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Morning Joe Cuts Pastor Jones Before He Has Chance to Respond to Panel

Posted on September 10, 2010 by Benny Hollywood| Leave a comment

In what had to be the ultimate in condescension and elitism, MSNBC’s “Morning Joe” brought Pastor Terry Jones on the show merely to lecture him on Christianity, cutting him off before he could even respond. Co-host Mika Brzezinski explained to him “we don’t really need to hear anything else, so thanks.” Newsbusters’ Mark Finkelstein first briefly reported on this segment this morning. Panel member Jon Meacham, the departing editor of Newsweek, briefly preached to Pastor Jones on Jesus’ New Testament message of love and forgiveness and then appealed to him “as a fellow Christian” to not follow through with his threats to burn the Koran. Then, before Pastor Jones responded, his live feed was cut and co-host Mika Brzezinski continued with the show, saying that they did not need to listen to Pastor Jones. “The central message of the New Testament is forgiveness, and to put oneself in the place of another,” Meacham lectured Pastor Jones on planning to burn copies of the Koran. “And so I would simply appeal to you, as a fellow Christian, that the course you suggested is going to be incredibly dangerous, and would ask you to desist in the name of New Testament theology.” After Jones’ feed was cut, Mika remarked “Well said, Jon Meacham. And Pastor Terry Jones, we appeal to you to listen to that. And we don’t really need to hear anything else, so thanks.” The show featured a bizarre segment earlier on Pastor Jones’ threat, which he retracted from Thursday and now is not sure whether he will follow through on his plan. Both conservative Pat Buchanan and liberal Donny Deutsch agreed with each other that President Obama, as Commander-in-Chief, needs to step in and arrest the Pastor before reactions in the Middle East by militant Islamists result in the death of American troops. Donny Deutsch was still fuming over an hour later, when the Pastor’s feed was cut. Deutsch said he wanted to confront Jones as a “terrorist,” calling him “scum” and saying that “seeing his face is disgusting enough.” “I don’t think there should be a peaceful message,” Deutsch said in dealing with the pastor. “Sometimes screaming is okay.” A transcript of the segment, which aired on September 10 at 7:30 a.m. EDT, is as follows: MIKA BRZEZINSKI: We’ve really been debating whether or not to do this. Joe says “no,” he doesn’t think it’s a good idea at all. He might be right. The Florida pastor, threatening to burn copies of the Koran tomorrow, is now saying his plans are “on hold,” after a local Imam told him that the proposed New York Islamic center near Ground Zero would be moved. And joining us now from Gainesville, Florida, is pastor Terry Jones. And the reason we’re doing this is my worry is that the pastor’s going to have blood on his hands if he goes forward with this plan. So Jon Meacham just has a quick message for you, sir. Jon? JON MEACHAM, Editor, Newsweek: Pastor, I just wanted to – this is Jon Meachem. I just wanted to suggest that Jesus said the night before he was handed over to suffering and death that he ordered his disciples to love one another as he had loved them. That was his central commandment, and as he died, he said that “Father forgive them, for they know not what they do.” The central message of the New Testament is forgiveness, and to put oneself in the place of another. And so I would simply appeal to you, as a fellow Christian, that the course you suggested is going to be incredibly dangerous, and would ask you to desist in the name of New Testament theology. (Cut Live Feed) BRZEZINSKI: Alright, well said Jon Meachem, and Pastor Terry Jones we appeal to you to listen to that. And we don’t really need to hear anything else, so thanks. Alright, moving on. Donnie, you disagreed. You wanted to talk to him. DONNY DEUTSCH, Chairman, Deutsch, Inc.: Yeah, I think, and I understand why you guys don’t want to give him a platform. I mean, seeing his face is disgusting enough. But a lot – this kind of reach out, that we’ve come to a country where sometimes action needs to be taken. We’re at war, to – in the previous segment, this is obviously a bigger issue of, you know, Islamic hate running amuk. And we need to make a stand. And this guy, he’s scum, he is not a man of God – BRZEZINSKI: Now what productive nature would saying that to him have? (Crosstalk) DEUTSCH: Yes, everybody’s pussyfooting around with this guy! BRZEZINSKI: I’m not. We’re giving him a very peaceful message that (unintelligible) DEUTSCH: I don’t think there should be a peaceful message. This is a terrorist of a different form. He is no different than terrorists that are holding this country hostage. DAN SENOR, Senior Fellow, Council on Foreign Relations: You confronting him the way you want to confront him will build him up, get him even more ___ than he already is? Or is it actually going to make him less relevant? I think you will make him more relevant. DEUTSCH: He’s relevant! He’s relevant there, and I think 99 percent of this country feels the way I do and wants some action, and I just – I really believe that. And he’s already – SENOR: What you want to do is not action! DEUTSCH: The toothpaste – the toothpaste is out of the bottle. No, I want our President, our Commander-in-Chief to act like a Commander-in-Chief and say “This is putting our country in harm’s way right now.” We have the General of our troops over there saying that. Act like a Commander-in-Chief and stop this from happening. Somehow, someway. That’s all I’m asking. BRZEZINSKI: Okay. You know what? Screaming at him – DEUTSCH: Sometimes screaming is okay. Yeah. Sometimes screaming is okay. SENOR: Donnie, can I – the principle of the President stepping in is a principle you would be committed to if this were President Bush in a time of war saying “I need to take action against say the Imam, Imam Rauf. The mosque he’s building is going to inflame people, it’s going to be viewed as a monument of military victory, and we need to shut that down. Would you be comfortable with that? DEUTSCH: The video of burning the Koran around the world – SENOR: That’s not for you to decide. The question is are you for the principle of the President on these grounds to step in? BRZEZINSKI: Pat, before we go to a break, your thoughts? PAT BUCHANAN: Mika, the mosque is a matter of the culture war. This thing down in Florida is a matter of the real war. And let me say that if Gen. Petraeus, as he has done, tells his commander-in-chief “My men are in danger, they will die if this thing goes forward, and you as Commander-in-Chief do not act, and then men die as a consequence of that, men are lynched in the Middle East, Americans are killed, you are not qualified to be Commander-in-Chief in my judgment if you cannot act to save the boys you sent into battle. BRZEZINSKI: Meachem? MEACHAM: There’s got to be a way through this that is not going to violate the Constitution, and can preserve some sense of our culture of liberty, which is the message we have to send around the world. This is what we’re fighting for, this is what the country is about. And it’s repulsive what’s going on in Florida, but we unfortunately – repulsive things happen here. And we just can’t – BRZEZINSKI: And around this table, by the way, we all love each other very much, and a lot of us disagree. But we do, as you say Jon, have to find our way through it.

