian slip of the week: Hagel tried to sell his bill on specific points -- and accidentally called the FCC the "Federal Communications Corporation." Truer words were not spoken all weekend!
Otherwise, this was the kind of debate Sunday morning needs more of -- rational, clear wonk-speak that even those suffering from St. Patrick's Day hangovers could understand. And other than his FCC slip, Hagel actually did a decent job of defending his do-nothing bill. Of course, he didn't win us over -- but then, neither did Feingold, as we feel that all of these reform bills open the door to outright bribery.
Following the break, John Sweeney was Schieffer's guest. He reacted to Hagel's comment that an effort to quash union dues being used for political initiatives and contributions (what the right wing calls "paycheck protection") is on the wane as a good sign, and added that there must be coordination between states and the federal government in regulating contributions and commercials. Borger asked about the poor relations between the Cheney-Card Administration and labor organizations, specifically the rolling back of executive orders by Clinton. Sweeney said Cheney et al are listening to the wealthy and hurting working families -- and it's time for them to reach out to labor. he characterized the quashing of Clinton's initiatives as mean-spirited, and the motivation is the business agenda. Schieffer asked if Sweeney is interested in meeting with the President, and Sweeney described a cordial congratulatory call to His Illegitimacy -- but no follow0through on his desire to dialogue. Schieffer also mentioned a conference call Sweeney held with state labor leaders and Sweeney even characterized organized labor as being on a battle footing.
The segment constituted a wake-up call to Team Smirk (there is a window of opportunity) and to labor organizations and their supporters inside and out (if they don't dialogue quickly and either back off or compromise, we're ready to boot some patootie).
Abby Cohen of Goldman Sachs was the final guest, encouraging investors to remain calm, stay in the market -- and pay Goldman Sachs and their cronies gazillions in transaction fees! Cohen's bullish on tech business. Borger brought up Smirko's bad-mouthing of the economy -- should the administration stop the bashing? Cohen chose instead to talk about President Greenspan and his words of wisdom -- it was obvious that she thinks there's a big fed rate cut coming and it was no secret that she is looking forward to that bounce. Schieffer asked what Cohen would say if she were President -- and Cohen said she'd talk about our economy's strengths, especially the hard and highly productive workers. Wow -- an acknowledgment that all that IRA money is worth a kind word!
Schieffer's final word -- on the New York Times corrections section, where the most minute errors seem to be righted.
Funny thing, Bob, but we're all waiting for multiple corrections to the Times's many lies about Whitewater.
Needless to say, we're not holding our breath...
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