Rick Santelli Not Welcome at the White House
[Guest post by DRJ]
In February 2009, CNBC business reporter Rick Santelli vigorously objected to Obama’s “spread the wealth” policies in a rant that many believe inspired the Tea Partiers:
“On CNBC’s “Squawk Box” Feb. 19, the Chicago Mercantile Exchange floor reporter, along with several traders, expressed his outrage about President Barack Obama’s plan to “spread the wealth” for people that didn’t deserve it. He said a stimulus should go to people who live responsibly rather than some sort of housing bailout to people that lived irresponsibly.
“I tell you what, I have an idea,” Santelli shouted. “The new administration is big on computers and technology – how about this, President and new administration? Why don’t you put up a Web site to have people vote on the Internet as a referendum to see if we really want to subsidize the losers’ mortgages, or would we like to at least buy cars and buy houses in foreclosure and give them to people that might have a change to actually prosper down the road and reward people that could carry the water instead of drink the water.”
***
According to the CNBC reporter, if a stimulus was given to people who lived responsibly, the economy would run more efficiently and that’s would helped the troubled economy start moving again.“I know this might not sound very humanitarian, but at the end of the day I’m an Ayn Rander,” Santelli continued. “It’s all about efficiency. If you want the economy to work, maybe we should give these perks to people who will carry some water down the road.”
In an interview today, CNBC reporter John Harwood asked White House Press Secretary about Santelli. Remarkably, Gibbs responded that while he had previously invited Santelli to the White House for coffee to discuss the subject, the Secret Service probably wouldn’t allow Santelli to come now:
Objecting to the President’s policies can put an American on a Secret Service ban list? Amazing.
— DRJ
I realize that Gibbsy was being glib, as little Tommy Cruise would say, however Van Jones can work at the WH, but Rick may not visit? Hmmm.
Gazzer (6d46a4) — 9/5/2009 @ 12:34 amThe difference being they agree with VJ, and not RS.
Scott Jacobs (d027b8) — 9/5/2009 @ 12:35 amGood comparison, Gazzer, and while I agree Gibbs was probably being glib or even joking, it was in poor taste or worse. The Secret Service protects the President from threats and this paints Santelli as a threat. IMO that’s defamatory.
DRJ (3f5471) — 9/5/2009 @ 12:46 amIt’s a lot like Obama’s ‘joke’ to use the IRS to get people who disagree with him or endorsed Hillary. Really unprofessional.
Or worse. It’s clear they don’t like scrutiny. I could give Obama the benefit of the doubt and say his admin is not trying to chill critical speech, but they probably are.
Juan (bd4b30) — 9/5/2009 @ 1:06 amHe was joking, right?
Randy Haddock (57589a) — 9/5/2009 @ 1:08 amThis administration is insidious.
krusher (6b6316) — 9/5/2009 @ 2:56 amDoes Robert Gibbs remind anyone else besides me of Mohammed Saeed al-Sahaf, former Iraqi Minister of Information aka “Bagdad Bob”? It was Baghdad Bob who claimed that claimed on CNN that the Iraq Army had the USA retreating in Iraq, while at the same time American tanks and troops could be clearly seen in the picture behind Baghdad Bob.
Duke Nukem (d9d8ce) — 9/5/2009 @ 5:40 amhttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TrXhxmQJSS0
Again, the ironic part is how the entire media would have responded if GWB’s press secretary acted this way.
But that’s different, as always. The problem with the Left is that they think, because their hearts are pure, they cannot do terrible things. But those same things are terrible from the Right, because the Right is all evil and such.
And the Left never, ever considers that the policies of which they approve for “their” people would be precedents for the other side.
You and I might call this hypocrisy. But they simply see it as “us good” and “them evil.”
Eric Blair (721b15) — 9/5/2009 @ 7:09 amI really do pray every night for their premature passing. Seriously.