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MSNBC’s Joe Scarborough Predicts ‘Certain Networks’ Will ‘Maul’ Haley Barbour If He Runs in 2012

Posted on August 19, 2010 by Benny Hollywood| Leave a comment

The co-host of MSNBC’s “Morning Joe,” Joe Scarborough, strongly believes certain networks would play the race card big time against southern Republican Haley Barbour, if he runs for President in 2012. Scarborough predicted on Thursday that if the Mississippi governor is the Republican Presidential nominee in 2012, the media would smear him as a racist white man from the South running against the first black president. He particularly stated that “certain networks” would “maul” Barbour if he runs, resulting in an awkward moment on the set. Could Scarborough possibly have meant MSNBC in that cast? When the discussion turned to a possible Barbour-Obama race in 2012, Scarborough put in his two cents. “I like [Barbour] a lot,” he said. “I just don’t like the optics of him against Barack Obama in 2012.” Scarborough invoked the media’s treatment of the Clintons in the 2008 Democratic Primary as an example. “We saw last time, Hillary Clinton and Bill Clinton were accused of being racists. How will the mainstream media treat an old-time Southern governor from Mississippi who criticizes [Obama]?” Politico executive editor Jim Vandehei even sounded his agreement with Scarborough. “I think you pinpointed exactly his biggest liability,” he told Scarborough of Barbour. “Before people knew me, they assumed because I was from the South that I was a racist,” Scarborough continued. “Ask Hillary Clinton or Bill Clinton what the national media did to them because they were running against an African-American.” A transcript of the segment, which aired on August 19, at 6:25 a.m. EDT, is as follows: JOE SCARBOROUGH: I like this guy a lot. I just don’t the optics of him against Barack Obama in 2012 as a Republican strategist, the optics. TINA BROWN, editor-in-chief, The Daily Beast: What do you mean the optics? JIM VANDEHEI: executive editor, Politico: A Southern, bourbon-drinking, former tobacco lobbyist optics? SCARBOROUGH: No, seriously, from Mississippi. And let’s just get it out on the table now, because nobody else will say it. From Mississippi, running against the first African-American President. It’s going to be tough for any Republican, even from Minnesota…to run against an African-American. We saw last time, Hillary Clinton and Bill Clinton were accused of being racists. Jim, how will the mainstream media treat an old-time Southern governor from Mississippi who criticizes him? VANDEHEI: I mean, I think you pinpointed exactly his biggest liability. (…) 6:28 a.m. BROWN: You say you don’t like the optics, and of course that is an enormous thing, Mississippi versus the African-American. But at the same time, if you look at the optics the other way, and say he actually comes off as a kind of grisly, hands-on, experienced – I mean he could be like the un-Barack, in that sense, you know? JOE SCARBOROUGH: I will tell you, though. I can already write the columns, that will be in the New York Times op-ed pages, and I know this, going on shows, where there’s politically correct you-name-it, where before people knew me they assumed because I was from the South that I was a racist. And again, ask Hillary Clinton, or Bill Clinton, what the national media did to them because they were running against an African-American. BROWN: But we have a different period now. I mean, I think, I think nobody wants that to be said, and I’m sure that there are ways that perhaps he could  – SCARBOROUGH: They accused Bill Clinton of being a racist. BROWN: That race was full of the kind of idealism of, you know, of the first African-American President, which it should have been. SCARBOROUGH: So let’s call Bill Clinton a racist. You get the point. If they would do that to the guy that people called “the first black president,” what will they do to a Southern governor that looks like Haley. BROWN: Yeah, it’ll be ugly. SCARBOROUGH: They will maul him, on certain networks.

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Scarborough: ‘Certain Networks’ Would Maul ‘Boss Hogg’ Barbour In Run Against Obama

Posted on August 19, 2010 by Benny Hollywood| Leave a comment

Gee, I wonder which network Joe had in mind . . . Joe Scarborough likes Haley Barbour.  But he doesn’t like the “optics” of the southern governor running for president against Barack Obama.  Scarborough’s worried that “certain networks” would “maul” the man Scarborough referred to as “Boss Hogg.” [H/t reader Ray R.] Interestingly, both the Politico’s Jim VandeHei and Tina Brown of the Daily Beast were able to see more of an upside for Haley.  VandeHei described him as best among Republicans at articulating conservative principles, while Brown saw the hands-on governor’s potential as the “un-Barack.” Also revealing was that in praising Barbour, Scarborough focused solely on Haley’s willingness to stand up against the “crackpots” in the Republican party.   Watch as Joe tiptoes his way through the minefield of MSNBC’s internal politics. My two cents: should Haley really be worried about being slimed by the likes of Matthews/Olbermann/Maddow?  I don’t think so.  First, they are simply not that influential.  Second, he would wear their scorn as a badge of honor in most of America.

