David Gregory is such a tool-bag. Watch these questions from yesterday’s Meet the Press. The first one was delivered to Chicago Congressman Luis Gutierrez.
MR. GREGORY: Why is demonizing Wall Street the right approach right now? It may be a political strategy if the president can harness it. Is it really the right thing to do for the economy?
REP. GUTIERREZ: Well, here’s what I think, with all due respect to everybody’s opinion, there were $700 billion in TARP. I was there. The money got to the banks. They were on their knees. I don’t remember anybody from Goldman Sachs or JPMorganChase saying, “Don’t do it, Luis, don’t do it. We really don’t want the money.” No, I saw the secretary of the Treasury come down there each and every day begging and imploring us. You know what, they got their money. And what did we get? We got a bill for $5 if you want to access your money. So let me, let me just say it’s not bashing, it’s looking at the reality. And I think that’s part of the frustration and the anger of people who can’t send their kids to school, who can’t send them to college, who don’t have a job, who are losing their mortgages.
So all I want to say is, I take on my own Secretary Geithner this week, and I said, “Mr. Secretary, we put $50 billion, we gave the banks $70 billion.” Guess what, they got their money. We sent $50 billion so that people could modify their mortgages and reduce their payments. Guess what, 2 percent of that money went out to consumers in America. So, yeah, people are angry because government is dysfunctional and it’s not working.
So, the people protesting Wall Street are part of the president’s reelection strategy, as if he put them there? There is no Dick Armey funding the Wall Street protesters. They’re not an astroturfed outfit. They are not part of the president’s reelection strategy, and they’re not the result of an “approach” from the administration.
Now, in this next exchange with Wisconsin Rep. Paul Ryan, David Gregory plays a clip of Republican presidential candidate Herman Cain saying that you shouldn’t blame Wall Street if you’re unemployed, you should blame yourself. David Gregory wants to know if that is the kind of message the GOP wants to send.
MR. GREGORY: But is that the Republican message, what Herman Cain said?
REP. RYAN: No, the Republican message is, the Republican message is we want to lower the barriers against Americans who want to rise. We want to make it easier for people to have upper mobility, economic opportunity. And we don’t want to put new barriers in place for Americans who want to rise. And we want to go back with proven ideas that work to grow this economy.
And I would say, on the class warfare, there are a few points I would simply make, if you’ll allow me. Number one, the math just doesn’t work. Raising all these taxes on small businesses doesn’t work. It’s not just taxing the movie star, the baseball player, the Wall Street person. You’re taxing the engine of economic growth, small businesses. If you took all the income from every millionaire in America today, it would run the government for about four months.Second, I have a better idea. Instead of job-killing tax increases, why don’t we just stop subsidizing wealthy people? I mean, let’s go after the crony capitalism, the corporate welfare in the tax code, in spending. And why don’t we income adjust our spending programs so that we don’t subsidize wealthy people as much. I think that’s a better idea to get more savings in the budget, get our debt down without doing economic damage.
And third, I think this divisive rhetoric is fairly–is divisive. I think it’s troubling. Sowing class envy and social unrest is not what we do in America.
MR. GREGORY: You think that’s what the president’s doing.
REP. RYAN: I think the president is doing that. I think he’s preying on the emotions of fear, envy, and anger, and that is not constructive to unifying America. I think he’s broken his promise as a uniter, and now he’s dividing people. And to me, that’s very unproductive. That’s not who we are in America.
MR. GREGORY: But Herman Cain says, “Don’t blame Wall Street. Don’t blame the banks. If you don’t have a job, blame yourself.” Is that the Republican message?
REP. RYAN: No, I think–Herman’s speaking for himself. I think we all want to actually see a climate of economic growth, of entrepreneurialism. And we don’t want to pit Americans against each other. That’s not who we are, and that’s not the kind of society that we want.
Again, the president isn’t down on Wall Street yelling at bankers. Who gives a shit what Herman Cain thinks, why can’t David Gregory question Paul Ryan’s premises about the president engaging in divisive class warfare?
The answer is obvious from his exchange with Rep. Gutierrez. Gregory shares Paul Ryan’s premises. He didn’t challenge him on the bullshit about Obama taxing small businesses either. How many small businesses make a million dollars a year? Because that’s the level where the Jobs Bill currently starts to tax people.
David Gregory thinks he’s done his job if he asks a tough question, but he never seems to correct his guests when they spew ridiculous statistics or make patently false claims. Paul Ryan says whatever he wants and all Gregory can do is ask him if Herman Cain is right.
I don’t think people learn anything from watching Meet the Press except that there are lot of people in the country worth hating.