HeavenSent (01a566) — 9/5/2009 @ 7:34 amAre we still sending those “fishy” things to the
Alta Bob (e53677) — 9/5/2009 @ 8:07 amWhite House. Maybe it’s time to start sending fish to the White House. It works for Rahm.
zOMG! A White House official just called a reporter critical to the Administration a “threat”. Outrage!11!
Oh wait, a Democrat is in office. Well, that’s different.
/nutroots.
Techie (482700) — 9/5/2009 @ 8:10 amGibbs is a stupid and creepy little git. Rather the perfect face for the administration.
SPQR (26be8b) — 9/5/2009 @ 8:47 amI predict clumsy Gibbsy will be gone soon.
Just like the Dept. of Education guy who orchestrated the “schoochildren” speech lesson materials. Like the grinning Roemer lady who is “incredibly confident” the emergency stimulus pkg will turn the economy around before the end of the year. Like the Econ wizard who is out of fingers and toes on which to count the trillions in deficits—–What? oh, right. Um, never mind.
elissa (db48d0) — 9/5/2009 @ 9:55 amI think I’m finally beginning to understand this hope n’ change philosophy. Obama will have to keep claiming that key people in his life and administration have somehow changed from being the wholesome, positive “mentors” they were 10-20 years ago, and he’ll continue to hope that we don’t notice how tired the old “He’s not the same man I knew…” excuse has become.
Dagwood (d4597a) — 9/5/2009 @ 10:22 amMust be more of that “New Kind of Politics” that Obama kept palavering about during the election…
Gee, I’m sure glad that the most Ethical!, Judicious!, Post-Partisan! administration-EVAH! isn’t engaging in the petty ways of the past…
Right; the secret service is worried about Rick Santelli, but Van Jones is A-O-K…
Bob Reed (99fc1b) — 9/5/2009 @ 10:29 amHey, change for the worse is still change. Obama’s keeping his campaign promise from my perspective.
daleyrocks (718861) — 9/5/2009 @ 10:32 amThe United States is merely going through a phase that is like a cross between a Banana Republic and, worse, some Third World society. If it (ie, enough of the electorate) regains some sanity and common sense, it hopefully will grow out of this “goddamn America” moment in time.
Mark (411533) — 9/5/2009 @ 10:46 amIt’s good to keep pointing out that Gibbs meant that as a joke. If you fellas still remember what that is.
The Emperor (1b037c) — 9/5/2009 @ 10:52 amLovey – We know you are a joke, if that’s what you mean.
daleyrocks (718861) — 9/5/2009 @ 10:56 amThe dirty socialist media simply stopped talking about the government helping losers pay their mortgages. It was topic A and then it slowly then suddenly dawned on them that this was Not Good For Obama’s Brand so they just… stopped.
happyfeet (6b707a) — 9/5/2009 @ 10:56 amI think the 2010 election will tell us what kind of country we will have in this century. If people will put up with this crew, there is no limit to how far they will go in destroying what this country is about. My greatest concern is that the public education deterioration has left a generation that will have difficulty understanding the threat. I was changed radically by an economics 101 class at USC in 1958. I finally understood what made the economy work. It wasn’t even my major. I”m not sure an economics class at USC in 2009 would accomplish the same purpose. I look at my daughter’s classes at U of AZ and wonder what these kids will make of it all. I think they have to be smarter than this but then I worry.
We spent breakfast, my two younger daughters and I, talking about college degrees and the future for a student thinking about life. We’re in Berkeley, of all places, for my son’s wedding this afternoon. My middle daughter was saying that she wishes she had gotten a degree in something other than Anthropology, even though she loves the subject, because it is just not practical in finding a good job. She goes back to grad school in two weeks.
Eric Blair will be pleased to know that I was pimping bacteriology and biology to my youngest. She has the gear but these kids don’t have the motivation. Life is too much fun. Joining the military might be a good option but not many pretty girls are thinking about that sort of thing.
I sure hope these kids are seeing through Obama.