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Mika Rips Crist For Switch, Scarborough Sees Him As Role Model

Posted on August 5, 2010 by Benny Hollywood| Leave a comment

Odd bit of role reversal on today’s Morning Joe . . .  There was Mika Brzezinski, ripping Charlie Crist as unprincipled for his mid-campaign ditching of the Republican party.  Joe Scarborough, the quondam GOP congressman from the Sunshine State, was in a much more forgiving mood, going so far as to predict that, following in Crist’s footsteps, many others would successfully go the independent route. Mika and Joe’s exchange was triggered by the news that Crist’s own Lieutenant Governor, Jeff Kottkamp, has endorsed Marco Rubio for Senate. MIKA BRZEZINSKI: The party switch, I’m telling you, it has consequences. People may still fall for it, but — JOE SCARBOROUGH: Why are you so cynical? Just because Charlie Crist loves America, doesn’t mean you have to kick sand in his face. BRZEZINSKI: Charlie Crist is one of several politicians that we’ve seen in our careers who didn’t win in his party, and who thought: I still want to win, so now I’m going to switch parties even though I have no convictions, I’m just going to switch, I’m just going to change this coat. SCARBOROUGH: The Republican party left Charlie Crist: that’s what he’d tell you. BRZEZINSKI: Really? Why did he run with the Republican party half-way through the election process? SCARBOROUGH: They changed, right after the election. BRZEZINSKI: It was a dipsy-doodle. SCARBOROUGH: You know what?  I will guarantee you, more and more people are going to go independent, and they’re going to win elections, because of it. In much of his commentary, Scarborough was surely being facetious.  But the bottom line was that while Mika was condemning Crist for his unprincipled flip, Joe saw Charlie’s cynical move as a model for others. 

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NBC’s Chuck Todd Trumpets Flawed Election Poll, Parrots Democratic Talking Points