Mike K (4baa9f) — 9/5/2009 @ 10:57 amIt’s not so much a joke as an echo of talking points past when Mr. Santelli was to be portrayed as unbalanced or excitable or caffeinated and etc.
happyfeet (6b707a) — 9/5/2009 @ 10:58 amBy the way, there is a terrific article by George Gilder in the summer issue of City Journal about the technological and economic revolution going on in Israel. It is here. I have been a fan of Netanyahu for years but I did not realize how well and how quickly he has been able to transform the Israeli economy. Israel was a classically socialist society until 1990. They are now #2 in the world in high tech innovation, tied with Germany. With the heavy burden of Sarbanes-Oxley here the past few years, I expect they will pass us soon. There are huge development and fabrication plants there now. The Russian Jewish emigration is described by Gilder as the “frontal lobotomy of the Soviet Union.”
One reason why Obama hates Israel may be that the are showing how fast a formerly socialist society can transform itself.
Mike K (4baa9f) — 9/5/2009 @ 11:03 amoh. That for reals says “OBAMA’S POST-LABOR DAY RELAUNCH.”
Which, that for reals says FAIL I think.
Barack Obama doesn’t get a relaunch. He’s not an effing space shuttle he’s just a dirty socialist piece of Chicago street treash what got in way way way over his head.
happyfeet (6b707a) — 9/5/2009 @ 11:06 amoh. dirty socialist piece of Chicago street *trash* is what that’s supposed to be… trashy like a cruise ship stateroom with Van Jones and Meg Whitman and two empty bottles of Colt 45
happyfeet (6b707a) — 9/5/2009 @ 11:08 amComment by daleyrocks — 9/5/2009 @ 10:56 am
The Emperor (1b037c) — 9/5/2009 @ 11:11 amHi Daley.
One reason why Obama hates Israel may be that the are showing how fast a formerly socialist society can transform itself.
Along the lines of the guy now in the Oval Office also expressing disapproval, if not actual disdain, towards Honduras ousting its Hugo-Chavez president.
Just thinking about the way the people of Honduras — not to mention Israel — are being treated by the United States of “Goddamn America” makes me thoroughly disgusted.
Nothing worse than people who have a tough time identifying the truly good or truly bad members and situations of the human race, or transposing the two. “Leftys” have a knack for doing exactly that, time and time again. And since the guy in the White House is an ultra-“lefty,” nothing worse than someone like him to be in charge of things.
Mark (411533) — 9/5/2009 @ 11:17 amMaybe the Israelis can start to teach the Hondurans how to build a successful capitalist society. I don’t think we are up to it right now.
MIke K (4baa9f) — 9/5/2009 @ 11:36 amRobert Gibbs reminds me of the barber on The Andy Griffith Show.
Official Internet Data Office (4e6ad1) — 9/5/2009 @ 11:49 amMaybe the Israelis can start to teach the Hondurans how to build a successful capitalist society.
Good parallel. A small nation surrounded by antagonistic neighbors and bereft of global support. First step might be to invite Israeli companies to set up shop, then start local education programs with the goal to turn out techno savvy kids. Success, like offense, is often the best defense. Sounds like they already have a decent constitution in place. Get the small govt economics right, i.e., banking/taxes/regulation, and you have something with promise. Money flows to where it’s treated best.
political agnostic (164d18) — 9/5/2009 @ 12:03 pmI look at my daughter’s classes at U of AZ and wonder what these kids will make of it all. I think they have to be smarter than this but then I worry.
I was worried until I remembered what it was like when I graduated in late ’82, with a recession quite similar to this one. No jobs available anywhere for anyone, except for my friends who had degrees in Accounting and CompSci (back then those degrees where worth quite a bit). So I think that a few quarters of trying to get a job in this economy tends to focus the minds of everyone, even the kids. Yes, many of them have extended adolescence staying at their parent’s homes until their early 30’s, but when you can’t even get a job at the local Jama Juice because of the economy, that will turn your head eventually at some point.