Posted on July 13, 2010 by Benny Hollywood| Leave a comment

NBC Political Director Chuck Todd cherrypicked a recent Washington Post-ABC News poll to dismiss the possibility that Republicans will regain control of Congress in the November election. He did this despite evidence within the same poll that the political landscape in 2010 resembles 1994, when Republicans picked up 54 seats to take control of the House. On the July 13 “Morning Joe,” Todd emphasized the finding that 72 percent of the country has either “just some” or no confidence at all in the ability of congressional Republicans to “make the right decisions for the country’s future.” “This wild card about this election cycle which makes it different from ’06, which makes it different from ’94, is this issue of the public’s view of the Republican Party,” insisted Todd. The poll is misleading for a number of reasons, none of which Todd acknowledged. First, measuring public confidence in President Barack Obama, congressional Democrats, and congressional Republicans, the pollsters grouped respondents who reported “a great deal of confidence” with “a good amount,” and “just some” confidence with “none at all.” This aggregation resulted in a higher percentage of Americans expressing some or no confidence at all in Republicans than in Obama. But grouping “just some” respondents with “none at all” respondents does not make sense because expressing some confidence is much different from expressing “none at all.” If the pollsters had grouped those who reported “a good amount” of confidence with those who reported “just some” confidence, Republicans in Congress would have received 61 percent support, 14 points higher than Obama. Second, Todd’s insinuation that the public preferred congressional Republicans to congressional Democrats in 1994 but not in 2010 contradicts the same poll he cited to advance the argument that Republicans will not maximize their gains in November. As of July 11, 2010, voters prefer congressional Republicans 47 percent and congressional Democrats 46 percent, a negligible difference. By contrast, on August 8, 1994, 49 percent of the public preferred congressional Democrats while only 42 percent of the public preferred congressional Republicans, a seven point edge. In fact, the public preferred congressional Democrats over congressional Democrats in every Washington Post-ABC News poll taken through the November election. MSNBC host Joe Scarborough challenged Todd on the preference issue, asking, “Aren’t these off-year elections really just an opportunity for Americans to vote up or down for the most part on the party in power, the party that’s running Washington?” Todd, seemingly uninterested in demonstrable trends, insisted that the White House and Democrats are capable of turning the election into something other than a referendum on their liberal agenda. An obstinate Todd continued to rain on the GOP’s parade. “Joe, I think it’s the difference between picking up 25 or 30 seats and picking up 40 seats,” he insisted. NBC’s chief political junkie was all too eager to report the results of a poll forecasting sobering prospects for Republicans without scrutinizing the data or researching relevant historical trends. A transcript of the relevant portion of the segment can be found below: MSNBC Morning Joe July 13, 2010 7:24 A.M. E.S.T. JOE SCARBOROUGH: Hey Chuck, let me ask you something. Of course let’s put up the polls really quickly again from the Washington Post and then I’m going to follow it up with some news you say may not as good for Republicans. First of all, let’s look at the polls. Sixty-eight percent of Americans have little confidence in Democrats; Seventy-two percent, Republicans. Of course we talk about 58 percent, Barack Obama. Now let’s go to the four reasons why you say Republicans may not take back the House in the fall. You wrote about this yesterday and it’s very fascinating. You said the favorable ratings the same as the Democrats. And you are exactly right. In fact, in this case it’s even worse for Republicans than Democrats. But I guess the bigger question is – and I want to get Mark’s thoughts on this as well – aren’t these off-year elections really just an opportunity for Americans to vote up or down for the most part on the party in power, the party that’s running Washington? CHUCK TODD, MSNBC political director: Most of the time they are, and for many voters, this will be the case. This wild card about this election cycle which makes it different from ’06, which makes it different from ’94, is this issue of the public’s view of the Republican Party. And the reason you have to sit there and not ignore it is look at what the message the White House is trying to drive. Look at the message that Democratic candidates in congressional races are trying to drive, which is saying, “okay, you may be mad at us, but look at them.” And look, when you already have 70 percent of the public having a negative view, you can sell that story – you have a better chance of selling the story. SCARBOROUGH: Does that work when Democrats – it’s a monopoly though in Washington though. I guess that’s why it’s so much harder to sell. Listen in ’94 the Republicans actually had a plan. We haven’t seen that yet from this group of Republicans. I guess the bigger question, Chuck is, can you beat something with nothing?    TODD: Joe, I think it’s the difference between picking up 25 or 30 seats and picking up 40 seats and 10 seats in the Senate. Do you see what I’m saying? I think the difference between having a good election night and the majority is somehow starting to improve their favorable rating, and starting to go out there and saying, “we have a plan.” And right now they don’t have that and I think that’s what’s keeping them from getting the entire enchilada here. –Alex Fitzsimmons is a News Analysis intern at the Media Research Center. Click here to follow him on Twitter.

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Chris Matthews Stars in Future Marco Rubio Campaign Commercial

Posted on July 7, 2010 by Benny Hollywood| Leave a comment

Are you happy with the job that the Obama administration and the Democrats are doing? If so, then vote for Charlie Crist for the U.S. Senate because Chris Matthews happily proclaimed that Crist is going to be the new star in the Democrat caucus. However, if you are dissatisfied with the direction this nation is going and want to change it, then Marco Rubio will be your choice which is why your humble correspondent won’t be a bit surprised to see this video of Matthews making his proclamation about Crist on Morning Joe end up as a Rubio campaign commercial. Here is a transcript of Matthews delivering his kiss of death product endorsement of Charlie Crist: Charlie Crist is going to be the new star of the Democratic caucus in the Senate. He’s going to be a major player in the Democratic Party down the road. He’ll be a moderate Democrat somewhere in the middle. I think he’s very shrewd and nimble. This sudden Matthews infatuation with Charlie Crist stands in sharp contrast with his attitude back in May when he was sharply critical of the Florida governor’s performance on Meet The Press where he played coy by avoiding a direct answer about which party he would caucus with and for whom he would vote for Majority Leader of the Senate as you can see in the video below: Here is a transcript of Matthews’ disgust with Crist at that time: …I used to sort of like Charlie Crist but he’s off-base on that. You have to join a party caucus before you can vote for leader. He can’t decide which leader he’s going to vote for because he’s not even voting. He must join a caucus then you get to vote for which person leads that caucus. That’s how it’s done. He doesn’t seem to know that or he rejects knowing it. What do you think? Is he just ignorant or is he playing a game here? So what changed in the past couple of months to cause Matthews to move from disgust with Charlie Crist to developing a “strange new respect” for the Florida governor? Most likely it was the realization by Matthews and fellow liberals that the likely Democrat nominees, Kendrick Meek or billionaire Jeff Greene, have little or no chance of winning the general election in November. Therefore the best chance of promoting the liberal agenda in the Senate would be to back Charlie Crist running as an independent who was too liberal to win the Republican nomination. And Marco Rubio should thank Matthews for that wonderful future campaign commercial clip reminding Florida voters (many of whom still mistakenly think of Crist as a Republican) that Charlie is a Democrat.