Dmac (a93b13) — 9/5/2009 @ 12:22 pmDmac, I hope so. Lots of discussion with my kids this weekend. The two oldest are very successful. The rest are still a concern. If you haven’t figured this out yet, your kids are still your kids when they are 50 and older. My mother was worrying about me when she was 102. You try to tell them things to make their lives easier but I don’t know if it helps. I really fear they will not have as good a life as we have had. And it was preventable. The George Gilder article gives me more hope although the Israelis had a huge infusion of very smart and very motivated immigrants from Russia. They became a 25% increase in population and many had advanced degrees already. It was an amazing phenomenon, probably with no comparison in history except the revocation of the Edict of Nantes, in 1685, which sent the Huguenots to England and with them, the Industrial Revolution.
Instead, we are importing illiterates and keeping out Asian PhDs.
Mike K (4baa9f) — 9/5/2009 @ 12:37 pmI just read this in a newsletter called Casey’s Daily Dispatch. I was thinking it’d make a great cheat sheet you could type on a card, hand to anti-capitalism, socialist, big nanny state sorts, just walk away and save your breath. I’d bet this would be Santelli approved:
…………………
A Quick History Lesson
The U.S. Post Service was established in 1775. So they’ve had 234 years to make it work. It is broke.
Social Security was established in 1935. They’ve had 74 years to make it work. It is broke.
Fannie Mae was established in 1938. They’ve had 71 years to make it work. It is broke.
Freddie Mac was established in 1970. They’ve had 39 years to make it work. It is broke.
The War on Poverty started in 1964. They’ve had 45 years to make it work. About $1 trillion of taxpayer money is confiscated each year and transferred to “the poor.” It hasn’t worked.
Medicare and Medicaid were established in 1965. They’ve had 44 years to make it work. They are both broke.
AMTRAK was established in 1970. They’ve had 39 years to make it work. Last year it had to be bailed out and today continues running at a loss.
$700 billion bailout of 2008. It has yet to create a single new private-sector job.
Cash for Clunkers in 2009 went broke after 80% of the cars purchased turned out to be produced by foreign companies.
………………….
political agnostic (164d18) — 9/5/2009 @ 12:44 pmIs it any wonder why we are in favor of less, not more, government?
Good point; when I was working for an internet start – up in Redwood City back in the late 90’s, all of our engineers were from Eastern Europe – Poland, Serbia and even two from Lithuania. They all had the same story about how difficult it was for them to get their green cards, and these were the cream of the crop from their technical colleges. These guys were super – smart and in many cases were more qualified than the local graduates from Stanford. Meanwhile, we have millions streaming across our southern border carte blanche that have no discernible skills to offer, and tend to send most of their take – home pay back home to their relatives. And that’s not even mentioning your stories of the onerous medical expenses we wind up paying for their children and disabilities. Our immigration system is monstrously unfair to those who want to come here and have the skills necessary to improve our country’s technical exports, while turning a blind eye to those who don’t have to jump through any hoops whatsoever. The whole thing looks like a rigged card game to most immigrants coming here legally, and it’s going to cost us dearly in the end if it’s not rectified.
Dmac (a93b13) — 9/5/2009 @ 12:48 pmDJR, were this upset when the Secret Service was arresting people for wearing Anti-Bush T-shirts to Bush town halls? They were nice enough to drop the charges later, but using them for political opponents seems to be pretty common. Of course, I wouldn’t have coffee with him either, because he’s a tool AND I don’t drink coffee.
Gibbs is easily my favorite press secretary of all time. His ability to make wingnuts spasm in rage is just hysterical. He’s like Tony Snow, except, of course, he’s reasonably acquainted with the truth.
timb (8f04c0) — 9/5/2009 @ 9:23 pmIt’s nice when trolls try to get the last word on dead threads.
Techie (482700) — 9/5/2009 @ 9:29 pm“Gibbs is easily my favorite press secretary of all time.”
timb – If you like Floyd the barber from Andy of Mayberry, which I take it you do.
Thanks, OIDO.
daleyrocks (718861) — 9/5/2009 @ 9:32 pmI think that there was a certain amount of alcohol intake associated with the post to which you refer, Techie.
You need to be drunk to write that last sentence.
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