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Let Them Drink Starbucks! Mika Brzezinski Wants a Ban on All Sugary Sodas

Posted on July 6, 2010 by Benny Hollywood| Leave a comment

It’s pretty well documented MSNBC’s Mika Brzezinski likes to brag about her workout routine and showcase its effects on her physique . And perhaps for that reason, Brzezinski believes that entitles her to pass judgment on what consumers should put into their bodies. On MSNBC’s July 6 “Morning Joe,” Brzezinski boasted about San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom’s vending machine soda ban that took effect today . But Brzezinski wanted to take it a step further – not to just ban them in city vending machines, but just stop people from drinking soda altogether. “And in San Francisco, a ban on sugary drinks in city vending machines is starting to take effect,” Brzezinski said. “That’s so great. It was issued by Mayor Gavin Newsom, my new hero, Mike Barnicle — in an effort to combat obesity and improve citizen’s health, and it will. In fact, if people would just not drink soda pop, they would be healthier and less fat.” Perhaps Brzezinski missed irony of making this statement during her show, “Morning Joe brewed by Starbucks Coffee .” Starbucks (NASDAQ: SBUX ) is regularly under attack from food police group the Center for Science in the Public Interest (CSPI) . In 2002, CSPI accused the coffee of giant of “pouring food porn.” “We need to stop producing things like this,” Brzezinski declared. Brzezinski also revealed her other anti-junk food sentiments, but said ultimately getting “rid of soda pop” would be suit her. “I don’t like birthday cake,” Brzezinski said. “It’s fattening. And no cupcakes either in schools. No, just get rid of soda pop. That would make me happy. We don’t need it.”

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Biden Wrong: June Data Shows 125,000 Lost Jobs, But Media Still Ignore Failure of Stimulus

Posted on July 2, 2010 by Benny Hollywood| Leave a comment

The June jobs report was released July 2 showing a tiny decline in the unemployment rate to 9.5 percent, but a depressing 125,000 overall non-farm payroll jobs lost . CNN’s “American Morning” reacted with an appropriately downbeat report, but the onscreen chyron led with the better news — showing the lower unemployment rate rather than the job losses. Christine Romans also pointed out that it was the “best unemployment rate since July 2009,” though later in the segment she admitted the rate is still “horrible.” NBC’s Ann Curry offered a very brief report on the jobs data on “Today,” also highlighting the lowest unemployment rate “since last July.” The report also contradicted Vice President Joe Biden’s predictions of 100,000 to 200,000 jobs gained each month for the rest of 2010. This month, Biden is off by about 275,000 jobs On June 2, Obama declared the U.S. economy was “moving in the right direction.” The same day, Vice President Biden predicted 100,000 to 200,000 jobs would be created each month through 2010. That prediction,if it came true, would fall 5.2 million jobs short of Obama’s promise that the stimulus package would create more than 4 million jobs by the end of 2010. As of July 2, adding June job losses puts Obama more than 5.3 million jobs away from his promise. “American Morning,” “Today” and the immediate reaction on MSNBC’s “Morning Joe” to the June numbers all ignored the failure of Obama’s economic stimulus packages. The federal government has thrown billions (the $787 billion stimulus package, not to mention Cash for Clunkers, the Big Three bailout and other measures) at the economy in an attempt to reverse the course of the recession and generate jobs, yet the unemployment rate still stands at 9.5 percent. But the news media have yet to retract their support for government spending. “American Morning” host Kiran Chetry mentioned other bad economic news and then repeated liberal New York Times columnist Paul Krugman who warned on June 28 that without additional stimulus the U.S. would go into a ” third depression .” “Some like Paul Krugman who say, if we pull back on stimulus and spending right now — austerity measures aren’t necessarily working in Europe — we’re going to be in more trouble,” Chetry said. Over on MSNBC Savannah Guthrie was also concerned that the recovery might not be able to “hold on” without further stimulus: “I think the real issue is, as some of these stimulus programs expire, for example the Cash for Clunkers or the housing tax credit that people were getting, as soon as those stimulus measures are taken away it seems that everything collapses,” Guthrie said. “So I think the question for economists and the question that the White House struggles with is: Where is the organic growth? And with Congress in no mood to do anything in the way of stimulus, any further stimulus, what do you do? Can this recovery hold on?” The reports continued the media’s unwillingness to remind viewers of President Obama’s promises about the stimulus package. When Obama was selling his massive spending proposal, the administration claimed the package would keep unemployment from rising about 8 percent. The news media have consistently ignored the failure of the stimulus to fulfill that pledge. On June 4 the news media spun the May unemployment report by emphasizing the Census jobs that “led to the biggest jump in jobs in ten years.” Like this article? Then sign up for BMI’s weekly e-mail newsletter, The Balance Sheet .

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Scarborough: POTUS Entitled to ‘Happy Place’ But Boehner Has Bad Work Ethic

Posted on July 1, 2010 by Benny Hollywood| Leave a comment

On day 72 of the continued Gulf of Mexico oil spill, “Morning Joe” host Joe Scarborough decided to open the show by continuing to bash Minority Leader John Boehner’s work ethic. This assault comes just ten days after his assertion that he wants his leader to have a “happy place to go to” and there is no problem with, “the president golfing every Sunday.” The former Republican congressman, who quit his job, ridiculed Boehner, saying “everybody on Capitol Hill knows about John Boehner, he’s not exactly the hardest worker in the world. He’s a guy that likes golf, and he’s a guy that likes, you know, socializing.” Scarborough made sure to address that even though he doesn’t know John Boehner personally, he was just “reporting” what he heard on the Hill. To Scarborough this analysis was imperative because, “If you’re going to bend history, if you’re going to pick up 40, 45 seats, it’s a 24/7 job.” So, let me get Scarborough’s math straight. Being the Minority Leader in the House of Representatives, a position of somewhat limited power, is a 24/7 job. But, the position of President of the United States, the “Leader of the Free Word,” is about a 6 day a week job and requires a “happy place to go to?”

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Angry Liberal Columnist Attacks Libertarian Economist; Scarborough Redefines Regulation and Conservatism

Posted on June 30, 2010 by Benny Hollywood| Leave a comment

Can anyone think of an angrier group of writers in political punditry than the ones currently published at Salon.com? Throughout the Elena Kagan hearings, both Joan Walsh and Joe Conason have written anti-Republican screeds accusing GOP lawmakers of all sorts of unsavory things to score political points despite what’s likely be a certain confirmation. However, this disposition goes beyond just the SCOTUS hearings. On MSNBC’s June 30 “Morning Joe,” Conason went after Harvard Professor Jeffrey Miron, who appeared to promote his book ” Libertarianism, from A to Z .” Apparently what drew the indignation from Conason was the theory that government can actually make things worse in an economy:  CONASON: Do you know anything about American history? MIRON: Yes. CONASON: OK. Didn’t we have that regime in the 19th Century? MIRON: We did. CONASON: How did it work? MIRON: It worked better than the current regime. CONASON: Does the year 1873 ring a bell for you? MIRON: Yes. CONASON: What happened then, professor? MIRON: There was a financial crisis. CONASON: How long did it last? How many people were unemployed? SCARBOROUGH: Joe, Joe, Joe – CONASON: No, seriously. JOE SCARBOROUGH: Answer. MIRON: If you go and look at the recent produced data by an economist, OK – on industrial production over the period from 1800 to 1910 for the period when we didn’t have a Fed or all the financial regulation, you will see that the average growth is as good or better than it has been since we had all this intervention. You’ll see that the length of recessions was on average shorter. You will see that he says –   CONASON: The average Americans were more prosperous in the 19th Century than the 20th Century? MIRON: Relative to the world, yes. We were growing more consistently. We had less volatility. His paper shows that there was actually – CONASON: What happened in 1873? How many people were thrown into work? Describe it. MIRON: I don’t have data on it because nobody has data unemployment rates for that period. There weren’t any. He has data on how well was the production. CONASON: How many depressions did we suffer during those years? MIRON: We didn’t suffer any depressions until we had a Federal Reserve starting in 1914 and then ’29 through – we did not suffer anybody anything is classifying. We had recessions. Nobody is saying it would be perfect.  Conason was correct to note that there were a series of panics before the 1900s, but inimitable circumstances drove these panics, not the absence of the Fed, which senior Cato Institute fellow George A. Selgin explained in a column last fall . According to Selgin, it was the post-Civil War policy measures that spurred these periods of recession.  “Morning Joe” host Joe Scarborough inquired about the unfunded liabilities that have many libertarian economists concerned, and asked Miron if he subscribed to the unpopular view that Medicare should be abolished. Miron suggested reforms that wouldn’t tax the system.  “Not right now. I certainly think that any adjustments are gradual,” Miron said. “People currently receiving Medicare of course should get Medicare for the rest of their lives. But telling people who are now 55 – you don’t get Medicare until you are age 70 rather than 65 is totally sensible.” And Miron said it should be eventually phased out altogether except for the “very poor.”  “I think what libertarians, including me, would say is there should be government-provided or subsidized health insurance for only people who are very poor,” Miron said. “The vast majority of people on getting health care under Medicare are not poor, so gradually phase Medicare down.”  Scarborough moved on to the financial reform legislation.  “Let me ask you another question – another question regarding Wall Street regs,” Scarborough said. “You are right, it is very hard, but the fact is we had a crash in ’87, ’98, Asian crisis, ’99, long-term capital, 2000, the dot com bust. 2002, Fannie, 2003 – well, we also had Enron, WorldCom, 2008 – it seems to me the conservative thing to do is actually set tough rules on Wall Street and say, ‘These are the rules you are going to play by. Don’t cross the lines.'” While many conservatives will admit there is a need to reform financial regulation, they aren’t clamoring for more regulation as Scarborough suggests. In fact, the Heritage Foundation in a June 29 post suggests the current bill being negotiated between the House and Senate is still very flawed and doesn’t show that the federal government has learned from the regulatory mistakes of the past. And as Miron explained – it’s not the regulation necessarily – that banks will “innovate” around that in the long run. Instead, he points to a system that attempts to minimize risk as the fundamental problem. “Given that we guarantee risk, basically, two ways – one explicitly through the FDIC and second implicitly by having the TARP and all that,” Miron replied. “Clearly, we would like to prevent banks from taking too much risk, but there doesn’t seem to be a good way to do that effectively. Banks innovate around it. They use accounting gimmickry. The regulators are asleep at the wheel. And so thinking we are going to fix it with more, tougher regulation I think is not right.”

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Angry Liberal Columnist Attacks Libertarian Economist; Scarborough Redefines Regulation and Conservatism

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